Bacillus alvei. By Messrs. F. Chesliire & Watsorv Chei/iie. 589 



is by actnul touch ; they habitually pass their food from one stomach 

 to another; all food has beeu carried either within or ujjon the 

 bodies of their fellows ; their very home is formed of one of their 

 secretions ; and their beds, cradles, and larders are all interchange- 

 able. These are the conditions indeed in which disease organisms 

 have the highest opportunity of running riot, and which makes the 

 discovery of many pathogenic bacteria in their colonies to me the 

 reverse of surprising. 



It is needful before passing to the second head to anticipate 

 one or two points to which Mr. Watson Cheyne will especially 

 refer. After very many cultivations conducted in series by that 

 gentleman, a small quantity of sterilized milk was inoculated from 

 the last tube. It behaved characteristically, as Mr. Cheyne will 

 describe, the flask emitting upon the drawing of the plug the 

 unmistakable odour so distinctive of the disease in the hive. Some 

 of this milk I diff'used through water, and sprayed from an atomizer 

 over a healthy comb of larvae, part of which was protected by a 

 cardboard sheet into which four lozenge shapes had been cut. The 

 larvae protected matured in he alth ; those exposed to the spray in 

 many cases were removed by the bees, while the rest died, their 

 bodies filled with Bacillus alvei. This last experiment seems to 

 complete the chain of evidence in favour of '' foul brood " not 

 being accidentally associated with this bacillus, but actually its 

 result. 



2ndly. The means of the propagation of the disease. Popular 

 apiculture has greatly suffered because its supposed leaders have 

 only very rarely been equal to any scientific analysis, and so crude 

 guesses have frequently been as unhesitatingly accepted as though 

 they had been theories supported by an exhaustive examination of 

 facts. It is so here ; .the larvae alone were supposed to suffer from 

 the disease under discussion, and so it was confidently asserted that 

 it was propagated by bees from healthy colonies getting into con- 

 tact with these larvae by taking advantage of the weakened dispirited 

 condition of infected stocks by invading them and stealing from 

 them their honey, which honey was said to abound with micro- 

 cocci, but I have searched most carefully in honey in contiguity 

 Avith cells holding dead larvae, have examined samples from stocks 

 dying out with rottenness, inspected extracted honey* from terribly 

 diseased colonies, and yet in no instance have 1 found a living 

 bacillus, and never have been able to be sure of discovering one in 

 the spore condition, although it must be admitted that the i)roblcm 

 has its microscopic difficulties, because the stains used to make the 

 bacilli apparent attach themselves very strongly to all pollen- 

 grains and parts thereof, and somewhat interfere with examination. 

 • Honey tlirowu out from the comb by a rentiifutjal luacliinc called uii 

 extractor. 



