GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



95] 



duced late in August or early iu September, are 

 agamic winged females, no matter from what gener- 

 ation they come. Then the very late members of the 

 twelfth generation, late in September, are winged 

 males. The winged females, just previously pro- 

 duced, fly away to the plum, and there begin to 

 produce, not agamic, but perfect wingless females, 

 which are full grown by the last of September, 

 when the winged males, above mentioned, fly to the 

 plum, where the perfect wingless females are, and 

 here they mate, and winter eggs are soon deposited 

 about the base of the twigs, and thus provision is 

 made for the same round of life-history the follow- 

 ing year. It seems that, if the perfect wingless 

 females of this last generaiion are deposited upon 

 the hop or any other plant except the plum, they will 

 not live, the latter being necessary to their develop- 

 ment. 



In the life-history as above given, we find an il- 

 lustration of that wonderful adaptability so often 

 met with in nature. These little creatures have no 

 use for wings in the spring till the third generation 

 is produced, and the hop is ready to receive them; 

 then after the migration, no further use for them 

 till fall, and it becomes necessary to return to the 

 plum for a late fall, winter, and early spring abode. 

 Nature is not prodigal in her resources, producing 

 only that which is necessary to carry out her de- 

 signs, giving wings when needed; but when not 

 required, they are not developed. Often it is diffi- 

 cult to interpret those wonderful adaptabilities in 

 nature; but here, at least, we may conjecture why 

 this remarkable life-history. The hop-vines die, 

 and are likely to be removed and burned, or other- 

 wise destroyed— perhaps made into a compost-heap; 

 and if the plant-louse eggs were left upon these, it 

 would be only by mere chance that they would 

 escape destruction; and even if they did escape, the 

 young, when hatched in the spring, would not likely 

 be where they could get suitable food; hence a wise 

 Creator ordained that the winter eggs should be left 

 where destruction would be less likely to overtake 

 them, and where the young woulJ have fresh leaves 

 to feed upon when hatched. Indeed, here, as so 

 often everywhere, the devout student of nature 

 may exclaim, " All thy works are truly and wonder- 

 fully made." B. F. Koons. 



Connecticut Agricultural School, Storrs, Ct. 



Friend K., we are exceedingly obliged to 

 you for giving us such opportune help in 

 making this complicated matter plain. It 

 has seemed to me a sad thing that our cyclo- 

 pedias should teach so much error and hear- 

 say. I did not know before that Webster's 

 Dictionary was open to the same charge— 

 at least to any considerable extent. By all 

 means let well-posted, honest men, correct 

 these matters, each in his separate line of 

 work or industry.— In regard to the hop- 

 insect, I want to say to our readers that the 

 hop-growers have been for years almost on 

 the verge of bankruptcy because of the dep- 

 redations caused by this mischievous little 

 insect. All efforts to combat the foes seem- 

 ed unavailing, because they came from such 

 mysterious sources at a certain season of 

 the year, and then disappeared as mysteri- 

 ously as they came. Burning the vines, and 

 every thiLg of that sort, of course was fu- 

 tile. It did not reach the root of the matter 

 at all. When some professor, I have for- 

 gotten his name, first declared that the in- 



sect commenced on the wild plum, it seemed 

 to be too wonderful to be true ; and the sci- 

 entific world rejected it as a wild specula- 

 tion. It is now, however, universally ac- 

 cepted and recognized as true. People who 

 refuse to accept the Dzierzon theory in re- 

 gard to the natural history of the honey-bee 

 may well be deemed excusable for finding it 

 hard to believe that this hop-insect goes for- 

 ward for several generations without any 

 males at all. The matter is so complicated, 

 that I confess I never clearly understood it 

 until I read Prof. Koons' explanation as 

 above. The italics are my own. I have 

 taken this liberty, which I am sure the pro- 

 fessor will excuse, because I found it so 

 difficult to understand, until I had studied 

 out and decided what words needed to be 

 emphatic. 



TREATMENT OF THE INSANE. 



A POSTHUMOUS ARTICLE PROM THE PEN OF THE 

 LATE MKS.MAHALA B CH.VDDOCK. 



JTp FTER the death of our correspondent 

 <$NJk and friend Mrs. Mahala B. Chaddock, 

 jNf we began to hunt around amongst 

 ^*- our unused MSS., which, though mer- 

 itorious of themselves, were, for lack 

 of space at the time, crowded out. We 

 came across the following article, written 

 some time since, and we are glad to give it 

 insertion, as it is a true index of Mrs. Chad- 

 dock's real character, and of the philan- 

 thropic spirit which actuated her through 

 life. This posthumous production, though 

 exceedingly interesting and valuable in it- 

 self, will be read with melancholy interest 

 now. 

 Editor Gleanings:— 



For several years ever since a friend of mine 

 spent a year at the Jacksonville Insane Asylum— I 

 have been trying to think of some way to help 

 these unfortunate people; but 1 did not know what 

 to say— that is, what I had better not say. Of the 

 overcrowded condition of tha insane-asylums in 

 Illinois, and the wretched treatment that the 

 chronic insane receive at most of our poorhouses, 

 I will not speak, but point out the better way that 

 Wisconsin has cleared out for herself, and which 

 we may all walk in if we are not too bigoted. My 

 information is obtained from the article mentioned, 

 and from pamphlets sent me by A. O. Wright, Sec- 

 retary of the Wisconsin State Board of Charities 

 and Reforms. 



Wisconsin has about 2*300 insane, increasing at 

 the rate of about 167 a year. These insane are pro- 

 vided for in the State and city hospitals, and in six- 

 teen county asylums for the chronic insane. The 

 improvements in the care of the insane consist in 

 the doing away with restraints, either by mechani- 

 cal appliances or by narcotics; separation of the 

 chronic cases from the others; increased liberty, 

 and the substitution of wholesome labor for idle- 

 ness. These county asylums have been in opera- 

 tion (with two exceptions) for six years. These 

 county asylums are managed by local authorities, 

 but under the constant and close supervision of 

 the State. The buildings are of brick, very plain, 

 solid, and comfortable, and are of a size to accom- 

 modate not less than 51) nor more than 100. A farm 

 is needed for economy in maintenance; and to fur- 



