134 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



July 



The orange flower itself is a white, the air, making a bee line for the next 



six-pointed star of great purity, and orange trees. 



is very fraarant. The somewhat Yes, certainly; but a bee line such 



fleshy petals.^'atter opening curl out as few people ever imagine. Past 



and ' backwards , thus disclosing a High Grand Master of Geometric Ar- 



round wall of straight, more or less chitecture apis mellifera turns living 



<-rown to'-ethor, pollen carriers, with- posey the moment its shining wings 



fn which' there is hidden the fruit vibrate in the outer air. Go out and 



o-erm surmounted bv the central sta- ^vatch them at sunrise and you will 



men ' It is in this inner temple where- see. Those thousands, gracefully cir- 



in occurs the offering of the sacrifice cling up there^ tinged with the gold 



of the nectar and of the sweet odor " " ' " ' 



A certain wise one once said that the 

 orange flower, its form and structure, 

 purity of coloring, abundance of sweet- 

 ness, sensuous odor, was "a living 

 symbol of the world's central mystery; 

 aiid whosoever has once gained a 

 glance behind the outer things will 

 not say him nay, — only, since the pass- 

 ing of the day in the long-ago when 

 the sanctuary became profaned, its 

 sweet sacrifice is now mostly ipter- 



of the horizontal beams of the morn- 

 ing sun are not shooting stars as one 

 might think. They are workers go- 

 ing to work, as children go berry gath- 

 ering in the woods and to picnic, free 

 and unfettered. 



After this sort of thing has been 

 going on for a day or two, the combs, 

 along the top-bars begin to whiten, 

 manipulated by two rows of bee-heads 

 crowded together like peas in a pod 

 from end to end of the hive, the cells 



mixed by a subtile poison that lames S'^'o^v longer and pretty soon are sealed 



and ills." 



Like all flora, here or elsewhere, the 

 orange is richer in nectar some years 

 than in othei'S. There have been sea- 

 sons Avhen the nectar secretions for 

 very abundance ran out of the blos- 

 soms, causing the foliage of the trees 

 to become sticky with it all over. But 



whether rich or poor, because of the certainty about its ^yearly coming, ^noi 

 immense mass of it, there has always 



over and bottled up, full of what is 

 probably the most delicious honey 

 known. 



The full volume of the orarfige flo-sv 

 lasts at least two weeks. It starts terj 

 days or two weeks before that, anc 

 straggles along for about an equa 

 length of time after. There is no un 



been far more of it than all the avail- 

 able bees could take care of. 



And how they work at it. Not, in- 

 deed, that there is a great display of 

 energy, or speed, in the coming or 

 going of them; for they seem at times 

 almost drunk with nectar, they al- 

 ways manifest the drowsy hum and 

 movement of a rich flow. No vicious 

 diving at their master, no unprovoked 

 stinging. All they seem to ask is", 

 "Please, keep away from our door,'' 

 and you can do anything you want. 

 And then they drop out of the air, 

 half by direction, half by gravity', a 

 small constant stream, on the alight- 

 ing board, on the hive cover, on grass 

 stalks, on the ground — anywhere, but 

 as near as may l)e their beloved home, 

 but for very fatigue they must have a 

 rest and more breath before they can 

 go another inch. At the same time 

 another stream runs out of the en- 

 trance and, diving low, disappears in 



doubt about its abundance. And~il 

 we had the meteorological conditioi 

 necessary, we could harvest from 50 t( 

 100 pounds of honey per colony everj 

 year without fail. 



In point of time the Navel opens it? 

 blossoms first, the Valencia's anc 

 seedling afterwards and the sweetf 

 last, though the more or less of th« 

 elevation of the orchard makes a dif 

 ference, too; those situated highes 

 towards the foot hills seem to be fa 

 vorefl Avith a warmer strata of air thai 

 those lower down. To sum up thi 

 matter: As a producer of nectar, botl 

 of quantity and quality, the orang( 

 ti-ee stands in the first rank. Never 

 theless, there is no dependence to b< 

 placed upon it by the bee-keeper— a 

 least not in Southern California — foi 

 these two reasons; the weather is al 

 most always unsuitable, and it comei 

 too earl.v in the season, before a stronj 

 force of young field workers is reared 



Riverside, Cal., May 27, 1904. 



