lUlU 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



721 



is the essential factor of the hunter's suc- 

 cess. I will dispu(e the statement that bees 

 beginning a circuitous route will continue 

 to go and come by that same route, placing 

 such occurrences as the exception and not 

 the rule. 



In the lining of some 800 bee-trees I have 

 the first time to notice bees traveling in a 

 circle or circuitous route, though frequent- 

 ly I have found them forming angles in 

 liight. Flat lands and mountains are here 

 grandly mixed, wherein the bee-line can be 

 observed in all peculiarities. 



My experience shows that bees invariably 

 seek the shortest way home, adopting the 

 route that otTers the least obstruction in the 

 way of trees, etc., on windy days especially; 

 for on still days they fly high enough to 

 pass over the tallest timber, in which case 

 they invariably fly straight. 



As I line bees by sound rather than sight 

 I have come to judge a bee-line most accu- 

 rately, and know they conform to a straight 

 line just as soon as circumstances will per- 

 mit. The w ind or the air currents alluded 

 to by the editor are, in every case, responsi- 

 ble for bees flying in other than straight 

 lines. 



In the fall, some time after a late flow of 

 nectar, there are many young bees flying 

 about the fields seeking Iheir first load if 

 one of these bees is caught and allowed to 

 fill up with honey it is \ery likely to return 

 by the route it came. If this same course 

 be other than straight, the line will conform 

 just as soon as some old bees that know the 

 surrounding country begin making trijis 

 from the suj)ply to the tree or hive. Young 

 bees, very soon after birth, early learn to 

 follow the older ones in any specific duty or 

 direction. Once I lined bees from a field at 

 the fovtt of a mountain across a valley to a 

 bee-yard two and a iialf miles distant. Be- 

 tween this field and the yard m as a swamp 

 filled with very tall timber, being nearly a 

 mile wide and a good half-mile from where 

 I set up my hunting-box. When the bees 

 started from the box their line of flight w-as 

 somewhat more than oO degrees to the right 

 of an air line to the farmer's yard. The 

 yard being known, and the line-way to the 

 right, I naturally supposed the bees were 

 those having an abode in the edge of the 

 swamp. A long search failed to locate the 

 tree, however. As the season was very h te 

 I did not give the bee-yard any considera- 

 tion, yet my efToits to find a bee-tree were 

 fruitless, and I gave the cause to the wind. 

 The next afternoon being exceptionally 

 mild I went back to retrieve my failure of 

 the day before. The day being much warm- 

 er, more bees were in flight, and 1 was not 

 particularly surprised to note a material 

 .shut in the direction traveled. To-day I 

 C'luld follow them by sound, where, the day 

 before, 1 had to depend on sight. At any 

 rate I easily followed them to ihe farmer's 

 bee-yard. The diversion of flight on the 

 second day was simply another case of bees 

 adapting themselves to circumstances; for 

 when the wind blew they kept close to the 



ground and went around the timber; but 

 when the wind was still they were quick to 

 take the straight course over it. In going 

 around the timber the bees did not travel 

 circuitously, but straight to a distant point, 

 then, making an angle, continued straight 

 to another distant point, and so on home. 



Never yet have I caught them making a 

 long curve; but invariably, and while wind 

 was present, I found them cutting angles, 

 always close to the ground, where the 

 wind's sweep is less violent. 



That the supposed and popularly accepted 

 bee-line is the course of bees through air, 

 and always straight, is more true than oth- 

 erwise — so much so that my experience 

 proves the continued use of it as a compari- 

 son to be safe and Oithodox. 



Vienna, N. .J., Oct. 11. 



VEGETABLE WAX. 



BY J. FOKD SEMPERS. 



Reference has been made concerning the 

 ])resence of wax in plants, and I am remind- 

 ed that we have in our eastern flora several 

 species of wax-bearing plants. That is, the 

 secretion is much more prominently exhib- 

 ited than by the delicate coating on fruit 

 and leaf. The myrtle wax of commerce is 

 a ])roduct of two species of Myrica — the bay- 

 berry (J/. Carolinensis, jSlill.) of the Atlan- 

 tic coast States and shores of Lake Erie, 

 and the wax myrtle {^L cerifera, L.) hav- 

 ing the same range along the coast. 



These shrubs and low trees are found in 

 light, sandy, usually wet, situations. They 

 are well known, both for the fragrance of 

 the leaves and the hard wax-covered fruits 

 they bear. .lust how many of these little 

 berries, scarcely larger than a mustard seed, 

 would be required to yield a pound of wax 

 is something of a conundrum to me. In 

 the early days of our country, wax for do- 

 mestic u.«>e was derived from these plants, 

 and candle-berry was one of the local names 

 applied to them. At the present time they 

 still yield tribute to those who have the 

 time and opportunity to gather the fruits. 

 The wax is separated by boiling in water, 

 which process is repeated several times be- 

 fore the product becomes the bayberry wax 

 ofTered for sale. In burning, the wax emits 

 a pleasant aromatic perfume. 



I have often wondered that the bees, in 

 their propensity to daub every thing in the 

 hive w-ith propolis, had not made use of 

 this easily accessible supply of wax. Oc- 

 casionally I see a few bees coming in loaded 

 with what to all appearances is this wax, or 

 a very light-colored propolis, which I have 

 not yet been able to decide. 



Aikin, Md. 



[There is no reason why, some seasons, 

 bees would not gather this wax. We know 

 that, during a dearth of honey, they will 

 pull oil bits of wax from old brood-frames 

 and other hive parts. Yes, they will gather 



