COTTON 
257 
consists of a narrow band of papilliform 
cells at the base of the inner side of the 
calyx. The five petals overlap except at 
their base, where there are five small open¬ 
ings leading down to the nectar. These 
gaps are protected by long interlacing 
hairs, which exclude insects too small to 
be of use as pollinators, but present no ob¬ 
struction to the slender tongues of long- 
tongued bees and butterflies. Trelease saw 
the flowers visited by many bees, and Allard 
saw honeybees, bumblebees, and solitary 
bees ( Melissodes ) enter the corolla. After 
the flowers have changed in color from 
pale yellow to red, they cease to secrete 
nectar, and bees pay little attention to 
them. 
There are two sets of extra-floral nec¬ 
taries — the involucral nectaries and the 
leaf nectaries. Below the flower there are 
the three leaf-like bracts called the involu¬ 
cre. At the base of each of these bracts 
there is a nectary both on the inner and 
the outer side — six in all. The three inner 
involucral glands are situated between the 
calyx and the involucre, and are present 
in both the American and Asiatic species 
of cotton, but are sometimes absent in in¬ 
dividual flowers. In form they are round, 
shield-shaped or heart-shaped. The three 
outer involucral glands are at the base of 
the bracts on the outside. They are en¬ 
tirely absent in the Asiatic cottons. Great¬ 
ly magnified, “they strikingly resemble a 
shallow round dish with the bottom covered 
by a layer of large shot.” According to 
Trelease the involucral nectaries secrete 
nectar abundantly, which in the daytime 
attracted bees, ants, and humming-birds, 
and at night two species of moths. 
The statement has been made that hon¬ 
eybees gather the surplus of cotton honey 
wholly from the leaf nectaries, but this is 
incorrect. Many beekeepers report that a 
large quantity of honey is gathered from 
the bloom. At Waxahachie, Texas, so lit¬ 
tle honey is gathered on the uplands until 
cotton blooms that it is necessary to feed 
the colonies. Late in the fall, 1909, at 
Trenton, Texas, cotton bloomed profusely 
from the middle of October until mid-No¬ 
vember and two supers of honey were se¬ 
cured. The bees were laden with pollen as 
well as nectar, and the queens laid as in 
the spring. Prominent beekeepers at Cor- 
dele, Ga., and Sulphur Springs, Ark., re¬ 
port that cotton blossoms yield a great 
amount of excellent honey. 
The leaf nectaries are located on the 
under side of the main rib of the leaves, 
and vary in number from one to five. They 
are absent from individual leaves and en¬ 
tirely wanting in Gossypium tomentosum. 
They are small pits, oval, pear-shaped, or 
arrow-shaped with long tails running down 
toward the base of the leaves. In the 
Tropics they are soon overrun and black¬ 
ened by a growth of mold. (Tyler, J. T. 
The Nectaries of Cotton. Bu. PL Ind. Bull. 
131, Pt. 5, 1908.) The leaf-glands seem 
to be most active at the time the leaf 
reaches full maturity. When the conditions 
are favorable nectar will collect on these 
glands in such large drops that it can be 
readily tasted, and a bee can obtain its 
load in a very few visits. Honeybees then 
neglect the blossoms, and honey comes in 
very rapidly. The honey secured from the 
foliage of the cotton does not differ either 
in color or flavor from that gathered from 
the flowers. Samples submitted to the 
United States Bureau of Chemistry were 
reported to be normal pure honey. 
COTTON AS A HONEY PLANT. 
The surplus obtained depends largely 
upon locality, soil, season, and atmospheric 
conditions. There are many factors which 
influence the nectar flow and cause it to 
vary in different places and at different 
times. One of the most important factors 
is the soil. Cotton is grown on a great 
variety of soils as sandy loams and clay 
loams. Rich alluvial soils and black prairie 
soils are admirably adapted to its culture; 
but, by the use of fertilizers the poor pine 
lands of the Atlantic slope and in the vicin¬ 
ity of the Gulf can be made to produce a 
crop. Lime seems to be required, since the 
Black Prairie of Texas, the most important 
cotton area in the United States, is under¬ 
laid by Cretaceous limestone. Little nec¬ 
tar is secreted by cotton on light sandy 
soils, and even in the black-land area on 
the lighter soils the plant is unreliable. The 
growth of the plant may be as luxuriant as 
on the heavier soil, but no matter how 
promising its appearance no cotton honey 
is obtained. A beekeeper at Levita, Texas, 
states that on the river locations in the tim- 
