106 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Feb. 15 



thp: narrow-leaf Cottonwood of Colorado. 



This tree furnishes a large amount of propolis. 



THE NARROW-LEAF COTTONWOOD. 



The Source of Most of the Propolis the Bees 

 Gather in the West. 



BY WESLEY FOSTER. 



One of the first things an Easterner no- 

 tices in coming west is the different tree 

 flora. Instead of the oak, the ash, hard 

 maple, basswood, hickory, etc., he sees the 

 broad-leaf cottonwood, the narrow-leaf Cot- 

 tonwood, the willow, and the box elder 

 along the watercourses of the plains, while 

 in the mountains the aspen, spruce, and 

 pine predominate. We who live in the val- 

 leys and on the plains are not blessed with 

 woods such as are known to one living in 

 the East, but none the less we love the sight 

 of the trees along the stream-beds and irri- 

 gating-ditches. The changing colors of the 

 narrow-leaf cottonwood are as beautiful as 

 those of any tree I know of, and, though 

 not so highly colored as the crimson blush 

 of the oak, it is tenderer and more delicate 

 in its shading. In fact, I think it is the most 

 beautiful tree growing naturally along our 

 streams. Its dull-gray lower trunk is slight- 

 ly rough, but not as rough as the common 

 cottonwood, and it grows smoother to- 

 ward the top till a smooth silvery shade is 

 reached half way between the silver-maple 

 and the birch. The thin narrow leaves 

 stand out against the sky as delicate as 



lacework, and the tree has an air of wild 

 natural refinement about it. 



But, one can hardly find a bee-man who 

 lives near where the narrow-leaf cottonwood 

 thrives who does not regret the fact. The 

 propolis is a bright reddish color, very 

 sticicy, and oozes out on the buds of this 

 tree in such large bulbs that it is an easy 

 matter for the bees to collect large quanti- 

 ties of it. The drawing shows the size of 

 the bulbs of propolis, and I have seen a sin- 

 gle bud that had propolis enough to make 

 several good large bee-loads. 



The photograph shows a lane with three 

 narrow-leaf cottonwood-trees at its side, 

 with their paint-brush-like tops flashing 

 forth the light of the evening sun from 

 the yellowing foliage. The leaves fall 

 from the lower branches first, which causes 

 the tops of these trees to take on the paint- 

 brush appearance. The bees continue to 

 gather the propolis, however, long after the 

 leaves have fallen; for our long beautiful 

 fall of bright warm days often lasts till 

 nearly Christmas. 



While we may regret the nuisance of the 

 propolis we should not overlook the fact 

 that this tree relieves the monotony that 

 would make our farming sections of the 

 plains well nigh unbearable. The narrow- 

 leaf cottonwood lines our streams and ditch- 

 es, and has often brought pleasure to those 

 who watch the slow but steady advance of 

 fall and winter by the changing colors and 

 falling of the foliage. 



Boulder, Col. 



