156 THE BEE-MASTER OF WARRILOW 
seems possible, therefore, of the honey-bee’s care to 
visit only one kind of blossom on each journey 
is that it is done for the sake of the plant itself, 
cross-fertilisation being thus rendered extremely 
improbable. 
When once the bee-man has succumbed to the 
fascination of the microscope, there is very little 
chance that he will ever return to his old panoramic 
view of things. He goes on from wonder to wonder, 
and the horizon of the new world he has entered 
continually broadens with each marvelling step. 
To the old rule-of-thumb bee-keepers pollen was 
niere bee-bread; and the fact that the bees preferred 
one kind to another did not greatly concern them. 
But at a time when the small-holder is beginning 
to feel his feet, and the question of the feasibility of 
planting for bee-forage is certain to arise, it is 
necessary to know why bees gather this important 
part of their diet from particular kinds of flowers, 
while leaving severely alone others which appear 
to be equally attractive. To this question the micro- 
scope supplies a sufficient answer. 
Chemists have determined that nectar is the heat 
and force-producer in the food of the bee, while 
pollen supplies its nitrogenous  tissue-building 
qualities. It is evident that bees select certain 
pollens for their superior nutritive powers, just as 
in bread-making we prefer wheat to any other 
species of grain. In the kinds of pollen most in 
favour with bees a good microscope will reveal the 
fact that the pollen-grains are often accompanied 
by a certain amount of true farina, as well as 
essential oils, which must greatly enhance their food- 
value. And in those crops generally neglected by 
