AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



phuric acid, which is used in refining it, 

 and the 'brace combs on top of the 

 frames were colored green and blue 

 after feeding the bees with sugar. I 

 would like to see an analysis of the 

 granulated sugar in the market. 



We had a soaking rain on the 17th 

 inst., which was badly needed, as there 

 had not been rain enough to moisten the 

 ground deeper than two or three inches 

 since seeding time, but crops are looking 

 tolerably we\\, and a fair harvest may 

 be expected. 



White clover is plentiful, and in full 

 bloom, and secretes nectar abundantly, 

 as has all the bloom so far this season. 



Linden trees are healthy, and full of 

 buds, and will be in bloom about July 1. 



Theilmanton, Minn., June 20, 1891. 



Review of Mr, Cowan's New Boot 



ERNEST R. ROOT. 



That new scientific work is entitled, 

 " The Honey-Bee : Its Natural History, 

 Anatomy and Physiology, by Thomas 

 William Cowan." It is a small book, 

 6K by 4X, and contains 192 pages ; 

 but it represents an immense amount of 

 painstaking work. It is neatly bound, 

 and appropriately embossed in gilt. It 

 is wholly scientific, and therefore it has 

 little or nothing to say regarding practi- 

 cal apiculture, that part being entirely 

 delegated to a former work of the 

 author's. 



It is not a book that can be read like 

 a story, but it is one that requires 

 attention and careful study. Unlike 

 some of the larger works, it is condensed, 

 but still seems to cover the most that is 

 important from a scientific point of view 

 regarding our little friends, the bees. 



One thing that struck my eye particu- 

 larly, was the beautiful frontispiece 

 engraving, showing almost the entire 

 anatomy of the bee ; and I became so 

 much interested in studying it, that I 

 here reproduce it for the benefit of our 

 readers. 



Now, if you have a little patience I 

 will try to give you the gist of my read- 

 ing, and at the same time avoid the use 

 of scientific terras, so far as possible. I 

 may remark, in passing, that the 

 anatomy of the bee is, in many respects, 

 similar to that of the human body ; and 

 in describing the various organs and 

 functions, I will endeavor to call atten- 

 tion to those that are similar in our own 

 frames. 



I will first call your atteiition to the 

 alimentary canal — that is, the organs of 

 digestion and assimilation. What is 

 digestion ? Our author says, " It is the 

 separation of the nutrient part of food 

 from the non-nutrient, and the conver- 

 sion of the nutrient into a liquid fit to 

 mingle with the blood, and thus nourish 

 the body of the insect." 



We all know how the bee gathers up 

 its food through its wonderful and 

 delicate little tongue. It then passes 

 into a little tube just below the point A, 

 in the engraving, which is called the 



Section of Honey-Bee, showing its Internal 

 Organs. 



esophagus, or gullet. We find a similar 

 organ in our own bodies, leading from 

 the mouth and communicating directly 

 to the stomach. This esophagus passes 

 through the waist of the bee, or thorax, 

 as it is called, and to the honey-stomach, 

 G, in the abdomen. 



It is in this little sac, although it can 

 hold but a tiny drop at a time, that 

 millions and millions of pounds of nectar 

 are carried annually, and stored in our 

 combs. This sac, G, is located in the 

 forepart of the abdomen, or "hinder" 

 part of the beC;, as the boy said. 



Several years ago I had a curiosity to 

 know what the bees were working on. I 

 suspected that they were gathering 

 juices from over-ripened raspberries on 

 the vines. In order to satisfy myself I 



