AMERICAN BEK JOURNAL. 



117 



To detect the disease in strong colonies, 

 some little time after brood rearing has 

 ceased, open the hive and apply your 

 nostrils directly to the combs, as they 

 hang in the hive. If the disease is 

 present, to any extent, and your olfac- 

 tory organs are sensitive, you will detect 

 an odor more or less strong which may 

 be described by the term "old." But 

 not many,. at least at first, could say, by 

 this test, with any degree of certainty, 

 whether the bees of that colony were 

 diseased or not. It is to be taken only 

 as an indication. Now, take out 3 or 4 

 combs, one by one, from near the center 

 of the brood nest, and hold each with 

 the bottom bar from you, in different 

 directions, until the light strikes well 

 into the loiver side of the cells, when, if 

 affected, the scales I have described are 

 very evident. The sample makes this 

 plainer than any amount of description 

 could do. 



In contending against the evil, there 

 is nothing so important as an active 

 knowledge of the sources whence the 

 danger of spreading the contamination 

 arises. With this knowledge, I am con- 

 vinced that there is little necessity for 

 fear that the disease will spread to 

 healthy colonies, if only the sources are 

 within reach of the apiarist. If many 

 wild bees, among which it has a foothold, 

 are in the vicinity, it must become eradi- 

 cated there, in the course of nature, 

 before the apiary is safe, for every wild 

 colony affected, will, in time, surely die, 

 and its honey, if any be left, will be 

 appropriated by other bees, and the 

 plague unavoidably disseminated. This 

 danger cannot be w^ell guarded against, 

 but those at home may easily be reduced 

 to a very small figure. They fall under 

 three heads : those from affected honey, 

 from affected combs, and from affected 

 hives. 



Under the heading of hives, is included, 

 of course, all their paraphernalia. I 

 think the principal danger from this 

 source, arises from affected honey, which 

 may have been left on the parts of the 

 hive, by daubing, or otherwise. No bee 

 should be allowed to visit them, and as 

 soon as it may be safely done, they 

 should be boiled in water, scorched with 

 flame or burned up. Either method is 

 effective. 



Affected combs are dangerous, not 

 only from the honey, but also from the 

 dead brood, which they contain. Every 

 dead larva is a bundle of seeds, and 

 when moistened by honey, new brood, or 

 otherwise, they are released and carry 

 death wherever they go. Such combs 

 are safely rendered innocuous by fire, or 



boiling only. The extremest caution, in 

 changing combs from one colony to 

 another, should always be observed. 

 There is no more certain and' rapid way 

 of propagating the malady. 



Infected honey itself, however, is the 

 chief medium by which foul brood is 

 disseminated, and so, in it, is the princi- 

 pal source of danger. The bees are sure 

 to contract the disease thereby, whether 

 they obtain it by deliberate feeding, on 

 the part of the apiarist, by gathering up 

 what is carelessly allowed to drip and to 

 be left exposed about the apiary, or by 

 robbing. 



When once pointed out every bee- 

 keeper should be able to guard against 

 the danger arising from the feeding and 

 the dripping of honey ; but to secure 

 protection against robbing extraordinary 

 care is often required. 



If bees were deprived of their dispo- 

 sition to rob, foul-brood would soon be 

 eradicated. This cannot be done, indeed 

 to one who has had to deal with the 

 plague, this disposition seems to be 

 increased thereby. The more powerful 

 nations of Europe keep their eyes upon 

 the Turk, as the "sick man," watching 

 for the occasion when they may profit 

 by his dissolution. The bees emulate 

 the example of the nations. As soon as 

 they catch the odor of the disease, issu- 

 ing from a hive, they promptly label it 

 " the sick man," and eagerly watch and 

 wait, and at length, unlike Russia, 

 Austria and the rest, instead of holding 

 each other in check, they all turn in at 

 the nick of time to complete the work of 

 destruction, and like many a human 

 individual and nation, find the seeds of 

 death wrapped up in their ill-gotten 

 wealth. 



From infected colonies that are reason- 

 ably strong, and in good heart, with 

 sound hives, having moderate entrances, 

 I would not apprehend immediate 

 danger, but would keep a sharp lookout 

 for the impending decline. It behooves 

 him, whose bees are infected, whether 

 or not he obeys the general injunction, 

 to "keep all colonies strong;" to be 

 instant in his efforts to keep all diseased 

 colonies strong. No one will understand 

 me to advise building up such colonies. 

 I mean only that no weak one, in a 

 diseased condition should be tolerated 

 for a single day, and indeed it is to be 

 hoped that this advice will be seldom 

 applicable, for it is to the interest of 

 every apiarist to banish the disease, by 

 the most effectual method, as speedily 

 as possible. 



I need hardly add, that the taking of 

 bees from a diseased colony, and adding 



