45 
than American foul brood and spreads more rapidly. On the other 
hand, it sometimes happens that the disease will disappear of its own 
accord, a thing which the author never knew to occur in a genuine 
case of American foul brood. European foul brood is most destructive 
during the spring and early summer, often almost disappearing in 
late summer and autumn.” 
_ If taken in time, both of these diseases may be controlled without 
serious loss to the beekeeper, but if allowed to go unchecked they will 
soon ruin any apiary, great or small. 
The basis of treatment of both diseases is to deprive the infected 
colonies of all combs, whether empty or containing brood or honey, the 
bees being put into a new or thoroughly disinfected hive and allowed 
to start housekeeping anew. It will be from four to six days before 
they have any young to feed, and by that time all the honey they had 
in their honey sacs when taken from their infected hive will be gone, 
and the young will receive pure food, fresh from the flowers. 
Except in fairly large apiaries, it is not worth while trying to 
save any of the brood from infected colonies. When it is desired to 
save such brood, it should all be given to one or two diseased colonies 
and allowed to remain for two or three weeks, after which these 
colonies should also be treated. In transferring diseased brood it is 
best to put it above a queen-excluding honeyboard, so that the queen 
of the colony may not lay eggs in the diseased combs. It is not wise 
to dequeen such colonies, for colonies without a queen are less likely 
to keep out robbers, and if robbers gain access to the infected honey 
the disease will then appear in the colonies to which they belong. The 
combs from diseased colonies may be melted and the wax recovered, 
and wax from such sources appears to be safe to use in foundation- 
making,.etc. The refuse from the combs should be burned. The honey 
as a rule is,not worth trying to save. It is difficult to sterilize, and its. 
return to the bees for food is most unwise. If it is clear, its use as 
human food is all right, for the microscopic plants are harmless to 
the human system. But do not let a single drop of it get to the bees. 
The frames from diseased colonies may be saved by being im- 
mersed for a few minutes in a very strong solution of washing soda 
that is kept boiling during the operation. As soon as all wax and bee 
glue (propolis) are dissolved from the frames, they are rinsed in clear 
water, and after drying are ready for use again. Hive bodies, floors, 
covers, and other parts may be similarly treated, but usually it is 
easier to scorch these over with a gasoline torch, or by some similar 
method. * 
The larvae affected with pickled brood die just 
Pickled brood preceding or just after capping and usually 
present a watery appearance. The cause is not 
known and the disease does not seem to be infectious. 
It is usually treated by requeening, on the assumption that it is 
congenital. : 
Paralysis is a disease of the adult bee. Its cause 
Diseases of is not known and it is not common in the Northern 
adult bees States. 
Diarrhoea, or dysentery, as it is often called, 
is more properly a temporary digestive disturbance than a disease. It 
*The following information from G. F. White, given in Circular 157, U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology, concerning the brood diseases: 
“There are, then, three principal brood diseases. Two of these—American foul 
brood, caused by Bacillus larvae, and European foul brood, caused by Bacillus platon— 
are known to be infectious. From these two diseases there must be differentiated the 
third one, an apparently noninfectious disorder, the so-called ‘pickled brood.’ Larvae 
dead of this latter disease are practically free from microorganisms. The exciting 
cause of this disorder is not yet known.” 
