lower cell walls. As the larvae decay the cappings become dis- 
colored, sunken and perforated by the bees, many cappings being 
entirely removed by the bees in their effort to clean up. These 
sunken and perforated cappings are one of the symptoms which 
first attract the beekeepers’ attention. After the death of the larvae 
the remains dry until there is visible only a scale on the lower 
cell wall. These scales adhere very tightly to the cell walls and 
practically cannot be removed by the bees. There is a characteristic 
odor about a comb containing a considerable number of larvae 
dead of American foulbrood which has been described as the “glue 
pot” odor. In some cases this is not very pronounced. At a cer- 
tain stage in the decay of the dead creature just previous to the 
dry stage, it is sometimes possible when inserting a small sliver 
of wood into the decaying mass to withdraw it and have the rotten 
material stretch out like a thread for as much as three inches. In 
some cases death does not overtake the developing creature until 
the pupal stage has been reached and there may be found cases 
where the pupal tongue will be seen extended at an angle of forty- 
five degrees across the cell from the lower front towards the upper 
back part. This latter symptom is said by Doctor Phillips to be 
conclusive evidence that American foulbrood is present in the colony. 
Of the other symptoms, color, odor and position, it is believed 
the latter is most reliable. The dried down larvae adhere tightly 
to the cell wall, making it impossible for the bees to remove many, if 
any, of them. A colony of bees is subject to an attack of this dis- 
ease at any period of the brood-rearing season. 
This disease is carried from colony to colony and place to place 
in infected honey which the bees may rob from an infected colony; 
from infected honey which may be shipped and the container with- 
out washing thrown out where bees can get at it; it may be carried 
in queen cage candy which has been made with infected honey, 
or it may be transmitted by contaminated hives, tools and apparatus. 
Preventive Measures—There is no evidence to show that Amer- 
ican foulbrood attacks one race of honey bees more than another, 
and we have nothing definite to hope for in preventing the disease 
from this quarter. It is known that the spores of this disease are 
carried in honey and that considerable honey on the market is 
produced in infected apiaries. Therefore, the beekeeper should never 
feed his bees honey purchased on the open market. Feeding honey 
is a doubtful practice except where the honey is the beekeeper’s 
own production and he knows positively that it is free of disease 
germs. 
Remedial Measures—Remedial measures in short consist in re- 
moving from the infected colony all material which could carry 
65 
