THE DISEASES OF BEES. 161 



hive, often appear. These cells are covered with lids, 

 rather flat, or slightly concave or scooped, resembling in 

 shape the lids of honey-cells. The lids of cells contain- 

 ing healthy brood are slightly raised or convex. The 

 disease spreads — the cells of foul brood multiply, appa- 

 rently not by contact, but singly and separately all over 

 the hive, like the berries of a bunch of grapes colouring 

 one by one. 



A great deal has been wisely -written about chilled 

 brood perishing and becoming foul. The bees of a hive 

 full of brood seem to dread the exposure of their combs 

 to a cold or chiUing atmosphere. In the spring months 

 eggs are as widely set as the bees can cover them ; but if 

 very severe weather overtake the hive and compel the 

 bees to creep together for mutual warmth, some brood 

 may be left outside their warmth and perish. Some 

 years ago we placed a single hive in a garden of goose- 

 berry-bushes. A mischievous boy found it, kicked it 

 over for a " lark," and made his escape for a few minutes. 

 The combs of the hive were all exposed, and remained in 

 this position some days. The boy had cast a stone into 

 the centre of the bees and hive, which we found on placing 

 the hive on its board. In about fourteen days after we 

 took a swarm from this hive, and gave it a younger queen. 

 In the autumn we found foul brood in it, but as there was 

 but little of it we cut it out clean, and put pieces of 

 healthy comb in the place of those cut out. The hive 

 did well the year following. Foul brood is often found 

 iu hives that have suffered more from heat than cold ; 

 those that are long on the point of swarming, and pre- 

 vented by some cause or another from swarming, oftener 

 catch the distemper than those not so full. In fact the 

 non-swanners are oftener affected with this disease than 

 swarmers or their swarms; and this is an argument in 



