1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



35 



else's lungs, where they develop. With the fevers, the bacilli 

 are found also in the dejections of the patient, where they de- 

 velop into spores as these dejections dry, and from there either 

 float into the air, or are carried by the water, and eventually 

 find their way into somebody else's digestive apparatus, where 

 they multiply and develop again another case of fever. 



The bacillus producing the silkworm disease has already 

 been referred to in my former contributions. In that case the 

 diseased worms or larv;i3 do not always die, but frequently 

 go through the full transformation into moths, and these 

 moths lay eggs, but these eggs are found to be also infected, 

 and give birth to diseased worms. 



Tal<ing all into consideration, we see now that the bee- 

 paralysis spores must be transferred from the diseased to the 

 healthy bees. The bacilli develop in the body of the diseased 

 bees chiefly in the blood, as Cheshire claims, from thence they 

 escape (after being transformed into spores), when the bees 

 die, or rather from their dead bodies, probably by the millions. 

 From there they float in the air until they stick to some honey 

 or something, and are swallowed by some other bees that be- 

 come diseased in their turn. It is possible, however, that the 

 dejections of the diseased bees also contain bacilli and spores, 

 and are also a source of contamination. It is also possible, 

 and even probable, that some of the spores find their way into 

 the healthy bees' bodies through the respiratory organs. 



Another source of contamination is possibly the honey 

 itself. While the disease resides chiefly in the blood, yet 

 bacilli are also found in the other parts of the body, and when 

 the disease is far advanced, the whole body is full of bacilli, 

 even the ovaries of the diseased queens. When we consider 

 that the bees are constantly swallowing and disgorging honey, 

 handling it one to another, transferring it from one cell to 

 another all the time, we readily see that whenever bacilli are 

 in the digestive apparatus of the diseased bees, they will 

 shortly be transferred to some oth'ir bees, or to the larva; that 

 they are feeding. 



A third and last source of contamination is, as pointed 

 above, through the eggs of the queen. 



Summing up, we have to destroy the spores or bacilli un- 

 der three conditions, viz : 



1st. The spores floating in the air or sticking to the combs 

 or the walls of the hives, etc. 



2nd. The spores or bacilli contained in the living but dis- 

 eased bees, as these may be transferred to other bees through 

 the honey, and more than that, these bees' dejections, or their 

 dead bodies, are also a source of contagion. In a word, we 

 must also treat the bees themselves. 



3rd. Replacing the diseased queens by healthy ones. 



We will now go over the possible remedies, as follows: 

 1st. As to the spores floating in the air, etc. Sulphur has 

 been tried. There is no doubt that sulphur will destroy every 

 spore that it touches, but it is readily seen that one or two 

 spoonfuls of sulphur dusted in a hive cannot possibly reach the 

 spores anywhere and everywhere in the hive, especially those 

 floating in Ihe air. Spraying with some antiseptic would be 

 much better, but still objectionable. Fumigating with sali- 

 cylic acid (see Cheshire and Langstroth Revised), I think 

 would be much surer, as the fumes would certainly reach 

 everywhere. There is further this much more in favor of 

 fumigating, that is, it may also cure the diseased bees. The 

 bacilli are chiefly found in the blood, and the fumes of the 

 burnt acid come really closer to the blood through the res- 

 piratory organs than the remedies administered through the 

 digestive apparatus can possibly do. In fact, all those who 

 have tried the fumigating process on foul brood, say that it is 

 more effectual than feeding and spraying. Some substitutes 

 have been reported successful (I am referring to foul brood) ; 

 one is simply to put some pieces of camphor in the hive, and 

 trust to the evaporated camphor to do the fumigating. 

 Another German apiarist advises the useof carbolic acid mixed 

 with some wood-tar (I suppose he means creosote), and spread 

 the same on a piece of felt, put the felt under the combs, cov- 

 ering it with something that would prevent the bees from stick- 

 ing to it, and yet not prevent its evaporation. 



2nd. Treating the diseased bees. That is, feeding with 

 medicated food. Many drugs have been tried on foul brood. 

 Salicylic acid, carbolic acid, oil of eucalyptus, lysol, camphor- 

 ated alcohol, formic acid, etc. The majority of them have the 

 disadvantage of a very bad taste, and are difficult to adminis- 

 ter for that reason. Some cost too much. Salicylic acid 

 would probably be preferable to others. I would have it dis- 

 solved in alcohol rather than mi.xed with borax. The mixing 

 with borax transforms the acid into salicylic of soda, which is 

 far less effectual than the acid — at least it has been found so 

 when applied to human diseases. Formic acid has been re- 



ported very effectual, and has the advantage of not being 

 objectionable to the bees, but it costs too much. I, somehow, 

 doubt its efficacy. Formic acid is contained in bees and their 

 honey, and if it was such a good cure, bees never would be 

 sick. I do not know whether anybody has tried quinine, but 

 It is certainly worth trying. 



Remember, that the above remedies were tried on foul 

 brood, but as foul brood and bee-paralysis are produced by 

 bacilli very similar, it is probable that whatever drugs will 

 kill one kind, will also kill the other. 



3rd. Removing the queens. The difficulty is the cost, 

 and, besides, there would be a question where to get queens 

 that might be insured to be absolutely sound. Worse than 

 that, a healthy queen introduced into a diseased colony would 

 soon become diseased, and be no better than one reared by the 

 colony itself. On the other hand, it is not probable that a 

 queen lays infected eggs until she is herself in a far advanced 

 stage of the disease, so by re-queening frequently — say twice, 

 or perhaps three times during the year — the contamination 

 from the queens would eventually be eliminated, that is, pro- 

 vided the other sources of disease should also be destroyed 

 during that time. 



As to salt, coffee, etc., I have to say that they are of no 

 value in treating human diseases, and probable no more effec- 

 tive on bee-diseases. 



Destroying the whole outfit is out of the question. Where 

 could we get bees to replace ours that could be insured as 

 sound, and how long would they stay sound, if the disease is 

 established in the neighborhood ? 



The starvation process seems to me also out of the ques- 

 tion. After four days or more of starvation, the diseased 

 bees or queens would certainly not be in better health than at 

 the start. Knoxville, Tenn., Dec. IS. 



Blacks and Italians — " Civilized " Bees. 



BY ROBT. PESTELL. 



It was with much interest I read Mrs. Jennie Atchley's 

 lesson. No. 12, in the American Bee .Journal of Oct. 25, 1894, 

 on the different races of bees and their habits. Mrs. Atchley 

 says: 



'•We have a wild and a tame variety of a great many ani- 

 mals that very much resemble each other, and the black bees 

 seem to want to pull right out to the woods as soon as possible 

 after a swarm. Also, when their hives are opened they run 

 as if they were scared almost to death. All these character- 

 istics seem to prove to me that they are a wild variety of bees." 



Writing of Italians she says : " The Italians are evidently 

 our tame bees, and have been worked and manipulated by the 



hand of man more or less since the world was created 



The Italians are harder to get off their combs at extracting 

 time, or any other time. Being tame and gentle, they hold fast." 



My present practical experience in apiculture does not 

 admit of my using the terra " civilized bees " as distinguishing 

 them from barbarians. It may be that the Italian bees have 

 been kept longer as domestic appendages than the blacks. 

 Admitting them to have been so, it does not follow as a 

 sequence that such a condition has in any way tended to 

 soften their native manners. The less bees are manipulated, 

 particularly in the brood-chamber, the less truculent they be- 

 come — most bee-keepers admit. 



Should, however, Mrs. Atchley's theory be a correct one, 

 it may be that the ages of civilization to which they have been 

 subjected to, have evolutionized them hands with which they 

 so tenaciously cling to the combs. The barbaric or black bee's 

 evidently have not been subjected to this process of evolution 

 in the way of hands — they retain great vigor of leg. They 

 certainly " use legs and have legs " (Locke). Locke drew up a 

 code of laws for North Carolina, didn't he ? He might have 

 influenced the bees. It may be there are some persons inter- 

 ested in the sale of Italian queens who persistently exaggerate 

 the merits of the Italians and unduly depreciate the blacks. I 

 believe it is the desire of the American Bee Journal to diffuse 

 light equally upon all races. 



With every regard for Mrs. Atchley's opinion, and partic- 

 ularly for the unselfish and energetic manner in which she 

 has given her extensive experience upon matters apiarian, I 

 have a theory upon the subject, and it is this : 



There does not exist a race of bees which can have claimed 

 for it a civilization beyond other races, other than that of 

 having perhaps been kept for a longer period as domestic be- 

 longings. The attention and manipulation they might re- 

 ceive from man would not tend to reduce their truculent 

 qualities. It is generally admitted, I believe, that the honey- 



