November. li)I4. 



American "Bee Journal 



It is the petals of a flower that most 

 frequently are the honey carriers, but 

 even they have no uniform plan for 

 performing this olTice. The buttercup, 

 for instance, places a honeysac at the 

 point of insertion of each of its golden 

 petals, so that there are five honey-sacs 

 lying in a ring beneath the multitude 

 of stamens. The columbine's petals 

 are marvelous contrivances, elaborately 

 designed for hohey hiding places. 

 Each is circular, hollow, and shaped 

 like a horn. In each the honey is 

 secreted in a round knob at what would 

 be the mouthpiece end of the horn, 

 and the five are arranged in a ring, 

 side by side with the honey knobs 

 aloft. Though the honey store is ob- 

 vious from without, yet the insects 

 who would sip it must creep into the 

 flower and penetrate with a long pro- 

 boscis up the curving horn to the knob. 

 Sometimes the petals are joined to- 

 gether into a tube and the sweet nectar 

 simply exudes from the inner side of 

 the wall and collects at the bottom. 

 This is the case in the dead nettle, the 

 corolla tube of which, pinched from 

 the stem, forms so toothsome a morsel 

 that the children call it "suckies." The 

 honeysuckle is similarly planned, and 

 its sweetness is so striking a feature as 

 to have given it its name. 



At other times the petals change 

 completely into honey-bags, pure and 

 simple. This happens in the Christmas 

 rose, where the petals are represented 

 by a ring of small greenish tubes 

 staunching erect — the white sepals are 

 the attractive feature of this flower — 

 which tubes are merely storehouses for 

 the flower's aectar, and a very obvious 

 part of the flower. In the monkshood, 

 which belongs to the same family as 

 the Christmas rose, the nectaries are 

 extremely quaint. If the hood which 

 gives its name to the plant be drawn 

 back there suddenly springs into sight 

 two objects on long stalks, which are 

 sometimes like a French horn, some- 

 times like a cowl, or looked at side- 

 ways, not unlike a pair of doves. Their 

 presence within the hood, just as two 

 people might be in a room, has given 

 the plant the curious name of "Adam 

 and Eve " and " Noah's Ark." Thus are 

 the honey-bags carefully tucked away 

 and protected by the monkshood. In- 

 deed, so little hint does the flower give 

 of their presence from outsi 'e that un- 

 less a person has actually dissected a 

 flower for himself, he is absolutely 

 ignorant of them, though they are most 

 striking in appearance when their hid- 

 ing place is once discovered. 



There seems no end to the ways in 

 which petals can secrete honey. In a 

 few plants, as in the mullein, the nectar 

 exudes from the upper surfaces and 

 lies sparkling like dew upon them; in 

 other cases, as in the wild valerin. 

 there is a minute pocket at the side of 

 the petal tube which conta'ns it, and so 

 on. The petals play much the largest 

 role in honey producing. 



In the globe-flower there are very 

 curious spoon-shaped honey glands, 

 which stand in a mug just outside the 

 many stamens. 



The marsh plant, " Grass of l^arnas- 

 sus," boasts of even more singular 

 structures which are, at the same time, 

 very beautiful and lend an air of uni- 



queness and delicacy to this attractive 

 flower. On the inner side of each petal 

 is a lyre-shaped object composed of 

 the finest green lilaments, each tipped 

 with a tiny knob. These filaments 

 arise from a piece of flattened green 

 tissue. Though at first sight one 

 would imagine that the tiny knobs 

 were the honey glands, yet investiga- 

 tion shows that they are hard and dry, 

 and contain not one particle of nectar, 

 while the disc of tissue is really the 

 honey-sac. So it follows that the lyre- 

 like superstructure is pure ornamenta- 

 tion, which, perhaps, also serves as a 

 lure or bait for insects, forthey would 

 readily fly towards the tipping knobs, 

 and though they would be disappointed 

 in this, they would quickly discover 

 that there was honey below. 



Pansies and violets havean elaborate 

 honey apparatus. On the back of two 

 of the dumpty stamens is a long slender 

 lump, which has a honey-sac at its ex- 

 tremity. These lumps are both care- 

 fully enclosed in a violet-like pouch 

 leading oiT from one of the petals. 

 Into this pouch the honey trickles, and 

 it is to this reservoir that an insect 

 must push its way if it would partake 

 of the good things provided. In its 

 passage thither it perforce knocks its 

 head on the stigma and thus lets loose 

 on to its back a little pollen which was 

 stored up behind it. This pollen is 

 transferred to the stigma of the next 

 flower visited. By acting as carrier, 

 the insect pays for its feast. 



In one of the anemones there is an- 

 other scheme for a honey-hiding place. 

 Here the outer rings of the many ap- 

 parent stamens are merely dummies 

 and produce no pollen at all ; instead 

 they secrete nectar, and as insects sip 

 the honey they become dusted over 

 by the genuine adjacent stamen. This 

 strikes one as a very cute arrangement. 



To find honey on or in connection 

 with the ovary or seed-box is far more 

 uncommon, still it does occur at times, 

 as, for instance, in a ring around the 

 seed boxes of the snapdragon and the 

 wild convolvulus. 



A unique set of honey glands is 

 found in the spurges. On a little wall 

 around the insignificant and peculiar 

 flowers are set crescent shaped bodies 

 which can be distinctly seen by a care- 

 ful observer. The honey lies on their 

 upper surfaces. The curiousness of 

 their appearance helps to lend a dis- 

 tinction to the flower which it other- 



wise lacks. 



Again, honey is occasionally found 

 outside the flower. On the stalks of 

 cherry leaves, close to their base, are 

 two red lumps the size of pin heads. 

 These are nectaries, though they are 

 rarely looked upon as such. On the 

 lower part of the leaf of a bean are a 

 couple of honey glands, whilethe laurel 

 leaves, too, provide quite a feast, around 

 which the contented hum of the bees 

 may be heard. You can easily see why 

 the flowers provide honey and attract 

 insects, but it is not quite so simple a 

 matter to understand why these and 

 other leaves should do so. It is sug- 

 gested, however, that there are many 

 small insects which creep away again 

 without performing the necessary 

 office of fertilization, owing to their 

 small size. So various plants have pro- 

 vided this honey on or near their 

 leaves to attract these unwelcome 

 guests from the flowers. The honey is 

 so obvious, so easily obtained, that 

 they fall into the pleasant trap laid for 

 them, and do not trouble the flowers. 

 This is particularly the case with ants. 

 Though no doubt the bees and desira- 

 ble visitors likewise dineupon this out- 

 side honey, yet they will be attracted 

 by the flower's untouched supplies and 

 visit them also, having larger appe- 

 tites to satisfy. 



In certain cases, as in the sundew, 

 honey is used as a cruel lure. On the 

 nearby hillsides the sundew's leaves 

 glisten with sparkling drops, as the 

 name implies. Flies — insects of all 

 kinds — hasten towards the proffered 

 banquet. They alight, but at their first 

 touch the hairs which stand erect all 

 over the leaves close over, and the 

 victim is soon cushed to death and its 

 body juices absorbed by this carnivor- 

 ous plant. 



The amount of honey in plants dif- 

 fers enormously. Sometimes it is the 

 merest suggestion of sweetness, almost 

 unnoticeable ; at other times it is 

 plentiful enough for a child to pluck 

 the flowers and suck them ; while, 

 again, several large drops may exude, 

 as in the Crown Imperial lily. In some 

 places there is a plant called melianthus, 

 out of which honey literally pours like 

 a little rain when it is shaken ; and 

 one of the orchids has two small horn- 

 like spines from which honey constantly 

 drips until the lower cup-like petal is 

 filled, perhaps to the amount of several 

 teaspoonfuls. 



Baltimore, Md. 



Dr. Miller*s ^ Answers^ 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or direct to 



Dr. C. C. Miller. Marengo, 111. 



He does not answer bee-keepine questions by mail. 



Feeding Sugar to Get Hon3y 



If in your judgment it would pay to feed 

 bees right along through the season all the 

 sugar at 5 cents per pound that they will 

 use to have them make honey to sell at 15 

 cents per pound, will they neglect the fields 

 to feed on the syrup ? Vircinia. 



Answer.— It would be very unadvisable. 



unless you want to get Uncle Samuel after 

 you. To feed sugar so as to sell the result- 

 ing product as honey would be rank adul- 

 teration, for the product would not be legal 

 honey. Indeed, one should strive to avoid 

 as much as possible feeding sugar syrup for 

 the use of bees, lest some of it should get 



