92 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



March 



promptly retorted, and informed me 

 that it was much used by our pio- 

 neer grandmothers as early "greens," 

 and that in a similar manner the na- 

 me Indians. long before pioneer 

 ilavs had used the herbage of the 

 California poppy. 



But that is not all my young gar- 

 dener knows. T say my gardener, for 

 I am resolved that no other shall 

 ever invade the walled garden of 

 my bachelor heart. She has seen 

 the poppies unfold, and laughed at 

 the red-winged blackbird plunging 

 down into the feathery depths of the 

 mustard's lace-like foliage, or tilting 

 about on the slender stems. She has 

 watched the fields of pale green 

 change into a magic carpet of "gol- 

 den dust." as the flowers opened in 

 the spring sunshine. She knows that 

 but for the amber liquid distilled 

 from those blossoms, young bees 

 hatching in March would often go 

 hungry to bed, or more probably 

 would never hatch at all. Numbers 

 of spinsters, the coveted liquid con- 

 cealed on their persons, were, at that 

 very moment, hurrying from her 

 father's orchard back to the nursery. 



Still another thing she knows. That 

 wise little gardener is perfectly 

 aware that they are my bees. We 

 had once stolen out and watched the 

 invaders taking their buccaneering 

 way across the valley, plundered 

 flowers swooning in their, wake. I 

 wondered if she ever watched my 

 bees now. If only I could be certain ! 

 But why not find out? Surely ona 

 has the right to follow one's own 

 property! 



So I followed my bees, quickly, 

 lest I should falter in traversing the 

 intervening mile to the poppies, then 

 on a little further to the mustard. 



And there, knee-deep, in that magic 

 carpet of inextricable fragrant net- 

 work, stood my gardner — my magic 

 girl with erect golden head match- 

 ing the pale yellow flowers that 

 filled her arms, waiting for the 

 magic words she wished me to speak 

 and that I had only been waiting the 

 courage to pour into her small pink 

 ear to perfect the magic of that 



< mderful spring day. 



All around us hummed my bees. 

 Bu1 we remained unobserved. Ro- 

 mance like ours is not for the Mai 

 i beedom. Los Gatos, Calif. 



The Nutrition of the Honeybee 



By R. A. lam- Dutcher 

 if Agricultural Biochemis- 

 try, University of Minnesota. 

 IF you had gone to the a \ 

 biologist a few years ago and 

 asked him the question '"What 

 are the facts regarding the nutrition 

 of the honeybee" the chances are 

 nil t'> one that he would have 

 hat i- a chemical ques- 

 tion ; I am i in the biolog- 

 ical field and cannot answer your 

 question." Had you then sought an 

 r to the same question from 

 the chemist of that day lie probably 

 have answered, "I am not ac- 

 quainted with the anatomy and 

 physiology of insects and it is a 

 question upon ^Yhich I have no 



knowledge. I am a chemist, not a 

 biologist." 



This viewpoint is fast disappear- 

 ing, for, through the development of 

 biological chemistry during the past 

 few years the chemist is becoming 

 more thoroughly a biologist and the 

 biologist is becoming better versed 

 in the fundamental sciences. 



Our knowledge regarding the food 

 of the honeybee and its functions is 

 relatively meagre; in the short time 

 allotted for this paper I shall merely 

 indicate a few facts regarding our 

 present knowledge of nutrition as 

 applied to the higher animals and 

 bring to your attention a few facts 

 which may be of importance in the 

 development of the honeybee. 



Chemical analysis shows all living 

 organisms to be composed of com- 

 plex chemical substances wdiich are 

 being continuously broken down and 

 rebuilt during the life of the organ- 

 ism. In order that the organism 

 may best perform its natural func- 

 tions it is necessary that the right 

 kind of chemical materials be fur- 

 nished in correct proportions and in 

 sufficient quantity. The food is the 

 source of these chemical materials. 



The chemical substances which are 

 present in the food materials of 

 higher animals and which must be 

 present for normal growth and de- 

 velopment are (1-) the protein, (2) 

 the fats, (3) the carbohydrates, (4) 

 mineral salts, and (5) growth-stimu- 

 lating substances sometimes known 

 as vitamines 



The Proteins 



This class of chemical compounds 

 is characterized by a large propor- 

 tion of nitrogen, which is valuable in 

 building of muscle, nervous tissue, 

 bone, cartilage, hair, and in the case 

 of insects, the hard, sheli-like coat 

 to wdiich the softer tissues are at- 

 tached. In Table I will be found a 

 list of the important foods used by 

 man and domestic animals in which 

 the content of protein is expressed 

 in per cent. 



Table I — Protein Content of Some 

 Common Foods 



Human Foods — Per cent. 



Meat 16.00 to 20.00 



Eggs 12.00 to 13.00 



Cheese 24.00 to 26.00 



Wheat 10.70 to 13.30 



Rice 7.00 to 8.00 



Potatoes 1.80 to 2.20 



Milk 2.00 to 6.00 



Stock Foods — 



Alfalfa Hay 14.00 to 18.00 



Cottonseed Meal 40.00 to 42.00 



Wheat Bran 14.00 to 16.00 



Timothy Hay 2.S0 to 3.50 



Soy Beans 34.00 to 35.00 



Bee Foods — 



Pollen 17.00 to 27.00 



Honey 0.10 to 0.50 



The Fats 



These chemical substances function 

 in the animal body as fuel materials, 

 furnishing heat and energy. The 

 typical fats used as human food are 

 butter, lard, oleomargarine and the 

 vegetable oils. It will be noted that 

 the foods listed in Table II contain 

 relatively small quantities of fat. 

 This is not of great importance, for 

 the animal is capable of manufactur- 

 ing fats from carbohydrates. 

 Table II — Fat Content of Foods and 

 Feeds 



Per cent 



Milk 1.60 to 6.60 



Beef 8.00 to 20.00 



Fruits 0.20 to 1.50 



Vegetables 0.10 to 0.70 



Cereals 1.00 to 7.00 



The Carbohydrates 



This class of chemical substances 

 also serves as fuel material in the 

 animal body. The sugars, starches 

 and gums are the most valuable car- 

 bohydrates and are found in the fol- 

 lowing foods : 



Table III — Carbohydrate Content of 

 Foods 



Per cent 



Fruits 6.00 to 25.00 



Vegetables 5.00 to 28.00 



Corn Starch 89.00 to 91.00 



A CALIFORNIA POPrV FIELD. 



