188 



THE AMERICAN APICULTUBIST. 



keply by pkofessou cook. 

 Editor Apiculturist : 



Dear Sir :— I am very glad to ac- 

 cede to your request, although I had 

 thought I should never reply to Mr. 

 Williams again. I have thought it a 

 very questionable policy to talk or 

 •write about poisonous honey, when we 

 all know that it is at least of very rare 

 occurrence, and so not a practical ques- 

 tion, and it seems to me that we may 

 say, at least, that there is some reason 

 to doubt its existence. We are all apt 

 to make mistakes, and in such a matter 

 it would not be strange if even careful 

 people were misled, and so formed a 

 wrong judgment. It certainly must 

 injure the sale of honey if papers are 

 constantly calling attention to it as 

 often poisonous. I know of ladies who 

 will eat no fruit or vegetables canned in 

 tin vessels, as they have read that such 

 were sometimes poisonous. I wrote 

 to this effect in some of the papers, 

 surely in a courteous way, when this 

 Mr. Williams felt aggrieved and has 

 seen fit to write as I would certainly 

 never write of anyone. Kind and fair 

 criticism is always in order, vitupera- 

 tion never. So tar as I know, it is 

 true that any substance that poisons 

 the higher animals, or man the high- 

 est of all, will also poison animals of 

 a lower order. It is possible that a 

 bee could carry poison to the hive 

 and not be poisoned, though I think 

 there would be danger. If the poison 

 should be absorbed it would certainly 

 poison the bee; this would be done if 

 the poison were digested and absorbed 

 by the bee. We know that bees do 

 partially digest nectar while en route 

 to the hive," so we have reason to be- 

 lieve that any such poison as arsenic, 

 strychnine, etc., if mixed with the nec- 

 tar, would be absorbed and kill the 

 bees. There is certainly poison in the 

 venom which we receive with the sting 

 of the bee, yet this is not taken with 

 the food, there are glands at the side 

 of the poison sack which take elements 

 from the blood and form this poison. 

 We say the poison is secreted. There 

 is a ctirious fact about animal venom. 

 While very poisonous when injected 

 into the blood, it is perfectly harmless 

 when taken into the stomach. All 

 know how cruelly the bee venom hurts, 

 yet when eaten it does no harm. Of 

 course, a bee could take poisonous 

 nectar from plants if it exist. The 

 fact that they do so, so very rarely, if 

 ever, may make us doubt if they ever 

 do it. That they have a "poison fac- 



tory" inside their bodies we all know 

 positively. 



Surely if a rattlesnake should re- 

 ceive its own venom into its blood 

 it would be poisoned. We can eat 

 such venom safely, but once in our 

 blood, and we are seriously if not fa- 

 tally injured. I have no doubt butthe 

 same would be true of a rattlesnake or 

 a bee. The venom of serpents is kept 

 carefully in a safe, close sac till needed 

 for use. It is not in the snake's blood 

 but like the venom of the bee is se- 

 creted by special glands. As the bee's 

 venom would kill the bee if injected 

 into its own blood, so too would the 

 snake's poison. 



The story about quails and partridges 

 needs investigation. Yet it may be 

 true. It is possible that these birds 

 would not absorb the poisonous ele- 

 ment which other animals would, or 

 in digesting the berries, they might 

 modify the poisonous element, which 

 other animals would fail to do. Now, 

 Mr. Editor, the point I make is, that 

 because some one has colic after eat- 

 ing honey, we should not say to the 

 public that honey is poisonous. 



[When the above question was sent 

 to Professor Cook for reply, we did 

 not know that there had been any con- 

 troversy on the subject between the 

 two gentlemen whose names are con- 

 nected. However, as our correspond- 

 ent has called for more light, we are 

 pleased to have him get all he desires. 

 In our opinion, he has it in the reply of 

 Professor Cook. Here the matter must 

 end, as we need our space for some- 

 thing more important. — Ed.] 



QUKSTIONS BY ESAU RUSSKLL. 



1. When does a queen stop laying 

 drone eggs naturally, that is, if let 

 alone? 



I have a young queen that laid two 

 frames of eggs in foundation nearly 

 two weeks ago and they fail to hatch. 

 They are thefirst eggs she laid. The 

 queen is a Syrian. Why do they not 

 hatch? 



ANSWER BY HKNRY ALLEY. 



Queens usually cease laying drone 

 eggs just before the honey flow stops. 

 They will commence to lay drone egg.s 

 again in August. Occasionally a queen 

 may be found whose eggs will not 

 "hatch." The cause, of course, must, 

 be in the queen. While such a queen 

 may in all appearances be perfect, so 



