908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



East would be unsatisfactory in your State; 

 but, c^enerally speaking-, I would question 

 whether the "canopy of heaven," even if 

 there were no robbers or storms, would not 

 be too much of a fj^ood thing". 



The statement that mild climates cause a 

 larger consumption of stores in winter is 

 one that also hinges on locality. While it 

 is true j'ou have zero weather, and some- 

 times 20 below, your climate is very dry; 

 and, what is more, if I am correctly in- 

 formed, it may be zero cold at nig-ht and 

 comparatively warm the next day. But 

 bees certainly do consume more stores in 

 winter in the extreme Southern States, 

 where they can Hy almost every day, than 

 they will in the North; and yet it is a fact 

 that in our locality outdoor- wintered bees, 

 during^ extremely cold weather, consume 

 more honey than when the temperature is 

 milder. In the same way, indoor bees, 

 subject to a temperature of about SO de- 

 g-rees, consume about half the stores that 

 the outdoor bees do in a temperature rang- 

 ing from 70 above down to 20 below zero. 

 The statement is one that needs qualifying 

 for different localities and different condi- 

 tions. — Ed.] 



QUEENS WRONG END TO IN THE CELL. 



I send you a freak queen-cell, with the 

 queen with her head where her tail ought 

 to be. I found several workers dead in 

 the cells from the same cause yesterday. 

 H. FiTZ Hart. 



Wetumpka, Ala., Sept. 12. 



[We have examined the freak queen-cell, 

 and find, as you say, that the queen's head 

 points toward the bottom of the cell. We 

 have had a number of reports of cases like 

 this. In the sample cell you sent, I note it 

 is open. The queen herself, of course, 

 could not have opened it with her head 

 pointing the other way. It is possible, and 

 even probable, that all cases of this kind 

 may be explained by the fact that the queen 

 {origitially in the cell right end to) gnawed 

 her way out, and then, pursued by rivals or 

 bees, went back into the cell to hide. If 

 she was very much frightened she might 

 stay there, and in the meantime be confined 

 by the bees drawing or contracting the 

 opening of the cell. The opening of this 

 cell seems to have been contracted slightly 

 — whether by bees or how, it is impossible 

 now to say. — Ed.] 



PHACELIA AS A NECTAR- YIELDING PLANT; 

 THE DIFFERENT SPECIES, ETC. 



I have just returned from British Colum- 

 bia, and in looking through Gleanings I 

 see that j'ou have had some correspondence 

 'about phacelia. I see there is no reply to 

 Dr. Miller's request for information as to 

 the sort of phacelia obtained from Califor- 

 nia, and grown in Europe as a forage and 

 nectar jdelding plant, nor has any one from 

 California given any information in answer 

 to your appeal on page 675. 



I know thirteen species of phacelia in 



Western-Middle California, and there are 

 proJ)ably several more in other parts of the 

 State, as the genus comprises about fifty 

 species of mostly hardy annual and peren- 

 nial herbs. Several species are visited by 

 bees; but the one grown in Europe, Phace- 

 lia tanacetifolia, is literally covered with 

 bees from morn till night. This species 

 was i^jtroduced into Europe from California 

 in 1832, and is called tanacetifolia (tansy- 

 leaved) from the resemblance of its leaves 

 to those of the tansy. It is an annual with 

 bluish-pink flowers; racemes spike-formed, 

 elongated, corymbose; height of plant, two 

 feet. It is grown in Europe as a bee-plant 

 for its nectar, and it is the only one which 

 produces an appreciable quantity of it. It 

 certainly ought to grow in the North if 

 treated as an annual. The phacelia of the 

 florists in this country is quite different 

 if I may judge from plants raised from 

 seeds purchased here. This is known to 

 botanists as Phacelia viscida, and by some 

 florists it is called Eiitoca viscida or Etitoca 

 viscosa. The plant is about one foot high, 

 and the flower is deep-blue with a lighter 

 center. This is also a California plant, 

 but I have never come across it in its wild 

 state. Thos. Wm. Cowan. 



Pacific Grove, Cal. 



[I would state, for the benefit of some of 

 our newer readers, that Mr. Cowan is edi- 

 tor of the British Bee Jojirnal, and also the 

 author of " The Bee-keeper's Guide " and 

 of " The Honey-bee." The former has had 

 a sale next to that of the A B C of Bee Cul- 

 ture, and the latter is a beautiful little sci- 

 entific work. Mr. Cowan is one of the best- 

 posted scientific men in all beedom, and 

 therefore his statements above come with 

 the weight of authority. — Ed.] 



PHACELIA. 



I see an inquiry in your journal of June 

 15th respecting phacelia. The plant about 

 which inquiry is made is probably Phacelia 

 bipinnatijjda. It is a biennial, stem much 

 branched, from one to two feet high, corol- 

 la light blue. It flowers in May and June. 

 It is found on shaded banks, in rich soil, in 

 Southern Ohio, Indiana, and southward. ' 

 Sir Joseph Paxton's Botanical Dictionary 

 mentions six other species of the same 

 genus that are native in the warmer parts 

 of our country, all of which are annuals. 

 D. S. Heffron. 



Washington Heights Sta., Chicago, 111. 



the two species of phacelia. 



Since the last communication in Glean- 

 ings concerning the phacelia reported to 

 have been used as a forage-plant, I have 

 been endeavoring to learn which of thegroup 

 it could be. 



The two species, Phacelia congesta and P. 

 parryi, largely cultivated for their beauty, 

 are each visited by the bees. The flowers 

 of P. congesta are purplish-blue, while 

 those of P. parryi are deep-blue. Proba- 



