22 Wisconsin Bulletin 264 



the crop of honey for any particular year, as well as the de- 

 struction of the combs should the disease be American foul 

 brood. The inconvenience and trouble of treating to get rid 

 of disease is considerable, sometimes suflficient to discourage 

 the beekeeper, especially when the disease treated, reappears 

 for a year or two following the treatment. Again a beekeeper 

 may successfully treat his bees, absolutely freeing them of 

 any disease only to have them become inoculated again the 

 same or following year from diseased bees of a neighbor even 

 two or more miles away. If foul brood appears when bees 

 are neglected or run on the let-alone-plan, it is quite certain 

 that no honey will be obtained the first year and every colony 

 will die of disease in two years. American foul brood and 

 possibly European foul brood is carried in combs and honey 

 from diseased colonies, and from such material whether sold 

 in the market or even moved to new localities, the disease 

 may be carried and spread broadcast by visiting bees. 



Bee Diseases Found in Wisconsin 



Bee diseases known to appear in Wisconsin are: paralysis, 

 sacbrood, or the so-called pickled brood, and American and 

 European foul brood. Paralysis and sacbrood do not cause 

 extensive damage in Wisconsin beekeeping while American 

 and European foul brood are quite extensively distributed, 

 and are of great consequence. Both are infectious. 



Because of the practical impossibility of observing the life 

 history and habits of bees housed in boxes, "skeps" and log 

 gums during the early days of beekeeping, there is some 

 doubt as to the exact time of the first appearance of bee dis- 

 ease in Wisconsin. We find no record of diseased bees in 

 Wisconsin till after the introduction and use of movable 

 frame hives, nor is it known when or how the first foul brood 

 was brought into Wisconsin. 



During the marked successes of Mr. Grimm in the "70's " 

 probably about 1877, American foul brood appeared among 

 his bees. From 1880 to 1885 it appeared in apiaries in manv 

 other sections of the state when a rather extensive and rapid 

 interchange of bees, hives and combs was going on It was 

 a very easy thing for diseases to spread broadcast over the 

 state at that time because of the ignorance of its presence and 



