74 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
brownish, and we see here and there scattered 
among empty cells some still covered with 
sunken caps, it is a suspicious sign. Uncap 
one of these cells, and if instead of a dead or 
live unhatehed bee you find a brown grub with 
its tail pointing outwards, or a nasty brown 
glue-like mass, half filling the cell, which 
drags out like thick glue when stirred with a 
pointed stick, you have the commencement of 
foul brood most certainly. And if you see 
large groups of sealed cells with the covers 
sunken instead of slightly projecting, which 
on being opened are found to contain this glue- 
like remains of the grubs, the disease has 
reached its destructive stage, and has probably 
spread the germs among other hives. 
We will now briefly refer to some of the 
numerous methods of dealing with this disease, 
many of which have been found more or less 
successful. These range from a complete and 
immediate destruction by fire of bees, combs, 
hives and all (a course that some beekeepers 
still adopt and advocate,) to the more modern 
attempts to actually cure the disease without 
sacrificing a single bee or a single comb except 
in unusually bad cases. 
The various methods may be enumerated 
under three heads: — 1. Complete destruction 
of bees, queen, combs, hives, &c., by fire. 
2. Removal of queen and bees from diseased 
combs, and brood into a new hive. 3. Treat- 
ment by drugs, vapours, and disinfecting (or 
germicidal) food. 
As regards the first, nothing need be said 
beyond the fact that it has been very largely 
adopted and advocated, especially in America, 
as the only safe cure, and only prevention 
against spreading the disease. In carrying 
out this plan, every care should be taken to be 
merciful to our little friends, and they should 
therefore be rendered thoroughly insensible by 
puffball smoke or chloroform before proceeding 
to final destruction. 
The methods under the second head are 
carried out in several different ways. First, 
then, we may simply shake all the bees out of 
the hive (after a good smoking) into another 
hive; or better, first into a box and from 
thence into a new hive, where they will 
have to start anew and build fresh combs, in 
which they will be greatly assisted by frames 
of foundation comb. They must be fed freely 
with syrup. 2nd. They may be shaken or 
removed from the hive or combs (after being 
well smoked) into a ventilated box, in which 
they are to be kept for several days until 
nearly starved, and then placed in a new hive 
with fresh clean combs ; or better, comb 
foundation, and fed freely with syrup. 3rd. 
They may be treated as in the first case, and 
the food given to them mixed with either 
phenol, salicylic acid, or camphor. 
In all these cases the hives, if common boxes, 
should be burnt, and the combs and honey 
saved. Combs, if badly affected, should be 
burnt, honey extracted from the others and 
thoroughly scalded for feeding, and the combs 
themselves melted down as wax. If frame 
hives, boil the frames thoroughly, first with 
washing soda and then with carbolic soap, and 
clean the hives with hot soap suds, to which 
common carbolic acid has been freely added. 
To be safe, the hives should be treated the 
same way a second time before being used 
again. 
Under the third style of treatment, we have 
the more modern and scientific methods of 
using disinfectants and germ-killing food. 
Many modes of doing this have been adopted. 
First, we have fumigation of the hives by 
disinfecting vapours, such as from burning 
dried thyme, a favourite method in many parts 
of Europe ; placing camphor in the hive, which 
soon becomes filled with its vapour ; fumiga- 
tion with the vapour of salicylic acid produced 
by heating the acid in a spoon or on a metal 
plate by means of a lamp. 
Secondly, we have a method by simply 
feeding the bees with medicated food, such as 
syrup, to which a little camphor, tincture of 
salicylic acid, or pure carbolic acid crystal has 
been added. The germicidal properties of these 
medicines in the food which the bees use for 
themselves as well as for the brood is supposed 
to quickly destroy all the germs and gradually 
restore the colony to a clean and healthy con- 
dition. Then we come to the phenol treatment 
proper, advocated by Mr. Cheshire, where syrup, 
with phenol (pure carbolic acid crystal) is 
given as food in feeders or is poured or sprayed 
over the combs regularly, every three or four 
days, until the disease disappears by the 
destruction of both germs and spores which 
cause it, by the action of the phenol. 
The simplest methods are those which only 
involve changing the bees from an infected 
hive and combs to a new hive with frames of 
foundation, and feeding either with simple or 
medicated food, and, as a rule, such methods 
are successful. By Mr. Cheshire’s phenol 
feeding, and by the several kinds of fumiga- 
tion, no change of hives is necessary ; combs, 
See., are saved, and if the disease is stopped 
the colony has less to do than if it has to start 
a new hive. 
We are not prepared to say which method, 
if any, has been found universally more 
successful than any other, for although bee- 
keepers who have tried any particular plan 
and have succeeded, naturally advocate it. 
Every method in turn has certainly failed in 
some cases. 
We want more experience and further 
diligent aud careful experiment, We have, 
