THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



333 



bird would seek to mate, or a stalk of 

 wheat to form a head. By thus remov- 

 ing the ultimate mystery one step farther 

 back, he parts neither with modern science 

 nor with common sense. 



It would astonish those who replied to 

 the foregoing questions to learn that 

 claims of great immediate practical value 

 are made for this theory and system; 

 another illustration of the darkening of 

 counsel by words without knowledge. 

 Certainly the contributors and the editor 

 of "Die Deutsche Bienenzucht" are sane 

 and sound enough when speaking of prac- 

 tical matters, from the German point of 

 view; thus making it possible that their 

 practical applications of their theory may 

 not be entirely unworthy of regard. Rut 

 from any authoritative judgment on this 

 point I must retire, as gracefully as may 

 be, not having read Gerstung's books. 

 I incline to the opinion, however, that a 

 long practical experience, such as that of 

 Gravenhorst, would enable one to build 

 up colonies just as quickl}', and get just 

 as much honey, as the most painful regard 

 to the principles of the development of 

 the colony; only, it should not be forgot- 

 ten that the study of those principles may 

 shorten the road to skill, rendering more 

 easily available the necessary training of 

 experience. But even if this were not so, 

 it is so easy to waste energy in wrestling 

 with swarming and breeding, which ab- 

 solutely demand some kind of a theory to 

 work on, that anything which promises 

 to lead us to the right theory is worthy 

 of the most respectful attention. 



"Can we ascribe Psychicai, Quali- 

 ties TO BEES AND Ants?" is the title of 

 a small book by Albert Bethe, published 

 at Bonn by Emil Strauss. Extracts from 

 the editor's review will incidentally ilhis- 

 trate his opinions: "An interesting book 

 for every one who adopts not only the 

 pocket-book or honey-pot point of view 

 of nature in general and bees in particu- 

 lar, but seeks in minimis maxima, i. e., 

 in the vital phenomena of the smallest 

 creatures, eternal formative laws for the 

 whole organic world. Our readers know 



that this standpoint has always been ours. 

 It is also very gratifying that, in this 

 book, a man of exact science wholly 

 adopts the collective conception of social 

 insects, which we were the first to apply 

 to the bee-colony, in opposition to all 

 bee-keepers of the old school, and against 

 the anthropomorphic presentations of 

 Buechner, Romanes, and others." Ro- 

 manes, as is well known, made a list of 

 all hu man passions which in their en- 

 tirety constitute what we call the soul, 

 and found clear and decided manifesta- 

 tions of each one among animals, some 

 of the higher animals possessing many of 

 them. It is not clear, though, why there 

 should be any inconsistency in accepting 

 both factors — the reflex and other physi- 

 ological influences, and the ability to 

 learn and remember through feeling and 

 passion; man himself, especially in in- 

 fancy, being subject to the former. Rath- 

 er does it seem reasonable that through 

 all animal nature runs a varying propor- 

 tion of the two. For, to go still farther 

 back, it is now eleven years since Prof. 

 Ladd, our chief American authority in 

 physiological psychology, admitted that 

 the immediate causes of the operations 

 of the soul, through the brain, were phys- 

 iological and mechanical. Yet he was, 

 and is, as orthodox as could be desired. 

 — Gerstung continues "The aim of the 

 book is then, to scientifically prove that 

 the apparently so complicated vital phen- 

 omena of ants and bees are to be ascrib- 

 ed to and satisfactorily explained by very 

 simple causes, mostly of a physiolgical 

 nature (reflexes). We accompany the 

 author with pleasure in his investigations 

 up to the point where he declares that the 

 explanation of biological facts by means 

 of mechanical laws shuts out every other 

 explanation; for example, that of crea- 

 tive activity. Not because we are a the- 

 ologian, but because we can not also ex- 

 plain the harmonious combination of a!l 

 mechanical laws and their purposeful ad- 

 aptation to service, do we firmly believe 

 that the mechanical explanation does not 

 shut out the teleological-deistical one, 



