The Eucalyptus as a Honey Tree. 

 — The engraving on the back of the 

 title page, in this issue, shows the 

 bloom, leaves, &c, of the honey-pro- 

 ducing tree called the "Eucalyptus 

 globulus" or Australian blue gum. It 

 has two styles of foliage, the earliest 

 being the wide leaves, and the subse- 

 quent being the long narrow pointed 

 leaves. The engraving is from the 

 " Pacific Rural Press," of California, 

 which also contains an article descriptive 

 of this tree, from which we condense the 

 following : 



About the center of the engraving is the 

 seed capsule, one-half cut away, so that its 

 internal structure appears ; and lower down 

 is one of the capsules turned so that one can 

 look into its capacious cup. 



The different varieties of the gum, bloom 

 at times when all other kinds of flowers 

 are out of season, and the more so during 

 a dry year when the crop of honey-bearing 

 annuals is cut off. The Eucalyptus globu- 

 lus commences to yield nectar here about 

 the middle of December, and continues to 

 do so for about five months. During that 

 time the bees seem almost to swarm upon it. 



Not only do bees find " pastures new and 

 fresh " in this tree, but ants and butterflies 



garticipate in the grand open-air banquet. 

 ;irds also find an agreeable shelter in its 

 pendant branches. 



The second variety of eucalypti to be 

 considered, is what is known as rostrata or 

 viminalis, or more commonly called red 

 gum. This blooms from August 15th to 

 about December 20th. It is undoubtedly the 

 most important, for it comes in at a time 

 when other flowers are scarce. The bee 

 finds abundant nectar in its flowers to keep 

 them from starvation. The tree is of rapid 

 growth ; flowers small and numerous. 



The honey obtained from the eucalyptus 

 is highly aromatic, and is said by trust- 

 worthy persons to possess medicinal virtues. 

 It is dark in color, fragrant and a little 

 peppery to the taste. On the whole it will, 

 tor its rich dark color and medicinal pro- 

 perties, always find a ready sale. 



Australia furnishes the best illustrations 

 of the great productiveness of the gum as a 

 honey-producer. In that country and ad- 

 jacent islands there are about 100 spceies of 

 this tree. They constitute 99 per cent of the 

 forest vegetation. The native bees of 

 Australia, as well as the imported, which 

 have multiplied rapidly, take up their abode 

 in the hollow trunks and branches of the 

 trees and gather large quantities of delicious 

 honey from the eucalyptus. A colony 

 never dies there for the want of provisions ; 

 there is an unlimited supply always ready 

 to be collected. We know of no tree that 

 yields nectar in greater quantities. 



All the bee-bread required for brood-rear- 

 ing can be obtained from the varieties 

 named. It partakes of the color of the 

 flower and is gathered by the bees in the 

 early part of the day. Bees can be noticed 



working on this tree at all seasons ; even on 

 and alter a light shower of rain or when a 

 heavy fog has cleared away, bees can be 

 heard amid its fragrant blossoms. 



In a recent comparison of forest 

 giants, a tree of the Eucalyptus species, 

 in Australia, is accredited as the largest 

 in the world, being upward of 460 feet 

 in height, and excelling by nearly a 

 hundred feet the famous monsters of 

 California. 



Adulteration. — The "Board of 

 Trade Gazette" informs us that the 

 large lot of honey sent to Liverpool by 

 Thurber & Co., of New York, last No- 

 vember, has been condemned by the 

 British authorities on account of adul- 

 teration. Being honey in the comb, 

 the only solution of the difficulty 

 that suggests itself (in the absence of 

 the facts in the case) is the probability 

 that the bees were fed glucose, and that 

 they stored it in the surplus boxes. The 

 " British Bee Journal " seems to have 

 taken this view of the case, and, before 

 the seizure, criticised the matter in the 

 following lauguage : 



" There is, however, no limit to the possi- 

 ble ; and it may have happened that the bees 

 gathered the impure honey alluded to, hav- 

 ing found it welling, after the manner of 

 petroleum, from a rock, and that everybody 

 was perfectly innocent in respect of adulte- 

 ration. It is, notwithstanding, known that 

 bees will take the abominable stuff (glucose) 

 when they can get nothing better ; and fur- 

 thermore, if mixed with a little honey and 

 water, that they will take it and store it as if 

 it were genuine nectar, producing honey- 

 comb (or ' comb-honey,' as our American 

 friends prefer to call the genuine article) of 

 surpassing beauty ! 



"Undoubtedly the form of the sections, 

 the mode of putting up, and the general ap- 

 pearance of the goods are all that can be de- 

 sired, and the contents may be sufficiently 

 palatable to ensure ready sales ; but if it is 

 not what is represented, it will be dangerous 

 for our traders to handle." 



The honey was valued at about $40,- 

 000. We are exceedingly sorry to hear 

 of the seizure, because it practically 

 closes the European ports to American 

 honey.. Had the warnings of The 

 American Bee Journal been heeded, 

 this distressing circumstance would 

 never have occurred. 



This Journal has argued persistently 

 against the use of glucose for feeding 



