406 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sex Determined by Nutrition. — 



In a weekly magazine entitled " Knowl- 

 edge," published by John B. Alden, of 

 Chicago, we find the following under the 

 above heading, in the number for last 

 week. As it is very interesting, we 

 present it to our readers : 



In a work on the Evolution of Sex, 

 Prof. Patrick Geddes and J. Arthur 

 Thompson bring together a great num- 

 ber of observations tending to prove that 

 nutrition is "one of the most important 

 factors in determining sex." They cite 

 the observations of Yung (Influence des 

 Milieux Physiques .5ur les Etres Vivants) 

 on tadpoles. 



Tadpoles, according to Yung, pass 

 through an hermaphrodite stage, but 

 under ordinary conditions they develop 

 into males and females in the proportion 

 of 57 femalps to 43 males on the aver- 

 age. In 3 cases of a number of tadpoles 

 living under natural conditions, the pro- 

 portions of females and males were 54 

 to 46, 61 to 39, and 56 to 44, respect- 

 ively. 



With 3 broods of tadpoles kept in 

 conditions in varying degrees favorable 

 to nutrition, Yung obtained these strik- 

 ing results: in the first brood, fed with 

 beef, he raised the percentage to 78 : in 

 the second brood, fed with fish, the per- 

 centage rose to 81 ; and in the third, 

 which was fed on the specially nutritious 

 flesh of frogs, it rose to 92. 



The development of the queen-bee — 

 mother of a new generation — from a 

 larva in all respects the same as the 

 larva of the infertile worker, is a ques- 

 tion of diet. The queen larva gets a 

 quantity of fatty material double that 

 given to larvse destined to be workers. 



The case is similar, yet different, with 

 bumble-bees. Elmer (Entstelning der 

 Arteri) has observed that, among bum- 

 ble-bees, the first brood, hatched in early 

 Spring, get scant nourisement : they 

 develop into small females, workers in a 

 sense, yet fertile, though their progeny 

 are drones only. 



When the season is more advanced, a 

 second brood is produced by the queen : 

 these obtain more abundant food, and 

 develop into larger females ; but their 

 progeny also are drones, with an occa- 

 sional female. Finally, the future queens 

 are born. 



A similar lesson is taught by Von 

 Siebold's observations of Nematus ven- 

 tricosus, a species of wasp. In N. ven- 

 tricosus, the fertilized ova, unlike those 

 of the hive-bee, develop into males as 



well as females ; while the partheno- 

 genetic or unfertilized ova may produce 

 females in a small percentage. From 

 Spring onward, as warmth and food both 

 increased. Von Siebold estimated the 

 percentages of males and females in 

 broods of larvae reared from fertilized 

 ova. The rising ratio of females is re- 

 markable—viz., June 15 it was 14; 

 July (early) 77, (late) 269 ; August 

 (early) 340, (late) 500. The effect of 

 lower temperature and reduced food- 

 supply is seen in September, when the 

 number of males is equal to that of 

 females. 



Our Readers are found in every State, 

 Territory and Province in North Amer- 

 ica, as well as in Europe and Australia. 

 Hence, we are not surprised to have 

 friend Roese send us an item about his 

 correspondents embracing the Conti- 

 nent, and saying they obtained his 

 address from the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. Messrs. Thurber & Co., wholesale 

 grocers, of New York, wrote us, some- 

 time since, that they received an order 

 from Africa, and the party sending it 

 said that he got their address from our 

 Bee Journal. Friend Roese says : 



It must have many readers, for from 

 Maine to California I receive letters from 

 German bee-keepers, and others, asking 

 for sample copies of the Leipziger 

 Bienen-Zeitung, stating they saw the 

 advertisement in the American Bee 

 Journal. But you do not boast of the 

 number of your subscribers like some, 

 but move on quietly, letting the oldest 

 and ablest bee-periodical in America 

 speak for itself. It does speak, too, and 

 finds its way to every nook and corner ; 

 and many of its interesting articles find 

 their way by translation to the Teutonic 

 brotherhood across the waters. 



Stephen Roese. 



Honey Remedy for Sore Throat. 



The following recipe should be used as 

 a gargle: 



Amm. tinct. guaiac ... 4 drachms. 



Comp. tlnct. einchonae 4 " 



Potass, chlor 2 " 



Extracted honey 4 " 



Powd. acaci^e q. s. 



Water S^^ounces. 



Also swallow a tea-spoonful each alter- 

 nate hour. — Medical Brief. 



