142 A MANUAL OF BEE-KEEPING. 



Bees early in the spring with this article. Shallow troughs 

 are set in front of the Apiaries, filled about 2 inches 

 deep with finely ground unbolted rye meal ; and Langs- 

 troth says: "Thousands of Bees, when the weather is 

 favourable, resort eagerly to them, and, rolling them- 

 selves in the meal, return heavily laden to their hives. 

 In fine, mild weather, they labour at this work with 

 great industry, preferring the meal to the old pollen 

 stored in their combs — .thus they breed early, and 

 rapidly recruit their numbers. The feeding is continued 

 until the blossoms furnishing a preferable article, they 

 cease to carry off the meal. The average consumption 

 of each colony is about two pounds.'' 



Taking this lesson from our neighbours, many of our 

 English Bee-keepers have during the last few years 

 supplied the Bees with such artificial pollen. Pea-meal 

 appears to be the favourite, which, placed in trays 

 sheltered from rain and wind, is on fine early spring days 

 eagerly carried off by the Bees, and it appears to answer 

 the purpose of natural pollen. In the collection of 

 pollen and of honey, Bees unconsciously perform a most 

 important office as agents in the fertilization of flowers, 

 by transferring the pollen from the stamens to the pistil. 

 Darwin, in his ' Origin of Species,' says that red clover is 

 wholly fertilized by Humble Bees, and as in Australia 

 there are none of the right kind, there they can never 

 raise red, clover seed. In many plants the stamens and 

 pistil are situate in separate blossoms, and even on 

 separate plants, and where they are contained in the 

 same flower self-fertilization is often difficult or im- 

 possible, sometimes by the relative position of the 

 stamens and pistil, sometimes by their not coming to 

 maturity at the sarne time. The Bees in seeking for 

 honey and pollen carry the latter from flower to flower. 



