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Vol. IV. 



APRIL 1, 1876. 



No. 4. 



FOUL, BROOD. 



WHAT IS IT? WilENCK IS IT? ANlJ WHAT 

 SHAM. \VK DO run IT? 



MIDITOR OF <:;LEAN1NG.s : The above (luestions 

 I have ;i painful interest to bee-keepers in this 



visinity, and I desire •space in your journal to 



state the "situation," ai]<l ask the best counsel of those 

 who have had experience vritli this trouble. 



Some three years ago, J. i). Kruschkc,— an apiarian, 

 of Ro mean pretensions, [as numerous articles in A. B. 

 ./., and Olkanings for the last three years testify], 

 came among us from Illinois, to engage in bee-keep- 

 ing; and claiming that with the '"movable comb" and 

 extractor, bees could be made to pay large returns, 

 scarcely limited except by the cupidity of the apiari- 

 an—an idea bomelhlng like your own, some years 

 since, wlien you had to clean out the cistern to make 

 room for the nectar. Of course we opened our eyes 

 vvide with astonishment at such statements, and 

 watched the jirocess with much Interest. 



>lr. Kruschke brought with him some fifteen stands 

 of bees from JUin is, — obtaine<l, to keep on shares, 

 about as many more — transferred them to movable 

 frames, and drove on. As the season progressed, and 

 the honey began to come in, he started the extractor, 

 put on boxes, and gave his bees plenty of room-con- 

 linning to use the extractor until some time in Sep- 

 tember, when he "'rested," wished his uees well, and 

 left them to fill up for winter. lie utilized an old hop 

 dry house, [ihat was lined with brick an<l had a stove 

 in ii], for winter (juarters; but the winter was cold, 

 the bees became uneasy, and on a warm day in Jan. 

 he set them out for a fly, i)ut them back, and anxiously 

 awaited the spring. But the bees became uneasy 

 again, got the dysentery, and in the spring were all 

 "gone to their long home." 



He then went to a neighboring town and purchased 

 some 25 or more stands— cleaned up his old combs and 

 lilves, and started in again — using his combs and in- 

 creasing, until in the fall he mu^t have had seme 70 or 

 SO stocks. This time he took an old cellar and roofed 

 it over, covering it with earth, for winter quarters, in 

 which they seemed to winter pretty well; and in the 

 spring he sold a number of colonies to replenish the 

 exchequer, and started out with fine prospects. All 

 seemed to go well for a time, but after awhile some of 

 his colonics did not seem to be doing well, and on ex- 

 amination he found their combs contained dead larva- 

 which the bees did not clean out, so he exchani:((l 

 combs with stronger swarms. Ihiuking they would 

 clean them uji ;vnd m.ike it all rijih!. Ho this year run 

 the extractor till late in July, or August, and about 

 Aug. '2'.'d, we had a fro.-t that killed corn on the low 

 lanes and so his hives were light in the (all. 



During this season some of our best apiarians visited 

 him and pronounced his trouble to be foul brood ; and 

 on looking farther it wa.s found that the bees he had 

 sold to other parties (one of whom he had instructed 

 in bee-keeping, as per A. B. J., of Feb., page .50), were 

 diseased also, as described above. Now in view of 

 the above situation, Mr. Kruschke adopted the heroic 

 treatment and destroyed his bees, melted his combs 

 into wax an<t piled up the hives and frames for sale or 

 future use. 



One of the other parties has done the same with 

 three stand.s purchased of Mr. Kruschke, while two or 

 three otlier parties have not yet eradicated the disease, 

 but are in anxious suspense, desiring to prevent lar- 

 ther mischief, but not knowing exactly what it is 

 best to do. 



The above, I believe to be u fair statement of the 

 facts, and as no foul brood was ever known here be- 

 fore, and Bro. Krusclike is sure he did not bring it 

 with him from Illinois, we desire to asK, 



First : Is there more than one type, or form of foul 

 brood? 



Secondly: Should we believe that it was brought 

 here from abroad or was it originated in some way in 

 Mr. Ivruschke's apiary ? and if originated here, — at 

 what time, p)"o6a6///, and from wliat cause, in view of 

 the above description ? and last, and most important, 

 what is the best way to eradicate it? 



Are worker combs-but little afl'ected, worth saving, 

 or is it wiser to muke a clean thing of it, and destroy 

 every thing that shows the disease ? Would the hives 

 and frames tliat have had foul brood in them, commu- 

 nicate the disease after exjiosure to winter temi)era- 

 turc of 20^ below zero ? L. Beckwitii. 



Berlin, AVis., Feb. 15th, 1876. 



There seems to be <a little tendency to find 

 fault with our unfortunate friend Kruschke, 

 yet we can not find that he lias as yet, done 

 any thius out of the way. As we have never 

 seen foul brood aside from that sent us in bits 

 of comb, we are unprepared to give an opinion 

 of it. We believe its origin is as yet unl^nowu, 

 although many are tlie tlieories and conjectures 

 in rciiard to it. We can give no advice in re- 

 gard to remedies, more than has already been 

 given in former articles. One thing is very 

 plain, and that is that every one should exer- 

 cise the utmost care in preventing its getting 

 a foothold where it is at pn sent unknown. 



As it is generally conceded that foul l)rood 

 is a species of microscopic vegetation we arc 

 inclimd to tlnuk the fnezina: would kill it as 

 ( Ifi'dually as it doe^ the moth miller. For the 

 same reason we can not thinlc his troubles In 

 winferinsr and hi^ n^ing the combs from which 

 the bees had died could have any tiling to do 

 with its origin. 



