1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1253 



THE SEASON. 



California, like the whole country, had a 

 very cold backward spring. We had reason, 

 from the generous and timely rains of the 

 winter, to hope for and to expect a great 

 honey year. The cold weather kept both 

 bees and plants from work. The bees were 

 often held to the iuves, and the nectar-glands 

 refused, in the chilling atmosphere, to pro- 

 duce the coveted sweets. Later the warmth 

 was more in evidence, and we shall get some 

 honey. I find that several of our bee-keep- 

 ers have secured about half a crop. I pre- 

 sume that we may claim about that for our 

 State. We were wont in the olden time to 

 say that, with good rains in winter, we were 

 sui'e of a good honey year; but we now must 

 add that these must as surely be followed 

 by warmth and sunshine as the honey-plants 

 burst into bloom. 



THE OLD BOYS. 



I wish to thank most heartily my good 

 friend A. I. Root for the kind words regard- 

 ing my friend and old student. Prof. P. G. 

 Holden. Our old students are, like our chil- 

 dren, ever dear to us, and few things touch 

 us so pleasantly as words of commendation 

 of their lives and work. I have often thought 

 with the greatest satisfaction of the splendid 

 services of many of our old Michigan Agri- 

 cultural boys — men like Holden, of Ames, 

 Iowa, who has done such fine work in breed- 

 ing seed corn of high value; and of Daven- 

 port, of Champaign, 111 , who has done mas- 

 terful service of the same kind; and of Bai- 

 ley, of Cornell, New York, whose grand re- 

 searches in almost all lines of horticulture 

 have brought to him and to his alma mater 

 honor and praise from all parts of the world. 

 I might name many others who have done 

 admirable work and ai'e greatly honored. 



Why is it that these men have done so 

 well? It is due in large part to the great 

 earnestness, ability, and enthusiasm of those 

 first grand teachers— men like Abbott, Miles, 

 Thurber, and Kedzie, who threw their whole 

 being into their work, and inspired their 

 students to like hard work. In those early 

 days the students had all to work three hours 

 daily on the farm or in the garden, and this 

 gave or helped to give habits of industry, a 

 spirit of thrift, and a practical trend that has 

 helped powerfully to win success as they 

 stepped forth into the world. We may all 

 rejoice at the interest that the public is now 

 taking in technical studies and work, in our 

 grammar and high schools, for it will do 

 much to help the boys and girls after they 

 step forth into the work-a-day world. If we 

 could add to this good wholesome employ- 



ruent mornings and evenings and in vaca- 

 tions, such as is found on the farm, we would 

 give to our young people, the boys and girls, 

 that for which I nave ever devoutly thanked 

 God was a part of my early boyhood and 

 youth. 



The Michigan Agricultural College, the first 

 of our agricultural colleges which were to 

 push for the newer and better study and 

 training, was most fortunate in its men and 

 in its methods, and the whole country owes 

 it a debt of gratitude which I think is recog- 

 nized the country over. 



THE EUCALYPTS. 



I am pleased to report that there is an in- 

 creasingly large number of the various spe- 

 cies of eucalyptus-trees being planted in our 

 region from year to year. It is being found 

 that there is good money in a good planta- 

 tion of this kind. I saw the statement the 

 other day in one of our reliable papers that 

 it was thought it paid as well to grow the 

 eucalypts as to grow oranges. This is, in- 

 deed, high praise, as the orange has been 

 surprisingly pi'ofitable the last few years. 

 The bee-keeper may well rejoice at this fa- 

 vorable consideration of the eucalypts in our 

 rural economy. We are more and more im- 

 pressed with these trees for honey. It is well 

 known that we get all of our gums from Aus- 

 tralia. They bloom there, of course, in sum- 

 mer, which comes in December, January, 

 and February. When we bring them here, 

 north of the equator, they are sorely perplex- 

 ed, and hardly know how to behave. Their 

 hereditary instincts say blossom in winter, 

 but their feelings are favorable to pushing 

 out the bloom in the warm days of early 

 spring. The result is we find them blooming 

 at all times of the year. There is hai'dly a 

 month when we may not find these trees 

 (some species) in blossom. The honey from 

 these trees is of good quality; and, coming 

 at such varied times, it is splendid for stimu- 

 lation, as our bees can My at all seasons, and 

 they are likely to find a banquet spread in 

 the eucalyptus groves at any and all seasons. 

 As we are likely to have good warm and even 

 hot days in midwinter we see that all con- 

 spires to help the bee-keeper. I am led to 

 this expression from seeing bees swarming 

 on eucalyptus bloom the last few days. 



THE RUST FUNGI. 



We are all more or less familiar with the 

 various fungi that produce rust. We have 

 seen it on the wheat and other grains, and 

 have seen the deeply colored shirtsleeves of 

 the old-time harvest-men as they came from 

 binding the sheaves of grain. The grain 

 rusts were remarkable for living on differ- 

 ent kinds of plants, while many rusts live in 

 all the several stages of growth and develop- 

 ment on the same kinti of plant. The as- 

 paragus rust is a late comer into our country, 

 and is so serious that it has banished aspara- 



f:us-gi-owing in luany sections of the country. 

 t is found by Prof. Ralph Smith that this 

 rust can not thrive in a climate where there 



