and its Economic Management. 123 



when shaken from them they still have some of the same 

 honey, though this is apparently all used up before the 

 foundation can be used for storage. Even then it is some 

 few days longer before larvae makes its appearance. But, 

 again, asks the scientist, what becomes of the spores ? 

 The fact is, in the meantime they have germinated without 

 the means of reproduction. But why hitherto has this 

 point been overlooked ? 



I must also consider the so-called starvation plan, which 

 is very similar to the above, except that the bees are con- 

 fined without the means of comb-building for some forty- 

 eight hours. And, again, what becomes of the great 

 enemy ? for without giving any medicated food, in years 

 gone by, I have often cured in this way. There can be 

 only one reply to the query ; the act of cure is the same 

 in both cases. 



I come now to the apparently more intricate cases as 

 presented in problem 4, where the disease was not only 

 once, but repeatedly disposed of without destroying the 

 combs, without medication, and with no manipulation of 

 the diseased cells whatever. 



There was in each case granted an interval of two to 

 three weeks without a laying queen, during which space 

 of time the population being numerous, and honey 

 coming in, all the diseased matter was disposed of. Even 

 then we have been taught to believe the bees could not 

 dispose of every cause of infection. But what are the 

 facts ? The bees having thoroughly cleared out every 

 particle of the soil suitable for the germs to thrive in — and 

 this they will not readily do all the time they have a laying 

 queen — any spores left in the hive were bound to germinate 

 where there was no soil to support them, therefore their 

 existence terminated. 



Consequently we now see that the spores which might 



