1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



475 



just as we can squeeze it from the tube of red 

 clover. When the flowering season is past, the 

 buttons turn to nearly a black hue, and cling to 

 the bush until the next season. 



The habit and appearance of the white sage 

 is entirely different. The woody portion and 

 the leaves is nearly white, which gives it its 

 name. The flowering stalk makes a rapid 

 growth of several feet in one season, and the 

 plant throws up a dozen or more of these stalks, 

 all the way from three to eight feet in height. 

 Each stalk is loaded with racemes of buds, 

 which continue to produce Howers for several 

 weeks. The illustrations of these plants in the 

 ABC are very good, in a general way; but the 

 description of the white sage is not complete 

 without giving the way in which the bee sips 

 the nectar from the white-sage blossom. The 

 opening in the corolla is nearly large enough 

 for the bee to thrust its head into; but, as if 

 jealous of its treasured sweets, the flower is 

 provided with a long projecting lip that curls 

 up, not unlike a letter S, and in such a manner 

 as to close effectually the entrance. When I 

 first saw a white sage blossom it was with 

 much interest I speculated upon how the bee 

 gained access lo the nectar. Soon a busy work- 

 er darted in among the flowers, and, alighting 

 upon the projecting portion of the S-shaped 

 lip, it bent down under the weight of the bee, 

 opening the door to its treasure-house, which 

 the bee soon relieved of its contents. Upon the 

 departure of the bee. the door immediately 

 closed again, to be opened and reopened by the 

 successive foragers. If the rainfall has been 

 light, the white sage will not bloom so profuse- 

 ly; and, furthermore, the lip of the flower is 

 stunted, and so short that the bee can not find 

 standing-room upon it; and, after vainly 

 striving to gain an entrance, it reluctantly 

 seeks another flower, with well - developed 

 flowers. The lip readily yields to the bee, and 

 the load is secured as quickly from this flower 



MIDNIGHT RUN. 



as from the simple tube of the button sage. It 

 is when the sages are in blossom, in May and 

 June, that the bee-keeper has to hustle in order 

 to keep his dish right side up. 



If there is a complaint from manufacturers 

 in the East that their customers are dilatory in 

 placing their orders, it is doubly so here; and 

 cans, cases, sections, and foundation are de- 



manded with an Intensity that increases with a 

 favorable yield. The mail, the telephone, and 

 the telegraph are all successively used, and 

 finally some disappointment e.xperienced in not 

 receiving things promptly. The home manu- 

 facturer of foundation is busy, and several in 

 need of foundation gather around and make a 

 midnight run. The Rambler happened in to 

 one of these locals, and every thing moved 

 along finely until about eleven o'clock, when 

 one of the boys disappeared and soon returned 

 with mysterious bottles. The town was prohi- 

 bition in sentiment, with not a saloon, and the 

 bearer of the bottles said that he was a prohi- 

 bitionist; but for all that the bottle had a sus- 

 picious look to the Rambler, and he is sure that 

 it contained '• mal cerveza " (bad beer), as the 

 Spaniards say. The Rambler clung closer to 

 his big water-jug. and admonished the boys, as 

 they tipped their bottles bottom upward toward 

 the ceiling, that, if they presisted in doing so, 

 their honey-dishes would also be found in the 

 same position, for " mal cerveza " always turns 

 things the wrong way. 



The obtaining of a beverage of a strong 

 nature in a prohibition town admonishes all 

 believers in temperance principles that it is but 

 a small step of progress to forbid the sale of 

 beverages in one town while the surrounding 

 towns continue its sale. The thing to do is to 

 extend the area to the county, to the State, and 

 to the nation. Hurrah for the temperance 

 cause, and down with " buen vino " (good wine) 

 and mal cerveza, and their attendant chain of 

 evils I shouts the Rambler. 

 ^1 ■ ^ 



BEE-KEEPERS' EXHIBIT AT THE WORLD'S 

 FAIR. 



MORK ABOUT IT. 



When you go to the World's Fair, inquire for 

 the Agricultural Building; and, having found 

 that, go to the southeast corner of 

 the gallery, and you will find the 

 bee-keepers' exhibit along the east 

 wall, running some distance from 

 the southeast corner. I can not 

 tell what you will see when you go 

 ... there, for things may, and un- 

 doubtedly will be, very much 

 changed by that time. But I can 

 tell you something about it as I 

 saw it last. May 19. 

 The exposition authorities have 

 - put up a number of cases — four- 

 teen, I think— to be filled with dis- 

 plays of honey. Three of these 

 cases ai'e shorter than the others, 

 the lay of the land requiring it; 

 but the general appearance is of 

 fourteen cases just alike. The 

 eleven larger ones, if I am not mis- 

 taken, are S.'S ft. long, 4 ft. 4 in. 

 ^_^_^ wide, and 7 ft. high. That, you 



.":::^T understand, is the inside measure 



of the glass case. At the bottom 

 ^'■' is a platform 23a ft. high, which, 



with the molding at the top, makes 

 the total height of the structure 

 about l:.' ft. 



These cases are allotted to the 

 difl'erent Slates, nearly $2iJ() being 

 paid for each case. New York 

 has the distinction of having two cases, one 

 of the larger and one of the smaller. And 

 that's not the only thing New York has done 

 to make the other States green with envy. 

 It has secured a placo where a number of colo- 

 nies of bees will be placed along the outside 

 wall, holes being cut througli the wall to make 

 passage for the bees, thus ninkiiig a real live 



