HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



251 



in spirits of wine) be poured into two test-tubes, and 

 one be exposed to light, the otlier being placed in 

 the dark, that in the latter will retain its beautiful 

 green colour, but in the tube in the light tlie colour 

 will be changed to a yellow. The effect of light on 

 Chlorophyll, therefore, is to convert it to a yellow 

 substance ; and that this change is one of deoxidation 

 may be shown by placing a drop of acid on a leaf. 

 We know that the action of a strong acid on organic 

 substances is to deoxidize them, and we see that, as 

 we might have anticipated, it turns the portion of 

 the leaf on which it was placed to [the same yellow 

 colour as is produced by light. After this we shall 

 not be surprised to learn that Sachs attributes the 

 presence of the green substance, or Chlorophyll, to 

 the oxidation of a yellow substance, or Leucophyll, 

 which has been formed by the plant ; and if we com- 

 pare this theory with the process whicli we have 

 seen goes on in the formation of the blue from the 

 white indigo, we shall see that the result is in botli 

 cases due to oxidation. But we have seen that the 

 tendency of light is to deoxidize the substances on 

 which it impinges ; how then is it possible that 

 Chlorophyll should be formed by the sun's influence ? 

 In a healthy plant the atmosphere has free access, 

 by means of stomata or pores in the leaf, to all parts 

 of its structure, andwe knowthat, under the influence 

 of light, the carbonic dioxide it contains is deoxi- 

 dized, the carbon being assimilated but the oxygen 

 liberated. Is it absurd then, to suppose that this 

 oxygen liberated by light from the carbonic dioxide, 

 being in immediate contact with the Leucophyll, 

 should combine with it in producing Chlorophyll? To 

 illustrate this theory let us take the case of the 

 barley in the pots mentioned above. The plants in 

 pot 1, after they had exhausted the supply of 

 mineral and nitrogenous substances supplied by the 

 seed, would attempt to obtain them from the sand ; 

 but as sand does not contain these elements, the 

 leaves could only produce substances such as starch 

 and sugar, which consist only of carbon and the 

 elements of water ; but as a plant cannot grow with- 

 out the nitrogenous compounds and those substances 

 which contain the mineral matters, the action of the 

 leaves must soon become very feeble, and very little 

 oxygen be liberated from carbonic dioxide. Light 

 would then commence deoxidizing the Chlorophyll, 

 reducing it to the yellow state. In pots 2 and 3, 

 for the want, in one case, of mineral matters, in the 

 other of nitrogen, the deoxidation of carbonic dioxide 

 would cease, and in the absence of the excess of 

 oxygen light would destroy the colour. But in the 

 case of the plants in pot 4, as all the substances 

 essential to their growth were liberally supplied, a 

 rapid absorption and deoxidation of carbonic dioxide 

 was kept up, thereby supplying a large quantity of 

 oxygen for the oxidation of the Leucopliyll in the 

 leaves, convertingitintothe bright green Chlorophyll. 

 Ipswich. A. Habwood. 



QUEEN BEES. 



T^VERYTHING relating to the habits and eco- 

 -^ nomy of the honey-bee is so interesting, that we 

 are happy to have it in our power to report the 

 latest observations of the eminent apiarian. Major 

 Munn, on the queen of this valuable insect. At a 

 meeting of the East Kent Natural History Society, 

 held at Canterburj-, Sept. 3, he produced no less 

 than two dozen live queens of the honey-bee, and 

 gave practical demonstrations as follows : — 



Stuiging of Queen -5(?(?s.— Major Munn proceeded 

 at once to give most conclusive evidence in favour 

 of the fact that the queen bee does not and cannot 

 sting. The most conclusive evidence in favour of 

 this fact was afforded by the handling of the queens 

 both by the Major himself and by other members 

 of the Society; for in no case did these insects 

 sting ; not from a want of will to do so, however, 

 since they were seen to put out their stings and 

 attempt to inject their poison into the hand which 

 held them in captivity. But in no case were they 

 able to penetrate with the sting the skin of the 

 human body. 



Structure of the Stuig.—1h& Mfijor then referred 

 to the comparative structure of the sting in the 

 queen and worker bees, held as affording an expla- 

 nation of the inability of the queen to sting. As 

 shown by Mr. George Gulliver (of Pembroke 

 College, Oxford), the sting of the worker is very 

 sharp, straight, and provided with from eight to ten 

 barbs, whilst the sting of the queen is curved, much 

 blunter, and provided with but few barbs. These 

 differences were shown by extemporaneous dissec- 

 tions. 



Bee-fghts. — It having been proved that the queen 

 bee is unable to sting, the question naturally arises, 

 " But how does she kill her rival, since it is a well- 

 known fact that two queens will fight like game- 

 cocks " ? This question the Major proceeded to set 

 at rest practically by placing two queens in a glass 

 bottle, in order that their manner of fighting might 

 be witnessed by the society. During the fight, 

 which was watched with the most intense interest, 

 each queen was seen to attempt to disable her rival 

 as much as possible by means of her powerful 

 mandibles, an account of the structure of which 

 has been given by Major Munn. At the same time 

 she feels about with her sting, which is totally un- 

 able to penetrate the integument of her rival, till 

 she finds one of the spiracles, that is, one of the 

 respiratory apertures, of her rival, through which 

 she injects her poison, with a rapidly fatal effect, 

 into the respiratory system. 



Thomas Wildmaii. — During the progress of the 

 fight, which occupied sometime. Major Munn gave 

 a most amusing account of the tricks of Thomas 

 Wildman, who flourished towards the latter part of 



