Jlec-keeping in Victoria. 83 



there may be difficulty M'ith bees getting access to honey which re- 

 mained nnconsumed by tire. 



Observance of the following rules will greatly assist bee-keepers in 

 the prevention of foul-brood and its eradication when present in the 

 apiary : — 



1. Have no queenless colonies; they will not defend their hives, and 

 will thus establish robbing habits in the apiary. 



2. Do not allow bees to have access to honey, combs, wax, or hive 

 refuse, even when quite free from disease; bees should know of no 

 other source than the nectar of flowers. 



3. Never feed honej' to bees; it may contain disease germs; it ex- 

 cites them and induces robbing. Sugar syrup is safer, cheaper, and 

 just as good for feeding. 



4. Do not try to cure foul-brood by requeening alone, or by dcx'tor- 

 ing diseased cells, or cutting them out. It will only delay the course 

 of the disease, but will not cure it. 



5. When examining combs for disease, do not use your finger nail 

 to open the cells, but a match, toothpick, or straw. Use a fresh one 

 for each hive, and burn those used. 



6. Do not try to cure the disease by giving the bees medicated 

 food. Any drug given strong enough to destroy the germs of foul- 

 brood would kill the bees. 



7. Do not interchange combs between different hives while there is 

 disease in the apiarj^ 



8. If bad weather should set in after a diseased colony has been 

 treated, feed sugar syrup (I14. sugar to 1 water) inside the hive.* 



A disease of the brood of bees which, while somewhat resembling 

 foul-brood in appearance, but without the characteristic ropiness of 

 the dead larva-, has for some years attracted the attention of bee- 

 keepers in other countries. That this disease is distinct from foul- 

 brood is proved by the fact that in the study of samples carried out 

 bjr Dr. G. F. White, of the United States Bureau of Entomology, no 

 micro-organisms were found either culturally or microscopically. 



This disease is present in Victoria, and, as it will sometimes en- 

 tirely disappear or yield to the cutting out of the affected brood, the 

 temporary success of this superficial treatment has, in some cases, 

 caused the adoption of this method for the treatment of foul-brood, for 

 which it was mistaken by bee-keepers. 



Even when this disease disappears without treatment, it may re- 

 appear the next season. As it has been proved to be infectious, bee- 

 keepers are advised to treat affected colonies in the same way as those 

 suffering from foul-brood ; that is, by the removal of all infected 

 material from the hive. 



Dr. G. F. White commenced the study of this disease in 1902. In a 

 pamphlet just issued by the United States Department of Agriculture 

 he gives it the name of sacbrood, on account of the sac-like appearance 

 of the dead larva?, which can be removed from the cell without ruptur- 

 ing their body wall. 



• See Feeding, pages 72-73. 



