ANATOMY OF THE OFF 
flower on the same plant, 2.02 ; and of the 
cross-pollinated flowers 2.38. Cross-pol¬ 
lination is, therefore, more potent than 
self-pollination, and consequently pollina¬ 
tion by insects is an advantage. 
It is now well established that the pro¬ 
duction of seed is greatly influenced by 
climate; and practical experience has shown 
that it can be raised in paying' quantities 
only in those States which possess a hot, 
dry season. Too much moisture is injuri¬ 
ous, and consequently the eastern portion 
of the country with its larger rainfall is 
not well adapted for this purpose; while in 
the irrigated sections one irrigation is usu¬ 
ally omitted. It is of interest to beekeepers 
to know that most of the seed is raised in 
Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado, Kan¬ 
sas, and Idaho. The best results are ob¬ 
tained with a thin stand of alfalfa, or where 
it is cultivated in rows. The domestic sup¬ 
ply is far below the demand, and millions 
of pounds are annually imported. 
AUTHORITIES. 
While certain general principles can be 
laid down regarding alfalfa for all parts of 
the United States, it has not been possible 
in this article to go into those local details 
with which the well-informed grower should 
be familiar. Any one interested in the 
plant should first find out what his state 
experiment station has published on alfal¬ 
fa-growing in his locality. The literature is 
thoro and comprehensive. 
The best work on the subject is J. E. 
Wing’s “Alfalfa in America” (1912). A 
somewhat more extensive work is F. I). 
Coburn’s “The Book of Alfalfa” (1906). 
The Department of Agriculture, Washing¬ 
ton, publishes Farmers’ Bulletin No. 339, 
entitled “Alfalfa,” by J. M. Westgate. Of 
the various publications by state experi¬ 
ment stations, those by the Colorado, Illi¬ 
nois, Utah, and Kentucky stations are es¬ 
pecially valuable. All of the works cited 
were used in the preparation of this article. 
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Mr. 
Alvin Ivezer, Chief Agronomist at the Col¬ 
orado State Experiment Station, for read¬ 
ing the manuscript and making suggestions. 
ALFILERILLA (Erodium cicutarmm 
(L.) L/Her).—Alfilerilla is derived from 
the Spanish word for pin, also known as 
alfilaria, pin-clover, musk clover, storksbill, 
heron’s bill, and pin-grass. The fruit re¬ 
sembles a heron’s bill, whence the name of 
the genus Erodium the Greek for heron. 
Naturalized from Europe, and widely dis¬ 
tributed; one of the leading honey and 
pollen yielders of California and Arizona. 
It is regarded as an excellent forage plant 
by stockmen, quite equal in feeding value 
to alfalfa, and probably more palatable, 
because much less woody in character. An 
analysis by the chemist of the Arizona Ex¬ 
periment Station shows it is quite equal to 
any clover for feeding. It is being rapidly 
spread by sheep and cattle in the extreme 
Southwest, for it is easily disseminated, 
and requires no particular cultivation. In 
this respect it resembles sweet clover; but 
animals do not have to be educated to eat¬ 
ing it; on the contrary they are fond of it 
from the start. As a honey and pollen 
plant it ranks very high, both as regards 
quantity and quality. 
ALGARROBA. —See Mesquite. 
ALSIKE CLOVER.— See Clover. 
ALUMINUM COMBS. — See Metal 
Combs. 
AMATEUR BEEKEEPING. — See 
Backlot Beekeeping; also ABCof Bee¬ 
keeping. 
ANALYSIS OF HONEY.— See Honey 
and Honey Analysis. 
ANATOMY OF THE BEE.— The three 
parts of the body of the bees are well sepa¬ 
rated by constrictions. The head carries 
the eyes, antenna, and mouth parts; the 
thorax, the wings and legs; and the abdo¬ 
men, the wax-glands and sting. 
The head is flattened and triangular, be¬ 
ing widest crosswise thru the upper corners, 
which are capped by the large compound 
eyes. It carries the antennae, or feelers, on 
the middle of the face (Fig. 2, A, Ant) ; 
the large compound eyes (E) laterally; 
three small simple eyes or ocelli ( 0 ), at the 
top of the face, and the mouth parts ( Md, 
Mx, and Lb) ventrally. Each antenna con¬ 
sists of a long basal joint and of a series of 
small ones hanging downward from the end 
of the first. The antennae are very sensitive 
to touch, and contain the organs of smell. 
At the lower edge of the face is a loose flap 
