HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE CAUSES OF BEE DISEASES. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Bee keepers, as a rule, manifest a keen desire to know about the 
causes of bee diseases and they show a lively interest in the investiga- 
tions leading to the determination of the causes. This is gratifying 
to those working on these diseases and will be a great benefit to 
the apiarist who must treat the diseases. The losses to apiculture 
from diseases are enormous, and inasmuch as the successful treat- 
ment of a disease depends largely upon a knowledge of the cause of 
the disease to be treated it behooves every owner of an apiary to 
become as familiar as possible with the causes of bee diseases. 
The facts that are known about the causes of bee diseases unfor- 
tunately are altogether too few. As this can be said of all diseases 
affecting the animal kingdom, the bee keeper has no cause for despair. 
An attempt, however, will be made in this bulletin to furnish data 
from which the bee keeper may be able to inform himself concerning 
the facts that are really known about the causes of bee diseases. 
In this introduction it might be well to classify the bee diseases as 
the writers of this bulletin understand them. Bee diseases can be 
conveniently classified under those affecting the brood and those affect- 
ing the adult bee. The most important brood diseases are American 
foul brood, European foul brood, and the so-called ‘‘pickled brood.” 
The disorders affecting adult bees that are of most importance are 
being referred to at present under the names of paralysis, dysentery, 
and Isle of Wight disease. 
American foul brood.—American foul brood is a very widely dis- 
tributed disease and better known to bee keepers than European foul 
brood. It is the one which is generally referred to by the bee keeper 
at the present time when he speaks of “‘foul brood.” The brood 
affected with this disease is usually capped before it dies. The 
color of the dead brood presents in general various shades of brown. 
The marked ropiness of the decaying remains of the dead larve is 
probably the most characteristic and well-known feature of the dis- 
ease. The punctured cappings, the scales formed from dried-down 
larvee, and the disagreeable odor sometimes present are aids to its 
diagnosis. This disease is clearly an infectious one. The exciting 
cause of it is a bactertum known as Bacillus larve. 
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