POLLEN. 119 
owing to the air which is left behind and ‘ cannot escape,”’ 
would prove that these cappings are originally made as air- 
tight as a thin coat of wax can make them. ‘The fact that 
honey shrinks and swells inside of the cell, is only a proof 
that, like many other things, its volume depends on the 
temperature. Again, its fermenting in sealed cells, proves 
only that it contains the elements of fermentation, and these 
can be developed at certain degrees of temperature, even 
in air-tight vessels. Mr. Cheshire’s tests of honey-combs, 
steeped in water, to ascertain whether the honey in sealed 
cells would absorb moisture and expand, have been tried by 
us with altogether contrary results. The difference of 
opinion on this subject may be due to the fact that the cap- 
pings are very fragile, and crack imperceptibly, when ex- 
posed to variations of temperature outside of the hive. 
Would it be possible that the thin coat of wax, though 
evidently air-tight, be, in some circumstances, porous 
enough to allow moisture to soak through it slowly, like 
water through leather? 
POLLEN. 
263. The pollen, or fertilizing dust of flowers, is gath- 
ered by the bees from blossoms, and is indispensable to the 
nourishment of their young—repeated experiments having 
proved that brood cannot be raised without it. It is very 
rich in the nitrogenous substances which are not contained 
in honey, and without which ample nourishment could not 
be furnished for the development of the growing bee. Dr. 
Hunter, on dissecting some immature bees, found that their 
stomachs contained pollen, but not a particle of honey. 
We are indebted to Huber for the discovery, that pollen 
is the principal food of the young bees. As large supplies 
were often found in hives whose inmates had starved, it was 
