22 PLEASUBABLE BEE-KEEPING. 



necessary in the case of many other foods. Honeys 

 vary greatly according to the source from which the 

 ^ctar is gathered, some kinds having a dehcate 

 aroma, which causes them to be particularly sought 

 after. Clover honey in England is considered the 

 standard quality, but even this honey exhibits con- 

 siderable variation according to the soil upon which 

 the clover is grown and the surrounding climatic con- 

 ditions. For instance, at a large show in the West 

 of England, where I acted as judge of the honey ex- 

 hibits in the autumn of 1893, it was noted as a 

 remarkable fact that in nearly every instance, though 

 some classes were open, the prizes were awarded to 

 samples of honey taken from apiaries on or near the 

 tops of the neighbouring hills. To the Scotsman, 

 and many English bee-keepers resident near the 

 moors, there is nothing to equal heather honey. 



Pollen. 



Pollen, which is the fertilising dust of the flowers, 

 is carried by the bee, in its search for nectar, to those 

 blooms where its presence is required to cause the 

 production of fruit and seeds. Nature provides this 

 fertiliser in a most lavish manner on certain flowers, 

 and the bees, therefore, becoming dusted with more 

 than is needed for the fructiiication of bloom, cleanse 

 their bodies of the surplus, pack it away in the 

 " pollen-baskets " formed by projecting hairs on the 

 hindmost pair of legs, and carry it to the hive. Here 

 it is stored in the cells to furnish, in conjunction with 

 honey, a perfect bee-food, whether required, by the 



