AMERICAN FOUL BROOD 207 
the onslaught without great losses. It usually happens, however, 
that disease has gained considerable headway in the apiary be- 
fore its owner is aware of the nature of the difficulty. Especially 
is this true when disease puts in an appearance for the first time 
in a locality that has been free from it. The journals frequently 
recount the experience of some unfortunate who has suffered 
heavy losses in this manner. The writer, in the capacity of 
State inspector of apiaries, sees such cases very frequently. 
Instances have come to his attention where the losses amounted 
to many thousands of dollars, whereas had the owner realized 
the nature of the trouble on its first appearance it could have 
been checked without difficulty. 
AMERICAN FOUL BROOD 
Much confusion has resulted in the similarity of names of 
the two common diseases. It is unfortunate that some entirely 
different name was not applied to one or the other. While Euro- 
pean foul brood has long been known, in some localities, under 
the name of “ black brood,” the name was not appropriate and 
it has given way to the accepted title of European foul brood. 
There is a decided difference in the appearance and in the action, 
of the two forms, so much so that there need be little difficulty 
in recognizing the difference in advanced stages. In early stages 
it is sometimes a little difficult to determine which form one may 
have to deal with, and in that case it is well to cut out a piece of 
comb containing the dead larvee and, wrapping it securelv, send 
it to the Bureau of Entomology of the United States Department 
of Agriculture. By means of a microscopic examination they 
can readily determine the nature of the difficulty. 
American foul brood has long been present in this country 
and when we hear the term “ foul brood ” we naturally infer that 
American foul brood is meant (Figs. 102 and 103). It is also 
ealled “ ropy foul brood” because of the peculiar ropy charac- 
teristic of the dead tissue at a certain stage. The larve are 
usually attacked at about the time the cells are capped and most 
