774 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



winged flies, while bees and butter- 

 flies are most freely attracted to more 

 highly colored ones. Think over the 

 most important bee-plants and see 

 how many of them are pink, purple, 

 blue or lilac in color. True, there are 

 some conspicuous exceptions, as sweet 

 clover (but it will generally be found 

 in such cases that nectar is unusually 

 abundant), attracting the bees with- 

 out high colors. Xature is very econo- 

 mical with her forces and places none 

 of them where they are not needed. 



Besides this evidence of the ability 

 of insects to distinguish colors, we 

 we have the conclusive experiments 

 of Sir Johu Lubbock regarding the 

 color-sense of bees. In these experi- 

 ments, honey was placed on glass be- 

 neath which were slips of yellow, 

 pink Tind blue paper, and it was found 

 that the bees tirst selected that over 

 the blue paper, thus proving not only 

 their ability to distinguish colors, but 

 their preference of blue. 



But some one will ask, " IIow and 

 why did the primitive yellow flowers 

 commence to vary?" It is well 

 known to gardeners that when the 

 conditions of a plant are changed, it 

 is likely to vary or sport, as it is 

 called. This is especially true of the 

 highly organized petals where varia- 

 tion is more likely to occur than on 

 the rest of the plant. Chemistry also 

 teaches that the composition of pink 

 and yellow petals differs but little, 

 and tliat a very slight change in the 

 composition may produce marked 

 differences in color. Hence, variation 

 is very likely to be produced if a seed 

 is carried by the wind, or otherwise, 

 to a new locality. 



To illustrate the theory now held 

 by eminent botanists regarding the 

 development of colors in petals, let us 

 suppose a case of a fli^'er of the 

 primitive yellow, varying slightly to a 

 white or pink color. Obviously, it 

 will be more conspicuous than its sur- 

 rounding non-sportive brethren ; and, 

 hence, w-ill receive more visits from 

 bees and other nectar-loving insects. 

 Hence, as has been so often shown by 

 Darwin and others, the seeds will be 

 more perfectly fertilized, and will pro- 

 duce stronger and more thrifty plants. 

 These resulting plants will be likely 

 to have flowers with the original 

 variation more strongly marked, 

 which, in turn, being more conspicu- 

 ous, vrill be more freely visited, pro- 

 duce thriftier plants, and so on until 

 the progeny of the original sport will 

 become a well established species. 



Michigan Agricultural College. 



Philadelphia Press. 



Nectar or Honey-Dew. 



PROF. A. J. COOK. 



These terms are very old in our 

 literature, and refer to drops of liquid 

 sweet, often very minute, which are 

 ft-equently observed on grass and on 

 the foliage or branches of various 

 trees and plants. These drops of 

 nectar have been referred to by writers 

 for the last 2,000 years ; and probably 

 were the subject of remark and in- 

 quiry as far back as the time of 



Aristotle. The first name, nectar, is 

 very appropriate, as the substance is 

 sweet and often very pleasant to the 

 taste. Sometimes it is as light col- 

 ored as the finest honey, while at 

 other times it is as dark as Xew Or- 

 leans molasses, and. as if to illustrate 

 that Nature has an eye to the fitness 

 of things. The dark nectar is often 

 quite odorous, so much so that when 

 gathered largely, as it is likely to be, 

 by bees, a rank, disagreeable smell 

 will be observed about the apiary in 

 place of the delightful odor usual to 

 the bee-yard. 



A few weeks ago, an apiarist being 

 misled by this odor, was very anxious 

 for fear he had, in his apiary, the 

 dreaded malady, " foul brood," which 

 is always characterized by a most 

 disagreeable stench. Have not many 

 readers, during the past summer 

 months, as they have been walking, 

 especially just at the beginning of 

 twiliglit,"perceived a very noticeable 

 odor, which the physicians would 

 liken to slippery elm, but which 

 would remind the farmer boy of the 

 diluted odor of the hog-pen 'i The 

 cause of such odors is this same nec- 

 tar. Often it so besmears the leaves 

 of the trees that to grasp them, 

 covers the hands with a sticky, unctu- 

 ous liquid not entirely pleasant to the 

 touch ; not unfreque'ntly the glitter- 

 ing drops may be seen to twinkle on 

 the foliage, "or as they fall from it, 

 especially just at the dawn of morn- 

 ing. Sometimes it falls from the 

 leaves, so as to stain the sidewalks or 

 other objects beneath the trees. 



The other terra, honey-dew, is not 

 so correct; for, though the sweet is 

 well likened to honey, it is in no re- 

 spect like dew. As is well known, 

 dew collects from vapors in the at- 

 mosphere, while the so-called honey- 

 dew never has any such origin, though 

 it is quite impossible to persuade 

 many persons, especially bee-keepers, 

 that "such is not the case. Even men 

 of no mean scientific ability have 

 often assented to this false view as to 

 the origin of the nectar. 



Occasionally this nectar takes the 

 name "manna," and grasses from 

 which it is secured have, in recent 

 periodicals, been called "manna 

 grass." Were this term in general 

 use, I should think it a very appro- 

 priate name. 



The sources of nectar of plants are 

 very various. That secreted by 

 flowers, through the agency of special 

 cells, is best understood, and is with- 

 out doubt to attract insects to the 

 important work of fertilizing the 

 flowers. Another source of nectar is 

 special extra-floral glands, which are 

 sometimes on the stalk, sometimes 

 on the leaves and sometimes on 

 the peduncles, or flower-stems. The 

 cotton partridge pea show such 

 glands, and afford such secretion. 

 Prof. Trelease suggests that the 

 function or use of such glands and 

 secretion is to insure the presence of 

 ants, wasps, and bees, which will 

 destroy or frighten and drive off in- 

 sect enemies of the plants. Prof. 

 Trelease was led to this view while 

 studying the cotton plant of the 

 South. Such nectar— that from flow- 



ers and extra-floral glands, as also 

 the sugar-laden sap or juices of many 

 trees and plants— is never included in 

 the term honey-dew. 



The nectar known as honey-dew is 

 also of diverse origin. As is well 

 known, it comes largely from plant- 

 lice. It may come from special tubes 

 — called nectaries — or, as is more gen- 

 erally the case, from the glandular 

 pores of the abdomen. It is very 

 common to find the leaves of trees in- 

 fested with aphidse, or plant-lice, 

 blackened by this nectar, or the fungi 

 which its "presence induces. The 

 presence of ants in tree or shrub is 

 almost always a sure indication that 

 the plants were previously attacked 

 by plant-lice. The ants repair to the 

 place for the same nectar. Bees often 

 collect this nectar in considerable 

 quantities. I have often seen this 

 sweet in large drops sufficiently ample 

 to be sampled without diflicultv. Of 

 course I sampled it, and have always 

 found it agreeable to the taste. It 

 might not be wise to label honey 

 " Plant-Louse Honey," but I am free 

 to say that some of the best of honey 

 might be thus truthfully labeled. I 

 have found the plant-louse nectar of 

 the larch and elm particularly" pleas- 

 ant in flavor. 



The near relatives of plant-lice, 

 bark-lice, also secrete a large amount 

 of nectar. This bark-louse or scale- 

 louse nectar, unlike that from the 

 plant-lice, is dark, of strong odor, and 

 ill-flavored. As scale-lice flourish 

 best in dry seasons, so in years of 

 drought this bark-louse nectar will be 

 most plentiful. The present season, 

 and also the year made memorable by 

 the Chicago fire, were both marked 

 by the great amount of this bark-louse 

 nectar. During the present season, 

 tons of honey have been stored by 

 bees, the source of which was these 

 same bark or scale lice. 



While many do not object to the 

 flavor of this honey, it is dark and 

 rank, and as it in many cases was 

 mixed with the clover honey, its pres- 

 ence w-as a sore misfortune to the' bee- 

 keeper. For my own part I would 

 never put such on the market, as I 

 would never use it on my table. As 

 I have often stated, I believe that the 

 cause of the great mortality among- 

 the bees in the winter following the 

 Chicago fire was due, in part at least, 

 to this bark-louse honey in the bee- 

 hives. I think, however, that the 

 flavor of the nectar that season was 

 considerably more rank than it is this 

 summer, possibly owing to its being 

 less mixed with other and better 

 honey. 



These nectar-secreting bark-lice are 

 very common here, and in many 

 Northern States. Myriads of them 

 are now in our basswoods. maples, 

 hickories, sassafrasses, white ashes, 

 and elm, pumping up the sap and 

 excreting this bitter, odorous sweet. 

 The very atmosphere is tainted, and 

 when the bees can do no better, they 

 accept this nectar of questionable 

 reputation. The bee-keeper must 

 watch for this unsavory nectar, and 

 when it abounds he must see that it is 

 not mixed with the fine grades of 

 honey. By use of the extractor it 



