620 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



The astragalus, if 

 I have been informed 

 correctly of its name, 

 is very attractive to 

 the bees. I have been 

 calling it wild alfal- 

 fa, for the reason 

 that the odor of the 

 blossom resembles al- 

 falfa bloom. The as- 

 tragalus has a pea- 

 shaped blossom, not 

 So compactly placed 

 as alfalfa bloom, but 

 of somewhat the 

 same color, though 

 not so blue as al- 

 falfa. The plant 

 grows about eight 

 inches in height, and 

 probably comes fii*st, 

 or ranks first, along 

 with the penstemon 

 as a favorite with the 

 bees. The penstemon 

 is a blue and light- 

 blue blossom growing 

 on a stem about 

 eighteen inches high. 

 It is a beautiful 

 plant, and I have 

 seen five bees at once 

 on a single stalk of 

 blossoms. Wild ger- 

 aniums are very well 

 liked by (he bees, 

 and would be more 

 important if there 

 were more of them. 



The lupins comprise many varieties, and 

 are very numerous this spring. The bees 

 are not found so thick upon them; but from 

 the abundance of the plants I would judge 

 that the nectar secured is not insignificant 

 in the aggregate. 



The oclor of the astragali 



tliat of alfalfa Mi 



While the wild bluom is not our source 

 of surplus, it is so very important in the 

 spring that we cannot ignore it. Western 

 beemen will do well to become familiar with 

 the mountain and plain wild tlora of the 

 western states. 



Boulder, Cal. 



SOME ODDITIES IN NATURAL LAWS 



BY EDWTN G. BALDWIN^ A. M. 



A few days ago, even before we were up, 

 our attention was drawn to the south win- 

 dow of the bedroom at our home, where, 

 through the open casement, was wafted to 

 us the sound of humming bees. I arose to 

 see the cause. On examination it was at 

 once clear to me that the bees were busy on 

 a flowering shrub that fills, even to the eaves, 

 a corner of the house formed by a bay win- 

 dow projecting toward the south. 



The busy little workers were swarming 



over the plant, which is a jasmine (not a 

 jessamine, for the two are distinct — Jas- 

 minum officinale, to be exact). It is half 

 shrub, half climber, covered much of the 

 late summer and fall with myriads of snow- 

 white blossoms, each about half an inch in 

 diameter at the outer edge of the petals. 

 It is rather fragrant, though not nearly so 

 fragrant as the star jessamine, with which 

 it is .sometimes confused. 

 Now, we knew that the petals of this 



