THE HONEY-BEE. 37 



eyer raised, whose body was even smaller than that of a 

 worker, it occurred to me at once that if she ever laid, it 

 would be a test of this theory. Her body being small, it 

 could not be compressed like that of others, and a large 

 portion of her progeny, would prove to be drones in work- 

 er-cells. The result was just what I expected ; one half 

 were drones." 



Capt. Hetherington vouches for similar experience, and 

 approves of this theory. Prof. Cook, who claims that 

 the fertilizing fluid is forced out at will, by voluntary 

 muscular contraction, presents the opposing statement, 

 that very small queens make no mistakes, and that with 

 no drone-cells, the queen will sometimes lay drone-eggs in 

 worker-cells which will hatch drones, and also that' she 

 will, if compelled, reluctantly place worker-eggs in drone- 

 cells. 



I have read and re-read this statement to see if I could 

 not find some qualification, that would harmonize it with 

 my own observations, but in this, our experience differs 

 widely. We, (Mr. Quinby and myself,) gave this point a 

 great deal of earnest thought and study. In hundreds of 

 tests and experiments we were never able to detect a sin- 

 gle variation in the rule, that a worker or queen would 

 never be hatched from an egg, deposited in a drone-cell 

 of ordinary size and depth. This is corroborated by the 

 fact that when furnishing a strong swarm with none but 

 drone-combs, where their natural instinct would lead them 

 to rear workers, if possible, I have never found workers 

 or queens raised under these circumstances. This con- 

 clusion is sustained by some of the best writers of the past 

 and present. 



Prof. Cook argues against Mr. "Wagner's theory from 

 the fact that fertilized eggs are deposited in queen-cells, 

 which are too large to afford the necesssary compression, 

 and also in unfinished worker-cells whose walls are not 

 Bufficiently extended to produce it. 



