1885 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



789 



tion? You must rub your hands closely tog-ether, 

 and then, drawing them gently apart, you will 

 notice how they adhere. If your little baby-brother 

 were to wet his little fat chubby hand and press it j 

 tlatly upon a pane of glass, then by drawing up his 

 knuckles his hand would probably cling to the glass, 

 providing you could get him to do it rightly. 



An older person's hand would not do, as it is 

 not flexible enough. One more illustration, and I 

 will return to the bee's foot. 



Procureacircularpiece of leather, about two inch- 

 es across (get your papa to help you), and through 

 the center pass a string, tying the end in a knot. 

 Now draw the knot close to the leather, and be sure 

 that the hole in the center of the string will just ad- 

 mit the string. Next, thoroughly soak the piece of 1 

 leather, then upon some smooth surface, as a Hat i 

 stone, stamp the leather flat upon its surface, being 

 sure that there is no chance for air to get under the ] 

 leather. Now gently draw the string with your 

 hand. This will raise the central portion of the 

 leather, and cause suction under its surface. You 

 will now find that you can lift a stone of several 

 pounds' weight, if all has been done rightly. 



This is precisely the way that a bee clings to glass 

 and other smooth surfaces. Returning once more 

 to the engraving, the little fan-like arrangement, V, 

 answers the purpose of the leather. Bis a pair of 

 arms that spread out the little disk flat upon the 

 glass. The little muscle, A, answers the purpose of 

 the cord. Now, when the bee wishes to cling to 

 glass he secretes a liquid (which has the same pur- 

 pose as the soap upon the hands) under this little 

 fan like surface; he next spreads out this little fan 

 with the muscles at B; then pulling the little mus- 

 cle, A, he lifts up the center of this little disk. 

 There! don't you see we have .something about like 

 the boy's stone-lifter? This produces what is some- 

 times called aurtiuii: and the whole apparatus is 

 termed a nmker. 



To illustrate to the " wee " folks what suction is, 

 take an empty bottle, and draw out a part of the 

 air with your mouth. You will find, after having 

 done so, that your tongue will be drawn into the 

 bottle. This is what draws a bee's foot to a pane of 

 glass. 



There, now, boys and girls, have I made it plain'? 

 I purposely dwelt upon details, so (hat our little 

 friends might understand. 



Perhaps 1 should add, for the benefit of the older 

 ones, that there is something at E, which might 

 answer for a valve, and that, when it opens, it al- 

 lows the air to enter C, and thus free the bee. Or, 

 it may be a gland for the secretion of the fluid that 

 I referred to in the above. But these are only con- 

 jectures, and 1 have not been able to prove either. 

 Ernest R. Root. 



P. S.— 1 have just received a little note from father 

 Langstroth, by way of encouragement in my micro- 

 scopical work. Among other things we are glad to 

 learn that he is feeling better. His letter is below: 



E. R. R. 



Dear Erneat:—! am very much pleased with your 

 admirable drawing of the joint of the bee's leg, and 

 the remarks accompanymg it. 1 should judge that 

 you have a very decided aptitude for such nice 

 work, and there is a wide field open to you. 



I hope to meet your father at the Detroit conven- 

 tion. I have been threatened with another attack 

 of my old bead trouble, bqt fl,nj better now than for 



some weeks, and I hope to send the conclusion of 



"Observations on Drones " in season for the 15th. 



Oxford, O., Nov. 6, 188.5. L. L. L.vxgstroth. 



KIND WORDS FOR ERNEST. 



BEING ' EARNEST " FOR THE SAVIOR. 



R. ROOT:-I mean Mr. E. R., not Mr. A. I., 

 this time, although I have addressed my en- 

 velope to the latter. Well, Mr. E. R., I have 

 just finished reading your hints to the ju- 

 veniles, on letter-writing, so I will not 

 offend your royal highness by commencing my let- 

 ter thus: "My pa keeps bees, and lias a cow and a 

 calf," and so on, to the end of the list; though my 

 "pa" has the good fortune of possessing the " busy 

 little workers." and also said " cow." Well, now, 

 my real motive in writing this letter is this: When 

 we received Gleanings for the 15th of Sept., my 

 little blue-eyed baby-sister was eager to have the 

 juvenile department read to her. When she found 

 that you were to have control of that department, 

 instead of your father, she exclaimed, " Oh dear me ! 

 I just know Ernest" (for I am forced to say, that 

 when we speak of you in our family circle we use 

 your name, without the prefix Mr.), "will be more 

 exacting than Mr. Root." She continued to talk of 

 it until we received Gleanings for Oct. 1.5. After 

 hearing your kind words to the juveniles read, she 

 laughed heartily, and said, "Well, I declare I Ernest 

 is a real funny boy. I think I shall like him huge- 

 ly. I am going to try his plan, in regard to that 

 bee." She was so enthusiastic that she went right 

 out in the apiary, and secured a bee; but, there— I 

 must not tell the result, for she is going to write 

 and tell you all about it, and it would not be fair for 

 me to take advantage of her, and tell it. 



Friend Ernest, I trust that God will bless you in 

 your efl'orts to aid your kind father. God bless him. 

 His name is always mentioned with love in this 

 household. I am sure you will win the hearts of the 

 dear little ones. As I am a little over 15, I shall not 

 expect a book; besides, I do not think my letter con- 

 tains much information; but if you think my little 

 note worthy of publication, put it in the juvenile de- 

 partment. Don't fail to give us that talk on a bee's 

 leg. Ettie. 



Church Hill, Miss., Oct. 24, 1885. 



Ernest's reply: 



When the paternal "A. I." handed the above to 

 "E. R." the younger, with a half playful, half 

 serious remark, " Now see what you have got to 

 take," and still further, when the aspiring sonship 

 read the fore part of the letter, the title of " Royal 

 Highness" began to wax sore heavy, and he repent- 

 ed that he had not kept out of the said corner, where 

 he was likely to be cornered up— that corner where 

 his "pa" was wont to stand. On reading further 

 the youth's spirits began to revive, and he seemed 

 like his former self. 



Yes, friend Ettie, to be truly " Ernest " for the Sa- 

 vior is the highest title I care to attain; and may 

 God help me to be a constant aid to that father who 

 has been too long overburdened with cares.— 

 Thanks for your kind words. We shall be most hap- 

 py to receive the results of the blue-eyed sister's ex- 

 periments. The talk on a bee's leg wjU appear in 

 another coluran. 



