VINEGAR BEES 



By Willard N. Clute. 



,,,,'X7-OU take two tablespoon fills of sugar, two tablespoon- 

 JL fuls of molasses, two quarts of water and one cup 

 of vinegar bees ; set the mixture in a warm place and in three 

 days, it will turn to vinegar." This is the formula that has 

 been handed about recently from one housewife to another, 

 accompanied by a cupful of the bees in question, for not only 

 do the bees deliver the vinegar according to schedule, but in 

 doing so double their numbers and thus make it possible to 

 pass along a good thing without trouble or expense. 



In appearance, vinegar bees are anything but beelike. They 

 resemble nothing so much as chunks of suet about as big as 

 the end of the little finger. When one sees them at work, 

 however, the derivation of the name is clear, for they are 

 constantly rising and sinking through the liquid with a buzzing 

 effervescence that reminds one of a swarm of bees. Under 

 the microscope the bees are resolved into at least three kinds 

 of plants : oval yeast cells, minute round bacteria and certain 

 white thready growths that give the appearance of suet noted. 



The bees appear to Ijc an entirely new thing to botanists ; at 

 least those we questioned, had no explanation ready. Finally 

 we wrote to Dr. John W. Harshberger, whose excellent vol- 

 ume (jn Mycology was recently reviewed in these columns. 

 Here, we said, we will get an answer if there is one and we 

 were not mistaken. Dr. Harshberger writes as follows : 



*'I think you must have in mind, the ginger beer plant. 

 In England the preparation of the foaming acid beverage 

 which is kept in brown stone jugs, is a very simple matter. 

 To a 10-20 per cent solution of sugar are added a few pieces 



