RELATION OF ETIOLOGY OF BEE DISEASES TO TREATMENT. 35 



Race. 



Racial immunity is a rather interesting factor in the study of 

 human and animal diseases. The negro, for example, seems to pos- 

 sess considerable immunity in gout and diabetes compared with the 

 white race. Sheep ordinarily are very susceptible to anthrax, but 

 there is an Algerian race of sheep which is immune to this disease. 

 Some bee keepers believe that race is an important factor in bee 

 diseases, but comparatively little is definitely known on this phase 



of the etiology. 



Climate. 



That human diseases are more frequent in some climates than in 

 others is a fact familiar to us all; that climatic conditions play a 

 part in bee diseases seems to be quite probable. 



Peeexisting Disease. 



Preexisting disease has very little, if anything, to do with bee dis- 

 eases. By preexisting disease we mean that when an individual 

 passes through an attack of a disease the disease predisposes that indi- 

 vidual to other diseases. This is illustrated in various human and 

 animal diseases. In bee diseases we do not know whether any larva 

 or pupa ever recovers sufficiently from an attack of disease to con- 

 tinue its development and emerge as an adult bee. Many bee keepers 

 think that adult bees in American foul-broocl colonies are less active 

 than in normal colonies. Whether or not they suffer from disease we 

 do not know. It is possible, but not so probable, that they have suf- 

 fered a light attack of disease while in the developmental stage and 

 emerged as adult bees with weakened organs which do not perform a 

 normal function. If this were true, it would illustrate the impor- 

 tance of preexisting disease as a predisposing factor in etiology. 



Having thus briefly considered some of the more important pre- 

 disposing causes which enter into the etiology of bee diseases, let us 

 consider two of the more important exciting causes — food and micro- 

 organisms. 



EXCITING CAUSES. 



Food. 



The character of food is believed by many bee keepers to be an ex- 

 citing factor in dysentery. Should the food contain poisons, grave 

 results might follow. Some attribute paralysis to the character of 

 the food, but this is far from a demonstrated fact. 



Micro-organisms. 



By micro-organisms we mean those living plants and animals which 

 are very small and must be magnified greatly before they can be seen. 

 Those which are to receive our attention are bacteria, protozoa, and 

 fungi. 



