1S91 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



313 



The poor cat seemed to be in terrible pain im- 

 iiiediately, and In less than two niiniUes her 

 hind :liinb — the one bitten — was so paralyzed 

 that she dragged her hind parts. She was in 

 snch teiril)le i)ain that \vv gave her chloroform 

 and placed her b(>yond suffering. 



The copperhead is also a handsome snake. It 

 is light reddish brown, spotted with darker 

 Ijrown, and has a copper-colored head. It 

 seems less brainy tlian the rattlesnakes, for it 

 would strike, or strike at, a stick, and throw its 

 poJson, while the rattlesnakes could not be 

 fooled in any such way. They would attack 

 only n^al game. The moccasin, like the cop- 

 jjerhead, was easily tantalized to strike at a 

 stick. It .is darker, and not so handsome as 

 the coi)perhead and diamond I'attlesnake. 



From our experiment with the cat I can not 

 but believe that thes(^ snakes are fearfully 

 venomous. Were I bitten. I would adopt radi- 

 cal measures to effect a cure. If on the hand, 

 finger, arm. or leg, I would tie a string very 

 tiglitly above the place, and try to keep the 

 poison from entering the circulation. If I could 

 get a hot iron, or some acid, at once, I would 

 cauterize the wound: but it would not do to 

 wait any. Sucking the poison out would al- 

 ways be in order. This is safe, for, as we have 

 seen, no hai'm would come, even if some of the 

 venom were swallowed, though this would be 

 .unnecessary. The advice to drink whisky 

 freely is so stoutly urged that I have only to say 

 ihat it 7naii do good. 



THE CHAIN, OR KING SNAKE. 



I am indebted to one of your Georgia subscrib- 

 ■ers, Mr. J. F. McCord, Covington, Ga., for a 

 beautiful chain-snake. This, one of the com- 

 monest snakes of the South, is also called king- 

 snake, and JNIr. McCord refers to it as the pilot- 

 snake. The scientific name of this handsome 

 snake is Ophibolus getidus. We see it belongs 

 to the same genus as the common milk-snake 

 of both North and South {OpltibolKK trimiijii- 

 l((.s), which it much resembles in form. It is 

 also about the same size, from 23 to 40 inches. 

 This milk-snake is often called house-snake, as 

 it is not infrequently found in cellars and out- 

 houses. Both of these snakes are entirely 

 •harmless. 



The chain-snake is jet-black, and ringed with 

 narrow yellow lines which fork below, inclosing 

 black si)ots. Below it is white, spotted with 

 black. The intense black, lined with yellow, 

 gives a remarkably pleasing combination, 

 which, together with the slim elongated form, 

 jnakes this one of our very handsomest snakes. 

 The negroes are said to regard this snake 

 with respect, and even awe. They claim 

 that it rules the reptile world, and will 

 even attack and subdue the terrible rattler. 

 This is doubtless why they call it the king- 

 snake. The chain-snake feeds on lizards, mice, 

 .and other snakes. Like our milk-snakes, this 

 is entirely harmless. It can not do harm, should 

 it attempt to bite; and the probability is, it 

 would never essay to bite. The many teeth, 

 jn'ojecting from the jaw and somarine bones, 

 are too weak to do more than hold on to its 

 victim as it attempts to swallow its live and 

 Jively food whole. These teeth point back, and 

 so make every struggle of its prey help on the 

 operation of swallowing. I am very glad of 

 this specimen, as I always am to receive speci- 

 mens from the South. I will always gladly 

 ])ay express, and shall be very grateful for new 

 specimens. A. J. Cook. 



Agricultural College, Mich. 



[Some little time ago one of our correspondents 

 disked to have his Gleanings discontinued be- 

 .cause it was too " snaky." We think, however, 

 that no one will complain in this line after hav- 



ing read the wondei-ful facts which Prof. Cook 

 gives us. They are all the more interesting to 

 me because I know they are true; but if it were 

 almost anybody else than oui- caieful friend, I 

 might be a little suspicious— especially in re- 

 gard to that startling statement that the young 

 seek refuge in their mother's mouth. Now, I 

 am just Yankee enough to want to ask a lot of 

 questions. Do not snakes breathe? If so, how 

 are thos(> young chaps going to breatfie when 

 the mothei- has swallowed them? and does she 

 swallow half a dozen or so at once? After the 

 danger is past, I suppose they turn around and 

 crawl out again. Do they hold their breath 

 all this time? I have heard this statement 

 before, but I did not believe it. Our proof- 

 reader suggests, how ever, that you only say they 

 find refuge in theii- mother's mouth. V.ut. dear 

 friend Cook, do you mean to say that the mouth 

 is large enough to give place to a brood of young 

 snakes? The story was told me that she swal- 

 lowed them to give them a place of safety.] 



THE NOISE OF BEES IN THE CELLAR. 



DR. MILLER DISCTSSES THE CAUSE.^ 



I wish I could clearly interpret what the bees 

 mean by the noise they make in the cellar. Do 

 they make the same kind of noise at all times? 

 Does a noise aluHiys mean that something is 

 not quite right? I have thought that, when 

 bees are making a noise because too cold, they 

 make a kind of sharp, rattling noise, different 

 from the noise made when they are wai'm. Per- 

 haps others can tell better about it. This rat- 

 tling noise must be made with the wings, for 

 bees have a true voice, aside from the noise 

 made by the wings. Cheshire says the wings 

 make the buzzing, and the humming is made by 

 the interrupted air passing through the spira- 

 cles, or breathing-tubes. This latter is the true 

 voice. Landois recognizes a third tone in the 

 flight sound — that made by the vibrations of 

 the abdominal rings. Differently from what 

 might be supposed, the most acute and intense 

 noise is that made by the true vocal apparatus. 

 These three tones are all made at the same time 

 during flight: and, if I undei'stand the matter 

 rightly, they are inseparably connected with the 

 muscular effort made in Hying. We all know 

 very well the difference there is in some of the 

 sounds made by a bee on the wing as it leaves 

 the hive or returns heavily laden, or flies scold- 

 ing about our heads. 



Now, does a bee, or can a bee, make the same 

 variety of sounds in the hive as on the wing ? 

 When a colony of bees in the cellar are as quiet 

 and still as if dead, and are disturbed, they al- 

 ways seem to me to make a kind of sleepy 

 sound. If a colony is too cold, it makes a noise. 

 Does the noise make it warm? Hardly. 

 On a cold day a man slaps his arms around him 

 to warm himself. The exercise warms him, and 

 the noise he makes is a necessary accompani- 

 ment. Isn't it just the same with the bees? 

 But if the bees get too warm they make a noise. 

 Surely, e.xercise doesn't cool them, does it? If 

 you get too warm, do you go to jumping around 

 or slapping your arms together to cool off? 

 Well, you may use a certain kind of exercise to 

 cool off', and that is by plying a fan — precisely 

 what the bees do. only I suspect that, generally, 

 the only feeling they recognize is a desire for 

 pui'er air. Dzierzon intimates that the main 

 reason why bees are noisy in cellars is because 

 of impure air. If cold, do they ever get i^enj 

 noisy? But when warm, they do get very noisy. 



It is generally believed, and I think it is cor- 

 rect, that, in summer, bees keep the air in their 

 hives pure by ventilating, and it is the same, I 



