THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
87 
rarely, happens to bees ; ” and he says — " He 
saw plainly that the youDg were all going 
backward in the cells, and that he looked 
down between the combs, but was unable to 
proceed for the stench that the rotten maggots 
produced.” In America it was studied by 
Quinby as far back as 1835, and in Germany 
by Dzierzon in 1848, whose apiary was ravaged 
by it. Civilisation has made the spread of the 
pest much easier than in former times. Queens 
are now sent by post to all parts of the world, 
and colonies of bees are constantly changing 
hands. In South Australia the box-hive men 
have suffered severe losses ; the disease attacks 
the hives and runs its course unchecked right 
through the apiary. This is the general 
complaint throughout the hills districts, and 
it is to be feared the disease is equally 
virulent in other parts. My own little apiary 
of ten hives has recently passed through the 
ordeal. In July two very warm days occurred 
together, and during my absence from home 
robbing was actively carried on in a very weak 
colony, and the combs completely cleared. 
On the first opportunity I overhauled the hive, 
and was disgusted to discover a few cells of 
“ foul brood.” The consequences, of course, 
were easily predicted, and in a few days every 
hive showed some traces of it. I thereupon set 
to work and transferred all the bees, according 
to Muth’s directions, which I shall give in 
detail further on. At the same time everything 
about the apiary was either burnt, if* of no 
value, orpassed through a half per cent, boiling 
solution of carbolic acid. The result attained 
has been perfectly successful, and the disease 
has been stamped out. 
“ Foul brood” when once seen is afterwards 
easily detected, and the characteristic smell in 
bad cases is never forgotten. The first signs 
of the disease are shown in th ; uneasy move- 
ments of the larva! in their cells, when instead 
of lying coiled up, as we see them in a healthy 
condition, they present their backs to our view. 
The glistening pearly whiteness gradually 
disappears, and a yellow tint is seen, gradually 
becoming darker and developing into a brown, 
when the grub dies and becomes rotten, and a 
sticky tenacious mass of a coffee color remains. 
By and by this dries up, and a dark scale is 
seen lying at the lower side of the cell. The 
infected grub is frequently sealed up like the 
Others, but the capping of the cell tnen shows 
the condition of the affairs within ; the 
healthy convex appearance has left, and in its 
place we find the surface either flat or 
depressed, aud many of the coverings are torn 
or pierced with a small hole. If a twig be 
inserted and withdrawn the coffee-colored 
Btibstance will follow it for a considerable 
distance, and theu spring back again into the 
cell. This is very characteristic of “ foul 
brood, and is caused, as Cheshire shows, by 
the traelucn or breathing tubes of the larvae 
resisting decomposition longer than the other 
portions. 
The bees themselves seem to know that 
their hive is sorely stricken, for in bad cases 
they appear to lose heart, and move about in 
a languid manner, though they redouble their 
efforts to ventilate the hive, and numbers can 
be seen constantly fanning at the entrance. 
If the hives be near together it is suggested 
that the germs may be carried into the 
neighboring one by the strong currents of air 
so set up. The unfortunate insects also 
endeavor to eary out the putrid stuff, aud in 
severe cases this is left smeared about the 
alighting board, a stauding menace to every 
other hive. When the disease has complete 
possession of the combs they become rotten, 
and emit a disgusting smell, which forces the 
bees to swarm out and seek new quarters. 
The odor can then be perceived at some 
distance from the hive. The beekeeper should 
never wait till this stage is reached, but be 
always on the alert to detect the earliest 
indications. The woodcuts of “foul brood,” 
as usually given in bee books, are true enough, 
but they should be banished from the begin- 
ner’s mind, for, as a rule, he will not admit 
to himself that the disease exists in his hives 
till the appearance resembles the illustrations ; 
it has then taken too firm a grip to be easily 
dealt with. Generally speaking only one or 
two hives are contaminated from ah outside 
source, and the unsuspecting beekeeper com- 
pletes the mischief himself by failing to dis- 
infect his hands, and in this way he carries the 
germs from hive to hive. A sponge wetted 
with a one per cent, solution of phenol should 
always be used to moisten the fingers before 
opening another hive. If the disease be in the 
neighborhood, and near enough to be a cause 
of anxiety, a little medicated feed (salicylic 
acid) may with advantage be given occasionally 
to act as a preventive. About ten grains to a 
quart of syrup would be strong enough. 
The origin of the disease is accounted for in 
many different ways. Some consider it arises 
from the brood being chilled, which then 
becomes the dreaded “ foul brood ; ” others 
again attribute it to honey dew, fermenting 
honey, and (in a delightfully general way) to 
“ climatic causes.” One theory asserts that 
the queen sometimes deposits her eggs the 
wrong way up, and these putrefying, con- 
taminate the others. Modern scientific re- 
search has, however, demonstrated in the 
most convincing manner that, like many 
other diseases of similar characteristics, “ foul 
brood” arises from a specific germ, and that 
this, and this alone, will produce the disease. 
If a perfectly healthy larvae be crushed, and 
a little of the liquid placed uudrr a microscope, 
the field will show numerous fat globules, 
with largo white blood discs scattered here 
and there, and a large number of tiny globules 
with lively movements. These appearances 
are normal. If, on the [other hand, the sub- 
ject be a recently-striken grub, turning yel- 
low, a large number of rod-like bodies are seen 
