Gleanings in Bee Culture 



the name of a disease can not be successful- 

 ly treated, but that the patient must be 

 treated in the diseased state that he pre- 

 sents. Hence his case must be studied and 

 treated individually. 



To illustrate this point and show the 

 value of the poison from the honeybee (for- 

 mic acid) in treating suitable cases of rheu- 

 matism I will relate two cases from my 

 practice. A few years ago a man came to 

 me, stating that he had rheumatism, and 

 that he understood that I could cure such 

 cases by giving the sting of the bee. He 

 was assured that rheumatism could be treat- 

 ed in that way if the symptoms indicated 

 that remedy. After getting his symptoms, 

 and finding that drug well suited to his 

 case, he was given the remedy, prepared in 

 very small doses. After a time his neigh- 

 bors told me that he was very much im- 

 proved, and later he came in and said that 

 the rheumatic pain had all left him. 



A little later another man who was a great 

 sufferer from a rheumatic condition, having 

 talked with the one who was cured, came to 

 me and very much desired to be cured in 

 the same way. I'pon taking his case care- 

 fully, I assured him that his case was differ- 

 ent from the first, and that it was doubtful 

 if he would receive benefit from the drug. 

 As he was anxious to give the stings a trial 

 he was given the same dosage the first man 

 received. After taking the medicine with- 

 out results he came the second time, and 

 the prescription was repeated and faithful- 

 ly taken, with no results whatever. 



From the above it should be clear to every 

 one why those who have been stung by 

 bees have been cured of theit rheumatism, 

 and ecjually plain that the other rheumat- 

 ics who submitted to this painful ordeal de- 

 clare that stings will not cure rheumatism. 

 From this we may see w^hy one may rec- 

 ommend grape fruit, another hard cider, 

 and a third something else. There is no 

 panacea for rheumatism or any other dis- 

 ease. 



If those who wish to try stings would con- 

 sult their nearest homeopathic jihysician 

 they could learn whether that was their 

 remedy before undergoing this heroic and 

 painful treatment at random, not knowing 

 whether it would hit or miss. Homeopathy 

 has used this remedy for very many years. 

 Its symptomatology is based upon definite 

 provings so that the treatment need not be 

 applied in an uncertain way. 



Ladoga, Ind. 



^^-v--* ■ 



THE GREEN FLOWERS OF NORTH AMERICA 



BY JOHN H. LOVELL 



[This is the second article In the series by Mr. 

 T^ovell, on the colors of North American flowers, 

 the first appearing on page 53, Jan. 15.— Ed.] 



The primitive color of flowers was un- 

 doubtedly green. Many years ago the Ger- 

 man poet Goethe proposed the theory that 

 the whole flower was only a metamorphosed 

 bud, or part of a branch of leaves, the mod- 



ified leaves serving as pistils, stamens, pet- 

 als, and sepals. Despite many attacks, this 

 view is still accepted as true, at least his- 

 torically. In most flowers the calyx has re- 

 mained green; and in some species, as the 

 hepatica, its derivation from leaves is evi- 

 dent from inspection. It is not uncommon 

 for both sepals and petals to revert to green 

 leaves, and I have before me a flower of the 

 fuchsia with three white petals, while the 

 fourth is a green leaf. This may even hap- 

 pen to the entire flower. In the Black Hills 

 a fossil "flower" of a cy cad-like plant has 

 been found by Professor Wieland, of Yale, 

 which is protected by an indefinite number 

 of bract-like leaves instead of by a calyx or 

 corolla. 



The green hue of both green leaves and 

 flowers is produced by the pigment called 

 chlorophyll, or leaf-green. If you put a few 

 grass leaves in alcohol the chlorophyll will 

 dissolve out, forming a yellowish-green so- 

 lution, and the leaves will be left perfectly 

 white. Place this solution in bright sun- 

 light, and its color will soon be destroyed. 

 In living leaves and green flowers under the 

 action of bright light the green pigment is 

 constantly being destroyed and renewed, so 

 that no two leaves are identical in hue, and 

 no leaf long remains of the same shade. We 

 are surprised to note that Freidank, a Crer- 

 man poet, who lived four hundred years 

 ago, observed this fact. 



Many hundred flowers 

 Alike, none ever grew; 

 Mark it well, no leaf of green 

 Is just another's hue. 



Leaf-green, or chlorophyll, is not only the 

 most common but it is also the most useful 

 of all pigments, for all life depends upon its 

 existence. Leaves containing this pigment 

 are able to make use of the energy of the 

 sunbeam, and to manufacture out of water, 

 and the carbonic dioxid in the air, starch, 

 one of the principal plant foods. That is, 

 out of the inorganic elements they build up 

 an organic substance. As all animals are 

 dependent either directly or indirectly uj^on 

 vegetation for support, the destruction of 

 chlorophyll would mean the disappearance 

 of life from the earth. All living beings are 

 dependent upon the radiant energy of the 

 sun and upon chlorophyll. "In this sense," 

 says Tyndall, "we are all 'souls of fire and 

 children of the sun.' " 



Of the 1244 green or greenish flowers found 

 in the northeastern States, by far the larger 

 part, or 1021, are pollinated by the wind. 

 They contain no nectar, and are visited by 

 bees only for pollen, and not as extensively 

 as would be expected for even this purpose. 

 They are all of small size, and by some bot- 

 anists are believed to be derived from ances- 

 tors which were larger and were pollinated 

 by the insects. Failing to attract a suffi- 

 cient number of visitors for this purpose 

 they have retrograded, and become adapted 

 to pollination by wind. It is desirable that 

 this group be recognized by beekeepers, 

 since otherwise they might expect their bees 

 to bring in nectar when it did not exist. 



Only 223 green flowers are pollinated by 



