and tts Economic M anagement. 143 
said germs are destroyed as they develop under this 
process. 
Consequently we have but one evidence of fact; and 
that is the spores simply germinate during the intermediate 
temperature, the germs being destroyed at the next boiling, 
and the boiling being followed by further germination, and 
so on till the process is completed. The logical conclusion, 
then, is this, that (a) the spores of foul brood may exist 
indefinitely in combs or honey stored apart from the bees ; 
(6) they must germinate rapidly among clustering bees 
during warm weather ; (c) the germs can only zucrease by 
the alternative process of reproduction* in dead animal 
matter ; and lastly, where the temperature is favorable for 
germination without the means of reproduction the end of 
the disease is reached. 
6.—The presence of foul brood in a hive is an evidence of low 
vitality. 
How do we know this? The facts supporting this 
proposition are unassailable; and they are numerous. 
In the first place I will call attention to the opinion of 
nearly every writer who has had any acquaintance with 
the disease. All agree that the complaint is most virulent 
in the early spring. It gets a hold of the colony hardly 
before it is aroused from its winter’s slumber, while the 
workers have as yet no incoming stores, and what little 
activity is apparent is only intermittent, such as the 
brighter intervals of sunshine tempting a few of the 
workers to gather fresh supplies of pollen. Otherwise 
the bees sit quietly upon the combs covering the slowly 
developing brood nest; and though only specks of the 
malady at first appear, long before general activity is 
* Spores to germs, and germs to spores; or, seeds to plants, and 
plants to seeds. 
