PRESENT BTATU8 OF [INVESTIGATION OF BEE DISEA8RS. I •"• 



The next investigation to be considered Is that by Prof . F. C. Harri 

 son, professor of bacteriology of the Ontario A.gricultural College. 

 Previous to this \h\ William R. Howard published :i paper on the 

 subject, bu1 this can be discussed better m a Later time. In the paper 

 l»v Professor Harrison, previously mentioned, the author gives a 

 detailed description of the bacillus with which he worked. The 

 descripf ion is as follows : 



THE ORGANISM. 



Bacillus alrii. Cheshire and W. Cheyne, L885, from the larva? of bees Buf- 

 fering from Hit 1 disease known .-is foul brood, la toque (Fr.), :in<l faul 

 brul 1 1 Jer. I . 



Morphological characteristics, in form Ihe organism is a slender bacillus, 

 with ends slightly pointed and rounded. '* in the larval juices 11 is about 



of an inch in length and ,,,' in breadth. On agar the bacilli vary considerably 



in size, averaging -.',,, inch, some small -is ,„,',,,,, inch, and others as large as 



inch. When they have attained the latter size, division of the rod seems in 



begin. They are always somewhat pointed at their ends. Their average 



breadth is .,"„,, inch, ranging from . ; to , ,' inch (Cheshire and w. 



Cheyne). Klamann (Bienenwirtschaftliches Centralblatt, Hannover, 1888, pts. 

 18 and 19) states thai a clear space often appears in bacilli with pointed ends. 

 From agar cultures twenty-four hours old, at .".7 C, the bacilli average I u in 

 length and l.o// in breadth. On gelatine cultures, grown at 22* C. they are 

 somewhat shorter. They grow singly, but occasionally form chains of various 

 length. 



Stains. — With the ordinary aniline stains the bacilli colour rather badly 

 (Eisenberg, Bakteriologische Diagnostik, Hamburg, 1891, p. 298, and Klamann, 

 Bienenwirtschaftliches. Centralblatt, Hannover, 1888, pts. 18 and 19). The besl 

 stains are methylene blue and methyl violet. The bacilli accept Gram's stain. 

 mil the spores are not colored by it. I find the most satisfactory stain in methyl 



violet. 



Capsule. — No capsule has been demonstrated by Welch's method. 



Flagella. — The bacilli are actively motile and possess a single flagellum at one 

 pole. The motility of the bacillus is quite pronounced in fresh cultures obtained 

 from bouillon, agar, and gelatine. The flagella stain by Pitfield's, Loefflers's, and 

 Van Ermegen's method. 



Spore formation. Spores are formed by the bacillus, and are large oval bodies 

 averaging in length ,_.,',„„ inch, and in breadth ,,i IHI of an inch. On agar the 

 spores are arranged in long rows, side by side, nnd are greater in diameter than 

 the cells from which they are derived. The earliest appearance of spore forma- 

 tion takes place in forty-one hours, al 36 C. (Cheyne), bu1 in some cases H is 

 even sooner. The spores are formed in the center of the rod. and the formation 

 occurs as follows: The rod begins to swell and become spindle-shaped. Occa 

 sionally the swelling is more marked a1 one end than in the center. The spindle 

 shape increases in size, and the center of the swelling gradually ceases to take 

 the stain. The capsule of the spore is apparently formed within the rod and is 

 not merely the outer pari of the rod. In three or four hours the rod Is -eon to 

 have almosl or completely disappeared, although parts of the faint outline of 

 the ordinary bacillus may be rioticed. 



Germination of spores. Under favorable conditions the beginning of the ger- 

 mination of the spores takes place in aboul three hours. Che spore loses its oyal 



