36 MISCELLANEOUS PAPEKS ON APICTTLTTJKE. 



Bacteria. — We have now come to the consideration of that factor 

 in the etiology of bee diseases which is most important and with 

 which we would have the bee keepers become familiar. The annual 

 loss sustained by the bee keepers of this country due to the one cause, 

 bacteria, is to be reckoned in millions. It is unfortunate that it is 

 necessary to use the word bacteria, because too many at once think 

 that they are not able to understand anything about bacteria. This 

 is a mistaken idea. It is not difficult to understand the facts about 

 them which are most important in the treatment of disease. It might 

 be well to review here some of the things known concerning their life 

 history. 



Nearly two years ago the writer had the honor of reading a paper 

 at a meeting of bee inspectors held at San Antonio, Tex., upon the 

 subject of the bacteriology of bee diseases. This paper appears in 

 Bulletin No. 70 of the Bureau of Entomology of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, page 10. In it are discussed briefly the 

 nature of bacteria, their distribution, the methods of studying them, 

 and the results of their activity. It is stated that bacteria — often 

 called germs, microbes, and parasites — are very small plants; so 

 small, indeed, that 12,000 placed end to end measure but 1 inch. They 

 increase in number with marvelous rapidity. Under favorable condi- 

 tions each bacterium in twenty minutes becomes two. At this rate 

 countless millions are formed in twenty-four hours. As the soil be- 

 comes exhausted in which they are growing many species form spores 

 which are in a way comparable to the seeds of higher plants. These 

 spores are very difficult to destroy by heat and other disinfectants. 

 It is well to remember, concerning the distribution of bacteria, that 

 they are found in very large numbers everywhere about us, but that 

 most of them are as harmless as the vegetables we eat. But should 

 there be introduced into an apiary, for example, the species of bacteria 

 which causes American foul brood, then the brood becomes exposed 

 to the disease and will probably contract it. 



The study of bacteria must be carried on for the most part in the 

 laboratory. By the use of the microscope we are able to tell the 

 genus (e. g., Bacillus) to which an organism belongs, and by specially 

 prepared media, or soils, we are able to determine the species to which 

 it belongs (e. g., alvei) . 



Having determined these things about bacteria, we are interested in 

 finding out what they are capable of doing. We learn that some do 

 good, as, for example, in bringing to decay the remains of dead ani- 

 mals and plants, while other species do harm by their ability to pro- 

 duce disease or death in the animals in which they are able to gain 

 entrance. The disease American foul brood, which causes the great- 

 est loss to the bee-keeping industry, has been demonstrated to be 



