CHAPTER XII 

 POLLEN-FLOWERS 



NOT long ago a popular youths' periodical published on 

 its children's page a large picture of a climbing-rose 

 bush from which a swarm of honey-bees was repre- 

 sented as gathering nectar. Beneath the bush was a still- 

 house from which ran tubes to every flower. After the nectar 

 had passed through a refining apparatus the bees were depicted 

 as bottling and carting the honey away. It was an ingenious 

 and amusing conceit, but unfortunately the roses do not yield 

 nectar, and, alas ! there is no such thing as rose-honey. The 

 rose has proven a veritable thorn in the flesh to both artists and 

 poets. 



One of our popular poets sings of the honey-bee : 



"He harries the ports of the hollyhocks. 

 And levies on poor sweetbrier; 

 And drinks the whitest wine of phlox, 

 And the rose is his desire." 



Not at all. "He" (the worker -bee is an undeveloped fe- 

 male, and the drones do not visit flowers) does nothing of the 

 kind, for the rose is nectarless and the phlox is a butterfly- 

 flower. Before describing flowers the poet would do well to 

 study them more closely. 



Even bee-keepers, who should know better, very generally 

 believe that bees gather nectar from the wild roses. "There 

 has been some discussion of late," writes one of them, '*as to 

 whether bees get any honey from roses. I believe that I have 

 seen them working very freely on wild roses, and I see no good 

 reason why roses should not yield honey, as they belong to the 



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