706 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



You will note there is no face-piece in the 

 veil. A face-piece of tulle, a gauzy silk ma- 

 terial (the bobinet is of cotton), is very nice, 

 making practically no obstruction to the vi- 

 sion but always getting torn. 



Isn't that hat a beauty? It was sent as a 

 gift of a Cuban friend who promised to send 

 me another when it wore out. I think he 

 must have chuckled when he made that prom- 

 ise, for it looks as if it might wear a lifetime. 

 It is of palm leaf, and so tough that, although 

 it came through the mail done up in a tight 

 wad, not a strand was broken. 



Lest some one should have an unsatisfied 

 curiosity regarding the figure in the back- 

 ground. I'll justsay that's my good old Scotch 

 mother-in-law enjoying the sunshine, while 

 a pair of kittens in her lap are enjoying her 

 accustomed caresses. 



[Dr. Miller seems to be very much amused 

 over something, or at least he was at the 

 time the camera caught him with a Cuban 

 hat on. But even if it does look outlandish, 

 doctor, it may, nevertheless, l^e serviceable. 

 —Ed.] 



m 



BEE-KEEPING IN A MONASTERY. 



of hiving a swarm. We also alluded to the 

 fact that so many men belonging to the re- 

 ligious orders in Europe were amateur bee- 

 keepers, and some of them experts. Evident- 

 ly our American monks are not to be out- 

 done by their transatlantic brethren, and are 

 making a fair beginning as the illustration 

 sent in by our friend, Bro. Emil, O. F. M., of 

 Cincinnati, will show. It ought to be re- 

 membered these religious orders kept up the 

 culture of bees and fruit during the Dark Ages 

 when the rest of mankind were more intent 

 on killing each other than on peaceful com- 

 merce and trade. — W. K. M.] 



HOAV ABOUT XT'? 



Being a friend of the little bees, and hav- 

 ing built up two colonies of them this sum- 

 mer, I am glad to send you a photo of a 

 swarm ready to be hived, while some of my 

 confraters are looking on. I am keeping a 

 few hives merely for pleasure. 



Cincinnati, O. Bro. Emil, O. F. M. 



[Some time ago we had a cover-page illus- 

 tration of a French Trappist monk in the act 



YOUNG MONKS ABOUT 'JO HIVK A SWAK.Al AT A MONA.STEKY IN CINCINNATI. 



The Muscle Ti.ssue of the Bee : is it More 

 Etticient than Tliat in Man? an In- 

 teresting Discussion. 



BY B. C. AUTEN. 



In discussing, in his articles on the anat- 

 omy of the bee, the efficiency of the muscle 

 tissue of the bee as compared with that of 

 man. Professor Cook, I fear, is continuing 

 the promulgation of a fallacy, refutation of 

 which I have never but once seen in print. 

 It is, of course, true, as we all know, that an 

 insect can do much more work in proportion 

 to its size or weight than a man; but from 

 that it l)y no means follows that its muscle 

 tissue is more efficient. Various factors en- 

 ter into the problem, such as the method of 

 attachment of the muscles, and favorable or 

 unfavorable levei'age determined l)y the 

 method and place of attachment. It is, how- 

 ever, on the ba- 

 sis of relative 

 size that I wish 

 to discuss the 

 subject. In do- 

 ing so I shall as- 

 sume that man 

 and the bee are 

 similar in pro- 

 j) o r t i o n s and 

 construction, 

 which is not the 

 case, and will, 

 therefore, give 

 very inaccurate 

 results. 



According to 

 the A B C of Bee 

 Culture it takes 

 about 4500 bees 

 to weigh a 

 pound. If we 

 take 137 pounds 

 as the weight of 

 a moderate- 

 slzed man, we 

 find him equal 

 in weight to 

 about 614,125 

 bees. As the 

 volume varies 

 according to the 

 cube of the lin- 



