NoTemb«r, 1913. 



377 



American Hm Journal 



marginal flowers have been pollinated 

 and ceased to secret nectar it is of no 

 advantage to them to receive visits 

 from bees ; and it is a waste of time on 

 the part of the bees since they obtain 

 no booty. How can this be prevented ? 

 Very simply, by bending the outer 

 flowers downward as may be seen in 

 Fig. 2. The refle.xed flowers often turn 

 reddish at first, but later fade to brown. 

 The bees pass them by wholly un- 

 heeded, and confine their attention to 

 the newly expanding blossoms. Finally 

 all of the flowers bend downward, as is 



is the purple vetch (Vici'a cracca), so 

 common in worn-out fields. These 

 changes of the flowers in position and 

 color serve as signals or signs to bees, 

 telling them which flowers to avoid 

 and in which to seek nectar. 



But no such change takes place in 

 the flowers of red clover, which is 



Kif;.3— The end. Third stage of white 

 clover heads; all the flowers (except one 

 on the middle headi reflexed. 



Fig. 



-First stage of white clover heads, all 

 the flowers point upward. 



Fic 4.— White clover flowers in third stage 



Fig 2 —In madias res. Second stage of white 

 clover heads; the older, marginal flowers 

 point downward; the central, later flow- 

 ers still point upward; the cluster has the 

 form of an hour glass. 



shown in Fig. 3. They no longer re- 

 quire the visits of insects. All that is 

 left for them to do is to mature their 

 seed, during which they turn to a dark 

 brown color. 



The flowers of alsike clover heads 

 and of yellow clover heads behave in a 

 similar manner. Figure 5 shows the 

 three stages or phases in the flower- 

 clusters of yellow clover. Another 

 familiar plant in which the older flow- 

 ers bend downward and change from 

 blue purple to dark purple in color 



l''iG. 5. — The three stages in yellow 

 clover; (/. flowers just beginning to bloom; 

 /', flowers partly bent downward; i. all the 

 flowers reflexed. 



pollinated by bumble-bees. There is 

 no need of it. The floral head is much 

 larger, and elongates so that there is a 

 convenient landing place offered to the 

 female and worker bumble-bees. After 

 pollination, the flower*, beginning with 

 those which are lowest, w'ither and 

 turn dark brown. 



It is clear that it is an advantage to 

 white clover to have flowers bend 

 downward ; and it would be interesting 

 to know just how this habit has arisen 



The fact that it is of universal occur- 

 rence in both white and alsike clover, 

 would indicate not only that is bene- 

 ficial but easily acquired. As the in- 

 ner flowers grow they tend to push 

 backward the marginal ones ; and once 

 these have assumed a horizontal posi- 

 tion, gravity might pull them down- 

 ward. If any reader can suggest a bet- 

 ter theory I wish he would write to me 

 about it. 



Waldboro, Maine. 



Bees in Southern Mexico 



BY L. K. HIRSHBERG. 



THE investment of American capi- 

 tal in Mexican enterprises, as 

 well as the unsatisfactory state 

 of the internal affairs of our 

 southern neighbors, makes any 

 discussion of commercial matters in 

 that sanguinary republic most timely. 

 The bee-breeding industry, for exam- 

 ple, in Mexico, owned for the most 

 part by citizens of the United States, 

 has luckily been little disturbed by the 

 guerrilla warfare. 



The most important center for the 

 breeding of bees, and therefore the 

 production of both honey and wax, is 

 in southern and western States. Here 

 in the mountainous sections of Pa- 

 pantla, Jalacingo and Chicontepec, as 

 well as the fertile environs of Vera 

 Cruz, especially in the country of 

 Sosanoloapas, there is an enormous 

 bee-breeding business. Indeed, apicul- 

 ture may justly be called one of the 

 most profitable industries thereabouts. 



Housing of bees is given little if any 

 consideration. The honey-makers are 

 maintained for the most part in hollow 

 trees, excavated logs and discarded 

 bo.xes. These methods have been 

 handed down to the greasers from the 

 primitive aztecs and Indians, who knew 

 how to cultivate bees before the con- 

 quest of Mexico. There are a number 

 of native wild bees here not found else- 

 where. Only two of these varieties, 

 however, have been domesticated. 

 ^Along with the light-colored and 

 dark German bee, and the smaller Ital- 

 ian pure breeds, many hybrids are cul- 

 tivated. The Spanish names of some 

 of these are La Espanola, La Castel- 

 lana. La Real, and Abeja Prieta. 



One of the native rules for building 

 hives is to build them upon platforms 

 or" stilts in any way to keep them 

 above the moist earth. "Build," how- 

 ever, is a wrong word, for no one takes 

 the trouble to do that. If hollow 

 stumps or logs are used, you may 

 find them hanging like a hornet's 

 nest from the beam under the roof of a 

 veranda, or from the limb of a tree 

 near the house. When the fork of a 

 tree is available, you may be sure it 

 will be found with one of these impro- 

 vised hives. Stilts, posts, or platforms 

 are kept from 2 to 6 feet above the 

 ground. 



Honey is removed from the hives 

 about twice a year. The preferred 

 time is in the months of March and 

 July, although there are no iron-clad 

 rules. The amount of honey and wax 

 collected is as inconstant as the sea- 

 sons themselves ; although the average 

 (may run something like 13 pounds an- 



