1878 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CTLTURE. 



33c 



the amount of honey yielded by the spider 

 tlower, Cleome ; she tied lace over tlie stalk, 

 to keep away the bees that were constantly 

 visiting it. The honey collected in quite a 

 large drop. I presiune we could measure 

 the amount with many other plants in a 

 similar way. The little cups on the tiower 

 of the FiGWTjRT I have seen full to the brim, 

 with honey, wlien found standing alone out 

 in the woods. Truly : 



"Full many a flower is born to blush unseen. 

 And waste its sweetness on the desert air." 



Did you ever remark the spot of fur or 

 <lown on the back of the bee, just between 

 the wings V Well, bee liunters sometimes 

 put a small drop of white paint on this spot, 

 tliat tliey may know a bee when he comes 

 back. Several years ago bees were going 

 into many of the hives, with a spot of white 

 on this fur that looked, at first sight, al- 

 most like white paint. For several seasons 

 in succession, I Imnted in vain, to see where 

 they got this white spot. At one time it 

 seemed to come from working on thistles ; 

 but I was obliged to give this up, for I found 

 it most on the bees, one season when they 

 did not notice thistles at all . One swarm, of 

 beautifid Italians had filled their hive nice- 

 ly, in Sept., and almost every bee had a 

 white back. I lined them from the hive, 

 and followed them. They went toward a 

 large i)iece cf wild woodland, and I scanned 

 tlie tops of the trees in vain ; finally, over 

 betw^een the hills, beside a brook, I found 

 acres of the wild touch-me-not (Impatient), 

 the same plant that we have often played 

 with in childhood, because the queer little 

 seed pods will snap all to pieces when ripe, 

 if they are touched ever so carefully. The 

 honey is secreted in the spur to the flow- 

 er, shown below, at B. 



FLOAVER OF THE WILD TOUCH-ME-NOT, 



.SHOWING THE WAY THE BEE GETS 



THE POLLEN ON HIS I5ACK. 



The bee can only reach this by diving 

 down into it almost out of sight; and when 

 the [coveted treasure is obtained he backs 

 outw ith a ludicrous kicking and sprawling 

 of his legs, and in so doing tlie down on his 



back is ruffled up the wrong way. Now 

 this woidd be pretty certain to get the pol- 

 len dusted all over him, but nature to make 

 sure has planted a little tuft that bears the 

 pollen just on the iii)per side of the entrance 

 to the flower, at A, and in his struggles to 

 get out the white pollen is brushed all over 

 his back most effectually, to be carried to 

 the next flower, and so on. 



A year or two after this, I took a friend of 

 mine to the spot to show him my wonderful 

 discovery ; but lo ! and behold I the sharp 

 witted Italians had taken a short cut to tlie 

 honey, by biting through the spur, and in- 

 serting their tongues without the laborious 

 operation of crowding down into the flower. 

 I really cannot say how many yeais it will 

 take the plant to discover that it is secret- 

 ing the honey in that little spur in vain, or 

 whether it will, for self preservation, make 

 the spur so thick and hard that the bees can- 

 not bite through it, or put the honey some 

 where else, or do some other way. It seems 

 very certain, that it must soon become ex- 

 tinct, unless something is done; for not a 

 seed can mature so long as the bees bite 

 through, instead of pushing past the pollen 

 as they have formerly done. 



But will there really be no seed, unless the 

 bees visit the blossoms? I will give you 

 some well known facts, r.nd leave you to 

 judge. 



Common red clover was, a few years ago, 

 introduced to Australia, and it made a most 

 excellent growth, in that warm rich soil, 

 but not a bit of seed could they raise. Af- 

 ter trying in vain, it was suggested that 

 bumble bees were required to fertilize the 

 blossoms. Some nests were accordingly 

 shipped from the New England states, and 

 the result was perfectly satisfactory ; for 

 seed was raised then, without trouble. I 

 presume a few colonies of Italian bees would 

 have answered equally well, but as bad luck 

 has attended their efforts at importing, I do 

 not know that the experiment of substi- 

 tuting Italians for the bumble bees has yet 

 been tried. Darwin noticed, long ago, that 

 bumble bees were necessary for a good crop 

 of clover seed, and suggested the following 

 reason why better clover seed could be 

 raised in the vicinity of towns than else- 

 where. The greatest enemy of the bumble 

 bee, is the field mouse, that preys upon their 

 nests; therefore, if the mice aie kept at 

 bay, the bumble bees will flourish. In the 

 vicinity of towns more cats are kept than 

 in the country, for every family, generally, 

 keeps a cat. and some fearless individual 



