7^he Mustards and Rape. 359 



so entrap them as to cause their death. Prof. Riley once 

 very graciously advit^ed pliuiting them to kill hees. I say 

 graciously, as I have watched these very closely and am 

 sure they do little harm, and are rich in nectar. Seldom a 

 bee gets caught so as to hold it long, and when these awk- 

 ward masses are carried away with the bee, they are usu- 

 ally left at the door of the hive, where I have often seen 

 them in considerable numbers. The river bank hard by 

 our apiary is lined with these sweet smelling herbs, and we 



Fig. 164. 



Rape. 



would like even more. Occasionally, however, the beet 

 become so burdened with these pollen masses that the other 

 bees drag or drive them from the hive, as no longer fit for 

 labor or worthy to live. Bees are veritable Hottentots, 

 they kill, though they do not eat, the old and the feeble. 

 Black mustard, Sinapis nigra (Fig. 163), white mustard, 

 Sinapis alba, and rape, Brassica campestris (Fig. 164), all 

 look much alike, and are all admirable bee plants, as they 

 furnish much and beautiful honey. The first, if self-sown, 

 blooms with us July ist, the others June ist; the first 

 about eight weeks after sowing, the others about four. 



