230 MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



West Maitland, writes interestingly on this species as 

 a bee-plant: "I have five trees spreading np to twenty 

 feet in diameter and twenty-five feet high; they are a 

 mass of feathery drooping flowers, and every moment the 

 bees are able to fly they are gathering pollen from the 

 trees. The trees are easily grown from seed. I would 

 advise all bee-keepers to give them a trial, especially 

 where pollen is short in early spring." 



The "Golden" gives a smaller quantity of yellow 

 pollen. The "Silver" and the closely allied "Green" 

 wattle are also excellent in early spring to start brood - 

 rearing. The "Black" or "Tan" wattle comes into 

 bloom about November, with a wealth of creamy yellow 

 pollen. The ' ' Sunshine ' ' wattle bursts its buds in March 

 in Victoria, and the familiar ' ' Prickly moses ' ' (corrupted 

 from "Prickly mimosa," (A. verticillata) is conspicuous 

 in the early spring. 



Analysis by the Victorian Department of Agriculture 

 separates the Wattle pollen as the richest in protein and 

 therefore of greatest value to bee-farmers. It is 

 undoubtedly the national flower of Australia and deser- 

 vedly so. The Wattles yield pollen in September in 

 Western Australia; they show the yellow pollinia in 

 August about Monaro, New South Wales; the "Green" 

 wattle blossoms at the latter place during December, 

 January, and February. This latter variety {A. mollis- 

 sima) is a handsome tree. In Queensland the bees get 

 busy on wattle pollen in July. The Acacias of the 

 northern State are not quite the equals of their relatives 

 further south. The following is an official list of Acacias 

 issued by the Victorian Plant Names Committee. 



A. coniinua, Benth. V., N.S.W., S.A. 



„ spinescens, Benth. S.A., V., N.S.W. 



„ lanigera, Cunn. V., N.S.W., Q., S.A. 



„ colletioides, Cunn. V., N.S.W., S.A., W.A. 



„ sicuUformis, Cunn. T., V., N.S.W.. 



„ juniperina, Willd V-, N.S.W., Q., Tas. 



„ tenuifolia, P. v. M. V. 



„ diffusa, Edwards V., N.S.W., Tas. 



,, rupicola, F., v. M. S.A., V. 



Thorn Acacia 

 Spiny Acacia 

 Woolly Acacia 

 Furze Acacia 

 Sickle Acacia 

 Juniper Acacia 

 Thiii-leaved Acacia 

 Spreading Acacia 

 Eock Acacia 

 Wallaby Acacia 



Nealia ... „ rigcns, Cunn., V., N.SW., Q., S.A. 



