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THE HONEY BEE IN RELATION TO PLANT LIFE. 



riT seems almost remarkable that we appear to strive after that 

 Ll which is not within reach, and that which is ours, if we but nod 

 our head, is spurned as unworthy of our notice and of our 

 attention. 



What more interesting study can those ot us, who live in 

 rural districts, desire than the study of plant and animal life. 

 How many years did I and many others pass in the coun- 

 try, and the things about us were a closed book. And how 

 the first glance astonishes, dazzles and yet delights. Youth 

 can have no greater safeguard except the divine, be it in 

 the country or city, than to become interested in the study 

 of the habits of plants and insects, and the -relation the 

 one bears to the other. One so interested would, without 

 doubt, appreciate to a greater extent the advantages, yes, 

 Z2i£EZ with all its drudgery, the beauties of rural occupations. 



And youth need not be interested alone ; those of us who have reached a 

 mature age will find this a study well worthy of our attention during our hours 

 of comparative leisure, and, withal, we can derive from this study solid financial 

 benefits. I propose to just lightly touch upon the honey bee and its relation to 

 plant life. 



To many of us the characteristic of the bee essentially valuable is, that 

 we can, in a manner, domesticate it and turn it to the gathering of surplus honey! 

 But is this the reason we have the honey bee creation, or is the storing of honey 

 only a secondary matter. There is every evidence to show that as in our own 

 lives working for our daily bread is only a secondary matter, and the object of 

 our existence is far above and beyond that, so the object of the existence of the 

 honey bee is primarily not to store honey, but to assist plant life in reproduction. 

 Darwin and a host of others have shown that the honey bee plays no mean part 

 in the reproduction of plant life. Some plants are only partially dependent 

 on insect life for fertilization, others are entirely so. A peep as it were into 

 the plan of nature will be of interest, and perhaps lead to further research. 



The parts of a flower are calyx, corolla, stamens and pistils.' The calyx is 

 the cup or outer covering of the blossom, and is usually green and leaf-like. 

 The corolla is the inner set of leaves of the flower. It is very seldom green as 

 the calyx commonly is, but is "colored" other that green, and of a delicate 

 texture. It is the most showy part of the blossom. The stamens constitute the 

 male portion of the flower, and are divided into filament and anther. The 

 filament is the stalk, the anther is a little case, or hollow body, borne on the top 

 of the filament. It is filled with a powdery matter called pollen. The pistils 



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