6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 65 



the candies containing oil of peppermint and quinine or the chinqua- 

 pin honey. 



The following day honey containing oil of peppermint was substi- 

 tuted for the chinquapin honey. This was had by mixing one drop 

 of the oil of peppermint in 25 cubic centimeters of honey, and the 

 mixture was then divided into five equal parts. It emitted only a faint 

 odor of peppermint, but when eaten by the writer the peppermint 

 attribute was quite pronounced. It no longer tasted like honey. 

 During the first five minutes only a few bees ate a little of it, and 

 after that none offered to eat it. As an average for the 100 bees for 

 five counts, 26.6 per cent were observed eating pure cane-sugar candy 

 at any one count, but none was seen eating the candies and the honey 

 containing oil of peppermint and quinine. Later the pure cane-sugar 

 candy in case No. 1 became exhausted, and instead of the bees select- 

 ing either the candy or the honey containing oil of peppermint, they 

 chose the candy containing quinine. For two hours they ate it as 

 freely as they previously had eaten the pure cane-sugar candy, but 

 after the third hour they ceased to eat it. By this time a few were 

 dead and several were sick. 



One drop of cider vinegar was mixed with 25 grams of cane-sugar 

 candy and one drop of carbolic acid was mixed with an equal amount 

 of cane-sugar candy. Each one of these mixtures was then divided 

 into five equal parts. Fresh bees were introduced into the cases and 

 were fed pure cane-sugar candy and the mixtures just described. As 

 an average for the 100 bees for five counts, 17.4 per cent were 

 observed eating pure cane-sugar candy, 28.8 per cent eating candy 

 containing vinegar, and 1 .4 per cent were seen eating candy contain- 

 ing carbolic acid, making a total average of 47.6 per cent eating at 

 any one count. The vinegar seemed to have brought about a chemical 

 change in the candy and probably inverted the cane sugar. After the 

 fifth count the bees ate this candy more freely than before. 



Two days later the candy containing vinegar was removed and 

 candy containing alum was placed in its exact position. The latter 

 candy was composed of one-half powdered alum, and the other half 

 of powdered sugar and honey. At first the bees ran over it, and 

 thereafter only occasionally ate a little of it. As an average for the 

 100 bees for five counts, 19.2 per cent were seen eating pure cane- 

 sugar candy, 3.8 per cent eating candy containing carbolic acid, and 

 3.4 per cent were seen eating candy containing alum, making a total 

 average of 26.4 per cent eating at any one count. The candy contain- 

 ing carbolic acid at this time emitted only a faint odor. 



