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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Queries aiid Replies. 



Fofll Brood— Its Effect on tlie Honey, 



Query 782. — 1. What is the cause of 

 foul-brood ? 2. Does foul-brood In a cell 

 harm the honey in adjoining cells, not 

 effected with the disease ? 3. Does foul- 

 brood in an apiary ihjure the honey for 

 market or table use. — Wis. 



1. Bacillus alvei. 2. Probably not. 

 B. I do not know that it does. — C. C. 

 Miller. 



1. I do not know. 2. I think it does. 

 3. I should not like to eat such honey, 

 or offer it for sale. — C. H. Dibbern. 



1. Who can tell? 2. Yes, for the 

 larval bees. 3. No; provided no bees 

 ever get any of it. — G. M. Doolittle. 



1. I do not begin to know. 2. Do not 

 know. 3. Do not know, having had no 

 experience, but should suppose it would 

 not. — James Heddon. 



1. Wliat Chesire calls Bacillus alvei, 

 is, without doubt, the true cause. 3. 

 Would not advi»?e the selling honey from 

 a colony that has foul-brood. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



1. Bacillus alvei. 2. You do not say 

 for what purpose. I would rather not 

 eat the honey from adjoining cells, and 

 I would not consider it safe food for bees. 

 3. Not in colonies not effected by the 

 disease. — M. Mahin. 



1. Said to be a fungus. 2. If foul- 

 brood is caused by a fungus the spores 

 would be transmitted to all parts of the 

 hive, and the honey likewise effected. 

 3. I should condemn all such honey as 

 unfit for table use. — J. P. H. Brown. 



1. It is a contagious disease, like 

 smallpox in the human .family. What 

 originates that ? 2. I should think so; 

 the air in the hive is foul. 3. I do not 

 want any of it "in mine." Have had 

 no experience with the disease. — Mrs. L. 

 Harrison. 



1. A fungoid organism. , 2. Yes, to 

 feed the bees. It should be boiled a few 

 minutes, then it is safe food for bees. 3. 

 No, Of course, it would need to be care- 

 fully extracted, and as the germs are in 

 it, it is always better to boil it and feed 

 to the bees. — A. J. Cook. 



1. Bacilli attacking and killing the 

 brood. 2. It harms in so far that it 

 would probably convey the disease if 



fed to healthy bees. 3. A colony much 

 effected will gather very little honey. If 

 a colony is so little effected that it stores 

 honey in the surplus apartment, I think 

 such honey good for table use. — R. L. 

 Taylor. 



1. Who can tell. I confess I can- 

 not, although I know the particular 

 cause in my own apiary, viz.: feeding 

 honey not thoroughly heated so as to 

 destroy the germs, such honey having 

 been taken from an infected hive. 2. 

 Yes. It effects It with the foul-brood 

 poison. 3. I should not want to use it, 

 though I do not think any injury would 

 be caused by so doing. — J. E. Pond. 



1. Contagion. 2. No, it does not 

 harm the honey for use, but if bees from 

 a healthy colony should get the honey 

 from a diseased colony the healthy col- 

 ony would become diseased also. 3. Not 

 unless the honey is extracted from the 

 brood-nest. Several years ago, when my 

 apiary was effected with the disease, I 

 extracted the honey and melted the 

 combs, and the honey was so thick with 

 foul-brood matter that in pouring it it 

 would adhere so closely together that it 

 would pour out in a body. — A. B. Mason. 



1. I do not know; and from what I 

 have read on the subject, I do not believe 

 that anybody else does. It is an infec- 

 tious disease, as full of mystery as is 

 cholera in hogs, chickens, etc. 2. No 

 one who is not wholly indifferent as to 

 what he swallows, would like to eat 

 honey after it had been subjected to the 

 foul odor accompanying a foul brood- 

 chamber. 3. Of course it does. It 

 would be a gross imposition to the con- 

 sumer, and dangerous to the bee-keep- 

 ing interest, to put infectious honey on 

 the market. — G. W. Demaree. 



1. The disease improperly called 

 "foul-brood" is caused by bacilU, and it 

 is contagious. 2. It should be boiled, 

 and then may be used for feeding bees. 

 3. It is not suitable for table use, having 

 been contaminated by the foul odor of 

 the hive. It may be extracted and used 

 for some kinds of manufacturing pur- 

 poses, such as making printers' rollers. 

 — The Editor. 



THE HONEY-BEE : Its Natural 

 History, Anatomy, and Physiology. By 

 T. W. Cowan, editor of the British Bee 

 Journal, illustrated with 72 figures and 

 136 illustrations. $1.00. For sale at 

 this office. 



