DECEMBER 1, 1912 



fifteen commercial grades of sugar. It is a 

 fine soft sugar with a faint cream tinge ; is 

 slightly moist, and holds that moist condi- 

 tion for a long time; but not so with "C" 

 sugar, however, for this latter dries out 

 harsh and mealy, and this is often substitut- 

 ed when the "A" is asked for. The "A" su- 

 gar, squeezed up in one's hand, holds its 

 shape, while the "C" crumbles almost as 

 soon as the pressure is removed. 



Neither granulated nor "C" sugar will 

 take the place of "A" sugar for the several 

 uses in bee-feeding for which the "A" su- 

 gar has been specifically recommended. 



The soft "A" sugar, put in a division- 

 board feeder, and hung in beside the brood- 

 nest, will serve to keei) up brood-rearing 

 as well as the most iiainstaking feeding 

 with syrup, and without the danger of any 

 of the food finding its way into the honey 

 later. The bees w-SU lick away at the "A" 

 sugar until it is all gone, while granulated 

 or "C" sugar will be untouched. The soft- 

 sugar- feeding system is the most economi- 

 cal ever devised — not only for stimulative 

 purposes but also for keeping up brood- 

 rearing in special colonies between honey- 

 flows and for queen-mating nuclei. One 

 pound of the "A" sugar will keep one of 

 my little nuclei supj^lied for the whole 

 season, and there is no need of daily at- 

 tention as with the syrup, and no danger of 

 robbing, as with the latter, and as with 

 candy made of sugar and honey. 



Providence, R. 1. 



[Later. — We wrote to Mr. Miller, saying 

 that the description of his Coffee A did not 

 tally altogether with the Coffee A of early 

 days. He replies. — Ed.] 



I am mailing to you a sample of "Empire 

 A" sugar obtained direct from refiners' 

 agent. By him I am informed that this is 

 virtually the same as the true "Coffee A" 

 of our daddies' time. It is sold under sev- 

 eral names, or, rather, is used to fill calls 

 for "A," "Coffee A," "Coffee," as well as 

 "Empire A." It costs now at wholesale (25 

 bbls.) Sf4.97 per cwt. 



If you will notice the semi-transparent 

 lumps in it you will see how the moisture 

 (syi-uj)) gathers in it. In a large body this 

 settles and leaves the top part drier. Tliis 

 is the only sugar which bees work on read- 

 ily in its natural condition, i. e., without 

 the addition of honey or water. 



Colonies have been wintered on it with- 

 out anything else, and that was in southern 

 New Hampshire, but I Avant to know more 

 about its use thus before I advocate it for 

 such purpose. But for economical stimula- 



tive feeding and for nuclei, etc., it is un- 

 excelled. Arthur C. Miller. 

 Providence, R. I., Nov. 15. 



[The sample came duly to hand. The 

 "Coffee A" we used to get in the 70's was 

 whiter, and more like granulated sugar. 

 The new "Coffee A" looks, feels, and tastes 

 like a brown sugar that we get to-day, only 

 it is pale yellow, not brown. We believe it 

 would be an excellent sugar for feeding 

 direct. We shall get some, and try it next 

 season. — Ed.] 



FLOWER POLLINATION 



Experimental Proof that Bright Colors are an Ad- 

 vantage to Flowers; Red Coloration and Heat; 

 Path-finders; Mower Fungi; Cross-fertili- 

 zation versus Self-fertilization 



BY JOHN H. LOVELL 



The writer very highly appreciates Mr. 

 Ryan's expression of interest in the article 

 on flower pollination, page 65S, Oct. 15. 

 His kindly criticisms manifest an evident 

 desire to learn the actual facts regarding 

 the mutual relations of insects and flowers. 

 Undoubtedly in the past there have been 

 wide differences of opinion regarding the 

 varied phenomena of flower ecology. A 

 few writers have gone to one extreme or the 

 other; but the truth lies here, as Aristotle 

 long ago i)ointed out to be the case in most 

 discussions, nearer the "mean" or middle 

 course. Personally I should be glad of an 

 expression of opinion by other readers. 

 The questions involved are of more practi- 

 cal importance than many beekeepers seem 

 to suppose. The honeybee is compelled to 

 share the supjDly of nectar annually i3ix)- 

 duced by flowers with hundreds of other 

 insects. It is certainly not a good business 

 policy in any industry to ignore the com- 

 petitors for the raw material. 



Gray, in his familiar lines, had reference 

 to human (not insect) eyes. It is doubtful 

 if he knew there was such a thing as flower 

 pollination. No matter how frequently a 

 flower was visited by insects, the poet 

 would have considered its charm as wasted 

 if no human being ever beheld them. 



Are the bright hues of flowers of advan- 

 tage in attracting the attention of insects'? 

 Let us put the question to Nature. The 

 way to question Nature is by experiment. 

 I repeatedly counted the number of visits 

 made by honeybees to clusters of pear-blos- 

 soms during a given interval of time. In 

 one instance eight visits were observed in 

 fifteen minutes. I now removed all the 

 petals and watched the denuded blossoms 

 for the same length of time. There were 



