458 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1. 



earlier further South. When in full bloom it 

 presents a beautiful sight with its yellow trum- 

 pet-shaped flowers, covering the small bushes, 

 often hanging in festoons, and twining around 

 the trees, tilling the air with a strong yet pleas- 

 ant perfume. Its duration of flowering is about 

 two weeks, depending much upon the weather. 

 When there are heavy rains and much wind, 

 the blossoms fall. 



It belongs to the natural order Loganiaceie, 

 and is described botanical! y: " Stem twining, 

 smooth and shining; leaves perennial, opposite, 

 lanceolate, entire, dark green above and paler 

 beneath; petioles short; the flowers are in ax- 

 illary clusters of a deep yellow color, and fra- 

 grant; calyx flve-parted, corolla funnel-shaped, 

 with a spreading border, five-lobed, nearly 



Dr. W. H. Burt, in his work on " Materia 

 Medica," remarks in regard to the poisonous 

 elTects of gelsemiura: "The retention of con- 

 sciousness until very late in the poisoning, both 

 in man and in the lower animals, shows that 

 the drug has very little power over the higher 

 cerebrum, although the drowsiness and the final 

 loss of consciousness prove that it is not entirely 

 devoid of such influence. The two most promi- 

 nent symptoms caused by the drug are the con- 

 vulsions and paralysis." 



The hive-bee will work on the bloom; but it 

 seems more from necessity than choice ; for, 

 when other forage is accessible, you rarely see a 

 bee on it. The Italians frequent it much more 

 than the blacks; in fact, it is rare that you see 

 one of the latter on it. The flower yields more 



^le6Aa/mme- 



THE POISONOUS HONEY- 



equal; anthers oblong, style long and slender; 

 stigmas two, two-parted ; capsules elliptical, 

 flat, two-valved, two-celled; seeds flat, attached 

 to the margin of the valves." 



All parts of the plant possess poisonous prop- 

 erties. Drs. Wood and Bache, in their " United 

 States Dispensatory," describe the poisonous 

 effects as commencing "with sensations of lan- 

 guor with muscular relaxation, so that the sub- 

 ject finds some difficulty in moving the eyelids 

 and keeping the jaws closed. More largely ta- 

 ken it occasions dizziness, dimness of vision, di- 

 lated pupil, general muscular debility, and uni- 

 versal prostration." 



Prof. T. G. Wormley obtained an alkaloid ex- 

 tract from the plant, which he termed " gelse- 

 mine" — a powerful poison. One-eighth of a 

 grain injected into a strong cat killed it in one 

 and a half hours. 



PLANT OF THE SOUTH. 



pollen than honey; and what nectar is gathered 

 is used up in breeding, so it is seldom that any 

 is stored. Still, we have many cases on record 

 where it had been stored, and, when eaten, 

 caused all thesymptoms of gelsemium poisoning. 



It is very easily told when bees are working 

 on gelsemium. The flower, being trumpet- 

 shaped, they have to crawl in to get access to 

 the pollen and nectar; and in turning around, 

 their whole body becomes coated with the 

 bright-yellow grains of pollen. 



Whether the product of the jasmine-blossoms 

 has any poisonous effect upon the bee is a ques- 

 tion that has been discussed to a limited extent, 

 pro and con. Those who took the negative side 

 of the question were mostly persons who knew 

 very little about the plant. To arrive at cor- 

 rect conclusions in a matter of this kind re- 

 quires a long-extended observation, assisted by 



