The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-08-27

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ployed heat in one form or an
other. The direct flame has been used
in scorching or burning the inside of
hives that have housed infected col
onies. Before being fed back to bees
honey is often heated for the purpose
Of destroying the germs of bee dis
eases, should any be present. Heat is
used in the rendering of wax and in
the making of comb foundation. 1t is
natural and very appropriate, there
fore that beekeepers should inquire
about the amount Of heating that is
necessary to destroy the germs that
produce diseases among bees.
As no work had been done to deter
mine the facts relative to this question
with any degree of accuracy, the wrl-
ter has performed during the last two
years a number of experiments for the
purpose of ascertaining them. 1t may
be Of interest to beekeepers to know
in a general way how these experiments
were made. An aqueous suspension OF
larvae sick or dead of the disease is
made and placed in small glass tube.
This tube is immersed in water of the
temperature desired in the heating.
After the germ-containing material Is
heated in this way it must be tested
to determine whether or not the germs
have been destroyed. In the case OF
American foul brood this can be done
by inoculatng a suitable artificial
medium with the heated material and
observing the presence or absence OF
growth of bacillus larvae, the germ OF
this disease.
Testing for Disease.
As there is no artificial medium
now known suitable for cultivatlng
the injecting agent of either Euro
pean foul brood, sacbrood, or Nosema
disease. healthy colonies of bees must
be inoculated in making the test in
ease of these diseases This is done by
feeding the bees the heated germ CON
tanning material in sirup. If the dis
ease is produced by this feeding,
naturally the injecting agent has not
been destroyed by it. BY repeated ex-
periments Of this kind in which the
Temperature used in the heating is
varied, the minimum temperature at
which any virus is killed can be de-
termined. Thirteen experiments for
European foul brood, twenty two for
sacbrood and twenty for Nosema dis
ease have been made in which healthy
colonies were inoculated with heated
germ containing material from these
three diseases, respectively. In the last
disease the stomachs from diseased
bees furnished the germ containing
material for heating and feeding. In
these experiments the temperature was
maintained for 10 minutes as a rule.
Nearly century and half ago the
name "foul brood" was used for a
destructive brood disorder of bees, and
for almost century later it was ap-
parently the custom to diagnose as
foul brood any destructive disease OF
brood. About half century ago bee
keepers began to note that all of the
brood diseases are not the same. they
began, therefore, to write of different
forms of foul brood At the present
time it is known that there are at
least three infectious diseases of the
brood of bees. All of these diseases
are more or less destructive, and it is
quite likely that each Of them has no"
and then been diagnosed as fou
brood. In America these brood dis
eases are now known as European fou
brood. American foul brood and sac
brood.
Foul Broods.
Tn European foul brood death oc
ours early, the larvae dying usually be
fore the time far cell Gaping. Their
is no viscidity (ropiness) to the de
caying larvae as a rule, and no pro
nounced odor present.
Numerous samples of this diseas
have been examined from the United
States. and some from Canada. 1t
presence also in England, Germany
Switzerland and Denmark is strongl,
suggested by written reports fron
these countries. 1t is very probabl
that the disease han much wide
..t.o,J 1;e+ +r;bpt;ou than thpS