POLLEN. 



327 



POLLEN. 



Prof. A. J. Cook, of Pomona College, Clare- 

 mont, Cal., very much doubts whether the 

 honey from any plant is poisonous. Some 

 years ago instances were related of l^ee- 

 keepers wlio had not only eaten of the honey 

 from poisonous plants but ate of it quite 



pollen adheres to it and is from time to time 

 put away somehow, we are led to infer that 

 there must be something adhesive on it. We 

 believe the bee, when it starts out to gather 

 pollen, carries some honey if it finds any 

 in the blossom. Well, we will suppose it 

 has moistened its long, 

 flexible, brush-like tongue 

 with honey, has spread it 

 out and brushed it among 

 the pollen-grains and then 

 — right here we shall have 

 to give you some jnctures 

 to explain what happens 

 next. 



The illustiations shown 

 on the next page, taken 

 from Cheshire's Bees and 

 Bee-keeping, sliow the leg 

 of the bee. 



In a general way it will 

 be noted that the legs are 

 covered with rough hairs, 

 fringes of coarser hairs, 

 and short spines or combs. 

 These are located on the 

 different parts of the legs 

 of the bees, and eacli set 

 is designed for a different 

 purpose ; ti, at A, in the 

 reproduction from Chesh- 



TELLOW JASMINE (Jasimum odoratissimum] 



freely without any ill effects. But the ques- 

 tion might arise as to whether they actually 

 ate any honey from the plants in question, 

 or from some harmless plants that were 

 in bloom at the same time. In a matter in- 

 volving severe sickness or possible loss of 

 life it would seem to be policy to err on the 

 safe side — that is, to let the honey from 

 mountain laurel, yellow jasmine, and other 

 poisonous plants, entirely alone. If it does 

 not kill the bees, let them have it for brood- 

 rearing, but make no other use of it. 



FOLZiZiST. Doubtless you have all 

 heard bees humming about hollyhock blos- 

 soms, and perhaps most of you have passed 

 on thinking that it was nothing strange, 

 for bees are always humming about flow- 

 ers. Suppose we stop just a minute, and 

 look into the matter a little. The bee, al- 

 though on the wing, is almost motionless as 

 it hovers about the dust in the center of 

 the flower, and, by careful watching, we 

 may see that its tongue is extended to a con- 

 siderable length. This tongue looks much 

 like a delicate pencil-brush as it sweeps 

 about among the grains of pollen; and as the 



ire, shows a pollen' 

 basket on one of the 

 hind legs. Notice 

 that the joint at 

 this point is hollow 

 and fringed on 

 either side with 

 coarse hairs or 

 spurs. The pollen, 

 as fast as it is gath- 

 ered and made up 

 into little pellets, is 

 deposited one at a 

 time, forming one 

 large loaf or pellet 

 in the pollen-basket 

 — ti at A, t)ut refer- 

 ence to this will be 

 made a little later. 

 .Just below the pol- 

 len-basket at wp, in 

 B, is shown a sort 

 of jaw, or pincers. 

 This is said to be 

 used to gather the 

 thin plates of wax 

 that are secreted on 



End of ToDgTie of Worker, 

 Magnified 70 Times. 



