230 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



gradually diminish toward the familiar or stinging end. 

 These rings on the upper side are the dorsal plates, and 

 those on the under side are the ventral plates ; underneath 

 the latter are situated the eight wax pockets, into which 

 the bees secrete wax by glands. 



It is manufactured by them at will from honey or sugar 

 syrup at a temperature of about 90 degs. It comes into 

 these pockets like melted fat and gradually cools into little 

 scales, which are drawn out by a hooked spur situated 

 on the middle joint of the middle leg. These scales are 

 kneaded into the proper consistency by the mandibles and 

 built into honeycomb. 



Scientists differ as to the amount of honey or sugar 

 syrup required to make one pound of wax, but all bee 

 keepers agree it takes a considerable amount, probably 

 10 pounds of honey or 8 pounds of sugar syrup to make 

 1 pound of wax ; hence the reason comb foundation is 

 used to as large an extent as possible. 



The bee, like most insects, does not breathe through 

 the aperature in the head, but by openings called spira- 

 cles. There are seven of those on each side of the body, 

 four being on the thorax and ten on the abdomen. All 

 these openings are protected by hairs, and also by a 

 membranous mechanism that can be closed at will. These 

 spiracles also admit air into air sacs, by which the bee 

 lessens the specific gravity of its body, and is thereby 

 enabled to sustain a long flight with but little expendi- 

 ture of muscular power. 



The sting consists of a dark brown chitinous sheath or 

 scabbard which encloses two darts or lancets. This sheath 

 is hollow and is cleft along one side and terminates in 

 an extremely thin cutting edge. 



When a bee stings the sheath is first driven home, then 

 the lancets project farther to increase the depth of the 

 wound ; these two lancets are provided with ten deep 

 retrose barbs so that the moment the bee attempts to ex- 

 tract its sting these barbs open out leaving cavities by 

 which the poison passes into the wound. 



To the base of the sting is attached the poison bag 

 from which the poison goes down the hollow sheath and 

 sting. 



When a person is stung he should never attempt to 

 pull out the sting with their finger and thumb, as this 

 presses the poison out of the poison bag into the wound. 

 The sting should always be extracted by scraping with a 

 pen knife, catching the sting at the sheath and pulling it 

 out, and bringing all the remaining poison and bag away. 



I will now give you a short description of drones 

 which are hatched as a first preparation for swarming. 

 They are males, have neither honey-sac, pollen baskets, 

 nor sting, are even wholly dependent on the workers for 

 their daily food, their only use keeping up the tempera- 

 ture of the hive at a critical period, and for fertilizing 

 young queens. When the workers decide they have no 

 further use for them, they withhold their food till they 

 become weak and then throw them out. 



The queen is the mother of all ; is a long, graceful bee 

 with gold colored legs ; in truth, she has all the appear- 

 ance of a queen, being so long and beautifully formed. 

 Like the drones, she has no pollen baskets or honey sac, 

 has a curved sting, and is fed by the bees on royal jelly. 

 She it is that lays all the eggs, from which hatch workers, 

 drones or queens, and drops her eggs into the cells at the 

 rate of hundreds per day during the busy season. When 

 a queen dies suddenly, from accident or other causes, the 

 workers can raise perfect young queens from worker 

 eggs that are not more than three days old. 



I will conclude this article by advising all bee keepers 

 to have all their hives supplied with twenty-two pounds 

 of winter stores not later than the second week in Oc- 

 tober. This enables the bees to seal all up, as unsealed 

 stores during winter ferment, and are the foundation of 

 all bee diseases except bacillus alvei. I hope to furnish 

 another article on "The Relation of Bees to Horticul- 

 ture." 



Gardenia Culture 



By GEORGE MASSON, Oakhurst. N. J. 



The Gardenia is generally considered difficult to grow, 

 but such is not the case if proper care and attention is 

 given them. 



As Gardenias have become very popular during the past 

 few years, a few notes on their cultural requirements will 

 not be out of place. Cuttings should be secured in Janu- 

 ary from strong, vigorous plants, the young tips oft' the 

 flowering shoots making excellent propagating material. 



The principal requirements in the rooting of Gardenia 

 are plenty of bottom heat, a good porous sand, and a copi- 

 ous supply of water. Most of the failures to root Garde- 

 nias are due to an insufficient water supply. Keep the cut- 

 tings well spra3-ed, and in about a month's time they will 

 be rooted. 



Directly they are rooted, they should be potted into 234- 

 inch pots, using at this potting equal parts of leaf soil and 

 loam, with sufficient sand to keep porous. After potting 

 they should be placed in a frame in one of the houses, and 

 kept close for a few days, then graduallv hardening theai 

 off. 



Water carefully and at all times keep plenty of moisture 

 around. After the pots become tilled with roots, shift 

 into 4-inch pots, using 'a compost of equal parts of leaf 

 soil and loam with a sprinkling of bone meal added. 



Place the young plants in a house with a night tempera- 



ture of 60 degs., and where they will have plenty o[ light. 

 Give ventilations whenever possible, and keep them well 

 syringed during bright days. Treated thus, they will be 

 ready for planting on the bench about the first week in 

 June. See that the benches are scrupulously clean, and 

 that there is good drainage in the benches before the soil 

 is put in. One of the most important factors in Gardenia 

 culture is in the compost used. This should consist of 

 one part loam, one part leaf soil, and one part old cow 

 manure, with a good sprinkling of bone meal added to it. 



The leaf soil should be about half decayed, and should 

 be left in rough pieces, rather than broken up. In filling 

 the bench, just put sufficient compost in, so that in planting 

 the stock out of 4-inch pots, the top of the ball will merely 

 be covered, the bottom of the ball being placed c^rectly 

 over the drainage. This is done to allow for successive 

 top dressings, which I think is one of the secrets of Gar- 

 denia culture, as by this method a veritable network of 

 active roots is kept near the surface. 



Give the plants plenty of room, about 16 inches apart 

 each way, being sufficient. After planting, water thor- 

 oughly, and keep the plants sprayed three or four times 

 daily, giving plenty of ventilation at all times during the 

 summer months. About the last week in July, they will 

 be ready for their first lopdress. 



