24 SEPTEMBER 1921, Page 16

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—I see in

your last Saturday's issue a number of letters with " Bee Wine " for their subject-matter. The organism causally connected with the fermentation actions that produce this liquid is composed of a yeast and a bacterium. The yeast produces substances favourable to the life of the bacterium, while the yeast is responsible for the ferment actions, and these actions are prolonged, because the bacteria remove substances which are inimical to the life of the yeast. It is suggested that this plant " was introduced into Britain by soldiers from the Crimea in 18h5." An account of th&e so-called " Cali- fornian Bees " and their uses is to be found in the current number of the Transactions of the British Mycological Society.