* 
May 1, 1901.1 
Supplement to the ''Tropical Agriculturist." 
805 
the housewife adds 1 lb. of common washing soda 
to 20 gnllons of boiling water, and applies it hot, 
she is'iising one of the most powerful germicides 
and disinfectants we possess. In all cleansing 
operations relating to dairying, this germicide, 
where possible, should be used, followed by 
rinsing the utennls or vessels with water that has 
been recently boiled. . 
Flies are a constant source of bacterial invasion 
to milk. They convey ou their wings and feet 
innumerable organisms, and generally of a very 
undesirable class. Potable waters and methods 
of filtration fail to provide a germ-free water. 
The filters in ordinary use are shown to be faulty ; 
dripstone, charcoal and other forms were proved 
to pass pathogenic germs, and hence were useless 
t-in preventing typhoid and other germs invading 
the body. The only filters proved to be reliable 
were those made of a special isinglazed porce- 
lain with a certain density, and the filtering 
process only made available by means of high 
pressure. Filters, such as the Abbott, have been 
submitted to rigid bacteriolgical tests, and found to 
supply a germ-free watev.— Statics, Farm and 
Dairy. 
_ 
THE HONEY BEE— ITS LIFE HISTOKY. 
( Concluded. ) 
The Drone. 
The function of the males is solely that of fer- 
tilising young queens. The excessive number of 
drones always present in a strong colony during 
the summer has been a puzzle to naturalists and 
still more to bee-keepers. By some they were 
considered defenders, others maintained that they 
assisted in keeping theyoung brood warm, and others 
again believed them to be water carriers, and that 
they also probably assisted in ventilating the hiye. 
The fact, however, that they lack the defensive 
organs of the other bees— the sting— makes the 
drones quite harmless. And as regards keeping 
the brood warm, this supposition falls to the 
ground, because they appear mostly in summer 
wheji the brood does not require to be constantly 
covered. During early spring when warmth is 
most needed in the hive they are generally not 
present, or only in the larvse stage,- and require 
external warmth themselves; but towards autumn 
they are, as a rule, driven out and perish. Except 
when a colony should become queeuless late in 
the season, the drones are spared and may at 
times even be allowed to live through the winter, 
That part of their function is to provide water 
or keep the hive ventilated is likewise a mere 
supposition. In fact, when in the hive the drones 
do nothing but eat, most of the time allowing the 
workers to feed them. For what purpose, then, 
are so many as sometimes over two thousand 
produced by a vigorous colony? It is all im- 
portant that the young queen should be fertilised 
soon afte^she becomes mature, and as the act oE 
coition must take place while on the wing, and 
at a considerable height in the air, it is necessary 
that there should be many drones available to 
ensure her meeting one when issuing on her 
wedding flight, But aupther more important 
fact must be considered. When a young queen 
ventures out for a martial embrace she will, as 
likely as net, meet one of her brothers, under 
natural conditiou?, probably as a rule. This 
might lead to deteriorations of the race were it 
not that in the competition for her possession 
the strongest and swiftest has the best change to 
achieve the desire. To secure a prompt fertilisa- 
tion by natural selection combined with sexual 
xelectio7i the large number of drones are provided. 
This view corresponds with the general law of 
nature. The importance of the drones is enhanced 
by tlieir numbers. Probably no more than one 
out of upwards of a thousand copulates, but then 
his virility may assert itself for upwards of five 
years. 
The Worker. 
The name ''worker," given to the great mass 
of bees found in a colony, is perhaps tlie most 
correctly and justly applied. It is in no way 
misleading like that of queen, and not derived from 
a mere peculiarity as that of drone ^ because the 
male, owing to the much greater expanse of 
wings, hums much louder than the rest when 
flying). The worker has to do everything except 
reproduce the race.* This they are unable to do 
owing to their aborted sexual organs, which has 
suppressed their sexual desires without impairing 
their love for theyoung. The queen produces the 
young, but cannot rear them, and this the workers 
do with a zest that is without parallel. They 
divide, so to say, with tlie real mother the labour 
and pleasure of maternal care. The welfare of 
their immature sisters absorbs their whole being. 
They toil incessantly for the young, and sacrifice, 
in fact, their lives for thorn in every sense of the 
word. Their work begins a few hours after they 
leave the cradle, and only ends with death. 
During the first ten days or so they tend the 
larvae, seeing that everyone is supplied with the 
proper nutrition. For this they are be?t adapted 
at the early age of maturity, owing to some 
physiological characteristics. Whilst engaged in 
this duty they do not fly, except for a short 
period during the warmest part of the day, round 
about the hive getting exercise (pliy), and at the 
game time making themselves acquainted with 
their environments. In due course the sealing of 
the cells over the full grown larvaj has to be 
attended to, and during the progress of these 
various operations they cluster more or less 
thickly on the comb for the purpose of keeping the 
brood warm. All insects being cold-blooded, 
sufficient warmth can only be created by them 
through continued agitation. The bees staying at 
home engaged in the before-mentioned work 
are more particularly called "nurses." 
Meantime the older bees, also called "foragers," 
are busy bringing pollen and honey, which is 
transferred to the nurses for immediate use, or 
stored in cells handy to the brood nest. These 
provisions are in several ways elaborated into 
food for the larvie. To further liquify the honey 
* As the ovaries are not entirely absent bat merely 
atrophied in the workers, some, under exception*! 
ciroumstauces, are able to produce eggs. Tb{|| 
abnormal phase will be discussed later on. 
