216 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
Authorities are not agreed as to the method of spread of this 
disease. That it is not spread altogether in the honey as is 
American foul brood is evidenced by the fact that strong colonies 
with vigorous young Italian queens frequently clean out the 
infection and that it does not reappear in the hive. In the case 
of a colony affected with American foul brood the final death of 
the colony seems assured unless the last trace of the diseased 
brood and honey is removed. While some authorities still insist 
that the only safe method of treating European foul brood is the 
Fic. 104.—Thirteen colonies left of one hundred five as the result of European foul 
brood for eight months. 
shaking treatment similar to that used for American foul brood, 
many very successful bee-keepers insist that the destruction of 
the combs and honey is not necessary with this disease. 
One striking peculiarity of this disease soon becomes appar- 
ent to an inspector; when it appears in a malignant form it is 
usually to be found in every colony in a vard within a short 
period of time. While American foul brood may be present 
in a yard for months without spreading, European foul brood 
frequently, though not always, spreads very rapidly and appears 
in all colonies very quickly. Cases have come under the writer’s 
observation, where no disease had been present in a_ locality, 
European foul brood suddenly appeared in nearly every colony 
