THE DISEASES OF 



J Andbkson,i896. 



-^BEES. I3S 



added tdtt part of pure phenol. By removing the 

 stored honey, and pouring the syrup into cells around 

 the infected parts of combs containing foul-brood, the 

 bees are induced to consume the medicated food. 

 The " nurses " supply it also to the larvae, and the 

 result is, that not only is the progress of the disease 

 stopped, but renewed courage and hope are infused 

 into the community, who remove the dead larvae, 

 clear out the polluted cells, and bring about an entire 

 renewal of healthy conditions. Should further facts 

 prove all that Mr. Cheshire expects, he will be re- 

 garded by apiarians in future with as much admira- 

 tion as Jenner, the introducer of vaccination, is 

 looked upon by the medical world. His generous 

 publication of his discoveries, so that all interested 

 may have the benefit of them, lays all bee-keepers 

 under great obligations to him. 



As an example of the terrible results of this pest 

 to the bee-keeper, the case of the well-known German 

 bee-master, Dzierzon, may be mentioned. In the 

 year 1848 the disease broke out in his apiary, and 

 more than 500 stocks were destroyed by it ; in fact, 

 only ten hives escaped the pestilence. John Hunter 

 — the author of a good Manual of Bee-Keeping — 

 records that from a friend, who had complained of 

 not finding his bees profitable, he purchased all his 

 stocks, some twenty in number, and removed them 

 to his garden. They proved to have foul-brood in 

 them, and not only did the whole of them perish, but 

 all Mr. Hunter's own stocks, and, in addition, two or 

 three years of trouble were required to eradicate the 

 mischief from the apiary. 



