THE BICE KlvKrEi^S, l:LvVIEW. 



75 



most perfectly developeu ■ individuals of 

 the hive, circulates in their veins. We 

 all know that the food for queen, drones 

 and larv;L' is prepared by the workers. 

 It is not a simple compound of honey 

 and pollen, but it is the product of the 

 ylands and the general organism of the 

 worker. It is most important that we 

 understand that this food, as it is passed 

 from the mouth of the worker to that of 

 the queen and drone, and from one work- 



*In the ears gone by, th^ worker bee has often 

 received the not flattering and unjust attribute, 

 "undeveloped feniaie." "dwarfed neuter;" while 

 in all fairness she should be publicly regarded 

 as the only and best develoy)ed ndividual of the 

 hive. The queen and the drone have dropped 

 those organs which they did not need. The 

 worker bee has retained all the organs she ever 

 had and is in nearlv every way. except size, the 

 superiorof all of them. Talk about the worker 

 beinc an undeveloped female, produced by with- 

 holding food 1 Sav, Mr Editor, did you ever 

 he ir ot a parallel case where hv stintinc, the 

 animal, a whole lot of oigans have been won- 

 derfully developed, and in a much higher degree 

 than in the other animal of the same class that 

 was abundan ly fed ? Is it not about time to drop 

 the old theory ? 



er to another, is identical 7c'itli the blood 

 of the bee; a fact that should help us to 

 understand the mystery of adaption of 

 the bee race to changing environments. 

 It should help us to understand that a 

 colony of bees is not unlike an individual, 

 or a single organism. What effects one 

 meiuber, effects the whole body; what is 

 the desire of one, all parts harmonize 

 with it; feel it; want it. The same blood 

 circulates through the whole body or bee- 

 organism as the blood circulates in our 

 own body. Practically, the 50 or 60 

 thousand bees are one. 



Professor Benton says the Cyprian bee 

 has become the most irritable bee on the 

 globe, because she has had to keep up a 

 continuous fight against the numerous 

 insect enemies in that country. It is a 

 plain case of adaption. And why should 

 the honey bee be an exception to other 

 creations ? 



X.\PLES, N. Y., Feb. 28, 1902. 



HINTS ON HIVE-GOVERS. 



r.V G. A. HATCH. 



A Cover Should be Light, Strong, True 

 Water-Proof and a Poor Con- 

 ductor of Heat. 



wne of you will prove a shrunk panel, and, like green timber, warp, war]) — siiakesi'icxki:. 



FRIEND H— I would like to make a 

 few suggestions in regard to hive 

 covers, or, in other words, air my ideas 

 as to what a hive cover ought to be; and 

 also tell why the cover describefl and 

 used by friend (Vill, of Colorado, is not 

 suited to (?///• needs in a climate of less 

 dryness than Colorado. 



THK PKRFKCT CoVKR NOT YET MADE. 



First, let me say that \\\& perfect cover 

 has not vet been made; that is, one suiled 

 to all climates and conditions. Where 

 there is as little rainy weather as there is 

 in Colorado, California, or Arizona, a 



flat cover, ventilated like the one describ- 

 ed by Gill, or the one shown in Feb. i 

 nuniber of Gleanings, described by 

 Brodbeck, of Los .Vngeles, [see E.xtract- 

 ed Department — El).] would be all right; 

 for, if the quilt under the cover did get 

 wet at night the sunshine of the succeed- 

 ing few hours would make it all right 

 again. 



Being well actjuainted with both of 

 these men, I know they would not rec- 

 ommend anything which they would not 

 themselves use. 



The four indictments made by Gill 

 against the flat cover are right; and there 



