332 



THE Bx^E-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



sitionB, since the workings of the laws 

 themselves are all-sufficient : and specula- 

 tions have not the remotest connection with 

 the essentials of religion. These remarks 

 are suggested by the recurrence, every now 

 and then, of the bold affirmative " the 

 swarming instinct was implanted by the 

 Creator, " as if implanted by a special act. 



A little editorial says : "The coloring mat- 

 ter and odor of wax undoubtedly arise from 

 the remains of food, which the bees incor- 

 porate with it in gnawing the comb. Also 

 wood which the bees gnaw when it stands 

 in their way, is often colored a bright yel- 

 low, just as wax is. The more energetically 

 and the more repeatedly the bees gnaw, the 

 more intense becomes the color, and pieces 

 of larva skin, which have been gnawed off, 

 are also mingled with the wax. For that 

 reason old combs are always darker color- 

 ed. " 



Two bee-keepers, says Pastor Fleischman, 

 have recently reported that a visit to their 

 bees is always followed by a violent cold, 

 which in one case is accompanied by ex- 

 cessive sneezing, coughing and soreness of 

 throat. Breathing an atmosphere laden 

 with formic acid is supposed to be the cause. 

 Another thin-skinned colleague reports a 

 bad case of eruption from handling frames, 

 on account of the propolis. He thinks it is 

 the same affection as what has been styled 

 " resinous eczema, " which has been noticed 

 among railroad hands when engaged in lay- 

 ing ties. 



Rheiniohe Bienenzeitung. — Herr Cremer 

 calls attention to the fact that to have two 

 colonies in one hive may be disadvantageous, 

 if there is too great a disproportion between 

 the strength of the two. The stronger one 

 may withdraw from the partition at a time 

 when the weaker one is not ready to dis- 

 pense with the assistance of its neighbor's 

 warmth, to which it has adapted the shape of 

 its cluster. 



La Revue Intebnationale. — The natives 

 of Reunion, an island east of Madagascar, 

 employ the fragrant rush ( Andropogon 

 Schoenanthiis ) to rub inside of the hives 

 for swarms, says Aug. de Villele, a bee- 

 keeper there. But he had always been 

 sceptical of its virtues until one day a swarm 

 which had been shaken off over a hive, and 

 had scattered again, was made to return and 

 enter the hive, merely by violently rubbing 

 ^ turf of the rush between the haods, 



Queen-cells given the morning after the 

 removal of the queen were never accepted in 

 the experience of L. Matter-Perrin, but 

 always were by first waiting two days. 



A solution of camphor is the best apif uge, 

 says Ulrich Gubber. 



Denver, Colo. 



Oct., 18,18%. 



^^^>^^i^^^i'';<^J'^^<:^' 



Honey Comb— The Impossible and Possible. 



L. A. ASPINWALL. 



rnO the scientist 

 1.' all nature is a 

 labyrinth of beau- 

 tiful object lessons, 

 from which the fab- 

 ric of modern civ- 

 ilization has been 

 framed. With the 

 wise man, we must 

 all agree, that there 

 is nothing new un- 

 der the sun ; and 

 that all human in- 

 invention is anticipated by Nature. But a 

 glimpse of the unknown, and (he possibil- 

 ities of future realities should fill us with 

 enthusiasm and unbounded energy. 



From the time that curious eyes ^rst 

 looked into the abode of bees, to the present, 

 what progress has achieved. And when we 

 consider that department of Nature's teach- 

 ings, and the requirements necessary to a 

 more perxect control of the honey bee, and 

 which shall be in harmony with her in- 

 stincts, we find much to be accomplished, 

 which is desirable. However, in this paper 

 I shall speak only of and in reference to 

 honey comb. In speaking of it we shall 

 fiud that, as in nature, there is a lack of per- 

 fection. A wormy apple when falling from 

 the tree will occasionally strike one which is 

 sound causing it to fall also. 



Cylones and tornados uproot trees and 

 devastate the beau ties of nature. God said 

 at the end of his creative work, that it was 

 very good— he did not say it whs pt rfect. 



The illustration herewith is from a photo- 

 graph of natural comb, in which there are 

 both worker and drone cells. At th© side is 



