FOUL-BROOD. 151 



foul-brood. This was almost enough to dishearten any 

 man, and make him resolve never to keep bees again. 



It made its appearance amongst my stocks in 1870. 

 At first I could not tell what was amiss, for the bees 

 became quite dispirited. If any were seen working it was 

 only with a lazy kind of effort, which seemed to indicate 

 disease. I then removed those which were infected to a 

 distance of nearly three miles, thinking it was possible to 

 save them, but I had my trouble for nothing, for they 

 gradually dwindled away, until before the autumn all 

 became so weak that I buried both hives and bees to 

 stay the spread of the disease. I find from experiments 

 that if a healthy colony is fed with honey from a diseased 

 stock they will be quickly infected ; also, the disease is 

 spread more by robbing than all other causes combined. 

 When a stock is weak the neighbouring colonies, as well 

 as those at a distance of a mile or so around, will prey 

 upon it ; but if a few bees from an infected stock are 

 placed in a healthy hive they seem to carry the infection 

 with them, although they are strong and healthy ; but we 

 must bear in mind that it is the young brood in the cells 

 which become diseased and putrefy, and not the old bees. 

 Some authors have proposed to remove the queen ; sup- 

 posing that, breeding being thus prevented, the disease 

 could not spread from hive to hive. The better plan is 

 to destroy the stock if they are diseased. It is a hopeless 

 task to attempt to cure them by any means ; they only 

 make matters worse if kept on the stand. 



Can nothing be done to stay its ravages ? Nothing 

 has yet had any influence in this direction, for chemicals, 

 &c., all seem to be powerless. We must not forget that 

 the disease infects the brood in the cells, and induces 

 putrefaction, thus causing a most intolerable stench to 

 issue from the diseased stock. The cells are filled with a 

 dark-coloured, half liquid mass, resembling treacle. 



