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IV. DISEASES OF BEES AND THEIR TEEATMENT. 



The hive-bee {Apis mellifiea), like all other animals, especially those 

 under domestication, is subject to several diseases, some fortunately of 

 minor importance. The most injurious are those which attack and 

 destroy the brood, thus preventing the normal development of young 

 bees, and of which, when allowed to run their course, the inevitable 

 result is the rapid decline and ultimate extermination of the colonies 

 afiected. 



FOUL-BROOD. 



The most pernicious of bee-diseases is what we know as " foul-brood " 

 (Bacillus alvei), a germ disease of a very infectious nature, and only too 

 familiar to the majority of beekeepers. It is, without doubt, the greatest 

 drawback to successful bee-culture known at the present time, and seems 

 to be prevalent in all countries where bee-culture is followed. 



Historical. 



Without delving into the history of foul-brood deeply, it may be 

 mentioned that Aristotle mentions some bee-disorders in his works on 

 husbandry, and it is quite likely that he was familiar with this disease. 

 Schirach seems to have known it well, for in his " History of Bees " 

 (1769) he gave it the name of " foul-brood " (" Bacteria of the Apiary "). 

 It has occupied the attention of a number of investigators at different 

 times, with the view of discovering its cause and cure, but hitherto with 

 comparatively small results, though some headway has been made of 

 late in checking and curing it by careful treatment. It is quite possible 

 that the disease was not so troublesome in former times as now, as the 

 facilities for its spreading were few compared with what they have been 

 during the last thirty years. The trade in bees and queens that has 

 accompanied the expansion of modern bee-culture, and their consequent 

 transportation from district to district, and from country to country, 

 is accountable, no doubt, for the universal extent of its ravages at the 

 present time. When or where it first made its appearance in New Zea- 

 land is not known so far as I am aware, but I do know thnt foul-brood 

 was very prevalent in some districts — notably in Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, 

 and Poverty Bay — before 1880. 



