69 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
proper solution of phenol (which is one part 
by weight of pure white crystallised carbolic 
acid in 500 parts of water), “ after sundown 
open your diseased hive and uncrp every 
single brood-cell of all the combs, whether 
diseased or not, with a wire brush or coarse 
comb. Be careful not to mutilate the larvie 
any more than necessary. You must rake the 
cells open, not strike the brush into them. 
With a spray diffuser, spray a fine mist over the 
bees, brood, and the entire inside of the hive. 
Be careful not to get too much on the bees 
ami brood. By no means drench them, or 
you will either kill the bees or cause them to 
leave the combs and cluster on the outside of 
the hive. The robbers are then pretty sure to 
take possession and — you know the rest — your 
labor is for naught ; nay, you are a great deal 
worse off than before. 
I have tried yucca brushes to paint the 
combs and for spraying bees. I have tried 
UBing a watering-pot ; but these drench the 
bees so that the results are apt to follow as 1 
have described. The only thing that you can 
use with any degree of success is an atomiser. 
In three or four days after the first spraying, 
spray again, but do not uncap ; and so on for 
a couple of weeks. 
Now. my dear reader, I have given you full 
particulars in regard to the treatment of 
diseased colonies with carbolic acid. Although 
the acid treatment has so far been very 
promising, I am not sure that even that will 
be an ultimate success. Remember the point 
in its favor so far is, that it prevents the 
spread of the disease into other healthy 
colonies. I shall have something further to 
say about carbolic acid in our next issue, and 
also give the reasons why I prefer carbolic 
acid to salicylic. 
In the British Bee Journil of 2oth August 
(page 371), Mr. Simmins, in a letter which 
we give on another page, dwells on the 
importance of giving a diseased stock a 
new queen, young and vigorous, directly it 
becomes evident the disease does not rapidly 
givo way before the ordinary treatment with 
phenol. He states he has numerous cases 
where, after the introduction of a new queen, 
the diseased cells have been rapidly cleaned 
out by the bees aud the hive become healthy. 
It is difficult to arrive at any theoretical 
conclusions about the treatment of this disease. 
We know that it is sometimes stopped by 
putting the bees into a clean hive and keep- 
ing them without food till all the honey they 
took into their sacs before leaving their old 
combs is consumed and then keeping them 
comb building on medicated syrup. Or simply 
putting them into a new hive with frames and 
starters of foundation and feeding either plain 
or medicated syrup, but we also know these 
plans sometimes fail, and we know further 
that stocks decidedly diseased get cured and 
clean without interference during a good honey 
new. Some authorities tell us it is only a 
disease of the brood, others that it affects the 
queen and mature bees, and that the eggs of 
the affected queens have the germs of the 
j disease in them before they are hatched. 
Again Mr. Cheshires says he has never found 
any germs in the honey, and that therefore it 
■ cannot convey the disease, while numerous 
old and experienced beekeepers consider honey 
from an infected hive as the most certain 
vehicle for conveying contagion. More weight 
is given to the latter contention by the fact 
that it is found the phenol treatment is far more 
effective when all the honey in the combs is 
uncapped and thoroughly exposed to the action 
j of the carbolic acid spray. 
The success that has attended the changing 
of queens in the hands of many apiarists, 
coupled with the fact that queens are often 
found to be full of the disease germs, points to a 
possible reason why treatment without 
changing the queen so often fails, and as Mr. 
Simmins states so frequently succeeds when 
the change is made. This mode of treatment 
seems a rational one, and at all events, worthy 
1 of careful trial. 
There is little doubt that this plague is 
more prevalent than we like to admit. There 
is scarcely an apiary we have seen entirely 
free from traces of it, that is, a diseased cell 
here and there ; and there is also little doubt 
that in a great many cases where only such 
traces are present it goes no further, and all 
brood is perfectly healthy throughout, during 
the following breeding season. We have had 
stocks of our own in which there were distinct 
traces of this disease in the autumn. After 
breeding had ceased we found several cells 
still capped over, and have opened them with 
a splinter and drawn out the foul putrid 
j brown substance, like rotten glue, unmistak- 
able evidence of foul brood ; but in the follow- 
ing spring all signs of the disease had dis- 
appeared and all the brood hatched out 
healt hily and well. Still in some other stocks 
shewing the same signs in autumn the 
plugue broke out immediately breeding was in 
full operation and rapidly developed into bad 
eases, some so bad that wo made a bonfire of 
of hive, bees, frames, combs and all, after 
suffocating the bees over night with sulphur 
vapour; while others were put into clean 
hives with starters only in the frames, and 
left to do a little comb-building on short 
commons for a few days, aud then fed freely 
with plain syrup. The latter are now strong 
and healthy colonies. Foul Brood can be 
kept in check with a little care and attention, 
and it is only when the beekeeper allows the 
disease to fairly take possession of his stocks 
that it becomes a difficult thing to cope with, 
and most probably ruinous to the apiary. 
We believe the methods of treatment will 
have to be varied necoidiug to the season, the 
strength of the colony, the history of the 
stock and queen, and also according to the 
extent or virulence of the disease. 
