290 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



APR. 1 



tar abundantly ; bat on account of the pecul- 

 iir shape of their blossoms this honey can not 

 be reached by the honey-bee unless the at- 

 mospheric conditions are very favorable to 

 honey secretion, causing the sweet secretions 

 to rise high enough to become accessible to 

 the bees. It is then possible that they may 

 have a good harvest from such a source, al- 

 though they can appropriate but a small por- 

 tion of the secretion. vSometimes a cunning 

 little beetle cuts through the corolla of cer- 

 tain flowers near the bases where the nectar 

 is hidden, to obtain the same. When, after- 

 ward, this oozes out through the opening, the 

 bies find it and make regulir visits. These 

 observations have been verified by Dr. Muller, 

 Vagel, and others. 



"The abundant honey secretion of red clo- 

 ver {Tri/oltui/i pralense), and a pea variety 

 ( rirla villosa) induced me to experiment with 

 these to obtain new varieties by hybridizing 

 varieties which might have blossoms with ac- 

 cessible nectar-glands. The crossing of the 

 red clover with Tri/oltum repens 

 and Tri/oltum hybridiiin gave me 

 several new varieties with suffi- 

 ciently short tubes ; but in other 

 respects as forage - plants they 

 were inferior to the red clover. 



" There are a multitude of va- 

 rieties of the clovers scattered all 

 over the world. We need to se- 

 lect only the proper one for cross- 

 ing with the red variety. The 

 scheme is not without a promis- 

 ing future. 



"By crossing the / 7rm villosa 

 with suitable varieties I have ob- 

 tained several crosses that meet 

 all my expectations. The flower- 

 ing-tubes are shorter and wider, 

 so that our common bees can 

 reach the nectar-secreting glands 

 without difficulty. As foraging- 

 plants they are superior to the 

 parental stock. I think I shall 

 be able to furnish some seed in 

 the near future through a seed- 

 house, as I am not in the business myself." 



I am aware of the efforts now being made 

 to produce long-tongued bees. The evidence 

 produced so far might almost lead us to say, 

 the longer their tongues the more honey the 

 bees vFill store. I shall be slow to accept this 

 as a fact. It stands to reason that a bee with 

 a tongue only j\,^,j inch long can not gather as 

 much honey from red clover as one with a 

 tongue -f^i^ inch long, or almost twice as long; 

 but I have often examined red-clover blos- 

 soms, and it seemed to me that, even with a 

 tongue % inch long, the nectar in the red clo- 

 ver could not be reached. I believe it would 

 be well for us to concentrate some of our en- 

 ergies upon the production of short-tubed clo- 

 vers, and thus shorten the route at each end. 



Naples, N. Y. 



[I have more hopes of lengthening bees' 

 tongues than of shortening the corolla-tubes 

 of clover; yet I would by no means disparage 

 any effort looking toward the latter. See ed- 

 itorials. — Ed.] 



THE NATIONAL BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 

 An Interview with Mr. Smith Concerning it. 



BY CH\L<>N FOWLS. 



I have been thinking lately of the pressing 

 need at ttiis time of bee-keepers standing to- 

 gether for their protection in their mutual in- 

 terests. If they don't, they are likely to be 

 defrauded of their rightful reward of their 

 honest toil. I believe that the National Bee- 

 keepers' Association, if properly supported, 

 can now do a great work toward putting the 

 business of honey-production on a paying ba- 

 sis. So I resolved to appoint myself a com- 

 mittee of one to stir up the brethren on the 

 subject, and here is an account of the first in- 

 terview. 



" Good morning, Mr. Smith." 



" Why, good morning, Mr. Fowls. Come 

 right in. Glad to see you and have a talk. 

 Well, what's the last hobby ? You generally 

 have something, even in the winter." 



THE 



GOOD SAMARITAN AND THE MAN WHO WAS 

 WOUNDED AND LEFT HALF DEAD. 



" Well, Mr. Smith, I came over to see if I 

 couldn't get you to join our National Bee- 

 keepers' Association. We are doing a kind of 

 work now that I feel you would like to have a 

 share in." 



" Of course, I am interested in any good 

 work, Mr. Fowls. What is it ? " 



" Why, just this : A brother bee-keeper was 

 in trouble. He was beaten in court because of 

 ignorance, prejudice, and spite. Being a poor 

 man he could not afford to appeal the case, as 

 the expense would be too great. Then our 

 Association came to his aid, and, like the 

 good Samaritan, helped him by paying his ex- 

 penses, and in other ways, thus setting him 

 on his feet again. Was not that a good 

 work ? ' ' 



"Oh ! I see. You refer to the lawsuit of 

 the Utter brothers. Yes, that is a good work, 

 not only that it helped the man by the verdict 

 giving him the protection of the law in his 

 busine.ss, but it will help all the rest of us in 

 the business by establishing a valuable prece- 



