CHAPTER V 



SOURCES OF HONEY 



To the beekeeper the term honey-yielding plant means 

 those plants the nectaries of which are capable of being 

 rifled by the honey-bee. The blooms of many plants 

 secrete nectar in considerable quantity, and are yet quite 

 useless to the beekeeper, the nectaries being so situated 

 as to preclude the possibility of their sweets being 

 appropriated by honey-bees. Plants only encourage the 

 visits of those particular insects by whose agency they 

 are capable of being fertilised, and it is only during the 

 time such insects are abroad that the plants make special 

 efforts to attract their attention. The honeysuckle, for 

 instance, being a moth fertilised plant, only exhales its 

 fullest fragrance at evening time when moths are flying 

 freely. 



In order to attract the attention of insects to them- 

 selves plants would seem to rely upon either the sense 

 of colour or that of smell ; and although many exceptions 

 occur, it will often be found that the sweetest smelling 

 flowers are the most insignificant in appearance, whilst 

 the most gorgeous blooms are devoid of perfume. 



Double flowers, being destitute of ovaries, do not 

 require to be fertilised, therefore they secrete no nectar. 



The growing of honey-yielding plants in small gardens 

 is of little or no use, the amount of nectar to be derived 

 from such a limited area of forage being quite insignifi- 

 cant. On the other hand much assistance may be 

 rendered to the bees by the cultivation of early pollen- 



