POLLEN 
45 
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 grain 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 
