THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



271 



observed were either dead of hunger or 

 frightened by the disturbance of inspec- 

 tion. 



Dr. Latinne, of Belgium, in a mono- 

 graph on wintering, which has attracted 

 considerable attention, contends that if 

 a cushion above the brood- nest attracts 

 moisture, it does so simply because it lets 

 warm air pass through it; and when once 

 moist, its effect is injurious rather than 

 beneficial. He advises hermetical sealing 

 of the top and sides of the hive, to avoid 

 all currents of air, with contraction of 

 the entrance. As the bees can do the 

 sealing best, he would have wintering 

 preparations finished early before the 

 leaves fall, so as to give plenty of time 

 to gather propolis. Feeding to supply 

 lack of stores in the fall should be ac- 

 companied by a contraction of the brood- 

 chamber, in order that the feed may not . 

 be too much scattered; and then contin- 

 ued until the bees refuse to take more. 

 To be able to carry strong colonies 

 through the wintei with a sufficient 

 quantity of young bees, he thinks stinm- 

 lative feeding in August necessary. 



The editor lends his authority to the 

 common belief that it is the abdomen of 

 the queen, instead of the thorax, which 

 prevents her from going through perfor- 

 ated zinc, by saying that probably when 

 empty of eggs a queen passes through the 

 excluder. 



In 1894, G. Lanfranchi propounded his 

 theory that a fertilized queen always lays 

 fertili^.ed eggs which in themselves are 

 neutral; the difference in sex being due to 

 the difference of nutriment on the 

 part of the bees, which rear workers, 

 males or queens according to their needs 

 and instincts. He gave apparently con- 

 vincing proofs, the result of experiments 

 of several years. The editor of the 

 Noerdliche Bienenzeitung, a physiologist 

 and microscopist, has independently 

 reached the same conclusion after similar 

 experiments. In this country C. Theil- 

 man, on page 356 of the American Bee 

 Journal, sets forth the same conclusion, 

 which he also seems to have arrived at 

 independently. 



Flaminio Barbieri says the reason the 

 queen does not sting one is that she has a 

 curved and flexible sting, which cannot 

 enter a resisting body, while that of a 

 worker is hard like a needle. The same 

 writer says foul brood is rare in Italy. 



To get the capacity of a hive, says he, 

 fill it with grain, aud measure the grain. 

 ( Where the metric system is not used, it 

 will be necessary to remember the num- 

 ber of cubic inches in a gallon. ) 



"I have chanced to observe apple-trees 

 in full bloom visited by yery few bees; 

 fruit cannot be expected from such trees." 

 — Comola Fedele. 



Montrose, Colo. July 10, 189S. 



A Condensed View of Current 

 Bee Writings, 



E. E. HASTY. 



" I'll trace the garden o'er and o'er, 

 And meditate on each Bweet flower.' 



SMONG the old fables there is one in 

 which a wolf is eaves-dropper at /% 

 feast which some shepherds are celebrat- 

 ing (main item of the repast a shoulder 

 of mutton) and he soliloquises thus: 

 "Bless me, what a fuss there'd be if I 

 should be caught at such a banquet!" 

 As the sugar-honey wolf, I would make 

 the same remark about Gleanings, Mr. 

 Vernon Burt, et al, and all the folks who 

 gave me "fits" about open sugar honey, 

 sold under its own name, and now would 

 fain feed syrup down stairs, and look the 

 other way while the bees carry it up 

 stairs — and all to redeem this very bar- 

 ren season. 



No, no, gentlemen ! It won't do. 

 Every tub on its own bottom, and no sub- 

 terfuges. If honey from syrup feeding 

 is so nearly the same thing as floral hon- 

 ey that it is mere nonsense to discrimin- 

 ate, why, then say so openly; give man- 

 kind a chance to protest if they want to; 

 and when the smoke clears up in victory 

 and peace, feed your syiup with a clear 

 conscience. As you are going on now 



