El'CALYPTUS. 79 



the leaves have not shown unusual lengths. The tree 

 grows very well with us and is a profuse and nearly con- 

 stant bloomer. The flowers carry a full supply of fine 

 nectar. Prof. A. J. Cook, our distinguished authority on 

 the apiary, calls attention to the value of this tree in bee 

 culture. He has observed it at Claremont, on the foothills 

 of the Pomona Valley, and speaks highly of its constant 

 popularity with bees. 



Bees are not themselves popular with fruit men in Cal- 

 ifornia. Vast quantities of fruits are dried with us each 

 season and no inconsiderable toll on these is levied by the 

 bees. Bees, however, we have always with us, when not 

 domesticated and the toiling serf of man they are wild 

 and, at least along the mountain ranges, seem as numerous 

 and damaging as when housed and made useful. 



The greatest injury is done by bees to the extra early 

 and extra late drying fruit. Probably they take more 

 sugar where the sunniest ranch lands are filled with drying 

 apricots as golden as the poppy or with peaches, but we 

 do not then feel it so much for the percentage of loss from 

 these large quantities is small. When it comes to such 

 fruit as pears, that seem specially attractive to bees, there 

 are districts here where we can not dry them in the open. 

 The bees eat them up. E. Bonine, at Lamanda Park, had 

 a painful experience in this line. 



Prof. Cook speaks of another species of Eucalyptus 

 from Riverside, not yet identified, which is reported as an 

 apicide. It seems both attractive and fatal to bees, like a 

 Parisian Phryne to an uncharactered richling. I am afraid 

 that if the fruit men get hold of this species there will be 

 many a bee-break in the drying districts. I have no confi- 

 dence in the accuracy of this report. 



