GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Leaves and blossoms of the yellow box g'uni, Eucahjitun mcilidora. 



witli the small end of the egg cut away. 

 Tlie "wood is very durable under ground, and 

 is valuable for fence-posts. The tree makes 

 a rapid gi'owth, but is not as rajiid a grow- 

 er as the E. globulus, or blue gTim, but the 

 wood is more valuable. 



EUCALYPTUS CORYNOCALYX, THE SUGAR GUM. 



Taking all things into consideration, the 

 Eucalyptus corynocalyx, commonly called 

 the " sugar gum," will in the future prob- 

 ably be the most important to beekeepers of 

 all the various species of eucalyptus. The 

 tree in the matter of bark, leaves, and gen- 

 eral api^earanee is similar in many respects 

 to various other species; but it is in fact 

 one of the easiest to identify. The average 

 person who is at all familiar with eucalyp- 

 tus should have no difficulty in identifying 

 it. 



The bark of the tree, after it has attained 

 some size, is smooth, and continuously flakes 

 off in patchfs. The main trunk is of a 

 cream color, tlie patches where the bark has 

 recently, been shed being of a lighter color. 

 The color of the bark of the very young 

 twigs is reddish. The young leaves are 

 nearly round or slightly oval, those of the 

 mature tree being the usual lance shape. 

 similar to those of the red or blue gum, the 

 average length of the leaf being some five or 



six inclies. In the color of the leaves there 

 is some variation in different trees. On 

 some trees the foliage is quite light, gener- 

 ally, tho the leaves on the upper surface 

 are a dark shiny green, the lower surface 

 being dull and of a lighter green. There 

 are a considerable number of these trees in 

 Balboa Park, the 1400-acre city park of 

 San Diego, Cal. The period of bloom lasts 

 for several months, beginning about May 

 1. Some authorities state that the tree 

 comes into bloom in the fall, but such is not 

 the case in this locality, altho there is con- 

 siderable bloom during the late summer and 

 fall months. 



The principal distinguishing feature of 

 the sugar gum is the form of the buds and 

 of the mature fruits, the unopened bud be- 

 ing club-shaped, from which it derives the 

 name, " eorynoealyx," meaning " club-shap- 

 ed calyx." The cover which tips the end 

 of the bud is the largest in diameter of any 

 part of the bud and is vei-y abruptly 

 pointed, very much resembling the club 

 wliich used to repose near the Giant Buga- 

 boo Bill in the story-books of our childhood 

 days. The buds grow in clusters, there be- 

 ing usually from eight to twelve buds in a 

 cluster. On some trees, however, there may 

 be double the foregoing numbers. The fruit 



