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VOL. LXI— NO. 10 



HAMILTON, ILL., OCTOBER, 1921 



MONTHLY, $1.50 A YFAR 



THE COTTON PLANT AS A SOURCE OF NECTAR 



Notes on the Behavior of the Plant in the Lone Star State, where it is 

 an Important Field Crop — By H. B. Parks 



THE relationship betwe<Ti the 

 honeybee and the cotton plant 

 has become a matter of peculiar 

 interest, as in many places honey is a 

 valuable and about the only compan- 

 ion crop of cotton. In the southeast- 

 ern part of the United States, cotton 

 is looked upon as being a poor honey 

 plant, while in Texas, parts oi Okla- 

 homa, Arkansas and the Imperial Val- 

 ley of California, it is one of the best 

 producers. In these locations, how- 

 ever, it is only in restricted areas that 

 the yield of honey is large. The gov- 

 erning factor of nectar production in 

 the cotton plant seems to be a black, 

 rich soil and a relatively permanent 

 water supply. In many parts of the 

 cotton-producing section, the bee is 

 looked upon as a great aid in the cot- 

 ton industry, as it is stated that 

 through pollination bees increase the 

 yield about 33 per cent. Jn other 

 sections, especially where the raising 

 of pure seed is attempted, cotton 

 farmers claim that the honeybee is -i 

 nuisance, as it causes the cotton to 

 mix, producing seed not suitable for 

 sale as pedigreed seed. 



The plant belongs to a gi'oup which 

 is well supplied with nectaries, but, 

 with the exception of cotton, one are 

 noted as honey producers. Cotton is 

 found native in almost every tropical 

 or semi-tropical land, but it seems 

 that the American developed plant is 

 the best yielder of nectar. In Texas, 

 cotton is raised in almost every coun- 

 ' ty. In the counties included within 

 the large area on the map, cotton 

 yields a greater or less supply of nec- 

 tar. The smaller area outlined on the 

 map includes what is known as the 

 black land, and only within this area 

 is cotton generally a heavy producer 

 of nectar. A study of these soils shows 

 that cotton is commonly nectar-bear- 

 ing only on soils which have a high 

 per cent of lime and organic matter, 

 and the secretion of nectar is further 

 governed by the permanent supply of 



moisture. The very fact that there 

 are small, isolated spots whei'e cot- 

 ton is heavily nectar-bearing dibstan- 

 tiates this statement, as these spots 

 which lie outside of the regular black 

 land belt have a soil which finswers 

 the above requirement. In this dis- 

 cussion the cotton upon which the ob- 

 servations were made is the standard 

 cotton of the South, which has a white 

 flower that turns red in dying. While 

 the sea-island or yellow-flowered cot- 

 ton is grown to some extent, it is not 

 regarded as a honey plant in 1 exas. 

 As the interest in this question is 



two-fold, there are naturally two 

 questions that come up for discussion. 

 The first is the amount and depend- 

 ability of the nectar flow and the sec- 

 ond is the value of honeybees to the 

 cotton plant in producing cross pol- 

 lination. Some explanation is neces- 

 sary before this question can rightly 

 be discussed. A nectary is a gland 

 on a plant, secreting a thin sugar so- 

 lution. According to the location, 

 these glands are known as floral and 

 extra-floral nectaries. The former 

 are located within the flower and the 

 latter at some other place on the 



The cotton area of Texas. It is most important in the small area, but produces some nectar 

 within the borders of the larger area. 



