1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



627 



knew of any bad effects produced by eating honey when it 

 was in full blossom, while others made the contrary stateaient. 

 The following is the result of my experiment : I bruised, 

 in a wedgewood mortar, eight ounces each, leaves and fresh 

 flowers, adding 20 ounces of water and 12 ounces of dilute 

 alcohol to extract its virtue. This was gently boiled down to 

 about 16 ounces, which had a strong, sweetish, repugnant 

 taste. I then mixed one ounce of this decoction with 8 of 

 dilute honey ; this was given to the bees at 6 o'clock p.m., in 

 a Simplicity feeder, which was placed between the frames in 

 the brood-chamber. 



I will state that this colony was especially prepared for 

 the experiment, having one frame only with brood (uo honey), 

 and four perfectly empty ones ; the hive was closed and bees 

 confined for two days before the experiment, to allow sufficient 

 time for them to digest all hooey in their stomachs. 



The next morning I provided myself with a glass graduate 

 and a small suction dropper. I felt certain when opening the 

 cover that I would find my little workers all dead in a pile, 

 but to my great surprise, on lifting the enamel cloth to one 

 side, they had their little heads sticking straight up, and eyes 

 as bright as diamonds. On examining further, I found the 

 feeder empty and almost dry— they had deposited this poison- 

 ous honey in the combs. With the dropper, 1 sucked out two 

 ounces of this honey (from the cells in the comb), which was 

 taken in their honey-sacs, from the feeder, just the same way 

 as they do from the natural flowers; of course the distance 

 was very short, but the honey, without a doubt, underwent 

 the same sli^iht physiological change while there, and we do 

 not know how rapid this change may be. Now, this was the 

 first honey that they had for three days, and I tell you they 

 seemed to enjoy it hugely. 



Now, after seeing no bad effects on the bees, my next, to 

 complete this experiment was on the human, so I told my assis- 

 tant, who is a Mexican boy of 14 summers, that we would 

 swallow this newly-gathered honey between us ; I was obliged 

 to swallow first, taking only one-half of an ounce, the boy 

 swallowed the remaining 13^ ounces. This honey had a splen- 

 did flavor, only leaving a slight astringent-like taste in the 

 palate. 



Now for the direct physiological effect on man and boy. 

 About one-half hour after swallowing this honey I suddenly 

 became giddy, and a slight loss of sight; felt as if being 

 whirled around. 1 immediately introduced my finger as far 

 down the throat as possible, and vomited " sweet laurels " up, 

 which relieved me instantly. The dose with the boy stayed 

 with him all right for one hour. 



1 will state right here, dear reader, the Almighty being 

 my helper, I will never try another experiment on any human 

 again, and advise you all to do likewise. Just listen to these 

 honey symptoms : 



The boy fell with a violent convulsion, hard, contracted 

 stomach, cold hands and feet, profuse perspiration, mouth 

 tightly closed, eyes opened and rolled back, pupils dilated, 

 face flushed, twitching of lower limbs, and great difficulty of 

 breathing, pulse full, only 50 per minute, but strong. Being 

 more than satisfied, and greatly alarmed with these symptoms, 

 2 one-tenth grains of apomorphia were administered hypoder- 

 mically, in the left biceps, which promptly produced an emetic 

 effect that relaxed all muscular contraction. After a good 

 vomit, he sat up, complaining of pain in thestomach and back 

 of neck. Two ounces of castor-oil were administered, which 

 operated in about two hours, bringing away a great deal of 

 honey in the vomils also. The boy was quite broken up and 

 unwell for a week, but is now bright as a dollar, as though 

 nothing ever happened. 



I hope, after this little experiment, those who are skeptic 

 on laurel honey being poisonous, will only try a small bit on 

 themselves, and know, personally, how It feels. I will assure 



you that a little of the above symptoms will convince and put 

 you straight. Some may say, why does it not produce such 

 effects on the bee ? Well, this I do not know, nor does any 

 one else. It is true that when the nectar is gathered from 

 flowers. It undergoes a slight, peculiar physiological change, 

 that strains, refines aud reduces the amount of acid, to pre- 

 vent fermentation and conserves preservation, but does not 

 alter its natural constituents; if it did, all honey would 

 look and taste alike; there would be no necessity of 

 grading our honey for the market. By this peculiarity of over- 

 deposit of alkaloid in each flower enables us to distinguish its 

 class when eating, and when this process is taking place it is 

 just as natural for the bee as for the nurse-girl to let a good 

 bit slip down when chewing for the baby; it is the same 

 honey, only prepared and purified for us. Bees cannot carry 

 honey from the field in buckets or bottles; Nature has pro- 

 vided each one with a little sac for this purpose. I do not be- 

 lieve that Nature intended that any material changes should 

 take place while there ; most assuredly the honey is slightly 

 acted on by the secretions of the compound racemose glands 

 of the head and thorax, to aid digestion and regurgitation. 



The milk from goats feeding on laurel bushes contains no 

 poison whatever, as 1 could discover; it may be because they 

 only eat very litile, and far apart. 



My bees never visit the laurel blossoms ; they crown them- 

 selves with something better. 



There are two kinds of laurel, one being considered more 

 poisonous than the other — mountain laurel (Kalniia latifolia) 

 and cherry laurel (Lauro cerasifolia) ; the two are similar in 

 size of growth, shape and color of leaves, also are evergreen. 

 Mountain laurel has a cluster of bright pink flowers, while the 

 flowers of cherry laurel are white; both are wild Spanish 

 plants, and contain great abundance of hydrocyanic acid 

 (prussic acid), which is a deadly poison, but often used in 

 pharmacy, diluted. The leaves of cherry laurel are exten- 

 sively used in Mexican cooking, aud commonly sold on the 

 streets with other aromatic herbs. 



I believe it is the honest duty of all bee-keepers to be 

 more studious about the poisonous plants, and ascertain from 

 which source the bees gather the honey. Jasmine, digitalis, 

 oleander, nightshade, etc., are all dangerous and poisonous 

 garden plants, which should be substituted by others more 

 profitable and as beautiful. I hardly think bees will visit 

 such poisonous plants unless compelled to do so by absence of 

 all others, and during a sudden check in the honey-flow. — 

 Southland Queen. Jesus Maria, Mexico. 



Lady-Bird Beetles as Related to Bee-Culture. 



BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 



The subject, Coccinellidse or Lady-bird beetles might seem 

 a strange one for an article in aj bee-paper, but I am sure any 

 criticism is uncalled for. The intrinsic interest of the suDject 

 would warrant its appearance. The wonderful results wrought 

 out by these little friends would also urge the penning of the 

 article. The further fact that these little beetlesoflen destroy 

 entirely the worst enemies of our bee-plants, and those often 

 the very best, is further justification, were such needed, for 

 the appearance of this article in the American Bee Journal. 



The Coccinellids, like the bees, belong to the class of in- 

 sects, or hexapods, that is, tbey have dictinct head, thorax aud 

 abdomen, have six legs, anteniiao, the horn-like organ ap- 

 pended to the head, and always have compound eyes in the 

 mature state. They do not, however, belong to the same 

 order, llyiuenoptera, which contains the bees, have four 

 membranous wings, biting mouth parts and complete trans- 

 formations. The lady-bird beetles and all beetles belong to 

 the order Coleoptera. These also have biting mouth parts 

 and complete transformation, but in all beetles the first or 



