AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



433 



Api-Phrenology — §ome Idea§ on 

 a New Bee-Subject. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY DR. J. D. GEHRING. 



(Continued from page 403.) 

 "The most conspicuous bump the 

 drone-bee has, is what phrenologists 

 have designated ' Alimentivess ;' or 'Ap- 

 petite,' for short. This organ is located 

 just in front of the ears — on both sides ; 

 which explains why the drone has such 

 a wide head. The immense develop- 

 ment of this organ gives him the appear- 

 ance of having the mumps all the time, 

 and it explains why he has such a tre- 

 mendous appetite. But it doesn't ex- 

 plain why he will never work a lick to 

 get something to eat. That is explained 

 by negative demonstration, thus : 



"You see me slide my thumb and 

 forefinger back, a little behind and 

 above the ears ? Well, that's the place 

 where 'Force' (or ' Combativeness,' as it 

 was formerly named) is located ; but, 

 you see, the drone has a depression in- 

 stead of a bump there. That means 

 that he hasn't got any Force. It proves 

 that he is a natural ' ninny ;' — a good 

 for nothing, lazy, loafing, profligate 

 scalawag. Then, just above the ears is 

 the place for ' Destructiveness,' and you 

 see the drone has no sign of it ; which 

 still further accounts for his tameness 

 and uselessness. Another serious de- 

 ficiency in his phrenological make-up is 

 his total lack of ' Acquisitiveness ;' which 

 is the reason why he never lays up any- 

 thing for future use. And he seems to 

 be so utterly deficient in ' Benevolence,' 

 that he never manifests any concern for 

 others. He will eat the last drop of 

 honey away from his own children, and 

 let them starve, without a pang of re- 

 morse ; he has no ' Conscience,' you see. 



"Another trait of character that dis- 

 tinguishes the drone from other bees, is 

 his gallantry. All of our learned bee- 

 men, I believe, are agreed that this dis- 



position of the drone to attend 'social 

 parties' during the warm and busy sea- 

 son, is nothing more than instinct. I 

 don't agree with them in that, for I be- 

 lieve there is a phrenological reason for 

 his amorous propensities ; and that it is 

 just the same, in kind, as in other crea- 

 tures of the same gender. 



"Bee-men have given considerable 

 attention to the drone-bee for several 

 years past. They have long since con- 

 cluded that he is a nuisance, and at best 

 a necessary evil ; but how to make the 

 honey-business a success without him, 

 has not yet been found out. Many are 

 studying at the problem, and I think all 

 the successful honey-producers make 

 more or less successful efforts to restrict 

 drone-increase. But," I tell you, this 

 slaughtering business, made necessary 

 every year, is hard on the reputed 

 amiability and gentleness of bee-men as 

 a class." 



"That's all very interesting," said Mr. 

 Luthy, " but you haven't succeeded very 

 well, as yet, in proving that bees have 

 sense — phrenological sense. All you 

 have so far proved is that drones have 

 no sense. But I want to ask you one , 

 particular question. You have once or 

 twice mentioned the ' ear ' of ^le drone. 

 Now, how can you prove that drones 

 have ears ? You are rather young in 

 the business to face the vast army of 

 bee-keepers who have conclusively dem- 

 onstrated that bees can't hear — no more 

 than they can see. Where is the ear of 

 the drone ' located ?' to use a favorite 

 term of yours." 



" Mr. Luthy," I answered, " did you 

 ever examine a bee with a magnifying 

 glass ?" 



" No," he said, " I never have." 



" Well," I replied, that is the reason 

 you have never discovered that bees 

 have eyes ; and for the same reason I 

 can't prove to you that they have ears — 

 they are not mule's ears, Mr. Luthy." 



" You intimate that the question 

 whether bees can hear or not has been 

 conclusively settled by a vast majority 

 of bee-keepers. My impression is that, 

 so far, nothing has been proved against 

 my theory by anything I have seen in 

 print. 



"I challenge the whole fraternity to 

 answer me this question : 



" Does the bee — male and female — 

 need the organs of sight, and hearing, 

 and scent? That little word 'need' 

 settles the whole business for me; for, 

 in all the Universe the Creator has left 

 no need unsupplied. 



" You know I have only three colo- 



