374 
FOUL BROOD 
alvei apparently slows up the action of 
the Bacillus pluton, which is the real cause 
of European, so that the dead matter ap¬ 
pears mainly in the sealed cells, while the 
unsealed larvae look a little like the dead 
larvae of American. i , 1 
THE SEQUENCE OF BROOD DISEASES. 
In those areas in which both American 
foul brood and European foul brood are 
often found in the same apiaries, some 
beekeepers actually believe that one of 
these diseases turns into the other. So 
strong is this belief in some places that it 
is often discussed in beekeepers’ meetings; 
and the idea has even crept into some of 
the bee journals, this unfortunately adding 
to the confusion already existing in the 
minds of many beekeepers who have to 
contend with both diseases. 
It should not be necessary to call atten¬ 
tion here to the fact that the cause of each 
of the two most destructive brood diseases 
is positively known, the cause of American 
foul brood being a specific germ Bacillus 
larvae, and the cause of European foul 
brood being an entirely different germ, 
Bacillus pluton. Tbe work of Dr. White 
in the investigation of the cause of these 
brood diseases has been verified by Sturte- 
vant as well as other investigators; slo 
there can be no reason for doubt as to its 
being correct. For Bacillus pluton to 
change into Baccillus larvae is just about 
as impossible as for wheat to change to 
corn, or tomatoes to change to apples. 
Why should such a belief become preva¬ 
lent among beekeepers? What could they 
have observed that could possibly lead 
them to such a conclusion? The explana¬ 
tion .is foimd in the difference in the be¬ 
havior of the two diseases. 
European foul brood is usually at its 
worst in the spring, often disappearing 
later in the season, so that sometimes its 
presence cannot be detected in the apiary 
even by a careful examination of the 
combs; while American foul brood persists 
thruout the season, usually growing worse 
as the season advances. European foul 
brood usually spreads with surprising ra¬ 
pidity thruout the apiary during the 
spring; while American foul brood, if not 
checked by the beekeeper, spreads slowly 
but surely thruuout the season, especially 
during the robbing season. European foul 
brood is more destructive to weaker colo¬ 
nies, since strong colonies, especially if 
Italians, are better able to resist it; while 
American foul brood destroys the strong 
as well as the weak, often being found first 
in the strongest colonies. 
When both diseases are present the bee¬ 
keeper sees chiefly European foul brood 
during the spring and chiefly American foul 
brood during the fall, altho both diseases 
may be present thruout the season. Tluy 
variation in the symptoms of European foul 
brood, by which it sometimes closely resem¬ 
bles American foul brood in appearance at 
first glance, may lead the beekeeper to think 
that he has only European foul brood in 
the spring, and the disappearance of the 
characteristic symptoms of European foul 
brood later in the season leads him to be¬ 
lieve that he has only American foul brood 
left. If he send a sample to the Bureau of 
Entomology at Washington for examina¬ 
tion in the spring when his trouble is over¬ 
whelmingly European foul brood he is al¬ 
most sure to select a sample of this disease ; 
and, if he sends another sample in the fall 
when European foul brood is difficult to 
find, he is almost sure to send a sample of 
American foul brood. 
When both diseases are present a bad 
case of spring dwindling, following poor 
wintering, may be diagnosed as “disap¬ 
pearing disease.” The colonies thus weak¬ 
ened become easy prey for European foul 
brood. Even with this handicap the colo¬ 
nies may build up during the honey flow 
and clean up the European foul brood to 
a large extent, so that later in the season 
the beekeeper sees only American foul 
brood. Noting this sequence of evils the 
beekeeper may be led to the erroneous and 
absurd belief that one disease turns into 
another. 
TREATMENT AND CURE OF EUROPEAN FOUL 
BROOD. 
Before proceeding to the actual cure of 
a colony after the disease has been con¬ 
tracted, it should be stated that good bee¬ 
keeping, according to tbe Government offi¬ 
cials, makes it very difficult for European 
foul brood to get a start. This is only an¬ 
other way of saying that prevention is bet¬ 
ter than cure. Good beekeeping means 
