188.D 



gLEaKIngs in JJEE CUL'i'UiiE. 



!4;; 



ed like young bees; and I flimly believe that there 

 was not an egg laid by the queen, nor a bee-load of 

 pollen gathered by those bees after I commenced 

 to feed them. As far as the getting of meal is con- 

 cerned, which Prof. Cook spoke of, by way of ac- 

 counting for the absence of pollen husks in their 

 excrement, I think that is farfetched; for I never 

 saw bees take meal in the fall, and much less when 

 no brood was being reared. 



Well, where did the pollen come from which 

 friend Cook found? We will let him answer. On 

 March 10th he writes me. after he had received a 

 piece of comb I sent him, taken from where the 

 bees had died, which, the i-eaderwill bear in mind, 

 was taken from near the top of the comb, and not 

 from where the bees would have had their brood 

 and pollen last fall, had they had such, '' I find that 

 the white substance" (I supposed this to be chyme) 

 " at the bottom of the cells is the web or cocoon of 

 once larval bees. To this I find pollen grains 

 attached. I find a little pollen at the bottom of the 

 cells, which, to the unaided eye, seem entireb' 

 empty; also some under the honey (syrup) on the 

 side of the comb which you cut off. T find pollen, 

 which the microscope reveals, in almost every cell." 

 Hence it will be seen that lliese particles of pollen 

 were scattered about the bottom of all these cells 

 when the combs were given to the bees; for how 

 else could it get under the syrup where Ti'of. Cook 

 found it? 



It will also be noticed that he did not find any 

 pollen, except by the aid of the microscope; and 

 when this was brought into requisition he finds a 

 little in almost every cell, thus showing that bees 

 use pollen in other ways than by the ccllliil, or 

 half full, as we usually see it. 



Why I have been thus p.a'ticular in going into the 

 minutja regarding this experiment, is because it 

 has a direct bearing on the pollen theory, as it is 

 applied to our wintering troubles. Jflhad only 

 this one case, we might call it exceptional; but 

 since this colony died I have lost three otlu-r colo- 

 nies of diarrhoea (two in the cellar), which had only 

 sugar syrup foi- stores, as far as the unaided eye 

 could see. 



I am asked, on page ilK, " Diil the bees have 

 dysentery badly enough when they flew out so as to 

 spot the snow?" Well, if they could have flown, 

 the snow would have been siiotted. 1 assure you, 

 friend Koot; for all of one end of the frames, and 

 one side of the hive, was all smeared over with 

 this excrement, which had all the appearance of 

 being the same identically with that " wliieh we arc 

 familiar with; " while the stench was as bad as any 

 I ever smelted; and this was the same with the 

 other three colonies. Jn fact, sugar syrup has 

 shown no advantage over natural stores with me; 

 and I sec in Gle.^ninos, and the other bee pajiers, 

 that others have had similar experience. 



Now in closing I wish to ask: If bees do have the 

 dysentei-y, and die with it, where no pollen can be 

 detected by the unaided eye, in the combs that are 

 placed in the hive for wintering, can the no-pollen 

 theory be of any benefit to the average bee-keeper? 

 Again, if we must wait till the first of November 

 before feeding our bees, for fear that they will put 

 pollen in our clean empty combs which we give 

 them, as Prof. Cook thinks my bees did, can the no- 

 pollen theory be made practical? Our best apiarists 

 tell us that September is the month to prepare bees 

 for winter, so that their stores may be sealed, and 



all is quiet early in the season. Once more: Iri 

 the light of the above experiments, how are any, 

 except thorough scientists, to know whereof they 

 affirm regarding the "no pollen no brood " theory? 

 and how does friend Root know but that his bees in 

 his greenhouse and other experiments had many 

 particles of pollen in their combs, but refused to 

 rear brood from ^ome other cause? Gentlemen, 

 what do we know on these points, any way? 

 Borodino, N. Y., May, 18?,"), G. M. Doolittle. 



I think, frieiKl I)., we know somethin.u'. 

 even if we do not know it all. as yet. In re- 

 gard to my experiments in the greenhouse, 

 wlielher tliere was pollen remaining in the 

 comb or not. I sncceded in having the bees 

 rear brood and stop learing broocl at plea- 

 siue by meal feeding, and by stopping the 

 meal feeding. 1 did this during every month 

 of that winter, until I was abundantly satis- 

 lied that tiiere was at least a close eounec- 

 tion between the i)ollen and brood. When- 

 ever they exliausted their stores of meal, 

 brood stopped, or very shortly after. By 

 tlie way. friends, will it not be' best to drop 

 this pollen matter— at least for the present ? 



THE LATE DISASTERS OF WINTER A 

 BENEFIT IN ONE WAY. 



)lit) IX ItEGAHU TO THE VETEU.\SS WH( 

 DO .NOT WRITE ANY MOIIE. 



I 



G.VTHEU from correspondence through Central 

 p Iowa, that folly SO' ot the bees that have been 

 wintered outdoors are dead. I can see but one 

 good result in it. Many of the liee-Ueepers 

 have persisted in keeping the Iil<iik», and it's 

 generally that class (here) that left them out, un- 

 protected, and are now wondering what's wrong. I 

 think the Italians will have but little difficulty in 

 taking the lead from this on. 



What has become of Mrs. Axtell, that we hear no 



more of her? Probably (as she is an invalid) she 



has been in the furnace of affliction, and writing 



nuiy be a burden. Her articles are always laden 



with good things. And then there is Hasty. Since 



his splendid translation of Virgil, has he i)nt his 



I candle under a bushel? And then the funnyman 



I who usually writes about Mr. Duster, " I'nder the 



I Hox-Klders:" has he gone to Congress? 



now TO MAKK -V CAVE. 



Will not some of your correspondents tell us jn.-it 

 how is the best vmy to arch over a cave with some 

 good material that is cheap and will resist decay? 

 Wintering bees in properly ventilated cav(>s, in this 

 latitude, is the coming way. I). K. llKinAKEii. 



Maxwell, la., April T,i, IS,'-.-,. 



Friend 15.. I believe it is a fact, that more 

 black bees have died, and do die. than Ital- 

 ians ; but I do not thiidv the blacks any less 

 haidv : in fact. I have sometimes thought 

 that it was the other way. But the reason 

 is. 1 think, the one you have suggested.— 

 Mrs. Axtell answers for herself in tliis lues- 

 ent number. As near as 1 can liiid out, 

 friend Hasty goes by lits and starts some- 

 what, like many others who have much tal- 

 ent for serving the people. 1 have been ex- 

 pecting every little while that he would take 

 a notion to' write some more. The same 

 with Mr. Duster, of the box-elders. May be 

 he has lost his bees, and has got sour, but 



