440 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



wonderful mechanism constituted of 

 stem, calyx, corolla, pistil and stamens. 

 Down at the bottom of the corolla glis- 

 tens, perhaps, the tiny drop of honey, 

 the fragrance of which, as well as the 

 brightness of the flower, attracts the 

 honey-bee, and it goes merrily humming 

 and alights upon the delicate margin 

 of the cup-shaped corolla ; and as it 

 thrusts its little, fuzzy head into the 

 cavity to draw up the sweet drop of 

 nectar, the movement shakes the dust- 

 like pollen upon its head and legs, and 

 now doubly laden with honey and pollen 

 it flies to the next flower, and, while 

 gathering another drop, lets fall upon 

 the pistil, eagerly awaiting to catch the 

 sc'attered particles of pollen to fructify 

 the ovules that lie hidden in the seed- 

 pod of the flower. 



Botanists tell us that although stamens 

 and pistils occur in the same flower, it 

 does not follow that such flowers are 

 fertilized by their own stamens. On the 

 contrary, it has been proved by careful 

 investigations and experiments that 

 Nature has provided that pistils should 

 be fertilized by pollen from other plants. 

 Does it not, therefore, seem a wise pro- 

 vision of Providence that the honey-bee 

 should aid in conveying the frutifying 

 medium — the pollen — from one plant to 

 another, and thus by cross-fertilization 

 produce better seed and more vigorous 

 plants ? 



Experiments have demontrated that a 

 pistil fertilized by the pollen of another 

 flower, or by that of another individual 

 of its. own kind, produces more and 

 larger seeds, which grow into larger 

 plants, than if it had been fertilized by 

 the pollen of its own flower. 



These and many other observations 

 prove that the peculiar structures, colors, 

 scents, honey-secretions, and other at- 

 tractions of flowers, and the adaptations 

 of the different organs to each other, 

 and their adaptation to the needs of in- 

 sects, are intended to prevent flowers 

 from being fertilized by their own pol- 

 len, and to facilitate fertilization by 

 pollen brought from other flowers. This 

 is a most cogent justification of the 

 honey-bee to exist. The Creator inade 

 the honey-bee for the flowers, and the 

 flowers for the honey-bee. Therefore, 

 the economy of Nature requires the 

 honey-bee ; and therefore the short- 

 sighted farmer and fruit-raiser should 

 awaken to a just appreciation of bee- 

 keeping, and like their brethren in Cali- 

 fornia, encourage the industry, as was 

 reported by Prof. Cook in a recent issue 

 of the American Bee Journal. 



Madison, Wis. 



CONVENTION DIRECTORY. 



Time and place of meeti/na. 



1894. 

 Apr. 23.— Venanso Co., at Franklin, Pa. 



C. S. Pizer, Sec, Franklin, Pa. 



In order to have this table complete, 

 Secretaries are requested to forward full 

 particulars of the time and the place of 

 each future meeting. — The Editor. 



North American Bee-Keepers' Association 



Pres.— Emerson T. Abbott St. Joseph, Mo. 



Vice-Pres.— O. L. Hershiser....Buflfalo. N. Y. 

 Secretary— Frank Benton. Washington, D. C. 

 Treasurer— George W. York... Chicago, Ills. 



XTational Bee-Keepers' Union. 



President— Hon. R. L. Taylor.. Lapeer, Mich. 

 Gen'l Manager— T. G. Newman. Chicago, 111. 

 147 South Western Avenue. 



CB^ Do not write anything for publication 

 on the same sheet of paper witn business 

 matters, unless it can be torn apart without 

 interfering with either part of the letter. 



Various Bee-Notes from Missouri. 



To-day bees are carrying in pollen very 

 fast. All are working very lively. The 

 mercury stands at 70 degrees in the shade. 

 The bees are gathering pollen from the 

 elms. 



This has been a very open winter, and 

 the bees have had flights in every month. 

 We had a hai'd spell of winter on Feb. 11th 

 — snow fell 14 inches deep on a level, and 

 drifted very badly from 4 to feet in the 

 east and west lanes, but it was all gone in 

 two weeks. 



The summer of 1893 was a very poor 

 honey season in this locality ; very little 

 surplus honey was obtained by any bee- 

 keepers here. A large majority of them 

 did not get a pound of honey. I had 4 Ital- 

 ian colonies that stored 200 pounds of sur- 

 plus honey in two weeks, from Spanish- 

 needle and the yellow bloom. I had to feed 

 my black bees until June 15th. to keep them 

 alive ; so I concluded if the Italians could 

 make a living and store some boney over 

 and above what they wanted for winter 

 stores, that I would Italianize the whole 

 outfit; so I sent for a yellow queen and 



