CT.KAXlNtJS IN BEE CUI/rURE. 



SOI 



lidspiiahlf they iiiul' rt;il<c lo In-. Xntc (lie tlntr 

 Imuiil i>itiils. Thni )ii't milti smj roiiif. hij th( ir 

 brujht Inns, hut hij tin rcstjiti fodtsfiinln iiliiili 

 tliiii I'.f'V'" the irfiiriilHi X. As oiin lu> si'(<m in llic 

 tii:iir«>. till' stamiMis air uiiiti'd. hotli by tlicir til- 

 amiMits ami aiitlitM's, aiul so Inrni a tiibi' aroiiiid 

 th«' pistil. In tiio iipini' llowors that arc opi'u. 

 wo siM- the authors. The stylo hoars a tuft, or 

 brush, which, by growth, pusln-s out of the sla- 

 moii-tub(> after tho llowcr opens, thus hnishhni 

 utf the iittUiii. Alter il pushes nut. the hi-lolxd 

 siiiinui o/)(;i.s. See tln' lowei- llowofs in the liir- 

 ufo. Thus wo see tlu' polliMi is shod liist. and so 

 those tlowefs uiust have the aid of tho boos. 

 The pollen is dropped before the stigma is ma- 

 tured. At the base of the stylo, upon the ovary, 

 is ;v eoiiiints scrret'uni of (lelieiiius ue<t<tr. The 

 boos come eafforly for this iioftar. and thus un- 

 consciously cross -fertilize the s(>veral llowers. 

 Ev»'n as good a botanist as Prof, tloodale. of 

 Harvard, says. 'The cardinal llowor. however. 

 has so long and narrow a corolla-tube //(«? the 

 hces tire }(U(tl>le to reaeli the iie>-t(ir. which, 

 moreover, is .so vatenj that they do not in this 

 case resort to thoir frequent expedient of biting 

 through the corolla to got at it." " 



Prof. Cook then criticises Prof, (ioodale's 

 statement, and concludes with tho following: 



■■ We now know that this cardinal (lower is a 

 most excellent honey-].lant. If 1 succeed in 

 showing everybody that they onght to plant 

 cleome for their bees, I will next try this lobelia." 



The italics in the above (luotation are mine. 



Now in regard to my investigations. During 

 the past four seasons I have repeatedly visited 

 patclies of the cardinal tlowei' in a region where 

 there are plenty of bees, and also plenty of the 

 Howers. and have never seen a bee upon the 

 (lowers. Neighbor Ashcraft, who for two years 

 handled one of G. E. Hilton's out-apiarios. and 

 who is a wide-awake bee-keeper, has done the 

 same with like results. I am certain that Prof. 

 Goodale is correct. The nectar found in the 

 blossom is, as he says, watery, and also rank, 

 and I have always found it limited in quantity, 

 and not. as Prof. Cook states. " cojiious and de- 

 licious." The cardinal tlowor blossoms just at 

 a time when the bees are searching every nook 

 and corner for honey. Would it seem possible 

 that they would ignore the flower if there were 

 any nectar there which they could get at, even 

 if it is poor? I think not. 



As regards those footstools: A bee resting on 

 Ihose throe ^jotals could not possibly reach the 

 nectar, owing lo the size of the flower; and 

 then tho nectar, what there is of it, is at the 

 bottom of that long tube, entirely walled in, and 

 decidedly inaccessible to the honey-bee. In all 

 the llowers I have examined, the bee would 

 need a tongue much longer than himself, and. 

 in some cases, two or three times as long, in or- 

 der to reach the nectar. The close-fitting top 

 of the tube would not be the least difficulty th(! 

 boo would have to overcome. I am positive 

 that no honey-bee can gather honey from La- 

 belia carcUnnlifi. And. by the way, friend Cook, 

 did you ever see a bee. when gathering honey, 

 stop to rest? But you will say that a bee must 

 have a foothold. Granted: but, as just staled 

 above, a bee on those petals could do nothing 

 but rest. 



Now comes up the que.stion, "How are the 

 flowers fertilized, if insects do not do the work?'" 



The lower flowers maiure first, and in such a 

 manner that their pollen is shed before the 

 stigma opens, hence the stigma must receive 

 its fertilizing pollen from another (lower. At 

 tho time that tho lower ^tigmas are waiting for 

 pollen, the upper ones ;ire just shedding their 

 pollen: and what is more natural than that, as 

 it is wafted downward, some of it should rest 

 ufion the stigma below, and do the work nature 



intended it to do? Nor is this so miicli chance- 

 work as would appear at lirst, because, for each 

 stigma, or. Ix'ttor. for each ovule, there are hun- 

 dreds of grains of pollen ripened. This process 

 goes on as t he (lowers mature on uj) th*; stalk. 

 Another i'ai-l tending to prove this is, that the 

 highest (lowers mature no seed. 



I am afraid that, when Prof. Cook wrote his 

 article, ho forgot what he has so often taught, 

 and wisely, too, that careful, practical, personal 

 observation is of much more value than hearsay 

 evidence. Prof. Cook received his information 

 from friend Hilton, who. in turn, received it 

 from another party. I am certain that this 

 other party was mistaken in the source of his 

 honey. 



In what I liave written T have spoken point- 

 edly: but I believe friends Hilton and Cook will 

 take no offense, for botii are lovers of the truth, 

 and gentltuiien for whose honor and scholarship 

 I have much respect. 



By the way, neighbor Hilton has just been 

 nominated to represent this county in the State 

 Legislature; and although the writer is a mem- 

 ber of the opposition party, he will not be sur- 

 prised if, after Jan. 1. our energetic bee-keeping 

 friend would be known as the Hon. G. E. Hil- 

 ton. \V. E. Goui.i). 



Brookside. Mich.. Oct. 1:.'. 



HONEY RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



PKioi: uioiiTs TO hi:e-i!Ange.s; axotiii<;k view 



OF THE MATTER. 



In a recent trip from Newhall to Mojave, 

 from Mojave to Needles, and from Needles to 

 San Bernardino, I had an opportunity for ob- 

 serving the honey-plants under various condi- 

 tions of climate and at varying altitudes. In 

 the vicinity of Newhall the three varieties of 

 sage we have here are found on every hill: but 

 as our train went puffing along up-gi"ade they 

 became noticeably less until after passing Ac- 

 ton, where none were to be seen, being replaced 

 by the wild buckwheat. So it was in coming 

 over tlie range between the desert and San Ber- 

 nardino; first the buckwheat, and then in the 

 warmer climate of the lower altitudes came the 

 sages. After leaving San Bernardino the train 

 passed through much waste country — thousands 

 of acres, apparently, which was unfit for culti- 

 vation owing to the vast quantities of rocks 

 which covered it. In among these rocks the 

 white sago grew thicker than I ever saw it else- 

 where. There were no apiaries in sight from 

 the train, but surely there are many located 

 where there is such a grand field for bees. Up 

 near the top of the range above San Bernardi- 

 no some l)ee-man had an apiary of several hun- 

 dred colonies located about fifty feet from the 

 railroad track. I felt envious of him when I 

 thought what little trouble he was put to in 

 getting his honey aboard cars, in comparison 

 with myself who have to haul fourteen miles 

 over the worst of roads. 



Frotn what I can hear, apiaries located at 

 high altitudes are more sure of a crop than 

 tho.se located in the valleys where the sages 

 thrive. It is probably owing to the greater 

 rainfall which takes place among the moun- 

 tains. Sometimes there are heavy rains in the 

 mountains, when the valleys and foot-hills do 

 not get a drop. The honey, after getting above 

 the sago-line, is generally dark. The season, 

 too. is later, which makes it practicable for the 

 valley bee-men to practice migratory bee-keep- 

 ing. Two years ago, after the honoy-flow in 

 my locality had entirely ceased, two mountain 

 apiarists came to my place to purchase some 

 foundation. Their bees were swarming, and 



