PICKLED-BROOD, 487 



Cowan of England, N.. E. France of Wisconsin, Ed. Ber- 

 trand of Switzerland, and many others, have carefully de- 

 scribed the disease in short pamphlets, and their works should 

 be read by the student. 



801. Aside from foul-brood, accidents may cause the 

 brood to die, and even to rot ia the cells, without special dam- 

 age to the bees. Sudden and cold weather, in a promising 

 Spring, when the bees have been spreading their brood, and are 

 compelled to leave a part of it uncovered; the neglect of the 

 apiarist, or his mismanagement, in placing back the brood — 

 after an inspection — out of the reach of the cluster; or even 

 the suffocation of a colony by heat (367), or by close con- 

 finement (368), may cause the death of the brood. 



These accidents have none of the malignance of foul- 

 brood, and nothing need be done in such occurrences besides 

 removing the dead brood, and burying it carefully. 



Of late years, a disease much resembling foul-brood, and 

 which has done great havoc among bees, has been designated 

 as "pickled-brood," because of the sour smell of the dead 

 brood. The most positive difference in the diagnosis of this 

 disease is the absence of ropiuess and of the glue-pot smell, 

 which are always found in advanced stages of foul-brood. 

 In pickled-brood the larva often dries up so as to become 

 loose in the cell and fall out when the comb is inverted. This 

 never happens in foul-brood. We have never had foul-brood 

 in our own apiaries, but have seen pickled-brood several 

 times. McEvoy asserts that pickled-brood is caused origi- 

 nally by an insufficient feeding of the larvse, a sort of 

 neglect of them by the workers. Whatever may be the cause 

 of this disease, and although it is to a certain extent con- 

 tagious, it often passes off without treatment. But, as col- 

 onies may be entirely ruined by it, it ought not to be neg- 

 lected. We have succeeded in eradicating it, in two in- 

 stances, by the introduction in the hive, of a small amount 

 of cotton soaked with oil of eucalyptus and placed over the 

 brood combs in a small box or a queen cage. The oil is re- 



