2IO 



July, ijii. 



American ^ee Journal 



we know, and no one knows when tlie 

 mule-footed hog became so. We know 

 that in the dawn of history the hog was 

 cloven-hoofed, for the Mosaic law was 

 aimed at the filthy hog. The law-givers 

 knew nothing about bacteriology, but 

 they observed that those who ate freelv 

 of pork became diseased, and as the 

 priests in those days were the law- 

 makers, what they said " went." 



The unknown is always a safe refuge 

 for ignorance, and "because we can 

 not control the male of the bee in mat- 

 ing we can not have a non-swarming 

 strain." What evidence, may I ask, 

 have we-that we should be able to per- 

 petuate race suicide in the bees were 

 we able to have control their mating? 

 Not a scintilla. It is a mere theory, 

 and in connection with this I suggest 

 to Mr. Hand that the various bee-papers 

 will find something to discuss long 

 after his non-swarming hive-bottom 

 has been relegated to the scrap-pile. 



Mind, I do not claim that we can not 

 somewhat modify the tendency of some 

 bees to swarm in some localilii-s and in 

 some hives, but just when we least de- 

 sire that they swarm, off they will come 

 in clouds. The above is written re- 

 membering an article in a recent bee- 

 paper where the writer describes a suc- 

 cessful method of preventing swarm- 

 ing, then knocks his whole story in the 

 head by telling «io;////;f horrible droulh 

 they had (1910), Evidently the man did 

 not know that bees will not swarm 

 when there is a drouth on, and mine 

 did not in 1910, when one was impend- 

 ing. One colony built one queen-cell. 



"Prove all things and holdfast to 

 that which is good," is as good a rule 

 of conduct now as when first enun- 

 ciated. Prove that by controlling par- 

 entage you can control swarming be- 

 fore stating as a fact that you can ; I 

 might go further and say: Prove that 

 a strain of non-swarming bees is a de- 

 sideratum. Some bee-men seem to 

 think that with non-swarming bees, the 

 honey would come in by the ton where 

 we now get pounds. Would it? I tell 

 you I doubt it. I more than half sus- 

 pect that if we were to establish such 

 bees, we would find ourselves with 

 a lot of insects which would store onlv 

 what they needed, for I do not think 

 bees are over-active when about to su- 

 persede. Would not the little things 

 find out that they did not have to work 

 so hard? I have learned modestv 

 from Dr. Miller, and will say, " I don''t 

 know." Do you ? 



Little children, let us above all things 

 be precise. An unbelievable assertion 

 that I have cured a hundred cases of 

 rheumatism by the aid of bee-stings 

 will not improve my reputation for 

 veracity ; a claim that I have a strain of 

 bees which will under no circumstances 

 and in no kind of hive ever swarm will 

 only provoke smiles of indulgent dis- 

 belief; and so on down the list. Con- 

 sider how little we really know about 

 the animals we are working with; how 

 the need of the almighty dollar stands 

 as a barrier to observation, study and 

 progress. Prove all things, and' you 

 will find that since man began handling 

 bees we have learned so little that we 

 are still dreaming of the impossible. 

 Do not, I beg, add to the " hybrid " 

 (mule) error by writing about semi- 

 hibernation, when hibernate means 



only to pass the winter in a close place. 

 Would semi-hibernate mean to pass 

 half the winter in a close place? 



Remember that " belief" proves noth- 

 ing, and that the word is often erro- 

 neously used for faitli, which, accord- 

 ing to the Encyclopedia Britanica, 

 means " the acceptance as true which is 

 not knozcn to be true." We may have 

 faith in the possibility of a non-swarm- 

 ing strain of bees, but lacking evidence 

 we can not believe it, much less know it. 



Buck Grove, Iowa. 



Relation of Bees aud Flowers 



BY W. M. PARRISH. 



I will endeavor to show the relation 

 between bees and flowers, as well as 

 the dependence of the one upon the 

 other. Of course, there are other in- 

 sects that fertilize blossoms, but nearly 

 all the credit should be bestowed upon 

 the honey-bees, as they visit more dif- 

 ferent kinds of flowers, and in ten times 

 larger numbers than all other insects 

 combined, and at fruit-blooming time 

 all the credit can be given to the bee. 



To the farmer and fruit-grower the 

 honey-bee is nothing less than a phi- 

 lanthropist, because if it were not for 

 the busy little bee in its untiring flight 

 from flower to flower, their alfalfa and 

 fruit-trees would not seed and fruit. 



Some think that a perfect flower, or, 

 in other words, a flower having both 

 stamens and pistils, fertilizes itself, but 

 there is no end to the ways or contri- 

 vances that flowers have to prevent 

 self-fertilization. For instance, in some 

 flowers the stamens or pollen-produc- 

 ing anthers are a great deal lower than 

 the stigma, and the pollen may all drop 

 to the base of the flower, and the ovary 

 go unfertilized; while in the flowers 

 like the milk-weed, the way they are 

 fertilized by the bee, and the contri- 

 vances they have to prevent self-ferti- 

 lization, are simply wonderful and inde- 

 scribable. This being the case, it can 

 easily be seen that flowers are de- 

 pendent upon some insect for fertili- 

 zation, and nine times out of ten it is 

 the honey-bee. 



Some think that flowers are fertilized 

 by wind, but there are a very small per- 

 cent of blossoms fertilized by wind- 

 carried pollen. If any doubt this, it 

 can be proven to their entire satisfac- 

 tion by selecting a limb on a fruit-tree 

 just before it comes into bloom. First, 

 count the buds, then cover up with 

 mosquito-netting or cheese-cloth. Tie 

 the netting or cloth bag around the 

 limb tightly, so that no insects can get 

 imderit, and you will find a very small 

 percent, indeed, if any, set fruit. 



Nearly every tree, shrub and flower, 

 with the exception of the grass family, 

 such as corn, millet, timothy, wheat, 

 etc., have their insect, or several kinds 

 of insects, to fertilize their blossoms, 

 and there are a few varieties of plants 

 that have only one kind of insect to 

 carry pollen for them. This is why 

 some plants become sterile when taken 

 from their native land where that par- 

 ticular insect abounds. 



When red clover was first introduced 

 into Australia, it would not produce 

 seed until they imported bumble-bees 

 from the United States. This shows a 



plant having only one kind of insect to 

 fertilize its blossoms, also a perfect 

 flower not fertilizing itself, as, if you 

 will examine red-clover blossoms, you 

 will find it has both stamens and pistils. 



Flowers, in order to attract and en- 

 tice bees to fertilize their blossoms, 

 secrete a very fragrant or aromatic 

 liquid called nectar. The breast and 

 legs of the bee are covered with little, 

 hook-shape hairs, and so constructed 

 that in gathering this nectar the pollen 

 is taken automatically from the flower. 



The stigma of flowers secrete a 

 sticky, resinous substance, so as to 

 catch and hold the fertilizing dust or 

 pollen when the pollen-covered legs or 

 breast of the bee comes in contact 

 with it, and it is estimated that one bee 

 visits several hundred blossoms in its 

 course of a single journey, hence it 

 can be readily seen the great value of 

 the honey-bee in cross-poUenization. 



In some plants, such as willows, fer- 

 tilization would be impossible without 

 the help of insects, because such plants- 

 are diecious, having their staminate 

 blossoms on one tree, and their pistil- 

 late blossoms on another. The bee, 

 after visiting the staminate blossoms 

 for pollen goes to the others for nec- 

 tar, hence fecundation is effected. 



The soft maple, when in bloom, is 

 very interesting as well as unique, for 

 on the same tree or limb you will find 

 two kinds of blossoms — staminate and 

 pistillate, or, in other words, male and 

 female. Staminate blossoms never pro- 

 duce seed — they furnish only the ferti- 

 lizer, called pollen ; as in plant life so 

 it is the same in higher life. The bee 

 transfers the pollen from the stamens 

 of the male blossoms to the pistils of 

 the female blossomf, where it grows, 

 sending a long thread-like tube into the 

 ovary, thus fertilizing the ovule and 

 producing a seed or fruit. 



Horticulturists talk about the wind 

 fertilizing their fruit-blossoms, but I 

 am sure that if any one will take the 

 time and pains to investigate he will 

 soon learn that fruit-trees, etc., depend 

 almost entirely upon the industrious 

 little bee for the fertilization of their 

 blossoms. — Read at the Kansas State 

 CojiTetitiofi. 



Lawrence, Kan. 



" The Honey-3Iouey Stories " 



This is a tU-page and cover booklet, 

 534^ by 8>^ inches in size, and printed 

 on enameled paper. It contains a va- 

 riety of short, bright stories, mixed 

 with facts and interesting items about 

 honey and its use. It has 31 half- 

 tone pictures, mostly of apiaries 01 

 apiarian scenes ; also 3 bee-songs, 

 namely : " The Hum of the Bees in 

 the Apple-Tree Bloom," and " Buck- 

 wheat Cakes and Honey," and " The 

 Bee-Keeper's Lullaby." It ought to be 

 in the hands of every one not familiar 

 with the food-value of honey. Its ob- 

 ject is to create a larger demand for 

 honey. ^ It is sent postpaid for 25 cents, 

 but we will mail a single copy as a 

 sample for 15 cents, 5 copies for 60 

 cents, or 10 copies by express for $1.00. 

 A copy with the American Bee Journal 

 one year— both for $1.10. Send all or- 

 ders to the American Bee Journal. 



