470 



AMERICAN BEE lOURNAL 



July 



I asked him if it were not true that wild bees, insects and 

 birds, over which man has no control, could do all the mis- 

 chief ascribed to the bees. He admitted that this was pos- 

 sible, but not probable. Did he not think that bees were 

 valuable as fertilizers of the blossoms, especiallj' of those 

 of the Bartlett pear? He thought they were. Well, did 

 not this service of the bee, year in and year out, more than 

 counterbalance the alleged mischief done by them in the 

 occasional year when pear-blight was so prevalent ? He 

 could not say, although he was of the opinion that, by a 

 certain alternation of varieties, the services of the bee 

 might be dispensed with entirely ; but of this he was not 

 sure. 



From Prof. Waite's statements it would appear (to 

 express it in common parlance) that the bees have been 

 caught " red-handed," bearing the marks of the alleged 

 criminal act. If I understood Prof. Pierce, he had not found 

 the bacteria of pear-blight on the tongues of the bees, nor 

 had he himself seen the microbes in the nectar. If this 

 be true, we have, as the onlj* real incriminating chain of 

 evidence, the statement of Prof. Waite. Without detract- 

 ing in the least from the skill of the professor, it is proper 

 to remark that even the best of scientific men make mis- 

 takes, and we, as bee-keepers can not accept the unsup- 

 ported statement of Prof. Waite without further investiga- 

 tion by some of our men equally competent and fair. 



This is a nice question, as a lawyer would say, and we 

 need to go at it carefully and candidly to get at the truth, 

 cut where it may. 



There is some evidence that goes to show that Prof. 

 Waite is mistaken. For instance, there are young pear- 

 trees, acres and acres of them, that have neve)- been in 

 bloom, and yet these young trees are blighted to death. 

 How in the name of reason did the bees carry blight to 

 these trees when it is apparent that they never went near 

 them ? And then there are little shoots that have pushed up 

 from the ground since the big trees were in flower, and 

 yet these shoots are blighted like the rest. Assuming, for 

 argument's sake, that bees may carry the blight on old 

 trees, we must admit that there is some agency, possibly 

 the wind. Prof. Waite to the contrary, that carries the 

 destructive microbe to the young shoots and the young 

 trees. There are some things that are not explained yet. 



Again, I believe we have the right to insist, for the 

 present, until we have more corroborative evidence, that 

 wild bees, other insects, and birds, over which man has no 

 control, may be able to spread the blight just as much as 

 the bees under the control of man. For example, this illus- 

 tration was used : If a barrel full of water has two plugs 

 in it near the bottom, the larger plug, represented by the 

 tame bees, and the other plug (the small one) by insects, 

 birds, and wild bees, will not the small plug exhaust the 

 barrel just as surely as the large one ? If this be true the 

 removal of the bees controlled by man would not bring the 

 relief expected, by a long way. 



In conclusion, let me saj' that I visited the worst- 

 affected large pear-orchards in tlie vicinity of Hanford, 

 Calif. The large pear-growers were fair, intelligent men. 

 While they thought the bees were to blame, they also 

 thought the pear-men had some responsibility in the mat- 

 ter. 



I visited one orchard of 120 acres, and every tree was 

 badly blighted, and no mistake ; but in this orchard we 

 found the badly-blighted little shoots I have referred to. — 

 Gleanings in Bee-Culture. 



California for Bees— Motherwort, Etc. 



BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 



PROF. C. P. GILLETTE, of Colorado, desires me to give 

 the comparative merits of the di&'erent parts of Califor- 

 nia for bees. The southern portion of the State would 

 be incomparably superior were it not for the too frequent 

 drouths. When we have good years the crop is immense, and 

 the honey — mostly sage — is very superior in color and flavor. 

 But the dry seasons are too common. In the 7 years since 

 I came here there have been but 3 excellent seasons, while 

 two of the seasons were complete failures. It is possible that 

 at some time in the future we may be prepared to water 

 large sage areas, in winter, when there is too little rain, 

 and when water can be had cheaply, and so remove this un- 

 certainty. In such case Southern California would lead the 

 world. 



Central California — the great San Joaquin Vallej- — is 

 becoming very noted as a locality for bees. The extensive 



fields of alfalfa in Fresno, Tulare and Kings Counties, 

 make the honey crop almost certain ; and the quality of the 

 alfalfa honey leaves nothing to be desired. 



In Northern California there are always abundant 

 rains, and in some sections, as along the Sacramento river, 

 there are extensive areas of alfalfa. If the North had as 

 fine honey-plants and in as rich profusion as the South, 

 then Northern California would be at the head for honey- 

 production. 



Prof. Gillette asks especially about Sonoma County. If 

 one is sure of honey-plants he may have no fear. It would 

 be wise, if possible, to locate close by a large acreage of al- 

 falfa, as then failure would be almost sure of elimination. 

 There must be generous watering in winter to insure nec- 

 tar-secretion. The owners of alfalfa will look to the water- 

 ing, and so the honey crop will be assured. 



MOTHERWORT AS A HOXEV-PLANT. 



Mr. Arthur A. Houser, of McDonough Co., 111., sends a 

 nice sample of this plant, of which he writes : 



'•I send you a flower wliioh grows abundantly here. I haven't 

 been able to find a botanist that can give me its name. Will you 

 please name it through the American Bee JournaU The bees are on 

 it from early morning till late at night. I feel sure it must be a very 

 rich honey-plant. Do you not think I would better encourage its 

 growth here, as it flourishes well with Italf a cliance?" 



This is one of the best mints of the East. It is the com- 

 mon motherwort — Leonurus cardiaca. It is illustrated in 

 my ■■ Bee-Keeper's Guide," page 357, where I fully explain 

 its excellence as a honey-plant. It is one of the mints, and 

 so has excellent relatives in the horse-mint and white and 

 ball sages. It belongs to the family Labiate, so named 

 from the two-lipped or bi-labiate form of the flowers. Such 

 irregular flowers have developed, as we are assured, that 

 bees, etc., might the better cross-pollinate the flowers. 

 Other families with irregular flowers are familiar in the 

 Scrophulariacea' and the Legumes. In the first is the ex- 

 cellent honey-plant — figwort — and in the latter all the clo- 

 vers. The irregular flowers are so formed that the bee, as 

 it reaches in to get the nectar, is sure to become dusted 

 with the pollen, which, as the bee flies away, will be borne 

 to the stigma of the next flower visited. The very fact of 

 irregular flowers tells that we have honey-plants. 



CORRECT rSE OF XAMES. 



I doubt if we can be too careful in using names cor- 

 rectly. I have a theor3' that to use terms loosely tends to 

 beget untruth, and, conversely, to use words precisely 

 works to make one more truthful. This, and to be more 

 correct in our language, is surely enough to influence us 

 all. Thus I would urge all to help to correct some very 

 common faults of expression. I say faults, though the 

 dictionaries may permit some of them. Our dictionary 

 makers are conservative, and follow rather than lead in 

 nice distinctions. The best waj- to gain the latest and best 

 is to study the works of specialists. They must be accurate 

 and precise. 



The entomologist would never call a larva a worm. In- 

 sects are a branch separate from worms, and are very dif- 

 ferent in every way. A worm — an angle-worm is an exam- 

 ple — is aUvays the same in form and appearance. Thus a 

 worm just hatched from the e^g is like the mature worm, 

 except it is small. Worms have no feet, nor any specialized 

 organs for breathing. We may rightly say angle-worm, 

 sea-worm, tape-worm, round-worm. etc. 



The larva? of insects are dift'erent. They are very un- 

 like their matured selves — usually have feet — have respira- 

 tory organs. If these are to develop into butterflies or 

 moths, we call them caterpillars. These always have from 

 10 to 111 legs, usually the latter number. If they are to de- 

 velop into two-winged flies, like house-flies, we call them 

 maggots. These are footless. If they are to become bee- 

 tles, we call them grubs, when they usually have 6 legs, 

 though some, like the grubs of weevils, are also apodous or 

 footless. Another mistake is to call insects bugs. Onlj' 

 one order of insects are bugs. We may say chinch-bug cor- 

 rectly, but to call a beetle or locust a bug is as much an 

 error as to call a rat a hippopotamus. Let us do all we can 

 to secure more accuracy in the use of such names. 



Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



Queenie Jeanette is the title of a pretty song in sheet 

 music size, written by J. C. Wallennieyer. a musical bee- 

 keeper. The regular price is 40 cents, but to close out the 

 copies we have left, we will mail them at 20 cents each, as 

 long as they last. Better order at once, if you want a copy 

 of this song. 



