THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



G45 



sliow a compression at what may be called the waist, fiiving 

 tliem tlie form teclinically known as the liunib-hell. The com- 

 pression becomes more pronounced until by separation two tiny 

 globes are produced from the one; each of these will In turn 

 divide, and so multiplication may ko on at an astonishing rate. 



Bacilli, on the contrary, are rod-shaped, and if we could 

 suppose a common ruler to elongate without increasing in 

 thickness, and then at a definite point break into two, to again 

 increase in each part in like manner, we should have a fair idea 

 of the whole matter; but sometimes this increase in length is 

 not accompanied by separation, so that a line of bacilli may be 

 formed comparable to a long string of sausages, and such is 

 denominated a leptothrix. Under certain conditions, however, 

 the bacilli produce spores (or seeds), which the iiiiiTococci 

 never do; while in addition, bacilli, unlike niicroeoeci, are 

 provided at their extremities with wondrously delicate filaments 

 called tlagella, with which they strike the tinid containing them, 

 and so swim much as a fish does by the use of its fins; so that 

 shape and the power of spore-production and self-directed 

 locomotion sharply divide one from the other. 



This explanation, for the introduction of which no apology is 

 needed, snice upon it turns aright understanding of the line 

 which 1 took in the inquiry, will, 1 trust, be sutlicient to enable 





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Fig. 1. — Healthy Juices. 



even those who liave not studied the question of micro-organisms 

 at all, to follow the details now to pass before us; concerning 

 which 1 must express mv thanks to G. F. Dovvdeswell, Esq., M. 

 A., member of the Council of the Royal Microscopical .Society, 

 for the lively interest that he took in my investigations, and for 

 the many helpful suggestions which he gave me. I happily 

 mentioned to him at one of the Royal Microscopical Society's 

 meetings the work in which I was engaged. 



Taking a small quantity of the juices of a healthy grub, and 

 spreading it out under a thin glass under the microscope, one is 

 presented with such an appearance as is seen at Fig. 1; fat 

 globules are numerous, while blood-discs abound, and every- 

 where may be noticed tiny particles which are constantly 

 slowly dancing with what are called Brownian movements; but 

 if a speck of coffee-colored, foul-broody matter be similarly 

 treated, we find neither fat globules, blood-discs, nor molecular 

 base, but ob.serve the field crowded with very small ovoid bodies, 

 as we have them represented at Fig. 2. These are the micro- 



Fig. 2.— Foul Brood, last stage. 



cocci of Schonfeld; but if this substance be stained according 

 to the modern plan of Weigert and Koch, and then carefully 

 examined, in all probability we shall discover, associated with 

 the ovoid bodies, a very few other organisms, longer, and rod- 

 shaped, while we notice that the so-called micrococci are neither 

 round nor dumb-bell-like, but oval, or boat-shaped. This led 

 me at once to suspect an error, and further searching showed 

 me, if, instead of coffee-colored matter, such as that usually 

 sent for microscopic examination, the body of a grub, dead, but 

 ilia fresher condition, were taken, the number of the rod-like 

 bodies very considerably increased, while that of the ovoid ones 

 diminished, as seen in Fig. 3. 



My own inoculated colony — inoculated for experimental 

 purposes— was cured, and gave me no material; but soon I 

 obtained a comb from a suffering colony, and then had the 

 opportunity of expressing the juices from a death-stricken 

 larva. These, when examined under a power of GOO diameters 

 and carefully illuminated, were seen, to my great delight, to be 

 full of active rods, swimming backwards and forwards, and 

 worming their way between the degenerate blood-discs and fat 



f [lobules, as represented in Fig. 4; while here and there were 

 ong strings of them, the leptothrix fonn previously referred to. 

 Three questions now required answers: 1. Wasthis undoubted 

 bacillus always associated with foul brood? 2. If so, was it 

 cause or effect? 3. If the cause, what was its life history? It 



would weary to explain how these answers were obtained, as 

 tlie work involved nianj; days of incessant application at the 

 microscope, the preparation and comparison of about 300 micro- 

 scopic slides, and the rough or somewhat careful dissection of 



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Fig. 3. — Foul Brood, late stage. 



at least 100 gruljs, taken from various colonies, in different 

 conditions of the disease, and at sundry periods after their 

 removal. 



I found that in every instance that the beginning of tlie attack 

 was marked by the appearance of bacilli in the blood; tliat these 

 bacilli were, in many cases, at first long, thin, and marked by 

 the presence of bead-like points; that as this form disappeared, 

 the bacilli, pure and simple, multiplied by repeated division, 

 that these bacilli, when iiiaguitied aoout 1,300 diameters, pre- 

 sented the appearance seen in Fig. .5; tliat these were active, 



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Fig. 4. — Foul Brood, early stage. 



swimming rapidly either backwards or forwards, and that when 

 an end-view could be obtained of one of them, it was seen to 

 be describing a small circle; that when the disease was in rapid 

 progress leptothrix forms were common, some of them reaching 

 even the 1-lOOth of an inch in length; and that as the fluids of 

 the grub failed by loss of fats and albuminoids, the bacilli put 

 on the spore condition. They widened and drew up their pro- 

 toplasm or mycoprotein from their extremities, as we see 



Fig. 5.— Foul Brood. 



indicated in Fig. 6, and thus became what Schonfeld had in error 

 called micrococci. After the death of the grub, and during the 

 assumption of the viscid, putrid condition, this constant altera- 

 tion of bacilli into spores continues. After removal from the 



I 

 » 









Fig. 6. — Foul Brood. 



hive, it goes on so rapidly that in three or four days scarcely a 

 bacillus, as such, is discoverable, but the spores are innumerable. 

 The reason of Schonfeld's mistake, .so far, is intelligible; he 

 saw the spores only, and judged them to be micrococci; but the 



