346 



SIXTEENTH CHAPTER. 



THE MALADIES OF BEES, THEIR CURE AND PREVENTION. 



THE DYSENTERY AND INDIGESTION, THE PRINCIPAL MALADIES OF BEES — 

 SUFFOCATION MENTIONED BY THE FRENCH APIARIANS — THE PROTRACTED 

 RETENTION OF THE F^XES THE CHIEF CAUSE OF THE DYSENTERY — PERI- 

 ODICAL FLIGHTS OF THE BEES — ERRORS OF THE FRENCH NATURALISTS — 

 ERRONEOUS STATEMENT OF MR. DUCOUEDIC — ANECDOTE OF THE DUCHESS 

 OF ST. ALBANS (NOTE) — INVESTIGATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS OF DUCOUEDIC 

 — THE DRONE VOIDS NO EXCREMENT ACCORDING TO DUCOUEDIC — HIS 

 FOOD CONVERTED INTO WAX — REFUTATION OF THAT STATEMENT — THE 

 CHIEF SYMPTOMS OF THE DYSENTERY — THE MALADY CONTAGIOUS — A 

 SPURIOUS AND CORRUPTED FOOD, ONE OF THE CAUSES OF THE DYSENTERY 

 — SUPPOSED TO BE PRODUCED BY PARTICULAR TREES AND FLOWERS — 

 EXPERIMENT OF REAUMUR — VARIOUS REMEDIES PRESCRIBED FOR THE 

 DISEASE — EXCELLENT RECIPE FOR THE CURE OF IT — SINGULAR ADDI- 

 TION MADE TO IT BY MONSIEUR MARTIN — REMEDY' PROPOSED BY WILD- 

 MAN — PARKYNS, LOMBARD, RANCONI, JAIME GIL, DUCHET, KEYS, L'ABBE 

 BIEN-AIME — THE DYSENTERY ALMOST INCURABLE IF NOT TAKEN AT 

 ITS ORIGIN — THE STAND TO BE FREO.UENTLY CLEANED — INDIGESTION OF 

 BEES — COARSE SUGAR ONE OF THE CHIEF CAUSES OF IT — THE ANTENNA 

 OF THE BEES SUBJECT TO A DISEASE — ITS SIGNS — ATTRIBUTED BY MR. 

 DUCOUEDIC TO THE FARINA OF THE BROOM — ABORTIVE BROOD THE CAUSE 

 OF THE DEATH OF A NUMBER OF BEES — SIGNS OF ABORTIVE BROOD — 

 COMES CONTAINING ABORTIVE BROOD TO BE CUT OUT — ABORTIVE BROOD 

 THE SIGN OF THE DECLINE OF A HIVE — BEE BREAD FORMERLY CON- 

 SIDERED A DISEASE. 



The two principal maladies of the bees are the dysentery 

 and indigestion, although the French apiarians include 

 suffocation as a very common one. In regard to the former, 

 a variety of opinion has been held as to the cause of it, and 

 consequently the remedies differ with the cause. The pro- 

 tracted retention of the fseces is undoubtedly the chief cause 

 of the dysentery ; for in a healthy state, the bees never 

 emit any faeces in the hive ; and therefore they take the 

 advantage of a day on which the sun shines brightly to 

 leave the hive, circling the air in numbers, similar to the 

 departure of a swarm, during which time the excrement is 

 voided, as can be verified by any one standing in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of the hives during the periodical flights of the 



