82 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



it should spring entire from the herculean efforts 

 of a single brain. 



Your correspondent starts with the confident 

 declaration that the old or commonly accepted 

 theory is more wonderful than the new, forget- 

 ful apparently that it is not a question of wonder 

 at all, t)ut of fact, demonstrated l)}^ proof. The 

 correct ideas on tliis subject are the results and 

 conclusions deduced from the careful observa- 

 tions of talented and experienced naturalists, 

 who have shown that the Avax is first elaborated 

 by secretory glands, composed of a series of 

 eight small sacs situated at the sides of the me- 

 dian line of the working bee, and which with 

 tlie scales or spangles of wax attached thereto, 

 may be seen by raising the lower segments of 

 the abdomen of the bee, and that in the building 

 of the comb each of these scales is grasped by a 

 pincer formed at one of the joints of the leg, and 

 conveyed to the mouth of the insect, where it 

 is reduced by the mandibles and proboscis to a 

 softened condition, previous to being added to 

 the wall of the cell ; and more than this, the 

 hexagonal form of the cell is simply that natur- 

 ally assumed by the cylinders of soft material 

 subjected to equal and uniform pressure from 

 each otlier, the length and proportions of the 

 antennas enabling tlie bee to build the walls 

 in the first place in the form they would 

 necessarily assume under such pressure, at the 

 same time that in building the cell of the queen 

 and those of solitary bees, where the hexagonal 

 ehape is not necessitated, they may be used in 

 making such cells in a circular form. The wax 

 has thus been traced from its origin in the se- 

 cretory sacs to its disposition in the walls of the 

 cells ; and these facts, whether more wonderful 

 or not, certainly appear to explain the origin 

 and formation of the honey -comb move clearly 

 ihan the .supposition that the wax (which can- 

 not exist as such if the temperature involved 

 hi its volatilization) rises in the form of "fume," 

 (One of the definitions of which, according to 

 Webster, is an " idle conceit " or a " vain im- 

 agination," but which in this case is undoubt- 

 edly used to signify a gaseous emanation from 

 ihe bee ; the "fume" rising until, in some in- 

 tangible manner, it is made to stop and crystal- 

 lize (querj^, do gases ever crj^stallize ?) around 

 hexagonal cells — tlie circular cells hereinbefore 

 mentioned being quietly ignored by the new 

 "theory." 



The advocate of this idea of the comb tells us 

 that the said formation is a "crystallization." 

 lie should know that the honey-comb is not, in 

 any sense, a crystalline substance, and that the 

 crystallization of any of its constituents is onl}'' 

 produced by artificial agencies, and then in 

 forms varying widely from the original shape 

 of the comb ; for instance, the crystals of its 

 principal part, cerin, being acicular in shape. 



The originator of this new theory should also 

 bear in mind that few subjects have received 

 tlie same careful attention in all ages as those 

 connected with the topic in hand ; for from the 

 time when the "song-famed shepherds" feasted 

 on the honey of Hyraettus, to that of the modern 

 money-making enthusiasm of Italian queens, 

 the study of the habits of the "busy bee," have 

 been aUke a labor of lo vo to the student of natural 



history and a source of interest to the curious. 

 And it would have licen better for those in- 

 terested in propounding the so-called "new 

 discovery" to learn something of what liad 

 been known before, instead of trying to startle 

 the world with the announcement that the 

 comb is built up Ity the crystallization of a gas 

 emanating from an "invoUintary" insect. TJio 

 utter crudity and fallacy of the whole idea is 

 but co-equal Avilh the illustrative statement that 

 "the huge oak is all crystallized from a germ 

 that a bird might SAvallow," made in total ob- 

 liviousuess of the fact that crystallizvtion ia 

 wholly incompatible with organic life, and 

 stands on the same level as the somewhat di- 

 dactic request to "look at that man" "crystal- 

 lized" and "complex," and whom we might be 

 led to suppose a petrified body, only that petri- 

 factions are composed of amorphous limestone, 

 and the most careful dissection could hardly 

 discover the determinate and symmetrical forms 

 characteristic of crystallization. 



A statement or proposition so absolutely at 

 variance with established facts as this so-called 

 theory, deserves notice only as one of the my- 

 riad instances in which an active imagination, 

 unassisted liy an acquaintance with fundamen- 

 tal principles, urges men into a useless expen- 

 diture of thought and study; and although even 

 error itself, when springing from honestly con- 

 ceived though clouded ideas, should be treated . 

 with kindly attention, none can justly claim 

 to forward the real interests of science but those 

 who found their theories or assertions upon 

 facts tangible and capable of proof. — James M. 

 Whitney. 



[From the Iowa Homestead.] 



Bee-Keeping in Germany— Bee-Keepers' 

 Conventions— Classification of Honey. 



From recent information it appears that Ger- 

 many is yet far in advance, when compared 

 with bee-keeping in the United States ; even to 

 such an extent than annually a vast amount of 

 honey and beeswax is exported to the United 

 States. Some of it we receive from France, 

 and some from the West India Islands; yet the 

 principal portion conies from Germany. 



Why dots Germany produce more honey 

 than is consumed there ? This is a questioa 

 usually asked by almost every person reflecting 

 on the subject ; yet the answer and the reasons 

 for it are not quite clear. Bee-keeping receives 

 more special attention there from men engaged 

 in any kind of business or occupation. Nearly 

 every person that has room enough on Iiis 

 premises to set out a colony of bees is sure to 

 have a colony there; and even persons residing 

 in large cities are frequently found to be the 

 owners of a number of colonies of bees, placed 

 in the windows of an upper story of their 

 houses. The system of management is very 

 uniform. Nearly every town or vicinity has 

 its thoroughly organized society of practical 

 bee-keepers, which meets usually once a month, 

 each one giving his experience in the freest 

 manner. These town societies are again coa- 



