POLLEN. 119 



owing to the air which is left behind and " cannot escape," 

 would prove that these capping-; are originally made as air- 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, hke many other things, its volumo 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 huney-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 



