1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



895 



a^ain by expert microscopists (Cheshire, 

 Leuckart, Siebold, etc.), and found invari- 

 ably as perfect in every respect as those 

 from fecundated queens. The only differ- 

 ence was in their size, and that only when 

 g-rown in worker-cells. 



Mr. Wright saj's that the color of the 

 spermatozoa is black. That is only an ap- 

 pearance, an optical illusion. Organic 

 bodies of microscopical size are invariably 

 transparent. 



He is also mistaken as to their size. 

 Their length does not exceed ^ ,\xr of an inch. 

 In the most powerful microscope they ap- 

 pear like a very fine thread, and all that 

 we know about their thickness is that it 

 must be less than ^^Jj, of their length. 



Mr. Wright's description as their moving 

 in vast shoals is well chosen. Their num- 

 ber in a. single queen has been estimated 

 all the way from four to twelve millions, 

 and a possibility of reaching- perhaps 

 twenty-five millions. 



Knoxville, Tenn. 



WHY THERE IS NECTAR FROM CLOVER IN SOME 

 LOCALITIES AND NOT IN OTHERS. 



Acid Honey from Oak°trees. 



BY C. A. HATCH. 



Although I have kept bees in one locality 

 for 25 years, this summer has given me new 

 experiences. Swarming lasted until some 

 time in September, and the honey-flow from 

 the beginning of basswood bloom continued 

 until after buckwheat, although we got no 

 surplus from the latter. 



Empty hives and starvation was the rule 

 at the opening- of basswood: consequently a 

 half f r more of the 3'ield from this source 

 went into the brood-nest. Most people lay 

 the failure of clover to the excess of rain. 

 If that is the case, why did the northern 

 part of our State have a clover crop? I ex- 

 plain it this way: There the drouth of last 

 year was not so bad, and consequently clo- 

 ver was not killed, and there was plenty of 

 old clover bloom. But here our clover was 

 nearly exterminated; and although we had 

 iin abundance of bloom it was all on new 

 growth; and, if I am correct, such plants 

 never secrete honey. 



At the end of the basswood flow the bees 

 commenced to carrj' in a dark honey of pe- 

 culiar acid flavor that puzzled me for some 

 time — at least until I hunted it down (or, 

 rather, up, for it came from black-oak 

 trees). Seeing that the bees were roaring 

 on oaks I at first supposed it was only a 

 case of honey-dew; but never having known 

 honey-dew to be found in wet weather, a 

 closer examination revealed the source to be 

 the acorns and not the aphides. There 

 seemed to be a gall insect at work between 

 the acorn and the acorn-cup, which caused 

 a g-all about the size and much the shape 

 of a sunflower-seed to grow there and force 

 itself into the side of the acorn. There 

 seemed to be no opening into this gall, but 



there was a small worm about the size and 

 appearance of a bee larva four days old. 

 The honey oozed out from between the cup 

 and the acorn, in some instances a drop as 

 large as a grain of wheat. After a time 

 this abnormal growth caused the acorn to 

 drop; and what became of the worm I never 

 found out, nor what was its father and its 

 mother. Where did they come from, to be 

 so abundant this year and none other years? 

 The honey does not much resemble honey- 

 dew, althoug-h dark. The flavor is a delicate 

 acid, reminding one of the candy called 

 "lemon drops." I shipped about 800 lbs. 

 to a city dealer, and he seemed to be quite 

 satisfied with it. It ought to make good 

 honey for bakers; but I am afraid if there 

 were a demand created for it the supply 

 would run short if a crop came only once in 

 25 years. 



Richland Center, Wis., Oct. 9. 



The copy for Our Homes was mailed 

 from the " cabin in the woods " in time for 

 our last issue, but it did not reach Medina 

 until that number had gone to our readers; 

 therefore it appears in this issue. A. I. R. 

 wishes me to say that he does not intend to 

 have any issue of GleanT'NGS appear with- 

 out his Home talks, and that they will ap- 

 pear hereafter regularly unless they get 

 lost or delayed in the mail, as has occurred 

 once or twice before. 



THK LATEST SCARE IN WESTERN BEE- 

 KEEPING. 



I WOULD call special attention to the ar- 

 ticle of M. A. (rill, in this issue, showing 

 that the recent talk relative to cutting al- 

 falfa before it comes in bloom, by the ranch- 

 ers, is really nothing but a scare. When 

 the statements were given to me two j^ears 

 ago, that the time might come when alfalfa 

 everywhere would be cut before it was in 

 bloom because it would make a better hay, 

 I felt it my duty to call attention to the fact; 

 but I am glad to believe that there is no real 

 foundation for such fear, and that the bee- 

 keepers of the West need have no serious 

 apprehension. The ranchers will look to 

 their own pocketbooks, j-ou ma3' be sure; 

 and if they do so, the bee-keeping interests 

 will be protected. As I have often said, 

 there is a harmon}' in nature; and bees al- 

 ways work in harmony. They were put on 

 the earth by the great Creator for a pur- 

 pose, and the Creator never makes a mis- 

 take. 



