July 14, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



61 



cultural activity to be governed by individual 

 preferences than by methods based on definite 

 scientific principles. This is well illustrated 

 in the case of the wintering of bees, which 

 constitutes one of the most important ques- 

 tions for the practical beekeeper, particularly 

 in the more northerly regions. As a result of 

 the elaborate investigations which the author 

 and his associates have conducted, the activ- 

 ities of the bees in the winter cluster and the 

 factors affecting such activities have been 

 brought out of the darkness, which heretofore, 

 both literally and metaphorically, has hidden 

 them from view, to the light of day so that 

 they can now be described intelligently and the 

 knowledge so acquired can be put to the great- 

 est possible practical use. The fact that the 

 temperature reactions of bees are so strong and 

 so important from the practical standpoint 

 demonstrates the value of the " behavior " 

 point of view. 



That a thorough knowledge of the behavior 

 of the bee is essential is indicated by the fact 

 that although bees have been kept by man 

 from time immemorial they have not been 

 domesticated; they have not, as Langstroth 

 maintained, been tamed, but their natural in- 

 stincts have remained unmodified. Conse- 

 quently, the beekeeper must direct their in- 

 stincts along the lines best adapted to his own 

 ends. It is to the credit of American bee- 

 keepers that they have been so successful in 

 this line of effort, for although it is un- 

 doubtedly true that, up to within recent years, 

 the scientific knowledge of bees has been 

 largely due to the work of European investi- 

 gators, commercial beekeeping on a large 

 scale is, as the author claims, " an American 

 institution." The development of practical 

 beekeeping began with the invention of the 

 movable frame hive by Langstroth, the father 

 of American beekeeping (1810-1895), and a 

 comparison of the prevailing type of American 

 hive, which is simple and useful for work, 

 with the more elaborate British hive is signif- 

 icant. 



All the important lines of work in the man- 

 agement of bees are fundamentally dependent 

 upon a knowledge of their behavior. Honey 



production is the beekeeper's object, conse- 

 quently he must so manipulate his bees that, 

 when the nectar is available near his apiary, 

 the bees may be in a condition to secure the 

 maximum quantity. In this connection he 

 should also possess some knowledge of the 

 nectar-producing plants occurring in his 

 neighborhood and in the localities in which 

 he establishes his " out apiaries," and the pe- 

 riod of their flowering, for this reason an 

 annotated list of considerable length of nectar- 

 producing plants is given and constitutes a 

 valuable section of the book. 



Ever since Dzierzon announced his theory 

 that the drone is a product of an unfertilized 

 egg, parthenogenesis in the bee has afforded 

 both beekeepers and scientific workers a theme 

 for much disputation. In beekeeping the ques- 

 tion is of no little practical significance, espe- 

 cially to the breeder. The conclusion of Dr. 

 Phillips on this point is of value, as he has 

 devoted particular attention to the problem of 

 parthenogenesis for a number of years. He 

 does not feel that Dzierzon's conception that 

 all the eggs in the ovary of the queen are male 

 eggs is correct, but thinks that it is not im- 

 probable that the eggs destined to be females, 

 that is, queens or workers according to their 

 post-natal treatment, die for want of fertiliza- 

 tion, while eggs destined to be males, not re- 

 quiring fertilization, are capable of develop- 

 ment. In view of what we now know con- 

 cerning the biochemistry of fertilization the 

 author's suggestion deserves serious thought. 

 In no other insect is the question of sex deter- 

 mination of greater importance since the value 

 of race is as important in beekeeping as in any 

 other form of breeding. 



With a few exceptions the existing books on 

 beekeeping are little more than works of refer- 

 ence or books of rules. There was a distinct 

 need for a work that was readable, based on 

 scientific principles and eminently practical. 

 Dr. Phillips has satisfied these requirements 

 to a degree that it would be most difficult to 

 surpass. His work is as admirable in the 

 method of presentation as it is in the well- 

 balanced treatment of all the many aspects of 

 the subject. The illustrations are well chosen, 



