THE BER KEEPERS' REVIEW 



311 



far the other way. 'Sauce' is about ob- 

 solete, and its use in ordinary discourse 

 would be the next thing to alTectation. 

 'Sass' is merely countrified, not vulgar. 

 It might pass as a colloquialism. 



Here is a bit of criticism for the editor. 

 Would it not be well, when printing let- 

 ters originally not written for publication, 

 to state the circumstances in the same 

 issued 



I think that perhaps enough has been 

 said upon this subject. What has been 

 published will enable Mr. Taylor to get 

 his finger on the public pulse, so to speak, 

 and to govern himself accordingly. 



Department of 



ri tic ism 



R. h. T.WLOR. 



Blame whore you must, be candid wliere you can, 

 And be each critic the Ciood-natured M.in. 



0( LDSUITH, 



WHEN POIvLKN IS GATHERED. 

 Dr. Miller (Gleanings 645) has found 

 two rea.sons given for bees bringing in 

 pollen more plentifully in the early part 

 of the day than later. One is that the 

 flowers secrete nectar more freely in the 

 latter part of the day and the bees give 

 up pollen gathering for the nectar: the 

 other is that the pollen gets too dry, as 

 the day advances, to gather easily and so 

 that work is given u]). I susjiect that in 

 many varieties of flowers, as in corn, the 

 pollen is either gathered by the bees or 

 falls away to do its proper work early in 

 the day, so the bees have none to gather 

 later. One mav easily see that this is 

 true by observing .soft maples and willows 

 at the proper season. One of the sources 

 of information says when honey is abund- 

 ant carriers of pollen are scarce but is it 

 not true that when white clover yields 

 nectar plentifully that, though it is not 

 readily .seen, as are most other kinds. 



abundance of clover pollen is gathered 

 and that throughout the day ? 



THOSE POINTED OUEEN-CELLS. 



The doctor (Gleanings 681) seems to 

 think that the queen cells shown in 

 Gleanings 647 would look better if they 

 were not quile so pointed. The editor 

 says'! do not know. I am inclined to 

 think however that the fact whether 

 they are pointed or rounding is due to the 

 peculiarity of the bees building the cells. ' ' 

 If our friends will have patience those 

 cells will all be nicely rounded off within 

 a few days. I have never noticed any 

 difference in the shape of the points of 

 cells internally but often after cells are 

 capped the bees decorale the free end 

 with a point of wax and ])ollen; but this 

 is all carefully removed before the cells 

 are ready to be opened by the enclosed 

 queens. 



THE INVARIABILITY OF ACTION IN BEES. 



The editor of Gleanings page 645 in- 

 quires "do bees ever perform any work 

 always in the same way?" To this the 

 the doctor (page 682) replies "perhaps 

 not; but I never knew any exception to 

 the rule that, left to nature, a queen en- 

 larges her brood-nest in the spring by 

 laying eggs outside the cells already oc- 

 cupied. Did you?" The editor replies: 

 "Yes, I think I do." And adds "there 

 are some freaky things that will do al- 

 most the very opjiosite. " I am extreme- 

 ly interested to have the editor tell us 

 what it is he knows of a queen doing 

 differently from what the doctor intimates 

 is her necessary course; and while he is 

 doing so will he kindly explain what it 

 is "almost the very opposite" that the 

 "freaky things" will do? The editor 

 adds "I still think you cannot attach the 

 word 'always' to anything that either the 

 bees or the queens do in the domestic 

 economy of the hive." On the preced- 

 ing page and also on page 645 he expreses 

 the same .sentiment. Notwithstanding, I 

 think there are several things that bees 

 can be relied on to do inider appropriate 

 conditions. 



