REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 175 
hibernation under conditions more or less unfavorable in proportion as they have 
suffered in greater or less degree from the effects of the all-consuming drought and 
heat. 
The symptoms of starved brood are distinctively characteristic. Upon opening 
the hivea slightly off@nsive odor may be noticed if the colony has been suffering 
for some time. If the comb-frame be lifted from the hive and the bees shaken off 
few if any eggs can be found. Of such brood as is sealed the cappings appear to 
be thin and flat and slightly sunken, and commonly of darker color than is usual 
in prosperous colonies. Upon opening the cells they are found to contain dead 
pupz in various stages of development, always inferior in size, and the food supply 
exhausted. In the midstof sealed brood patches of uncapped larvee appear, and 
sometimes a patch of 5 or 6 inches square, and sometimes there seems to have been 
no effort made towards sealing half the grown larve in the hive, although the 
time for such sealing may be far overdue. The membranes of such larve do not 
present the plump pearly-white appearance common to well-fed larve, On the 
contrary,the membranes are more or less shrunken and wrinkled, and not un- 
frequently, when the larvee have reached the advanced pupa stage, the compound 
eyes begin to color and the cells are partially capped and then abandoned, and the 
appearance is that commonly designated by the term ‘‘ bald-headed bees.” Some- 
times a few of these bees, dwarfed in size, emerge from the cells and engage in the 
labors of the hive with what vigor and for such term as their limited development 
will permit. In a number of tests made during the past season the progeny of the 
same queen, reared under directly opposite conditions of larval growth, so varied in 
size as not to be recognizable as offspring of the same progenitors, The reason 
for this variation was not far toseek. The changed conditions of the colony during 
the time when the different generations were being reared determined the modifi- 
cation in development. The remedy I used and prescribed for others was preventive 
rather than curative. Starved brood means starved bees. If the cause be removed 
the effect speedily disappears. All that needs to be done is to supply them with a 
substitute for those resources essential to their own health and vigor and indis- 
pensable in brood-rearing, in search of which they are rapidly and vainly wearing 
out their vitality. 
The recipe for preparing the remedy is as follows: 
To 10 pounds of sugar add half a pint of dairy salt, 2 table-spoonsful bicarbonate of 
soda, 2 table-spoonsful rye flour, 2 table-spoonsful very finely powdered bone ash, and 
1 table-spoonful cream tartar. Mix thoroughly, then add 2 quarts hot water, and 
stir until thoroughly dissolved, then boil for two or three minutes only. To one- 
half pint fresh milk add 3 fresh eggs thoroughly beaten, and when the sirup is cool 
enough to feed add the eggs and milk, and when thoroughly stirred feed warm, Feed 
in the hive as one would feed honey or sirup. 
T used this same food for preventing spring dwindling and for building up colo- 
nies to full strength and efficiency, so that all colonies may be ready for work at the 
very beginning of the season when surplus honey may naturally be expected. This 
food fed in the hive keeps all the bees at home to aid in performing the functions of 
brood-rearing and in keeping up the temperature of the hive instead of spending 
their little remaining strength in battling against the cold, damp winds while search- 
ing for the food elements needed to repair the waste and drain upon their vitality 
while hibernating, and indispensable in brood-rearing. This food is not intended for 
use until after the bees have had a good flight in spring and almost any grade of 
honey or sugar may be used. ‘This special food is a potent stimulant and tonic to 
the adult bees, giving tone and vigor to the organism, and furnishes the elements 
essential in brood-rearing in the place and in the manner suited to the convenience 
and tastes of the bees. No greater quantity should be fed thanis required for the 
current needs of the colony. 
THE CONTROL OF REPRODUCTION, 
In order that the laws of heredity and the active principles of selection may be 
practically and persistently applied in the breeding of bees, I have in obedience to 
your instructions continued my experiments, striving to discover a simple and prac- 
tical method for securing control of the natural process of reproduction. 
I devised and constructed a fixture, which I call a fertilizing cage, 22 feet square 
and 26 feet high. Selecting a level plot of ground I set 4 rows of posts, 4 posts in 
each row, forming a quadrangle. These posts are4 inchessquare and 30 feet in length, 
set into the ground 4 feet and exactly 7 feet apart. Four rows of girders, 2 by 4 
inches by 22 feet 4inches are halved in two and bolted to the inside of these posts, the 
first row 5 feet from the ground, then three rows at intervals of seven feet until the 
top is reached, The upper 3 lines of girders are continued from each side of each 
