GLEANINGS IN BEE CDLTli 



OCTOnKK IB. 1916 



extracted honey for fable use. Very likely 

 our national feelinfr for eleanliness has 

 something: to tie with these preferences. 

 Chunk honey is mostly produced by our 

 skep-keepers, and they can readily sell it 

 to buyers in their neighborhood, once they 

 have a good reputation for cleanliness and 

 honesty. Our modern apiaries advertise 

 their product, and fill the orders they get, 

 but they don't peddle their honey. One may 

 buy it at a gi'ocery ; but it does not appeal 

 to our feelings to see sections, however 

 beautifully filled, exposed to the dust and 

 the flies before a grocer's windows. 



As to our honey crops, they remain far 

 below those obtained by some apiarists in 

 the United Slates — for e.xample. Dr. Miller. 

 I have his very valuable work in which he 

 describes his forty years' exi)erience, and I 

 have studied it rather closely. Hut there 

 never has been any question about my ob- 

 taining the crop that this American veteran 

 gets from even weak colonies or what he 

 considers as such. 



We have good seasons and bad ones, altho 

 more of the latter. But even in a very good 

 season I would be very well satisfied if my 

 bees gave me an average of 75 lbs. per 

 colony, and, as to an average of 150 lbs. 

 or more, I don't even dream of it. 



Altho we have the linden, white clover, 

 buckwheat, and some other good honey- 

 plants, one does not see in this country acres 

 and acres of them, as seems to be the case 

 in the United States. On our poorer soils 

 one may encounter patches of a few acres 

 of buckwheat; but of the hundreds of acres 

 of this grain on a stretch, by which, for in- 

 stance, the late Mr. Alexander was sur- 

 rounded, we cannot form an idea. Such 

 sfretclies of land with only one honey-giving 

 plant are to be found here only on tlie 

 heaths; but then, heather honey is a rather 

 ill-flavored and very dark-colored product 

 which is disliked by many. 



Alfalfa and sweet clovers are not culti- 

 vated in this country, and we thus miss two 

 great honey sources. But still I think our 

 bad seasons are not cau.sed so much by (he 

 want of bee-pasture as by our changeable 

 climate. When I read somelimes in Glean- 

 ings of complaints of beekeepers about bad 

 crops on account of the temperature some 

 nights going below 60 degi'ees, I wo)i'ler 

 how these beekeepers would feel here, wlicrc 

 the thermometer, even during our waiim^t 

 summer months, seldom registers as iii'-h a-'^ 

 60 degrees at night ; where night frosts kill 

 the buckwheat bloom, and where the heath- 

 er often does not secrete any nectar on ac- 



count of the cold nights! And the long 

 .spells of rain we have but too often ! rain 

 for days on a stretch, washing all the nectar 

 out of the flowers ! One can fancy the state 

 of mind of the beekeeper when the lindens 

 around his apiary are in full bloom and his 



bees have to remain at home on account of 

 the pouring rain; when, morning- after 

 morning, his hope is frustrated on seeing 

 the sun breaking thru the clouds! And 

 such seasons are not the exception here. 

 Soest, Holland. 



TWO VARIETIES OF THE EUCALYPTUS 

 Eucalyptus Mellidora (Yellow Box Gum) 



BY LESLIE BURR 



The name Mellidora is from the Latin, 

 and means " honey scented." The common 

 name is yellow box gum. The trunks of 

 these trees are often crooked and gnarled. 

 The branches have a spreading or sprawling 

 habit. Tn Australia the tree is said to grow 

 to a height of 2.50 feet, and obtain a diam- 

 eter of from six to eight feet. The outer 

 bark is of a brownisli-gray color, and is 

 persistent. The inner bark is yellow. It is 

 because of this yellow inner bark that the 

 tree is called "yellow box," The branches 

 are smooth. The leaves on the young trees 

 arc apt to be oval ; but when the tree obtains 

 a few years' growth the leaves are lance- 

 shaped. There is very little difference in 



the sides of the leaves, both sides being of 

 a dnll-gi-een color. 



The botanical name, E. mellidora, was 

 given this particular eucalyptus by reason 

 of the fragrance of the blossoms. 



As to its habits, its period of bloom is 

 during the winter and early spring, the 

 period of bloom continuing over several 

 months. The tree will do well near the coast, 

 on low mountains, in hot valleys, and will 

 also resist considerable frost. It is one of 

 the most profuse bloomers, and probably 

 yields a greater amount of honey than any 

 "of the other varieties. The flowers grow in 

 compact clusters. The seed-pods are about 

 I'l inch in diameter, and are egg-shaped, 



