POLLEN 51 



"We would add that where linden or basswood abounds it is un- 

 necessary to sow buckwheat (except that sown very early) before 

 the middle of June, but where this timber is scarce sow some the 

 first of June. Mr. Harbison continues : " It is much easier to 

 cultivate and produce enough pasturage, in addition to that from 

 natural sources, to supply one hundred hives of bees than it is to 

 provide pasturage for one hundred head of sheep, and the profit 

 on bees will more than double that of sheep." 



Thus far we have only advocated the cultivation of such crops 

 for bees as are also valuable for their gralvi or seed, our object 

 being to fill with the greatest profit, the vacancies between natu- 

 ral supplies and afford the bees an uninterrupted succession of 

 flowers in greatest abundance from spring to fall. These vacan- 

 cies mostly occurring when the weather is unusually warm and 

 pleasant, the bees, if supplied with flowers, have every facility 

 for increasing their stores. Catnip will well repay cultivation 

 for honey alone. It continues to blossom for a long time, the 

 bees working upon it with the greatest assiduity " from early 

 morn till dewy eve." 



POLLEN 



Pollen, or bee-bread, is the fertilizing dust, or fine meal-like 

 substance discharged by the anthers of flowers. It is used for 

 feeding the young and immature bees, great quantities being col- 

 lected for this purpose and carried to the hives in little balls or 

 pellets upon the thighs of the workers. Pollen is furnished 

 by different species of flowers of almost every variety and shade 

 of color, the most common being yellow. This has caused some 



