FOODS HUMAN NUTRITION. 357 



robin, bluebird, niondow Inrk, ro(l-winso«l blackbird, wroii, Eiifrlish siiarrow. and 

 catbird. He coik-IhiU's tliat tlie niair^ots do not rely upon tbo liesh of living 

 birds for food, but tliat tlioy live for liio most part in tlio rubbish of nests. 

 Pupa^ liavo Ixvn found jjarasitiztul I)y Xd.toiiia hicfivornis. A description of 

 tbe fly i)rei)ared by D. W. Coqnillett is presented. 



Bee keeping in Massachusetts, B. N. Gatks (U. S. Dcpt. Agr., Bur. Entl 

 liuJ. 7.5, pt. 7, i>i>. SI~IO!), jit/s. 2). — In lliis account the autlior first reviews the 

 history of bee keeijinj,' in .Massachusetts, which dates from 1644. To-day there 

 are said to be at least 2,1(»(» persons in the State who derive some proht from 

 their bees. The 1,()."»() I)ee keepers who reported in the spriiif,' count of lOOO had 

 5.s;}9 colonics, or an avei-aj^e of about ~<.~> colonies. There were but three per- 

 sons who report T-"* to 100 coloilies in tlicir yards and but two who had more 

 than 100 colonies. The number of amateur bee keepers is reduced throujih the 

 droppin.i,' out of 50 per cent of the beginners duiin^' the first ;"> years. 



"The more important honey sources, as reported by the l)ee keepers in all 

 parts of the State, are clovers, golden-rod and asters, fruit bloom, basswood, 

 wild raspberry and blackberry, sumac, and locust. Some other plants, such as 

 clethra and huckleberry, are of local importance and some listed as of minor 

 importance are probably underestimated. 



" The Italian race in varying degrees of purity is most i)opular. The German 

 or ' black ' still persists, but is rarely found pure. 



" Twenty-five per cent of the bee keepers still use box hives to some extent. 

 The presence of box hives is most noticeable in the back country, where modern 

 methods ])enetrate less niiiidly. Of the frame hive types, the one standard for 

 the country, the I.angstroth, is most generally used. 



"The loss in the winter of l!)00-7 was 16 to 17 per cent, which taxed the 

 bee keepers nearly $5,000. By far the majority winter their bees on summer 

 stands, protected in various ways or un]n'otected. A few take advantage of 

 cellar wintering, but most of those who follow this practice are not especially 

 proficient. 



"A thousand colonies or more are annually used in cucumber greenhouses. 

 Since practically all of these colonies are useless after coming out of the houses, 

 there is a constant demand and sale for bees. 



" The queen-rearing industry is limited to a few persons and late springs 

 make it difticnlt to compete with southern producers. 



" The chief enemy reported is the bee moth. There is great doubt, however, 

 if the damage attributed is really and primarily due to it. There is, on the 

 other hand, sufficient reason to believe that disease is primary and that destruc- 

 tion by the moth is secondary." Gipsy and brown-tail moths are also reported 

 as interfering severely with apiculture in the eastern part of the State." 



A list of the more important articles on bee keeping in Massachusetts is 

 ai)pended. 



FOODS— HUMAN NUTRITION. 



Wheat and flour testing, R. Harcourt {Ann. Rpt. Onlario Agr. Col. and 

 Expt. Farm, 3'/ (1908), pp. 79-87). — Tests were made of the baking qualities 

 of a number of varieties of winter wheats grown on the college experimental 

 plats. The general plan included 3 tests with each variety. 



The better quality of loaf noted with many of the samples in the second 

 baking is, according to the author, attributable to the improvement of the 

 flour on storage for the 6 months which had elapsed between tJie 2 tests. 

 " Taking the third baking as a basis of comparison, the largest loaf was got 

 with Crimean Red, which had a volume of 124.1 as compared with the standard 



