LADIES’ EAR DROPS, see Brunnichia.

LADY’S THUMB, see Heartsease.

LAMBKILL, see Laurel.

LAUREL (Kalmia).

The mountain laurel (=Kalmia latifolia=), also known as calico-bush or spoon-wood and in the Southern States as poison ivy, is a common shrub occurring in the higher altitudes from New England and Ontario south to the Gulf States. It is widely credited as being the source of poisonous honey. (See Poisonous Honey). The sheep laurel or lambkill (Fig. 86) is a closely related species which occurs from Newfoundland and west to Michigan and south to north Georgia. They are shrubs with showy flowers which are not often reported as important honey plants. In some places, hillsides are covered with the mountain laurel, which makes a pleasing sight when in bloom. These plants are so well known that a great variety of common names have become known in different localities.

According to Sladen, the sheep laurel (=Kalmia angustifolia=) is one of the important sources of honey in Nova Scotia.

LAUREL-TREE, see Red Bay.

LEATHERWOOD, see Ti-ti.

LEMON (Citrus limon).

The lemon is a valuable source of honey in southern California, though much less is heard of it than of orange. It is cultivated principally in the coast region, and Richter suggests that the proximity to the ocean of the principal lemon groves may account for the fact that it does not yield as well as orange. Unlike other fruit trees, it blooms more or less continuously throughout the year. This again would make its real value less apparent, since a plant which yields a little nectar for a long period of time may give a total greater than one which gives a heavy yield for a short period. It is noted, also, that oranges yield less freely along the coast than in the interior valleys.

LETTUCE (Lactuca floridana).

Figure 87 will give a good idea of the height to which the wild blue lettuce grows. It is common in the woodland borders, in rich soil, from Pennsylvania to Iowa and south to Florida and Texas. The plant produces hundreds of blue flowers in late summer and early fall. Although it is of no special importance as a honey plant, the bees visit it frequently and apparently get some nectar from its blossoms. In the South it is reported as blooming in May and June. The writer does not recall having seen it in bloom in Iowa earlier than August, while it blooms into September. There are a considerable number of species of wild lettuce, some of which, like the prickly lettuce, become very troublesome weeds. The writer has not observed the bees working to any extent on any except the blue fall lettuce above described.

LEONURUS, see Motherwort.

LIGNUM-VITAE, see Soapbush.

LILAC, see Mountain Lilac.

LIME (Citrus acida).

The lime is a fruit very similar to the lemon, which has been introduced to some extent into the citrus districts. Since it is not generally grown it is not very important, though it yields honey freely.

LIMETREE, see Basswood.

LINDEN, see Basswood.

LION’S TAIL, see Motherwort.

LIPPIA GRASS, see Carpet Grass.

LIQUORICE (Glycyrrhiza lepidota).

The wild liquorice is a plant of the pulse family occurring from Minnesota to Missouri and westward to Washington and Arizona. It is found in Colorado and Wyoming at 4,000 to 8,000 feet altitude. It is reported as quite abundant in places in Wyoming, and some years as being a great yielder of nectar.

LIVE OAK, see Oak.

LOCALITY.

The plants which yield honey in surplus quantity are comparatively few in number. In the average locality there will be only two or three important sources of nectar, with a considerable number of minor ones which furnish the bees with a partial living between the main flows.

As an example, a typical Iowa locality may be mentioned. There white clover is the principal source of surplus honey. Now and then some surplus will be gathered in the fall, also, from heartsease. Yet the list of plants which yield nectar in that particular neighborhood is a rather long one. Were it not for these minor sources, to provide for the bees before and after the clover flow, beekeeping would hardly be possible there. To begin the season, fruit trees, apples, cherries and plums, furnish a liberal supply of nectar. These trees bloom early in spring when the bees are still weak from the long winter. If it were possible for the beekeeper to so conserve the strength of his colonies that they would come through the winter in as good condition as they are in mid-summer, a good crop of surplus honey would be gathered from fruit bloom in favorable seasons. Following fruit bloom, the dandelions come. There are several weeks of bloom from dandelion and the bees make the most of it. Considerable nectar and an abundance of pollen are gathered from dandelion, only to be used in brood-rearing. It takes a large amount of honey to rear a big force of bees, and without strong colonies of bees profitable crops of honey cannot be harvested. It takes honey, then, to make bees, and it takes bees again to gather a big crop of honey.

The dandelion continues to bloom, in some localities, until within a short time of the opening of the white clover flow. In favorable seasons, when the clover is abundant and weather conditions favorable, a liberal crop may be expected from the clover. Following the clover there is a long period when but little honey is coming from the field. In one neighborhood the bees may be entirely idle, while a short distance away there may be sufficient forage to support the colony. In the one location the surplus gathered from clover will be consumed, in part, to support the colony until the fall flow from heartsease; in the other the bees will gather enough from minor plants to support them. The one locality thus becomes a good one for beekeeping, while the other is poor, and perhaps they are but a few miles apart.

This is a fair example of general conditions. The locality may not be in the clover region, but the presence or absence of the minor plants is extremely important to the beekeeper who would support his family from the products of his apiary.

There are many locations where the presence of plants which yield pollen abundantly are second in importance only to the plants which furnish the main honeyflow. As an example, there are places along the Appalachicola River, in Florida, where enormous yields of surplus honey are sometimes secured from tupelo, but where there is so little pollen for the rest of the summer that the bees suffer seriously for the lack of it. In some places the beekeepers find it necessary to move their bees to other locations in order to maintain the strength of their colonies, following the flow from tupelo. Thousands of colonies of bees have died in locations where wonderful yields of honey have been harvested, because no pollen was available to enable them to continue brood-rearing.

It often happens that the crop will be a failure in one location, while but a few miles away it would be possible to gather a surplus by moving the bees. As an example, at Hamilton, Illinois, in 1919, the clover crop was a failure and the bees were on the point of requiring feed at the time when the clover harvest should be coming in. By moving their bees from fifteen to forty miles, the Dadants were able to harvest about forty thousand pounds of honey, instead of feeding to carry their bees through the winter.

It has become the practice of many California beekeepers to secure more than one crop by moving their bees several times during the season. Following the harvest from one source, the bees are moved by truck to other fields. Thus it is sometimes possible to use the same apiaries to harvest two or three good crops in a single season.

In like manner a well-known California queen breeder has found it possible to greatly increase his output by moving his queen-rearing yards to new fields when the nectar supply had ceased in his own location.

The variation in the supply of nectar in different localities is extremely great. A few locations will support several hundred colonies in one yard. Other locations will hardly support twenty colonies profitably. A careful study of the flora within reach is most important to the beekeeper. One who fully understands his location can adapt his system to his conditions and succeed where failure would otherwise result. John W. Cash, of north Georgia, had about eight hundred colonies of bees in a section where thirty colonies would overstock any single location. By establishing a large number of apiaries in widely scattered situations, he was able to secure a surprising uniformity of yield. For a period of several years he never secured less than 56 pounds average of surplus per colony. At the same time his highest average was 86 pounds per colony.

The combination of plants which yield surplus honey with those which yield pollen and those which furnish some nectar during the periods between the flows, together with climatic conditions, determine the value of a location for beekeeping. It does not require much skill to secure a crop of honey in a location where every condition is favorable, but the man who is fully acquainted with the flora will discount the crops of the hit-and-miss apiarist even there. In the poor locality it takes a thorough knowledge of the sources of honey and pollen, together with expert beekeeping to succeed.

LOCO WEED (Astragalus). Also called Rattle Weed or Buffalo Bean.

There are several species of =Astragalus=, common to the Rocky Mountain region, from Manitoba south to Texas, and west to California. The loco weeds are herbs with odd-pinnate leaves, and spikes or racemes of purple, white, or pale yellow flowers.

Several varieties are poisonous and are the source of heavy losses among the stockmen of the plains and mountain regions. Honey from loco is reported principally from Colorado, where it is mentioned as blooming with horsemint, in May and June. It is to be found mostly in the foothills and the yield is not dependable. The honey is reported as of light color and good flavor.

LOCUST (Robinia pseudo-acacia).

The black locust, or false acacia, is a native tree from Pennsylvania to Iowa and southward. However, it has been widely introduced into other States, thus greatly extending its range. It is now to be found in many places from New England and Canada southward. It is reported as producing a surplus of honey in parts of California, and is listed among the honey plants of Texas.

The wood is desirable for posts, railroad ties and other purposes requiring durability. Large plantations are often set for utility purposes, so that in some localities the beekeeper may readily expect a surplus from this source. Borers are a serious menace to the life of this tree, and whole plantations of locusts are sometimes injured by the insects, which kill the branches and sometimes the bodies of the trees, causing them to sprout again from the root.

According to Lovell the honey is water-white, of heavy body and mild flavor. Figure 88 shows the blossoms and leaves. The flowers, it will be noted, much resemble those of the garden pea.

In some localities the tree is known as white or yellow locust.

LOGWOOD (Haematoxylon campechianum).

The logwood is an important tree common to the West Indies and Central America, but probably does not occur within the United States. It is the principal source of vegetable dyes, most of which have been displaced by chemical products.

It grows in dense forests over large areas and in Jamaica is regarded as the principal source of honey. When conditions are favorable enormous crops of honey are harvested, single colonies sometimes gathering several hundred pounds. Since the forests are often miles in extent, large apiaries can be supported in a single location. The plant usually blooms twice during the year, once in November and the second time near the holiday period. That weather conditions affect the flow from logwood as readily as that of other plants will be seen by the following quotations from American Bee Journal of June 8, 1905:

“I noticed unmistakable evidences of an almost universal bloom, and about ten days later it came out in all its glory. It was truly a magnificent sight, and although the house was about 500 feet from the apiary, the roar of the bees passing to and fro was a sound to make glad the heart of any beekeeper. I went down to the apiary one morning about 6 o’clock, and if I live to be 100 years old, I never expect to see a more stirring scene in any apiary than I looked upon in that yard of 250 colonies. * * * They kept up this pace for four days; but, alas, it rained that Saturday night, and the next morning the logwood blossoms were as brown as though they had been burnt, and the flow was over. Six thousand pounds for the four days was the record.”

The honey does not sell readily in American markets in competition with our mild-flavored clover and alfalfa produce. We quote further:

“Prices we received ran from a fraction below 2 cents per pound for dark to a small fraction below 3 cents for the best, which was one of the finest samples on the island.”

(See also Brazil.)

LOMBARDY STAR THISTLE, see Centaurea.

LOQUAT (Eriobotrya japonica).

The loquat (Fig. 89) is a Japanese fruit of evergreen habit and fragrant white flowers which has been introduced into parts of California. The tree is cultivated for ornament and for its edible fruit, which resembles a small yellow pear. It blooms in winter in California and is said to be an excellent honey plant.

LOOSESTRIFE, see Purple Loosestrife.

LOUISIANA--Honey Sources of.

Louisiana has a large variety of sources of nectar, with no one plant of special importance, in all parts of the State. Fruit bloom and forest trees furnish early nectar and pollen. In the northwest part of the State, near Shreveport, alfalfa is reported as a source of surplus. Holly, locust, tupelo, blackberry, asters and cotton are among the sources commonly reported. There are many minor plants which yield nectar and some in surplus quantity in limited localities. Much remains to be learned concerning the honey flora of this State.

Willow yields honey in such abundance that much honey is stored from it at times. White clover also yields, but is seldom important. Senna, horsemint, goldenrod and Spanish needle yield some honey in the fall.

LUCERNE, see Alfalfa.

LUPINE (Lupinus).

There are many species of lupines which are common, especially in the plains region and west to the Pacific Coast. Some are of no value to the bees, while others are good honey plants. Richter lists =Lupinus affinus= as a source of nectar in California.

The blue lupine or bluebonnet (=Lupinus subcarnosus=) is widely distributed over southern and western Texas, fairly covering large areas when in bloom. The blooming period comes in March or April and the author heard many reports of this plant, as an important source of early honey when visiting Texas. Some claim it yields only pollen. Scholl lists it as a source of honey.

In Colorado, beemen regard some lupines as good honey plants, also.

LYTHRUM, see Loosestrife.

M

MADRONA (Arbutus menziesii). THE ARBUTE TREE.

Jepson describes the madrona tree as evergreen with glossy, leathery leaves, widely branching, 20 to 125 feet high; bark polished, crimson or terra cotta, on old trunks dark brown, and fissured into small scales. Coast ranges of California, oak hills, etc. Grows on high ridges, mountain slopes and in gravelly valleys.

According to Richter it yields both nectar and pollen from the flowers.

MAGNOLIA or BULL BAY TREE (Magnolia grandiflora).

The magnolia is native to moist soils from North Carolina to Florida and west to Texas. It is the largest leaved tree of the evergreens. It is a magnificent tree when uncrowded and is a favorite shade tree in the South. The thick, leathery leaves persist over winter until the new ones have appeared. The flowers are large and showy and the blooming period is from spring till midsummer.

The sweet bay (=Magnolia virginiana=), known also as laurel magnolia, swamp laurel and beaver tree, grows in swamps from Massachusetts to southern Florida and west to Arkansas and Texas. In Texas it is reported as yielding very dark honey of poor flavor.

Magnolia is not often mentioned as important, though an occasional report of surplus in the South is received. One beekeeper reports that in Mississippi the honey is so dark and strong as to be unpalatable.

“We had three days of cool, damp, cloudy weather last year in August. During that time I visited my magnolia apiary, and on approaching it I heard the heavy roar of bees. I first thought that wholesale robbing was in full force, and I soon saw that they were gathering honey, and on looking at the alighting boards I saw particles of magnolia blooms. This told the tale. I went a few rods into the swamp, which was decorated with the large, rich magnolia blooms. I examined a bloom and there was the nectar visible, and all the bees had to do was to alight, fill themselves and return. The weather soon cleared off and the magnolia honey was no more. Those three days of damp, cool and cloudy weather saved many old style gums from being turned bottom up, in the spring, in this section.”--J. J. Wilder, Cordele, Georgia. American Bee Journal, Feb. 15, 1906.

MAGUEY, see Century Plant.

MAHOGANY GUM, see Eucalyptus.

MAINE--The Honey Flora of.

A large number of plants produce both pollen and nectar, but in Maine comparatively few yield a surplus of honey--the most important being white clover, alsike clover, fruit bloom, raspberry, fireweed and goldenrod.

Aster (=Aster=). The asters are of some value in this State, and in late fall bees may be seen frequently on the flowers. =Aster paniculatus= appears to be the most important. In some localities in the Middle States the ground is white with the blossoms of field asters. Pure honey, white or perhaps sometimes light amber. It is gathered so late that often it may not be fully ripened.

Apple (=Pyrus malus=). Yields a small surplus occasionally in this State. Honey of fine quality, light amber with aromatic flavor.

Basswood (=Tilia americana=). So rare in this State as to be of little importance.

Blackberry (=Rubus=). Yields little nectar in the Northern States; but a surplus is reported in Georgia and California.

Boneset (=Eupatorium perfoliatum=). Visited by insects in large numbers, but not common enough to yield a surplus.

Buckwheat (=Fagopyrum esculentum=). Not extensively grown in Maine, but fields of it are cultivated in many localities. A dark, purplish honey.

Button-bush (=Cephalanthus occidentalis=). Common in swamps, but not important.

Canada Thistle (=Cirsium arvense=). Not very important in this State, but more common westward. Honey light and well flavored.

Carrot (=Daucus Carota=). Naturalized from Europe, common in fields.

Clover, white (=Trifolium repens=). A fine white honey of delicious flavor. Alsike clover (=T. hybridum=) is an equally good honey plant, honey similar. Both are abundant in Maine, especially northward. In dry seasons bees are able to gather nectar from red clover, a bumblebee flower.

Cucumber (=Cucumis sativus=). A good honey plant in the neighborhood of pickle factories. Honey with flavor of the fruit, but improves with age.

Currant (=Ribes=). The various species of currants and gooseberries, both wild and cultivated, are of some importance.

Dandelion (=Taraxicum officinale=). More valuable for pollen than nectar in this State. Honey golden yellow, thick, strong-flavored, crystallizing in a few weeks.

Goldenrod (=Solidago=). A most valuable honey plant in New England. In southern Maine it never fails to give a large surplus, the main dependence of the beekeeper for winter stores. Honey golden yellow, fine flavored, candying with a coarse grain in a few months. =Solidago graminifolia= and =S. rugosa= are the most important species in this State.

Heartsease (=Polygonum persicaria=). This plant, so valuable in Illinois and Nebraska, is of no importance in Maine; a bee is rarely seen on the flowers.

Horse-chestnut (=Aesculus Hippocastanum=). Not common, bees gather both nectar and pollen. Bumblebee flowers.

Locust, black (=Robinia pseudo-acacia=). Yields a surplus of white honey further south, but not abundant in Maine. Often cultivated.

Maple (=Acer saccharum=). The rock maple blooms in spring before the leaves appear and the flowers are visited by bees in great numbers. The red maple also yields nectar.

Milkweed (=Asclepias syriaca=). Where the milkweed is abundant it is a great help to the beekeeper. In Michigan it is increasing, and perhaps also in Maine. The honey is excellent, with a fruity flavor.

Mayweed (=Anthemis cotula=). Common by the roadside, a bitter honey, apparently not important in this State.

Mustard (=Brassica=). Very abundant in grain fields, where the flowers often present an unbroken sheet of yellow. Probably never yields a surplus in Maine.

Pear (=Pyrus communis=). Not of much importance, but has been known to yield nectar very freely under suitable conditions.

Plums and cherries (=Prunus=). All the species secrete nectar. The choke-cherry, which is common in thickets, attracts many insects.

Raspberry (=Rubus idaeus=, variety =aculeatissimus=). One of the best honey plants, where the forest has been lumbered. A splendid honey of finest flavor, suggestive of the berry.

Sumac (=Rhus typhina=). This common shrub has the staminate and pistillate flowers on different individual plants; not common enough in Maine to yield a surplus. Honey bright amber, with a bitter flavor at first, which later disappears.

Sweet clover (=Melilotus alba=). Does not grow well on the clay soil of this State; requires a limestone soil.

Willow (=Salix=). Valuable in spring for both pollen and nectar, a great help in building up the colonies and bridging over backward springs. The pussy willow (=Salix discolor=) is most important. It could be planted to advantage in useless wet land.

Willow-herb (=Epilobium angustifolium=). Also called greweed, since it springs up abundantly on land which has been burned over. An excellent honey plant; honey water-white; flowers red purple.--John H. Lovell, Bulletin of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Vol. xvii, No. 4.

MAIZE, see Indian Corn.

MALLOW (Malva).

Several lists of honey plants contain some mention of the mallows. The bees visit the flowers for both nectar and pollen, but the author can find no record to indicate that they are anywhere important.

MANCHINEEL (Hippomane mancinella).

The manchineel is an evergreen tree common to the beaches and marshes of southern Florida and the Keys; also found in the Bahamas and Tropical America. It is very poisonous, and Britton credits it with being the most poisonous of our American trees. He states that the milky juice was used by the Caribs to poison their arrows.

It yields nectar abundantly some seasons and is the source of surplus honey. According to E. G. Baldwin, it blooms with pigeon cherry and with dogwood, and the late O. O. Poppleton was the only man to attempt to harvest a crop from the tree, growing as they do on the Keys, where not easily accessible. He credits Poppleton with a yield of 28,000 pounds from the three together in 1910.--Gleanings, April 1, 1911.

MANGROVE, see Black Mangrove.

MANITOBA--Honey Sources of.

In eastern Manitoba the blueberry yields some surplus. The main sources of nectar for the Province are white clover, alsike, fireweed, snowberry, perennial sow thistle, Canada thistle, wolfberry, mustard, goldenrod, aster and numerous prairie and weed plants. To these are added willows and maples as sources of early nectar.--F. W. L. Sladen.

MANZANITA or BEARBERRY (Arctostaphylos).

Figure 90 shows the blossoms and leaves of the manzanita, which is seldom heard of as a honey plant east of California. The following information is copied from Richter’s “Honey Plants of California”:

“=Arctostaphylos=, manzanita, bearberry. Throughout coast ranges, Sierra Nevada foothills and San Bernardino Mountains (2,000 to 9,000 feet), November to February.

“The honey is amber and of excellent flavor, much like manzanita itself (Colusa County); pollen. San Diego County reports a white honey from the manzanita. One of the most important honey plants to induce bees to early breeding. In some parts of Monterey, Colusa and Eldorado Counties, a 20 to 40 pound surplus is obtained, and on very warm days (Monterey County) nectar can be shaken from the bloom. A beekeeper from Applegate reports it to be his best honey yielder.”

The =Arctostaphylos uva ursi=, bearberry or bear grape, according to Gray, occurs on the rocks and bare hills from New Jersey and Pennsylvania to Missouri and far north and westward. It is also said to be common in Europe and Asia. It is recorded in the local lists of plants of Connecticut and Ontario, although, probably because nowhere abundant, it is not known as a source of honey. Although Richter’s list does not give the species from which their honey is secured, it is probably =A. manzanita= or =A. tomentosa=, or other species peculiar to the West Coast.

The leaves of the eastern species are much used in medicine. It is said to be an astringent tonic, used in diseases of the liver.

MAPLE (Acer).

Almost all of the early pollen and nectar comes from trees, and most of the trees bloom early. The maples are mostly large trees confined to North America and temperate regions of the old world. Two species are commonly planted for shade and ornament--the sugar maple or hard maple (=Acer saccharinum=) and the red maple or soft maple (=Acer rubrum=). The photographs show the blossoms of the soft maple. (Fig. 91.)

Maple lumber is commonly used in the manufacture of furniture, flooring and finishings. The blossoms come very early, when especially valuable in building up colonies for the main honey flow. If the bees were as numerous as later, the nectar stored from maple blossoms would make a creditable yield. Mr. C. L. Pinney, of Iowa, reports that one year his scale hive showed a gain of from one to two pounds daily from soft maple, when the ground was still covered with snow.

If it were possible to have colonies come through the winter with as many bees as they have at the beginning of winter, beekeeping would be a bonanza. Instead of having one or two flows, there would be first a flow from maple and willow, followed by one from dandelion and fruit bloom, ahead of the big clover flow. However, the beekeeper whose apiary is situated near plenty of such trees as willow, maple, elm and box-elder is fortunate, indeed, for the bees get a splendid stimulation very early, and should be in prime condition for business when clover comes on.

The big-leaf maple of the Pacific Coast (=Acer macrophyllum=), also known as Oregon maple, California maple, water maple or white maple, is reported as of special importance in Oregon and British Columbia, its yield is usually cut short by rains. It is found in the Sierra Nevada and coast ranges of mountains in California, north to southern Alaska. (See also Box-elder).

pistillate blossoms of red maple. Both yield nectar.]

MARIGOLD (Gaillardia pulchella).

There are several species of =Gaillardia= common to a wide scope of country. This particular species ranges from Louisiana west to New Mexico and Arizona. It is the source of large quantities of yellow honey in Texas, where it is highly regarded as a honey plant. It is reported as yielding surplus occasionally as far south as Brownsville, though not frequently.

Scholl lists it as “a main source of surplus; honey dark amber and of good quality. May and June.” (See also Spanish needle.)

MARJORAM (Origanum vulgare).

The marjoram is an European plant, cultivated in gardens, which has become naturalized along roadsides in the Atlantic Coast States. According to Lovell, it is a favorite of honeybees; not sufficiently common to be of much value.

MARRUBIUM, see Hoarhound.

MARYLAND--Honey Sources of.

Willows, maples, fruit blossoms and dandelion furnish nectar and pollen for spring brood rearing. Tulip-poplar is probably the most important source of surplus where the bees are prepared to gather it. Coming so early, few beekeepers have their colonies ready for this flow. Clover, locust, sumac, holly, laurel, clethra, heartsease, Spanish needle, asters and goldenrod are valuable. Tupelo and black-gum are also to be found in the State. There is a long list of minor sources similar to those listed for New Jersey.

MASSACHUSETTS--Honey Flora of.

White clover, found in nearly all quarters of the State.

Alsike clover. Under favorable conditions it yields not only a good quality of nectar but large quantities of it.

Red clover. The second flowering is somewhat accessible to bees.

Sweet clover. Two species, neither abundant in Massachusetts.

Goldenrod and asters. Rank close to clovers in nectar production.

Fruit bloom. Apple, pear, cherry, plum, peach, etc., source of early stores, upon which the colonies build up for the clover harvest. The body is heavy, the color clear and light and the flow comes with a rush, which insures handsome sections; but best of all is the exquisite aroma of the apple blossom, which places fruit bloom honey in a class by itself.

Linden or basswood. Doubtless the most valuable tree honey plant in Massachusetts.

Buckwheat. Reported from all counties in Massachusetts.

Wild raspberry and blackberry. The nectar flow is of long duration, beginning after fruit bloom has ceased.

Several species of sumac are important honey sources which are greatly underestimated.

Locust. A valuable forage for bees. Reported as sporadic in yield.

Maple. Probably of less importance as a honey plant than the mints, strawberry and milkweed.

Clethra. Known also as black alder and sweet pepper bush. A valuable honey secreting plant, largely confined to a belt paralleling the eastern coast.

Milkweed. Where milkweed occurs in large quantities it is a valuable honey plant. Reported as important from Berkshire County.

Wild cherry, knotweed, dandelion, strawberry, chestnut, mints, gill-over-the-ground and mustard also reported occasionally as valuable.

Willow and skunk cabbage valuable for early pollen as well as some nectar.--Burton N. Gates. Bulletin 129, Mass. Ag. Ex. Sta.

MAT GRASS, see Carpet Grass.

MATRIMONY VINE (Lycium vulgare).

Matrimony vine is a low, spiny shrub, with very long, lithe and almost climbing branches. It came originally from the Mediterranean region and was very generally planted for ornament about American homes a generation ago. It is very persistent, and has run wild about many deserted home sites. The small flowers clustered in the axils of the leaves are very attractive to the bees, and, where sufficiently common, the plant is probably of considerable importance.

MAYWEED (Anthemis Cotula).

The mayweed or dog fennel is an old-world weed extensively naturalized from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and west to Texas. It is common along roadsides, in barn lots and waste places generally. Lovell credits it with yielding a honey that is light yellow in color and very bitter. It is seldom mentioned as a source of nectar.

Richter states that because of its blooming between spring and summer it is of considerable value to many Sacramento Valley beekeepers.

MEDICAGO, see Alfalfa.

MELIA, see China Tree.

MELILOTUS, see Sweet Clover.

MELISSA, see Bee Balm.

MELONS (Cucumis melo).

Melons are valuable sources of honey. In locations where they are grown in large acreage, as in the Rocky Ford district of Colorado, considerable quantities of honey are stored from them. There are numerous varieties of muskmelons, canteloupes, etc., but apparently there is not much difference in the value of the various sorts to the beekeeper.

As with cucumbers and pumpkins, the male and female blossoms are on different parts of the stem. Bees and insects carry the pollen from one to another, if in close proximity, and often cause hybridization.

MENTZELIA.

=Mentzeli speciosa= is a conspicuous plant along roadsides and waste places in Colorado. Its large white blossoms are closed during the heat of the day, but beekeepers report that the bees work upon it freely in early morning and late evening. It is probably not important.

In Oregon the stickleaf (=Mentzelia albicaulis=) grows freely on dry, stony land. It has a spreading habit and its pale orange colored flowers are very attractive to the bees.

MESQUITE (Prosopis glandulosa).

The mesquite, or mezquit, is the most important plant of the arid regions from central Texas to New Mexico and eastern California. At a distance it has much the appearance of an aged peach tree. A northern man riding through the mesquite region on the train, for the first time, remarked that he had never seen such extensive peach orchards in his life. The tree is much branched and spreading in habit and is the source of fuel for the inhabitants of the region. Live stock also are fond of the leaves and pods and the Indians of the Southwest eat the seeds, first grinding them into meal and baking them.

The same or a closely related species is common in Hawaii, where it is known as algaroba. There it is one of the most important sources of honey. (See Hawaii). This species is sometimes called honey-pod or honey-locust, although the true honey-locust is a very different tree.

in the Southwest.]

In the desert regions of California it is an important source of large quantities of honey, as it is in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. In southwest Texas mesquite is the principal source. The honey is light amber and of good quality. Beekeepers report that it is lighter in color some years than others, even though nothing is blooming at the same season, so the difference cannot be laid to a mixture of honey from different sources. The quality of mesquite honey is good. It is reported to yield more regularly on sandy land than on heavy soil.

There are two blooming periods, the first in spring, usually in April, and the second in July. If there has been plenty of moisture previously the mesquite blooms profusely, due to the fact that it roots very deeply and can reach any moisture that is available in the soil.

MEXICAN CLOVER (Richardia scabra).

The name clover is a misnomer, for this plant does not belong to the clovers but to an entirely different group. It is a luxuriant annual weed growing to a height of two feet or more. The bees are reported as working upon it quite late in the season.

The plant was introduced from the tropics and has become naturalized in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

MICHIGAN--Honey Sources of.

While Michigan is within the clover belt, there are a greater variety of sources of surplus honey than in most nearby States. In spring, willows, maples, fruit bloom and dandelion have the usual importance. Both white and alsike clover yield surplus in Michigan. To these may be added wild raspberry, fireweed or willow herb and milkweeds, all of which are important sources of surplus honey in the northern part of the State. Basswood was formerly important and still produces surplus in some sections, though many of the basswood forests have been cut. Buckwheat is also a source of surplus in some parts of Michigan, though according to E. D. Townsend surplus from buckwheat is only to be expected on “a rather poor quality of sandy soil.” Townsend says, further, that alsike is worth all other sources put together in the southern two-thirds of the lower peninsula, and that aster yields surplus in Sanilac County.--Gleanings, page 1184, 1908.

MIGNONETTE (Reseda odorata). COMMON MIGNONETTE.

The mignonette of our gardens is a native of Egypt which came to America by way of Europe. It is frequently mentioned as a honey plant, especially in older literature. Some extravagant claims have been made for it, but perhaps it has never been given a fair test on a sufficiently large scale to demonstrate fully its value. The following extract from an article which appeared in the American Bee Journal, Page 47, 1878, is of interest in this connection:

“After being started under diligent cultivation it was astonishing to see the rapid progress which they made. The plants soon covered the ground, where soil was good, and were out in blossom in a short time, and from that time forward the bees were working on them by the thousand from morning till late afternoon. I have seen them thick on it by 8 o’clock. It yields pollen as well as honey. * * *

“I have found that on account of the spikes of the blossom being so much longer, the bees must work on the larger varieties. I have some sorts which stand two feet high, the spikes being from eight to ten inches long. * * *

“A correspondent from California stated that he thought an acre of mignonette would be adequate for a hundred colonies. * * *

“When you give them this in addition to what they would otherwise have, it will certainly secure an immense addition to the honey produced. There is no plant within the range of our knowledge as valuable for bee forage as mignonette. It will bloom year after year if not disturbed by frost and gives a longer period of bloom than any other plant. It gives more blossoms in a given space and more forage than any plant we have ever seen. Honey from this plant has the most delicious fragrance of any we have ever tasted.”--William Thompson.

It was later tested at the Michigan Agricultural College, but Professor Cook failed to bear out the above claims. He reported as follows:

“I expected great things of this plant, as the bee papers were very high in their praise of its qualities. June 23 it began to blossom, and it was not till the 27th that the bees began their work upon it. They did not seem to take to it very readily, for on every occasion that I made observations, I found very few bees present. With us it proved a failure. Others have corroborated this statement. * * * It is rather a delicate plant for this climate.”--Page 83, A. B. J., 1878.

It is listed by Richter in Bulletin 217, “Honey Plants of California,” with the statement that it is “very much visited by bees whenever in bloom.”

MILK VETCH (Astragalus).

The milk vetch is a close relative of the loco (see Loco), and like the loco is visited by the bees. Some species are of some value for honey, especially in the plains region west of the Missouri River.

MILKWEED (Asclepias).

The milkweeds are a large family of plants common to the temperate and tropical regions of many parts of the world. North America alone has 55 recognized species. These plants are also known as butterfly weeds and milkweeds. The blossoms are borne in large ball-shaped clusters as shown in Figure 92. The seeds are attached to silken parachutes, on which they are carried by the wind. It is these silky attachments that give rise to the name “silkweed.” Remarkable yields of honey are sometimes secured from milkweeds. An average yield of 100 pounds per colony from this source is occasionally reported through the bee magazines.

Much has been written about the entangling of bees in the pollen masses of milkweed. It frequently happens that bees thus entangled are unable to free themselves and die as a result. Some species of milkweed is included in nearly every list of honey plants which the author has consulted. Apparently it may be regarded as of some value almost everywhere. The honey is said to be light in color and of good quality.

It is of special importance in northern Michigan, where it grows in great abundance, as shown by Figure 93. In some locations beekeepers report an average per colony production of 50 pounds, year after year, from milkweed.

over large areas and are the source of much surplus honey.]

MILKWEED VINE, see Bluevine.

MINNESOTA--Honey Sources of.

In early spring the willows and maples, followed by dandelions are important for spring brood rearing. Fruit bloom is also valuable in spring. White clover and alsike are the most important sources of surplus. Probably there is no place in the world where these clovers yield nectar more abundantly than in Minnesota. Sweet clover is also important in some sections of the State. Willow herb or fireweed, basswood, goldenrod and asters may be mentioned.

MINT (Mentha).

Richter lists the spearmint, or peppermint, (=Mentha spicata=), as yielding a great abundance of amber colored honey in Sacramento County, California and southward. Spearmint was introduced from Europe and has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in many places, both east and west.

He also lists the tule mint (=Mentha canadensis=) as yielding honey from July to October. The mints belong to an important group of honey plants and where sufficiently common are valuable. They should not be confused with hedge nettle, which is locally called mint in many places. (See Hedge Nettle).

MISSISSIPPI--Honey Sources of.

Along the eastern border of the State there is a large area where sweet clover is widely disseminated. In this section large yields of surplus honey from this source are reported. An average yield of 140 pounds per colony of surplus from 700 colonies in one yard near Prairie Point has been reported to the author by a prominent Mississippi apiarist.

Willow, maple, fruit bloom and elm are reported as important for early pollen and nectar. White clover yields some honey in the northern part of the State. Persimmon is given as an important source of dark honey. Bitterweed yields freely, but the quality is so poor as to be of little value. Tupelo and cotton are valuable in some sections of the State. There is some fall honey from asters and goldenrod.

The coast region offers a vast area of gallberry and there is much titi along the streams. There are some very good unoccupied locations in Mississippi which offer great possibilities for honey production.

MISSOURI CURRANT, see Buffalo Currant.

MISSOURI--Honey Sources of.

White clover is the one principal source of honey in Missouri. Sweet clover yields surplus in some localities. In the low lands along the Mississippi River, heartsease, Spanish needle and boneset are also important. In many places south of the Missouri River, bitterweed yields some nectar, which is often mixed with the better honey and spoils the quality. Bluevine (=Gonolobus laevis=) yields surplus in a few localities. In the vicinity of Brunswick as much as 100 pounds of surplus per colony has been reported.

Only a small portion of Missouri is well suited to commercial beekeeping, owing to uncertainty of the honey flows. With the extension of the growth of sweet clover as a farm crop conditions are improving.

MISTLETOE (Phoradendron flavescens).

The mistletoe is too well known to need description. It occurs as a parasite on trees from southern New Jersey and Missouri south to Florida and Texas. It is a yellowish-green shrub, much branched, which grows on the branches of the trees to which it attaches itself. It flowers early, usually in February and March, and is frequently mentioned as a honey plant in the Southern States. Scholl lists it as the first source of nectar and pollen in Texas, blooming there in January and February. Many Texas beekeepers regard it as valuable for spring stimulation.

MONARDA, see Horsemint.

MONTANA--Honey Sources of.

The principal sources of nectar in Montana are alfalfa and white sweet clover in Yellowstone, Sun River, Missouri, Gallatin and Flat-Head Valleys; yellow sweet clover in Bitterroot Valley, White clover in Bitterroot and Gallatin Valleys, and fireweed in northwestern timbered region. Minor plants are willow, dandelion, Grindelia (gum-weed), etc.--H. A. Scullen.

MONUMENT PLANT (Frasera).

The monument plant is variously known as columbo, deer’s ears (a translation of the Navaho name), and Frasera. It grows in high altitudes from 7,000 to 10,000 feet, from South Dakota westward to Montana and Oregon and south to New Mexico and California.

It has large, creamy blossoms, about two inches in diameter, on tall flower stalks growing to a height of three feet. (Fig. 94.) It is common in the Rocky Mountains and is much sought by the bees. According to Wesley Foster it is an important source of honey in May. It is a striking plant which once seen is not likely to be forgotten.

MORNING-GLORY (Convolvulus).

The morning-glory is a twining perennial vine of wide distribution throughout the United States. It has a large bell-shaped corolla and is often grown for ornament. Originally it was introduced from Europe as an ornamental and has escaped and become naturalized in waste places, old fields and along fences everywhere. It is probably not important to the beekeeper anywhere, but Richter lists it as a honey plant at Sacramento, California, and Scholl lists it as yielding some honey and pollen in Texas.

striking plant which, once seen, is not likely to be forgotten.]

At Victoria, Texas, according to M. B. Talley, morning glory yields surplus honey of fine quality in September. There it is called tievine.

MOTHERWORT (Leonurus Cardiaca).

The common motherwort is a weed introduced from Europe and Northern Asia. It is now quite generally naturalized from Canada to Florida and west to Louisiana. For some reason, it is seldom included in lists of honey plants, although it is said to be an excellent source of nectar. Reports of bees working on this plant very freely, in 1914, when most other plants failed to yield anything, were frequent.

The motherwort grows in clumps in waste places in old barn lots, along railroads, in factory grounds, etc. It grows from two to six feet high, with small flower clusters in the axils of the leaves. It is a relative of the catnip, and apparently equally attractive to the bees. This plant was formerly used to some extent in medicine, especially for diseases of women. It is also known as lion’s tail.

Figure 96 shows the blossoms and leaves, and Figure 95 a clump of the plants.

MOUNTAIN LAUREL, see Laurel.

MOUNTAIN LILAC (Ceanothus).

There are several species of mountain lilac common to California and the Western States. They are closely related to the buckthorns. (See Buckthorn). New Jersey tea belongs to this group. (See New Jersey tea).

Jepson lists fourteen species of =Ceanothus= common to California. They are shrubs or small trees with small but showy flowers, borne in umbels or panicles. The California species are mostly evergreen.

They are known by various names, as deer-brush, California lilac, mountain lilac, etc. One species is called buckbrush.

Some species are common to the Mountain States from Wyoming and Colorado to Arizona and west to Texas. Both honey and pollen are secured from this source, though there are probably not many places where surplus yields may be expected.

MOUNTAIN MINT, see Basil.

MOUNTAIN QUEEN, see Yucca.

MUSTARD (Brassica campestris).

Figure 97 shows the common yellow mustard (=Brassica campestris=), which is common all over North America and in Europe. The black mustard (=B. nigra=) also has a very wide distribution in Europe and America. There are about 50 species, including the closely related cultivated varieties of cabbage, turnips, rutabagas and mustard. All produce some nectar, and in some localities they are an important source of honey. In parts of California, notably the Lompoc Valley, mustard is grown commercially for seed; much honey is stored from this source. The honey is said to be light in color and mild in flavor. Apparently there is much variation in the amount of nectar, according to climatic conditions. In any locality where it is sufficiently abundant, mustard can be expected to add something to the product of the apiary.

The late J. S. Harbison wrote, in his “Beekeepers’ Directory,”:

“Mustard affords a larger amount of valuable pasturage to the acre than almost any other plant. It blooms throughout the month of May, and part of June. During this time, bees increase in numbers, and store from it large quantities of honey of a clear yellowish color, but partaking slightly of the taste of the plant.”

N

NAPA THISTLE, see Star Thistle; also Centaurea.

NEBRASKA, Honey Sources of.

Most of Nebraska’s surplus honey is secured from clover, though alfalfa is important in the western part of the State, especially under irrigation. White clover, alsike and sweet clover are all important honey plants in Nebraska. Cottonwood furnishes an important source of pollen in spring. Willows and maples furnish both nectar and pollen, while fruit bloom and dandelions are usually sufficient to enable the bees to build up for the clover flow. There is a great variety of minor sources which are not sufficiently abundant to yield much surplus. Among these may be mentioned, milkweeds, catalpa, Rocky Mountain bee plant, buffalo bur, vervain, Spanish needles, etc.

Heartsease yields abundant surplus some years and basswood was formerly important in some places in eastern Nebraska.

NECTAR AND NECTAR SECRETION.

The great Swedish botanist, Linnaeus, nearly two hundred years ago, basing his classification of plants on their flowers, found it necessary to name and account for all of the parts of a flower. In many cases he found structures that were neither sepals, petals, stamens nor pistils, and as these contained, or were wet with, a sweet fluid, he gave this the fanciful name “nectar”--the drink of the gods, and called the parts of the flower that produced or contained it, “nectaries.”

As these nectaries were different from stamens and pistils, which Linnaeus recognized as the sexual organs of flowers, though they are sometimes connected with them, and as they were different from ordinary sepals and petals, though sometimes connected with them, they presented something of a question to the men of that day, who were curious to know what the parts of a plant really are and what they do. For this reason the study of nectaries became something of a popular diversion for a generation or two; and a general idea that they are organs for secreting sugar became established; not necessarily an idea of secretion, though, for just as animals excrete various organic substances that are by-products, or waste, from some of their functions, so it was thought by some students that the sugar or nectar might really be an excreted waste or surplus rather than a substance secreted because it is to become useful to the plant.

Das entdeckte Geheimniss der NATUR im Bau und in der Befruchtung der Blumen von Christian Konrad Sprengel, Mit 25 Kupfertafeln. Berlin, 1793. bei Friedrich Vieweg dem æltern.]

Toward the end of the eighteenth century a German rector, Sprengel, who seems to have found in nature a good deal of inspiration that he failed to “put over,” noticed that the petals of the common German wild geranium were fringed with hairs at their bases. That was in the day before men believed in evolution, but when they did believe in a purposeful creation. Sprengel was convinced that an all-wise Creator would not have made a single hair in vain, and he set about discovering what these hairs were for, much as a sensible person, seeing the governor on an engine today would try to find out what it is for. Below the break between the petals, he found a nectar gland, producing its sugary fluid; and he saw the hairs would prevent the nectar from being diluted or washed away by rain or dew. This brought him back to the original question--what nectaries and nectar are for. He got his answer to this by watching the plant and seeing that bees visited the flowers and removed the nectar as what might be called the raw materials of the honey industry.

In Sprengel’s day the general impression was not only that things have been created just as we find them, but created for our own ultimate good. So Sprengel found an answer in discovering that the hair fringe of the geranium petals protects the nectar of the flowers and so preserves it for bees to use in manufacturing honey for our breakfast table.

When you stop to think about it, Sprengel could hardly have had the curiosity to study out his geranium question to an answer without being spurred to look at other flowers to see if they might not have something interesting of the same sort to offer. He yielded to the impulse to look at other flowers, and he found his geranium to be a very drab specimen compared with some of the irregular and painted flowers that he studied out in the same way. He must have felt no common pride when, in 1793, he published the results of his studies, with simple but effective illustrations, under a title that meant revealing to mankind the newly discovered secret of nature in the structure and fertilization of flowers.

But Sprengel seems not to have been the sort of man to whom such an answer really was an answer, and he looked further. It does not seem to have taken him long to see that while gathering their own store of honey, and obviously without consciousness that they were doing anything else, the bees became dusted with pollen from geranium stamens and rubbed it off on geranium stigmas while going their rounds of the flowers. This conclusion evidently answered two questions--what the hairs are for, and what nectar is for.

It is not necessary to walk down Michigan Boulevard on a windy day to realize that we belong to an imitative race. The corner grocery and the drug store show it as well as the windows of milliners and dressmakers, shoe shops and news stands, or as the sights that issue from a barber shop in a college town.

Fashions run in fads and interests quite as much as in dress. Linnaeus was a great botanist; perhaps none has been greater. He not only reduced a chaotic science to order, but interested men in its study to a remarkable extent. It is rather unfairly charged against him that because his service was somewhat one-sided, those whose interest he awakened were extremely one-sided, in that they did not see or care for much in botany beyond finding, describing and classifying new plants. This was well enough worth doing; it is not finished yet, and will not be finished for many years to come; but it had become so fascinating and workable through the genius of the Swedish master that his followers seized on it with eagerness, and it was a long time before a mind of original habits and impulses broke loose from the train.

The man who possessed this originality was Darwin, the promulgator of the now universally accepted idea of organic evolution. To him has been ascribed the introduction of a new teleology into natural science, recognizing that structures and functions are because they are or have been of use--not of use to man necessarily, though man may turn them to account--but to their possessor.

This was Sprengel’s conclusion as to the nectar of geranium flowers, which he found led to their fertilization. The essential difference between his way of seeing it and Darwin’s is that he thought the entire mechanism has been specially made by the Creator as a means to an end, while Darwin saw in it the gradual modification of earlier structures because the new were helpful in the struggle of life and their possessors for this reason were likely to survive and pass them on to their offspring.

There is a German country saying that the honeybee was forbidden the red clover because she didn’t keep Sunday. Beekeepers know that her tongue is a little too short for the honey tube of the red clover flower and that she doesn’t waste time in trying to get what is out of her reach. They know, too, that some races of honeybees really can suck the red clover nectar because they have longer tongues, and if beekeepers ever want to do it they can probably set an expert plant breeder to work at breeding a race of red clover with a tube short enough so that even the German honeybee can get at its nectar. Natural evolution hasn’t done this. Where red clover is at home bumblebees are found, and bumblebees have no difficulty in reaching its nectar much as hawk-moths get that of a moon flower, which is far beyond the reach of any kind of bee. But in the South Seas, where there are no long-tongued bees, red clover finds itself as unable to set seed as the German honeybee is to get at its nectar. Bee and flower have evolved together, where both are at home, into a harmony of structure that is helpful to them both.

Nothing was more suggestive to Darwin in his search for evidences of evolution, or modification through descent, than this sort of harmony of structure and habit in flowers and insects; and one of his earliest and most effective books in bringing his views to the comprehending notice of others was one dealing with the mutual relations between those freaks in flowers, the orchids, and their insect visitors.

For Sprengel’s teleology, Sprengel’s explanation of nectar as a means of securing fertilization was sufficient. For Darwin’s teleology, it carried another question: =Why?= The geranium flower has both stamens and pistil, standing in its middle. The one might fertilize the other just as well as not, apparently; and yet this does not happen, for the pollen-bearing anthers of the stamens drop off before the stigmas of the pistils come to maturity. The same thing may be seen on any single-flowered geranium in a bay window or a greenhouse or a summer window box or flower bed, only this geranium does not belong to the genus =Geranium= of the botanists, but to the related African genus =Pelargonium=.

Looking for a further reason, Darwin saw a step further into the mystery when he found that these and many other flowers that ought to get on without any help are as dependent upon insects through their own failure to bring pollen and stigma together as those are in which stamens and pistils are borne in separate flowers--often on separate plants. To him, nectar and its attendants--flower fragrance, color, variegation, bizarre shape, long tubes, nectar guards of hairs or some other structure--meant what they had meant to Sprengel, fertilization through insect aid; but they meant something more, fertilization of one flower by pollen from another flower--crossing.

And still the questions multiply. Why do not all flowers have stamens and pistil side by side? Why, when they have this structure, do they not time the maturity of these essential parts so as to secure effective functioning without all the nectar machinery? In other words, =why= is crossing so commonly necessitated and provided for?

Science of every kind has been advanced by three methods--reasoning, observation, experimentation. Sprengel’s answer was reached by the first two; the new answer sought by Darwin was to be obtained through the third. For eleven years he put the question direct to the plants themselves, fertilizing them by their own pollen, crossing them, raising and requestioning their offspring. More and stronger progeny from crossing was the answer.

The popularity that Linnaeus had given to characterizing and classifying living things, was transferred by Darwin to studying their structure and doings. Sprengel’s idea fell upon barren soil; Darwin’s was cultivated with care and skill.

Two men--Mueller, a German, and Delpino, an Italian, stand out most prominently among a multitude who observed and wrote and pictured the marvels of flower and insect harmonies for a generation. All did excellent work in furnishing details and corroborations; but Darwin had answered the question as to the what and the why of the nectar of flowers.

But there is nectar that is not produced in flowers. Look at the queer spots in the angles between the veins on the under side of a catalpa leaf, when it is young; or at the little goblets on the stalk of a cherry or peach or snowball leaf, or at the pin-head spots on a trumpet-creeper or paeony calyx, and you may see glands there that secrete a sweet fluid. Bees may not care for it, but wasps or ants do. The cotton plant has such sweet nectar glands on the outside of the cluster of bracts about each blossom, and on the back of its leaves.

In a very few cases such “extrafloral” nectar serves the same purpose as that within the flowers; but generally it does not lead to fertilization. Delpino called the nectar that leads to fertilization “nuptial” nectar, and the other “extranuptial.”

In the seventies of the last century an English mining engineer, Belt, well known in the ore regions of Colorado, was marooned by his profession on a mining property in Nicaragua. Using his eyes took the place with him of tennis, or of dissipation, which is the white man’s bane in the tropics. He saw that a certain kind of ants cut the leaves of trees into bits which they take into their nests, and that roses and other introduced plants fared hard with these leaf cutters, unless they were protected by aromatic oils, as various kinds of citrus leaves are, or in some other way.

Belt did not fail to notice that ants visited extrafloral nectaries in numbers. In the case of those on some acacias he found the ants very pugnacious. I confess that in Guatemala I have preferred, myself, to go around a bush or a grove of such acacias with their ant guards. As with Sprengel’s geranium hairs, these nectaries unfolded question after question.

In Belt’s case, the tips of the acacia leaflets ripen also into little fruit-like bodies that the ants gather and take into their nests; and they make these nests in the stipules that flank each leaf and sometimes are shaped like a pair of small buffalo horns. It is an interesting undertaking to get the ant census of an acacia twig of this sort. The danger may not be as great, but it is as real and perhaps as painful as in taking the census of a mountain valley noted for moonshine traffic.

Belt drew the conclusion that extranuptial nectar, sometimes supplemented by solid food and shelter, is of use to the plant that provides it by maintaining a bodyguard of ants on plants that otherwise would be defoliated and injured by leaf cutters or grazing animals, much as Sprengel and Darwin found an explanation of nuptial nectar in the benefit of insect pollinization of the flowers.

This is the simple story of nectar, simply told, as it has been seen by observing and thinking men. But it is not a story free from complications. Our blue violets rarely set fruit from their showy nectar-bearing flowers, but their main reliance for seed is on flowers produced below the leaves, and these do not open, but are self-fertilized. The beautiful =Poinsettia=, with its brilliant red bracts and large cups overflowing with thick nectar, does not fruit in West Indian gardens any more than it does in our greenhouses at Christmas time. And irresistibly pugnacious as the acacia ants are, those that visit our paeonies and cassias and other plants do not usually more than protest mildly if we molest the plants that they are on.

Are the explanations of Sprengel and Darwin, and of Belt wrong? No other that are at all satisfactory have been offered.

When one stops to think of it, the secretion of nectar is an unusual phenomenon. Sugar is made within plants and it does not leak from them unless they have been injured. The sugar beet takes various substances out of the soil water, but it does not permit the passage of sugar into the soil water. And yet nectar, essentially sugar, is passed out of the plant, within which it was manufactured. This is because it is secreted--or excreted--through specialized glands. Everyone who grows plants in a bay window has seen young clover or grass leaves with a drop of water on their tips at some time or other. A few grains of bird seed in a flower pot covered by a pane of glass will show this as quickly as the seedlings come up.

These drops pass out finally through pores; but they are drops of water and not of nectar. If we can imagine a gland behind such a water pore, secreting sugar--letting it really get out of the cells with or into the water, we can picture a nectar gland. Such glands occur in some flowers. Some botanists believe that extranuptial nectar glands were originally water glands that have acquired the habit of secreting sugar.

This habit is a very unusual and a very peculiar one. It is not really understood except as it may be connected with usefulness to the plant. If this usefulness is not indirect, in the ways suggested by Darwin and Belt or otherwise, it must be direct. Water glands relieve over-pressure when absorption is high and evaporation low; in some of the calla family the water even spurts from the tips of the leaves at times. But sugar is not like water, taken in in quantity and to spare; it is manufactured, and in the case of nectar glands it is manufactured where it is secreted. Nobody has yet suggested any physiological function of plants calling for sugar safety valves situated in the queer positions occupied by extranuptial nectar glands, and no satisfactory direct physiological explanation of the nuptial glands has been suggested.

The actual status of nectar in botanical science is about this: When it is produced in flowers, and in some cases when it is outside of them, but near them, it demonstrably serves to secure cross-pollinization through the aid of insects, or humming birds and their like, when the flowers are long, tubular and red, as in the trumpet creeper, the trumpet honeysuckle and the scarlet salvia. It is then “nuptial nectar.” When it does not serve the plant in this way and so is “extranuptial,” it occurs in the neighborhood of the flowers, as in cotton, sweet potato, trumpet creeper and paeony, where it attracts numbers of ants, which are often very pugnacious, and to the extent of their activities it prevents injury to the flower buds and flowers, especially in their early stages; or it occurs on developing leaves during the period of their greatest need. More rarely, as in the acacias, the leaves continue to secrete it through the season, so that those that are mature add to the protection of the younger leaves and the flowers and the young fruit.

That neither of these functions is served in exceptional cases, and that some flowers rely on the wind for effective pollination, or have lapsed into self-fertilization; or that really pugnacious ants do not commonly frequent the extranuptial glands of most plants in temperate regions, and that some plants get along very well without such help, mark questions that will continue to stimulate observation and experiment. But nothing now known of the physiology of plants offers an alternative explanation for that which connects nectar with either pollination or defense; and until such an explanation can be found nectar will continue to be regarded as connected indirectly with these services through insect or bird relations.--William Trelease, Botanist, University of Illinois. American Bee Journal, Dec., 1919. (See also Physiology of Nectar Secretion).

NEGUNDO, see Box Elder.

NEVADA--Honey Sources of.

Much of Nevada is mountain and desert country. Alfalfa is the principal source of surplus honey, though sweet clover also yields. There are numerous minor sources, as willows along the streams and many of the desert plants.

NEW BRUNSWICK--Honey Sources of.

In New Brunswick the principal sources of nectar are alsike and white clover, fireweed, goldenrod and aster. Willows and maples stimulate early brood rearing.--F. W. L. Sladen.

NEW HAMPSHIRE--Honey Sources of.

The honey flora of New Hampshire is very similar to that of other New England States. In spring, willows, maples, fruit blossoms and dandelions keep the bees busy in preparation for the main flow, which comes from the clovers. Goldenrod is also important. Sumac, laurel, blueberries and asters are worthy of mention, also.

NEW JERSEY--Honey Sources of.

Plants from which nectar is gathered in less than surplus quantities:

Maples, mid-March-early April. Peach early April. Pear, mid-April. Apple, late April early May. Willows, late April. Dandelion, early May. Wild strawberry, May. Lupine, May. Raspberry, May. Grape, late May-early June. Huckleberry, blueberry, late May-late June. Persimmon, mid-June-late June. Vervain, late June-early September. Virginia creeper, late June-late July. Milkweed, silkweed, July. False indigo, July. Button bush, July. Burdock, July-October. Tree of Heaven, pride of China, July. Catnip, July. Motherwort, August. Smartweed, heartsease, late August-mid-September. Horsemint, August-September. Boneset, mid-August-September.

Surplus honey plants:

Crimson clover, mid-May. Locust, May 20-June 1. Tulip-poplar, May 26-June 10. Poison ivy, mid-May-mid-June. Holly, late May-late June. Mountain laurel, late May-late June. Sheep laurel, late May-late June. Swedish clover, alsike clover, June 1-July 10. White clover, early June-mid-July. Dogbane, Indian hemp, early June-late August. Basswood, linden, late June-early July. California privet, mid-July-late July. Sumac, mid-June-mid-July. White sweet clover, June-November. Cranberry, June 15-August 15. August flower, soap bush, sweet pepper bush, late July-late August. Rose mallow, swamp mallow, late July-early September. Burdock, July-November. Spanish needle, mid-August into October. Heartsease, smartweed or blackheart, August-September. Heath aster, white aster or St. Michaelmas daisy, late August-mid-October. Bushy goldenrod, late August-mid-October. Buckwheat, early August.

Surplus Honey Regions

We may divide the State of New Jersey into three sections on the basis of surplus honey production.

The first section includes all of the southern and middle counties and the southern part of Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon. As a rule, the surplus honey in this district comes from clover. There are, of course, occasional places, such as low-lying land along large streams where a second flow is harvested in late summer and early autumn.

The second district includes all north of the first, with the exception of Hudson County and a part of Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Union. In this district there are generally two distinct, heavy honey flows, the first from clover and the last from buckwheat and fall flowers, such as goldenrod, aster, etc.

The third division, which roughly includes the Passaic and Hackensack Valleys, and the Raritan Valley below New Brunswick, rarely produces any surplus honey except in the fall, and that comes from goldenrod, aster and mallows.

The presence or absence of a single kind of plant will often decide whether the fall flow will be worth consideration. This principle applies more particularly to the second district. Should the amount of buckwheat sown be very small in some parts of this region the fall surplus would be missing. In certain parts of this second district white sweet clover is found in great abundance and furnishes surplus throughout the late summer and early fall.--Elmer G. Carr, Manual of Bee Husbandry.

NEW JERSEY TEA or RED-ROOT (Ceanothus americanus).

New Jersey tea grows from one to three feet high from a dark red root, hence the name “red-root.” It is a shrubby plant with flowers in white clusters. The leaves were used for tea during the revolutionary war. It is common in woodlands from Ontario to Manitoba and south to Arkansas, Texas and Florida.

It is not often mentioned as a source of honey, but according to H. B. Parks, is regarded as valuable in northwestern Missouri. (See Mountain lilac.)

NEW MEXICO--Honey Sources of.

Alfalfa is the chief source of surplus honey in the irrigated regions of New Mexico. There are some districts where the bloom of orchard fruits is important, especially for spring stimulation. The desert flora offers a wide variety of minor sources, with a few of surplus importance. Among the latter may be mentioned mesquite, catsclaw and cactus. (See Arizona and Texas.) Sweet clover is also important.

NEW YORK--Honey Sources of.

W. D. Wright, in Bulletin 49 of the New York Department of Agriculture, only lists a few plants as important in that State. He mentions basswood as formerly one of the principal sources now rapidly passing away. Alfalfa is mentioned as a source of honey in central New York. Alsike is spoken of as abundant and a splendid honey producer. Good yields are frequently gathered from buckwheat in sections where it is grown extensively and it seldom fails entirely. Fruit blossoms and black locust bloom before the colonies are sufficiently strong to store much surplus, but are valuable for early brood rearing. Sweet clover, sumac, blue thistle and goldenrod are the other sources mentioned. The failure to mention white clover is evidently an oversight, since it is one of the most important sources of nectar in the State.

NORTH CAROLINA, Honey Flora of.

Taking the State as a whole, sourwood, poplar, sometimes called tulip tree, and the clovers, are the three leaders. Of these three leaders the poplar is the most widely distributed and is prominently mentioned in all sections, from east to west. The sourwood is principally confined to the Piedmont section, though reported also from the lower mountain localities and from the western border of the eastern region. The clovers are found in all parts, though more abundant in the mountain and Piedmont sections. Next to these we find the gallberry (=Vaccinium sp.=) and black gum, both taking high rank and both found principally in the east. Persimmon ranks sixth and is reported principally from the east, several mentioning it as irregular in yield and lasting but a short time, but doing well for a short period. The basswood or linden comes seventh and is reported only from the west. Holly and huckleberry (low and high) are next in order, both being in the east. Buckwheat follows and is confined to the west.

Twenty-four leading bee pasturage plants:

Sourwood, Piedmont; little east and west. Poplar (tulip tree), all sections. Clovers (all varieties), west and Piedmont; little in east. Gallberry, east. Black gum, east. Persimmon, east and Piedmont. Basswood (linden, linn), west. Holly, east. Huckleberry, east. Buckwheat, west. Ironweed (aster), Piedmont. Locust (black locust), west and Piedmont. Aster, all sections. Cotton, east and Piedmont. Stickweed (=Bidens=). Fruit trees, all kinds, all sections. Peas (cow peas), Piedmont and east. Sumac. Nut trees (including oak), all sections. Goldenrod, all sections. Rattan, east. Blackberry, all sections. Maple, all varieties, all sections. Alfalfa, locally grown.

--Franklin Sherman, Jr., Bul. North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Vol. 29, No. 1.

NORTH DAKOTA--Honey Sources of.

Beekeeping is, as yet, but little developed in North Dakota. Willows and cottonwoods furnish early pollen, dandelion and fruit bloom assist the bees with both nectar and pollen for early brood rearing. The clovers are the principal sources of surplus honey.

NOVA SCOTIA--Honey Sources of.

Willows and maples are important for spring brood rearing. The sources of surplus are alsike and white clover, goldenrod, aster, apple, fall dandelion (=T. autumnale=), wild radish (=R. Raphanistrum=), blueberry and =Kalmia angustifolia=.--F. W. L. Sladen.

O

OAK (Quercus).

The oaks are frequently reported as sources of nectar. The fact is that it is usually honeydew, rather than nectar, which the bees gather from oaks. Pollen is produced in abundance by these trees and all species may be regarded as valuable for pollen. (Fig. 100.) There are many species of oaks, some of which are common to any part of America where trees grow naturally. There are 24 species recorded from Alabama, 24 from New Mexico and 12 from Connecticut.

Richter gives 4 species--field oak (=Quercus agrifolia=), tan bark (=Q. densiflora=), mountain white oak (=Q. douglassii=) and weeping oak (=Q. lobata=), as sources of honey in California. Scholl gives 6 species as sources of honey in Texas, as follows: Post oak (=Q. minor=), live oak (=Q. virginiana=), red oak (=Q. rubra=), Spanish oak (=Q. palustris=), water oak (=Q. aquatica=), and jack or barren oak (=Q. nigra=).

H. B. Parks, of the Texas Agricultural College, has found that post oak yields some nectar from extra floral nectaries. This may be true of some other species.

The live oak yields honeydew in large quantity in west Texas, from the balls made by the live oak gall. George Schmidt, of Crystal City, reports an average of 25 pounds per colony from live oak balls, on the Nueces River, in 1917. The honey was dark and heavy, but of good flavor. The flow lasted till frost. There are numerous similar reports, from west Texas, of honeydew from this source, from August till late fall. During the drought of 1917 and 1918 there was little else for the bees in many Texas localities, and the live oak saved the bees from starvation.

Occasionally the bees work on white oaks in Illinois. In this case they are attracted by the presence of a soft scale (=Lycanium cockerellii=).

OGECHE PLUM, see Tupelo.

OHIO--Honey Sources of.

The sources of nectar in Ohio are very similar to those of many other States in the great central basin, where white and alsike clover furnish the principal surplus. There is the usual list of plants furnishing nectar and pollen for early spring, such as willows, maples, fruit blossoms, dandelions, etc. The main flow comes from white and alsike clover in June and July. In some sections buckwheat yields surplus. Basswood, which was once an important source of nectar, has been cut until few beekeepers are able to get crops of much value from it. Goldenrod and asters are important in many sections for late fall.

OKLAHOMA--Honey Sources of.

Fruit blossoms furnish nectar and pollen for early brood rearing. Dandelions and willows are also important at this season. Cottonwood yields pollen abundantly, as do other shade trees. Alfalfa horsemint, horehound, sweet clover and cotton are important sources of surplus.

Among the many minor sources may be mentioned Indian currant, button bush, asters, goldenrod, milkweeds, melons, etc.

OKRA or GUMBO.

Cook’s Manual lists okra as a honey plant. It is a well-known garden vegetable, especially popular in the South, but is seldom grown in quantity sufficient to be important to the beekeeper.

OLEASTER, WILD OLIVE, RUSSIAN OLIVE (Elaeagnus hortensis).

The Russian oleaster, known botanically as =Var songorica= (Fig. 101) was first introduced into this country by Professor J. L. Budd because of its hardiness and ornamental qualities. The young trees branch freely and produce an abundance of white, scurfy foliage, which makes it a most attractive and striking shrub. * * * It is one of the most fragrant of cultivated small trees. The season of blossoming varies somewhat, but with us (Iowa) is about the middle or early part of June.

It is one of the best of our spring honey plants. The bees visit the plant in large numbers when in full bloom from early morning until late evening.--L. H. Pammel, American Bee Journal, November, 1917.

=Eleaegnus argentea=, wolf willow or silverberry. It is said to yield honey on the prairies.--W. J. Sheppard, British Columbia. American Bee Journal, November, 1917.

OLIVE (Olea europaea).

The olive is generally cultivated in orchards throughout California. Richter states that his bees, within easy reach of several thousand olive trees, do not work on them, but that T. O. Andrews, of Corona, and B. B. Hogaboom, of Elk Grove, report bees working well on olive bloom. He further states that the olive tree is a well known source of honey in Spain.

ONION (Allium).

According to Richter, wild onions sometimes yield surplus honey in the vicinity of Sacramento, California. In some parts of that State, where cultivated onions (=Allium cepa=) are grown for seed, they are also important. The onion yields freely and the honey is said to be amber in color with a characteristic onion flavor which disappears after the honey is fully ripened. There are few localities where onions are sufficiently abundant to be important.

ONTARIO--Honey Sources of.

The principal honey plants of Ontario, in the order of their importance, are alsike and white Dutch clover, buckwheat, basswood, fireweed, wild raspberry, goldenrod, aster, dandelion, sweet clover, viper’s bugloss, Canada thistle, milkweed and boneset.

Buckwheat, basswood, sweet clover, viper’s bugloss, milkweed and boneset are confined principally to the southern part of the province. Willows and maples are important for early spring brood rearing.--F. W. L. Sladen.

OPUNTIA, see Prickly Pear.

ORANGE (Citrus aurantium).

The orange tree is a native of Asia, early introduced by the colonists into Florida. It thrives in a semi-tropical climate and its culture in America is confined to southern Florida, a few small areas along the Gulf Coast, the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas and to California. It is sensitive to frost and the trees are easily killed by freezing.

In California, orange is one of the important sources of honey. The trees bloom in April, when many colonies are too weak to make the most of the crop. The flow is extremely rapid, as at times the nectar is secreted in such abundance that men and horses working in the orchards are saturated with it. The flow lasts about three weeks. In 1919 it continued 23 days in Tulare County. Four hundred colonies in one yard averaged more than 60 pounds per colony from orange. O. F. Darnell, of Porterville, extracted 171 pounds of orange honey from one colony in ten days, after having previously extracted 24 frames which were not weighed. A. W. Gambs, of Anderson, reported that some colonies, made extra strong by drifting bees, stored four full-depth extracting supers of fresh nectar from orange in four days.

In some of the interior valley locations the bees get fair crops from orange about four years in five. Along the coast, the fogs are unfavorable and the crop is uncertain. Good orange locations are much in demand, and many beekeepers move their bees long distances for the flow. With a larger reserve supply of honey, left in the hives for winter to enable the bees to build up early in spring, and with more careful attention to wintering, it would be possible to greatly increase the average returns from orange. This statement is based on the results of a few beekeepers who take special pains to get their bees into condition for the orange flow.

The honey from orange is white in color, heavy in body, of the finest quality, and is much in demand in the markets.

OREGON CRAB APPLE, see Crab Apple.

OREGON--Honey Sources of.

J. W. Wills, of Marion County, Oregon, lists the principal honey plants of that State in the American Bee Journal as follows:

Willow, chickweed, balm-of-Gilead, salmonberry, dandelion, fruit trees, grapes, currants, gooseberries, maples, clover, Juneberry, barberry, huckleberries, laurel, milkweed, lobelia, catnip, snowberry, arrowwood, Spanish needle and some others.

P. W. Nicolle, in Gleanings, adds that chittam (=Rhamnus purshiana=) is one of the principal sources. He mentions, also, salal (=Gaultheria shallon=) as a source of nectar. Salal is frequently mentioned as valuable in Oregon.

OREGON GRAPE (Berberis nervosa).

Oregon grape is common in the woodlands near the Coast from Marin County, California, northward. It is abundant in the forest regions of Washington. It is a shrub with prickly alternate leaves and yellow flowers in racemes. Oregon grape is reported as a source of honey of minor importance in the Northwest. Like the agarites or triple-leaved barberry of Texas, it blooms in early spring when it is of special value for stimulative purposes. Another species of barberry (=Berberis Aquifolium=) is common to this region, and most beekeepers do not differentiate between the two species. (See Barberry.)

OREOCARYA.

A desert plant growing on high, loose, sandy soils. Blooms in May, with a small bur following the bloom. It ranges from Wyoming to Arizona and west Texas. It yields nectar freely and an average of forty pounds per colony has been reported from this source. The honey is light amber, of inferior flavor, according to D. W. Spangler, of Longmont, Colorado, but it is extremely valuable for building up colonies in spring. Extended cultivation is rapidly reducing the area where the plant is to be found.

P

PALM.

Royal palms (=Roystonea regia=) are very abundant in Cuba and Porto Rico and are probably the most characteristic trees of those islands. They are also to be found to some extent in the southern portions of the United States. As sources of honey these trees are important in the West Indies, where they yield nectar abundantly.

The date palm (=Phoenix dactylifera=) has been planted to a limited extent in the desert regions of the Southwestern United States. This species is reputed to be a splendid source of nectar.

The cocoanut palm (=Cocos nucifera=) is the most important of all the palm trees, since the nuts furnish large quantities of food, much used in tropical countries. This species is common in the West Indies and in southern Florida. Although the source of considerable honey it is not equal to the foregoing species as a source of nectar. (See also Palmetto).

PALMETTO (Sabal).

The palmettos are the most conspicuous feature of the flora of the south half of Florida. (Fig. 104.) The cabbage palmetto is a tree, while the saw or scrub palmetto grows more like the underbrush in northern forests. To the man accustomed to dense forests, the open, park-like growth of the palmettos hardly seems like woodland. The illustration gives a good idea of the typical Florida landscape.

This group of plants is not important in America, outside of the State of Florida. A small area in lower Texas, about the mouth of the Rio Grande River, is covered by a species of palmetto closely resembling the cabbage palmetto, but it is thought to be a different species. An occasional tree is also found along the seacoast as far north as Charleston, S. C. They are to be found also as street trees in various southern cities along the Gulf Coast and in south Texas. The small saw palmetto (=Serenoa serrulata=) also extends its range into Georgia and the Carolinas, in open pine woodlands.

In Florida both forms are sufficiently abundant to furnish nectar in quantity worthy the attention of the commercial beekeeper. However, in too many localities there is little else available, so that the season between flows is too long to make beekeeping worth while. To take advantage of the palmetto flows and at the same time get good crops through the rest of the year, the late O. O. Poppleton practiced migratory beekeeping. His apiaries were moved several times during the year, so as to be near different sources in the period of bloom. The great drawback to beekeeping in Florida is the lack of a sufficient variety of honey plants in one location to support the bees profitably throughout the year. There are a few localities, of course, where this does not apply.

The cabbage palmetto (=Sabal palmetto=) (Fig. 102) gets its name from the cabbage-like formation in the bud at the top of the growing trunk. The tree grows 25 to 35 feet in height and has large fan-shaped leaves several feet long. It grows along the Atlantic Coast to the north line of Florida, but in the interior is not found in abundance more than about two-thirds of the way.

The tree blooms during July and August, the latter date applying to northern parts of the State. The blossoms are very delicate and have been likened by Professor Baldwin to a giant ostrich plume. (Fig. 105). According to his statement, the flowerlets are sensitive to weather conditions. Too much moisture blights them, while the opposite extreme blasts the delicate bloom. As a consequence, it does not yield abundantly more than about one year in three, although at times it yields very profusely.

“On the St. Lucie River, Mr. Hill extracted, barreled and shipped 3,500 pounds of palmetto honey from 55 colonies in two weeks.”--Page 489, American Bee Journal, 1899.

While palmetto honey is regarded as of very high quality, the honey from the cabbage tree is rather thin and requires some care in getting it properly ripened, as the following quotations will show:

“Cabbage palmetto honey, sealed or unsealed, will foam as though fermentation was in progress; that taken from the combs unsealed will ferment enough to deprive it of all the honey flavor, but the sealed only foams. Thin and acid and amber in color, it will flow bubbling from the cells behind the knife, and it is not a rare thing to see gas bubbles under the cappings of the sealed cells. Whether the colonies are strong or weak, it is always the same, when the bees work on the cabbage trees, as the common palm tree of Florida is called. The name comes from the fact that the bud in the head at the top is eaten in lieu of cabbage.

“The saw palmetto is decidedly different in the nectar it yields. Saw palmetto honey, even unsealed, may be called a good honey, and it is, too. When ripened it is a honey that makes a name for itself when enough care is taken by the producer to have it unmixed with other nectars.

“I write from personal experience on the east coast of Florida.”--L. K. Smith, Gleanings, page 39, 1909.

Florida landscape.]

The saw palmetto (=Serenoa serrulata=), often called scrub palmetto (Fig. 103), is a low growing little palm, found on dry soils in the Gulf Coast region. In the southern portion of its range, in peninsular Florida, it attains the proportions of a small tree. There it sometimes reaches a height of 20 feet, with erect or inclined trunk. Further north the stem is almost invariably underground. Large areas of pine lands are covered with it.

The blooming time is April and May. O. O. Poppleton wrote concerning his calendar of the year:

“April--Saw palmetto flow commences early in the month and continues until last of May. Our apiary work these two months is extracting, building up all colonies and replacing poor queens.”--Beekeepers’ Review, page 11, 1893.

Concerning the honey flow from saw palmetto we quote E. G. Baldwin as follows:

“The honey from saw palmetto is lemon-yellow in color, thick and waxy and of pronounced but delicious flavor. It is not quite so transparent as pure orange honey, but seldom candies, and makes a choice table article. Mr. O. O. Poppleton pronounces it the best honey in Florida, with the possible exception of tupelo. It is liked by almost everyone at first taste; is a trifle milder, even, than orange.”--Gleanings, page 177, 1911.

Forest fires frequently destroy many square miles of the saw palmetto, thus removing this source of nectar for one year. However, according to Baldwin, the burned-over portions usually produce the most honey the following year.

Concerning the flow from palmetto, E. B. Rood, of Bradentown, writes as follows:

“We have been having the heaviest honey flow from palmetto for ten years. One colony on scales brought in 50 pounds in four days, and 80 pounds in ten days. I expect 20,000 to 30,000 pounds. I have extracted 13,000 pounds now and am just starting on another round.”--Gleanings, page 703, 1908.

PARADISE FLOWER, see Acacia.

PARSNIP (Pastinaca sativa).

The cultivated parsnip is a valuable honey plant. In the seed belt of California, where it is grown largely for seed, it is important as a source of surplus. Writing in Gleanings (November, 1919) E. R. Root mentions having seen hives five and six stories high, jammed full of honey from parsnip and celery. He states that the honey is not of the best, and that honey from parsnip is inferior to that gathered from celery.

PARTRIDGE PEA (Cassia Chamaechrista).

Partridge pea, known also as sensitive pea, is an important source of honey in Georgia and Florida. The flowers, of an attractive yellow color, are about the size shown in Figure 106, which displays blossom, seedpod and leaf. This plant is common along sandy roadsides in the Middle West, and may at times be found for miles at a stretch. It is seldom reported as an important source of surplus honey, except in the Southeastern States. While the bees visit it freely while in bloom in the Northern States, the honey stored from this source is seldom noticeable.

The plant is peculiar in that in addition to the flowers, nectar is secreted by extra floral nectaries at the base of the leaf stalk or petiole. The bloom lasts for several weeks in midsummer. As the bloom comes for the most part after the close of the clover harvest, its chief value in the North is to keep the bees occupied till the later flowers furnish a fall flow. The quality stored from this source is reported as poor in the North.

In contrast, the following report indicates that it is valuable in Georgia and Florida:

“Bees store from one to three supers, during its flow, of light honey. The flow begins in June and lasts until October.”--Wilder in American Bee Journal, page 369, 1912.

PEACH (Prunus persica).

The cultivated peach is an important source of nectar over a wide scope of country. In localities where large peach orchards are found, it is important for building up colonies in spring. Like most of the tree fruits, the blooming period comes early, before the bees are strong enough to profit to the fullest extent from the abundance of nectar.

PEAR (Pyrus).

The cultivated pear is old-world origin, but now widely distributed in America. Where grown commercially, it is the source of abundant nectar and pollen in early spring. Most varieties of the pear bloom ahead of the apple. Nearly all the tree fruits furnish nectar in abundance and all are valued highly by the beekeeper.

The pear is subject to blight, which destroys thousands of trees every year. For a time the honeybee was accused of spreading the blight by her visits from tree to tree. There is now serious doubt whether it is possible for the bee to spread this disease. Experiments by Dr. J. H. Merrill, at Kansas Agricultural College, indicate that the aphids are the carriers of the infection.

PENNSYLVANIA--Honey sources of.

Pennsylvania is in what is generally known as the white clover region. White and alsike clover are of first importance. Buckwheat, in some sections, is also a main source of surplus. In spring, the willows and maples, followed by dandelion and fruit bloom, furnish both nectar and pollen for early brood rearing. In the mountains, azalea and laurel furnish some honey. Black locust, tulip-poplar and sumac are valuable in certain localities. Basswood, goldenrod and asters should also be included as of local importance.

PENNYROYAL, see Wild Pennyroyal.

PEONY.

The cultivated peonies are introduced from Asia and are commonly grown for ornament. Most varieties are double and produce no pollen. The single varieties, however, produce pollen in abundance, and at times the bees seek them eagerly. The writer has seen as many as six to eight bees gathering pollen on a single blossom. The opening buds also seem to exude a nectar-like substance sought by ants and bees.

PEPPERBUSH or WHITE ALDER (Clethra alnifolia).

The sweet pepperbush occurs from Maine along the coast to Florida and west to Louisiana. It is a small shrub with white flowers, as shown in Figure 107, which appear in midsummer. In Alabama, Georgia and north Florida, it is common in the coast plain, on swampy banks of streams and in low, wet thickets. It is very fragrant when in bloom and is often used for ornamental planting on lawns and in parks. The honey is thick, white and of fine flavor. In localities where the plant occurs abundantly, in the wild state, it seldom fails to bloom, since it grows in wet places and is unaffected by drought.

PEPPERIDGE, see Tupelo.

PEPPER-TREE (Schinus molle).

The pepper-tree, a native of western South America, has been widely planted in California for ornament and shade. Its bright red berries are a substitute for pepper, hence the name. It is a well-known tree on the Pacific coast, as far north as Martinez, on the Suisun Bay. It is grown in parks, on lawns and along the streets of nearly every Southern California city.

While a small amount of bloom may be seen at almost any time of the year, its principal period is in late summer when there is a scarcity of nectar-secreting blossoms (Fig. 108). The blossoms are rich in nectar and the bees gather some surplus from this source. The honey is amber in color, strong and rather peppery in flavor.

The flowers are small and of a greenish or yellowish color, in large sprays. The berries ripen in November and December.

PEPPER-VINE, see Snowvine.

PERSICARIA, see Heartsease.

PERSIMMON (Diospyros).

The persimmon, or possom-wood (=Diospyros virginiana=), grows from southern New England south and west to Missouri, Arkansas, Florida and along the gulf to Texas. It is a tree of medium size, reaching a height of 50 feet and rarely exceeding 12 inches in diameter. (Fig. 109). The fruit is composed of a rich and palatable pulp and a few large seeds. When green it is very astringent and very disagreeable. The flowers appear in May in the southern part of its range, and later northward. Where abundant, persimmon is a valuable source of nectar. The Mexican persimmon (=Diospyros Texana=), called also date plum, is a shrub or tree 10 to 30 feet in height. It thrives best in canyons and ravines, and is common over much of south Texas. It is frequently reported as an important source of early nectar in many parts of Texas.

Franklin Sherman, Jr., lists the persimmon as sixth in importance of the honey sources of North Carolina. He states that it is irregular in yield and lasts but a short time, but does well while it lasts.

tree.]

PHACELIA (Phacelia).

Jepson described thirteen species of phacelia as native to California. Of these Richter lists four as of value to the beekeeper. Hill vervenia (=Phacelia distans=) he lists as common in the plains and foothills, yielding both nectar and pollen. The caterpillar phacelia (=Phacelia hispida=) is listed as common in the chaparral belt, yielding a water-white honey of fine flavor that candies soon after extracting. This is common in Ventura County, and M. H. Mendleson reports that he extracted a carload of honey from this source before the blooming of the sages. =Phacelia ramosissima= is reported as a fair honey plant, but not equal to the others. The valley vervenia, or fiddle neck (=Phacelia tanacetifolia=) is listed by Jepson (“Flora of Western Middle California”) as found in the Sacramento Valley and southward to southern California. It blooms in April and furnishes bee pasture in about six weeks from seed, and the bloom lasts about six weeks.

“The nectar flows all day. The honey is amber in color, sometimes light green and of a mild aromatic flavor. Cows fed on it show a marked increase in flow of milk, but will not eat it alone at first.”--Harry E. Horne, page 342 of above book.

This species was introduced into Germany and had quite a boom there in the early nineties. Much attention was given it in the German bee magazines and it was endorsed as valuable both for forage and for bee pasturage.

Scholl lists =Phacelia congesta= and =Phacelia glabra= as yielding sparingly in Texas. Thos. Wm. Cowan writes as follows, in American Bee Journal, in regard to the growing of phacelia in Europe:

“The one grown in Europe, =Phacelia tanacetifolia=, is literally covered with bees from morning till night. The species was introduced into Europe from California in 1832, and is called tanacetifolia (tansy-leaved) from the resemblance of its leaves to those of tansy. It is an annual with bluish pink flowers, racemes spike-formed, elongated, corymbose; height of plant two feet. It is grown in Europe as a bee plant for its nectar, and is the only one which produces an appreciable quantity of it.”--November 20, 1902, page 751.

A beekeeper from Indiana reports that =Phacelia purshii= grows freely in the wheat fields in his locality and that the bees work freely on the blue flowers. He states that in places it grows so abundantly that the wheat takes second place to the phacelia. On the 27th of May, 1919, strong colonies already had full depth extracting supers almost filled. The honey from this source is of good quality.

PHYSIOLOGY OF NECTAR SECRETION.

What we call individual plants are complex communities of real microscopic individuals, which biologists call cells. These are associated in numerous sub-communities differing from one another in structure and function. Their specialization results in a division of labor and a correspondingly large total efficiency, much as specialization and division of labor lead to efficiency and productive possibilities in a nation consisting of states, and these of smaller communities made up of trades, guilds and professions, which in co-operation follow the manifold activities that characterize a nation and collectively constitute the national life of its individuals, which is far more effective and greater than the individual life of any one person or class.

The active, living part of a cell is its protoplasm--the physical basis of life, as Huxley called it in animals and plants alike. Commonly this protoplasm encloses itself by a wall of cellulose, an organic substance manufactured by the protoplasm. Where two cells are in contact, they are usually flattened against one another. When men first began to use the microscope, only a little over two centuries ago, it was the walls and shapes of cells that attracted attention, and the resemblance to honey-comb on a small scale was so striking that the cavities were naturally called cells.

Protoplasm itself is a very complex substance, chemically, and even the much simpler cell-wall is far from being always really one identical substance. A considerable part of the thickening of matured cell-walls has been laid down on the original partition between two cells, and not only differs from this but is not alike in different kinds of cells, and in structures like wood and cork it is impregnated with other materials that affect the cell-wall very greatly in such respects as hardness and permeability to water.

The shells of nuts, for instance, are so impervious that they are commonly “stratified” by planters so that their hard shells may disintegrate more or less as a preliminary to germination, a process that not infrequently requires more than a year unless hastened by some expedient like that of passing haw fruits through the digestive mill of poultry as a means of softening their boney cores, of filing the hard envelope, which is a favorite trick of gardeners with nut-like fruits of the lotus or with canna seeds. (This is similar to the scarifying of sweet clover seed.--Editor.) This is the reason that several times as much clover seed--even good seed--must be used on an acre as seems necessary for securing the desired number of plants. One of these modifications is usual in the outer layers of cell-walls on the surface, and it is called cuticularization. Cuticularized walls are more or less completely water-proofed. When the cells that produce nectar are at the surface, their outer walls are cuticularized in this way; when they are within the nectary and the nectar passes out through stomata, this is scarcely, if at all, the case.

The greater part of nectar is water, which reaches the surface from within the plant cells. To do this it must pass through walls that are little, if at all, cuticularized, or it must break through the cuticle. This does not mean that it must break through the entire cell-wall; a small part if this is modified by the protoplasm into a gum or mucilage, or some similar substance, and the water accumulates in this layer and swells it until the overlying cuticle is burst. Some form of sugar is a frequent result of this disintegration of cellulose. Dissolved sugars pass through the ordinary cellulose wall, but they do not pass through the ordinary surface layer of protoplasm in the outer cells.

When water is separated from a solution like that of sugar by a filter of this sort, which allows water to pass but is not permeable to the dissolved substance, the action is set up that physicists call osmosis, and water accumulates on the side of the dissolved substance until it exercises a very considerable pressure. This action not only bursts the cuticle, when it starts beneath it, but results in a flow of water within the plant at that point.

The absorbing roots of plants show another result of this physical property, osmosis. They are not waterproofed; water is continuous through them, from the thin layer in which it occurs about particles of the soil, to the water which composes a great part of the weight of the protoplasm within the cells. This sap of the root cells contains dissolved sugar and other osmotic substances. Osmotic absorption by the roots results in a pressure of several atmospheres. This pressure, passed from cell to cell, gives the crispness to fresh celery. Its loss, through evaporation from the leaves, results in the loss of this crispness, or wilting.

When evaporation is slight, as in a saturated atmosphere, water exudes at the surface through pores such as occurs at the tip of a young grass or clover leaf. Water pores of this sort are common. They are regarded as pressure-valves by many botanists. The water that they eliminate is usually filtered by the protoplasm that it passes through, which does not allow the passage of substances dissolved in the cell sap; but some plants which grow where they absorb very “hard” water pass lime salts out through their water pores to such an extent that they are encrusted with lime as the water evaporates.

nectaries; (_et_) stamens. Greatly magnified. Copied from Bonnier’s “Les Nectaires.”]

The safety-valve elimination of water under strong internal pressure and lessened normal evaporation is hardly to be called excretion or accretion; the extruded-water is neither by-product nor manufactured output. The elimination of lime appears to be on the border line of excretion.

Nectar is not merely water; if it were its production would be more easily understood. To the taste, it is sweet; to the sense of smell, it is often fragrant; occasionally it is poisonous; often it is somewhat colored. Commonly it is very fluid, but in the nectar-cups of poinsettia it becomes very gummy. These properties come from substances--sugars, volatile oils, poisonous organic compounds--that were made by and in the plant, and they differ in different kinds of plants. Whatever bees or ants may do in changing nectar into honey, they do not entirely change or remove these substances, and the rank brown honey of the drug store is as easily run to its source as the popular white clover honey, the daintily flavored product of western alfalfa, the aromatic acid honey of the red raspberry, or the greenish product of the sweet clover with its delicate vanilla-like aroma, the cumarin source of which shows itself in an occasional head-ache, much as the minor organic constituents of some honeys derived from the heath family now and then prove seriously poisonous.

A fluid that contains these organic substances necessarily falls into the category of excretions or secretions, according as it represents waste or usable material. As either excretion or secretion it is the product of specialized organs, glands, and its appearance marks these glands as in action or performing their function. Whatever else may be involved, this depends upon the activity of their protoplasm, or is controlled by it. When this is killed, secretion or excretion stops.

flattened against one another. This figure copied from Bonnier’s “Les Nectaires,” exhibits a longitudinal section of a stamen in _Colinsia bicolor_. Magnified.

At left (34) cross section of filament.]

One result of the protean character of protoplasm is its different behavior in different plants, different organs of the same plant or different phases of the activity of an individual cell. In either case it can perform its functions only between certain limits of environment, and it performs them best somewhere between these limits. For each function and each condition there is what physiologists call a minimum--below which it is not carried on, a maximum--above which it has stopped, and an optimum--or most favorable. Just as in the efficient working of a human factory, power and raw materials are necessary, and workmen must be onto the job, however favorable the other conditions of manufacture may be.

The secretion of nectar and the storing of honey are consequently not quite comparable, for the activities of the honey plant are concerned with the first, and the activities of the bee are concerned with the second, though these are largely influenced by what the plant is or is not doing. This must be remembered always when comparing such records of honey-storing as Mr. Strong’s careful hive-weighings through a generation, with Mr. Kenoyer’s quantitative measurements of nectar secretion.

Nevertheless, the most favoring conditions of nectar secretion and honey storing agree in a number of respects. Vigorous early development or the plant puts it in condition to do its share of the work best; whatever conditions may prevail during what for most plants is a very short part of the growing season, when it is in bloom. Vigorous early development of the hive bears the same kind of relation to the final result. Early honey must be stored before the bees have reached the full strength of the season, which may have something to do-with the fact that the bulk of the harvest is gleaned from plants that flower later or continue to flower for a relatively long time.

Mr. Strong’s observations in Iowa show that over half of the net increase in honey storage in southern Iowa is made in June, and over four-fifths in June and July. These are the months when the most productive nectar plants flower, and the hives have reached the crest of their speculative activity and are undergoing division by that time.

Physiological studies show that the afternoon temperature for nectar secretion is high--between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Observation on the hive shows that its workers are at their active best in moderately hot weather. Mr. Strong’s twenty-nine-year average shows that over half of the average honey for the year is stored when the daily maximum is between 80 and 90 degrees, and nine-tenths of it is stored when the high temperature of the day is between 80 and 90 degrees. Nectar is most abundantly secreted, other conditions being equal, in warm days following cool nights; bees do not seem usually to work more actively on such days, though a record day for heather honey in England began with a frost. Damp air increases the quantity of nectar, as of the expulsion of water through water pores; but dull, rainy weather lessens or stops the activity of the bees.

Nuptial nectar is secreted chiefly before or during the period of sexual maturity of the flowers. Many, like cotton, golden currant and horse-chestnut, change color as this period of sexual functioning and maximum nectar secretion passes, and bees often are quick to catch the signal. Extra-nuptial nectar is secreted in greatest quantity while the near-by flowers and foliage of the plant are young.

Nectar differs from time to time in quality as well as in quantity. In damp weather the increased quantity commonly causes a greater dilution of its content of sugar, and the bees have been shown to store a greater weight of honey several days after a rainy day than immediately following it. Though the greater part of nectar is water, its essential part, for the bee-man, is sugar, chiefly a mixture of two kinds of sugar, that possess a different molecular arrangement though containing the same number of carbon, hydrogen and starch atoms, which causes them to behave differently when examined by polarized light, and materially affects other of their physical properties.

The flow of the water of nectar seems to be like that of water through water pores, an infiltration under pressure when root-absorption is least active and leaf evaporation checked; but thoroughly and repeatedly washing the glands sometimes puts a stop to it. Beating rain does this as effectively as experimental washing. Change of position and closing in dark, rainy weather characterize some flowers, and keep the rain from washing away their accumulated nectar and checking its replenishment. This was Sprengel’s explanation of the fringe of hair on the petals of the wild geranium. In proportion as such nectar guards are effective, they preserve the supply and contribute to its continuance, in proportion as rain has opportunity to beat upon the nectar glands it wastes and may even check the production of nectar.

This stopping of nectar flow by washing away the secretion of the glands, is connected with the affinity for water of sugars. The flow of water appears to be started by the osmotic force of the disintegrated part of the walls of the secreting cells; it is stopped when the resulting substance has been removed from the outer surface of the secreting cells.

sorbifolio_. Greatly magnified. Copied from Bonnier’s “Les Nectaires.”]

If this were all, unless the degenerating cellulose were replenished in sufficient quantity there would hardly be such a thing as honey production. Indeed, some extra-nuptial glands secrete a nectar containing so little sugar that even ants may not be attracted by it--as is said to be the case with climbing smartweeds cultivated in England, though it is not usually true of such plants growing wild here, where they are at home. Commonly, however, the sugar in nectar is replenished while the secretion of fluid continues.

The passage out of sugar from a living cell is very different from the escape of water; the latter may result from pressure on the one hand or osmotic draft on the other, because the outer protoplasm is permeable to water but not to sugar. When sugar is secreted, this protoplasmic layer becomes to a greater or less degree permeable to the escaping sugar. This is one phase of the activity of the living protoplasm, for secretion is a vital phenomenon. What greater or less permeability of protoplasm actually consists in is a matter of theory rather than observation, but the phenomenon is a subject of observation and experiment. Alternating warmth and cold, within limits, affect it; it has its optimum, at a rather high temperature, as well as its minimum and maximum. Through an adequately permeable membrane, the flow of either water or sugar may be outwards--as it is in normal secretion, or inwards--when the secretion is absorbed--as experiments show to be true under some conditions.

Water for nectar secretion is obtained in the first place through the roots of the plant and travels from the point of absorption to the point of secretion. Sugar for nectar secretion is manufactured within the plant, very close to the point where it is secreted. It is primarily a product of the carbon-fixing or photo-synthetic activity that marks green plants as the food-makers of the world. Sugars appear to be among the earliest-formed of such carbon-containing or organic substances in the plant; but usually they are changed into starch for storage, and this is subsequently digested or transformed into a soluble sugar when the time of its use comes. The cells about some nectar glands are storage repositories of, sugar; in other cases they accumulate a reserve of starch, as raw material, before their activities begin in supplying sugar.

Evidently, back of the nectar-production of a given day or season, very closely related to its own optimum conditions of temperature and humidity, lies the earlier vegetation of the nectar-producing plants. Strength and vigor of growth, a good reserve of stored food from the year before, or favorable spring season, these would seem logically to affect the activity of the plant in performing this as well as others of its functions. Kenoyer’s conclusions, from Strong’s honey-gathering statistics, give support to this expectation: “There is an evident alteration between good and poor years,” as in apple production; “a good year has a rainfall slightly above the average, preceded by an autumn, winter and spring with more than the average precipitation,” affording adequate and lasting soil moisture; “a rainy May scarcely fails to precede a good honey season,” for the same reason, “a cold winter has no detrimental effect on the yield of the succeeding season, but a cold March reduces it,” through preventing a fair early growth of the honey plants; “a winter of heavy snowfall, in the great majority of cases, is followed by a larger honey yield,” because of its contribution to the soil moisture and the protection afforded the plants during their hibernation.

Of these conclusions, most bear directly on the conditions favorable for nectar secretion by the plants; some bear as directly on those favorable for the wintering in prime condition of the bees. Honey production rests upon both, not only in June and July and on individual days in those months of greatest honey storage, but on preceding days and months of preparation. Perhaps the suggestion may be made, even that it goes much further back, through long centuries of selective evolution, side by side, of nectar-yielding plants and honey-storing insects, gradually coming into mutually helpful harmony.--William Trelease, University of Illinois. American Bee Journal, January, 1920.

PIGEON BERRY, see Buckthorn.

PIGEON CHERRY, see Wild Cherry.

PIN CLOVER or FILAREE (Erodium cicutarium).

The pin clover, or alfilaria, or filaree, is widely distributed in the Old World, and in this country has been naturalized from Europe. It is especially well known on the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to southern California. There it is said to be one of the most valuable wild pasture plants.

It is also called pin grass and heron’s bill. It has a long period of bloom, beginning in February or March in California, and in some places continuing through the summer. It produces an abundance of pollen and considerable honey of good quality. In Gray’s botany it is listed as “storksbill,” and is mentioned as scarce in New York and Pennsylvania. It is recorded as occurring in Alabama, where it apparently was carried with railroad ballast. June is given as the blooming period in the vicinity of Mobile.

It is also known in several places in Connecticut, where it is said to bloom in May and June. Professor Pammel states that it is abundant in the dry soils in the Salt Lake basin and from Colorado to Texas. The seeds cling to the wool of sheep and this aids in its wide distribution.

Figure 110 shows the plant with blossom and seed pod. It is from the peculiar shape of the latter that it gets the name of “storksbill” and “heron’s bill.”

PINE (Pinus).

Occasionally honeydew is reported from the pine trees. The following references are typical of those to be found in current literature:

“We are having a real flow of water-white honeydew from the pine here in Polk County. It has been on now for two weeks. Bees in general are in bad condition.”--Luther Presswood, Reliance, Tenn., Jan. 18, 1907. American Bee Journal, page 98, 1907.

“Large quantities of honey are often secured from pine woods in certain parts of Germany. The honey is nearly black in color, still it finds many admirers, and must, therefore, be of better quality than the honeydew gathered here at times. The Emmendingen Beekeepers’ Society furnishes all the honey for the Grand Duke’s table (in Karlsruhe), and it is specified that the honey must be this black honey of the pine woods.”--Bztg. für Schlesw.--Holstein. American Bee Journal, page 616, 1906.

Similar honeydew is harvested in Switzerland and appears to be also much prized by the consumers.

PLUM (Prunus).

Plums, both wild and cultivated, are important sources of nectar over most of the United States. There are twenty or more species which are native to North America and which are generally known as wild plums. The blooming period comes early and with other tree fruits they are of great value as the source of nectar and pollen at a season when the colonies most need stimulation. The nectar yield is sufficiently abundant for the bees to store surplus where colonies are strong and weather conditions favorable. In Sacramento County, California, surplus is sometimes reported from prunes. There are probably few places where bees are kept in America where plums of some variety are not present.

POINSETTIA (Euphorbia pulcherrima).

The poinsettia is a well-known ornamental plant. It is a shrub, native to tropical America, grown to a considerable extent for ornamental purposes in California. The blossoms are small and inconspicuous, but there is a striking cluster of brilliant red leaves, surrounding the flowers, which give an impression of flowers.

The nectaries are very conspicuous cups at the side of the blossoms. Nectar is secreted in abundance, and if the plant was sufficiently common it would be an important source. The nectar gathers in large drops.

POISON IVY, see Laurel; also Sumac.

POISON OAK, see Sumac.

POISONOUS HONEY.

Much has been written in regard to poisonous honey. Well authenticated cases of serious poisoning from honey are rare, so rare, indeed, that many persons doubt whether such cases occur. There are persons with a peculiar susceptibility to honey from any source. To such, honey may seem to be poisonous, which can be eaten by others without any ill effect. Prof. A. J. Cook, writing in the American Bee Journal (October 12, 1905, page 711), mentioned having on several occasions received samples of so-called poisonous honey, which he ate without inconvenience.

In December, 1880, issue of American Bee Journal, page 552, a case is mentioned where a native of New Zealand died from eating honey gathered from the wharangi bush (=Melicope ternata=), which is said to be one of the two poisonous plants to be found in New Zealand. The symptoms are reported similar to strychnine poisoning. A letter from New Zealand published in Gleanings, page 435, 1908, reads as follows:

“Some one, usually a native, gets poisoned every year about here through eating bush honey, usually not capped, and puka-puka usually gets the blame. Mr. Hopkins had a look at a case of Maoris honey poisoning last year, and I think puka-puka got the blame; but the fact is significant, nevertheless, that it is the Maoris only, or principally they, that get poisoned, and in that case the honey eaten is never capped.”--Stephen Anthony, Wastete, New Zealand.

The mountain laurel (=Kalmia latifolia=) is the plant most frequently reported as yielding poisonous honey. This shrub is common to the mountain regions of the Eastern States, and it would seem that cases of poisoning would be reported much more frequently if there was good reason to suspect the honey from this source. It is a well-known fact that disagreeable odors disappear from honey that is well ripened. In this connection a writer in American Bee Journal, page 664, 1884, suggests that there is no evidence of poisoning from well ripened honey. He further states that uncapped honey from the yellow jasmine is actually poisonous and has produced death, but that after it is capped there is no honey more wholesome. It should be noted that special emphasis was placed on the fact that the cases of poisoning in New Zealand were from eating uncapped honey.

Pammel states (Manual of Poisonous Plants) that honey obtained from =Euphorbia marginata=, the well-known snow-on-the-mountain, is poisonous and unfit for use. He also states that the Indians of Brazil use honey gathered by wasps from flowers of =Serjonia lethalis= for poisoning their arrows, and also as a fish poison. It contains a narcotic poison which causes death.

The following resume of the subject is copied entire from Pammel:

“Prof. Lyman F. Kebler, who has made a somewhat extended investigation with poisonous honey has given an excellent bibliography with reference to the early literature on the subject. It has been known for centuries that the honey collected from =Ericaceae= acts as a narcotic irritant, producing giddiness, vomiting and purging. Poisonous honey was described by Xenophon. He gives a fairly accurate description of how the soldiers of his army acted that ate honey that was poisoned. He states that they lost their senses, vomited and were affected with purging, and those who had eaten but little were intoxicated, but when they had eaten much they were like mad men. Strabo and Pliny spoke of poisonous honey, the latter writer, an early naturalist noted for his accurate observations, records poisonous honey, which he called “aegolethron” (goat’s death), which bees collected at Heraclea. He gives a description of the honey, which is said to have had a peculiar smell and produced sneezing. It is generally supposed that this honey came from a species of =Rhododendron=, the =R. pontica=. This and allied species are the chief source of poisonous honey in Asia and Asia Minor, but it may be said in this connection that honey collected from the heather in Scotland is not poisonous.

“Barton, an early American botanist, reported poisonous honey in New Jersey as early as 1794. Subsequently Coleman reported a large number of cases in 1852, and Gammer, in Gleanings in Bee Culture, and several writers in the American Bee Journal, reported poisonous honey. Other writers, like Chestnut and Crawford, have reported on the occurrence of poisonous honey in the United States, and Kebler reports no less than eight cases for New Jersey in 1896, and believes that it is much more common than the records seem to indicate. Kebler was fortunate enough to investigate some of the poisonous honey following a case of poisoning in New Jersey. He examined a part of the comb of the dark honey which had a light brown color and a nauseating odor, pungent taste, caused a burning sensation in the back of the mouth similar to that of aconite. Persons who partook of a small amount of this honey began to cough immediately. He also made a chemical analysis of the non-suspicious honey, digesting with alcohol, then evaporated, the residue was again treated to alcohol and evaporated and administered to two cats. One received a small dose and the other a large one. The results from the cats were so interesting that I quote from Professor Kebler:

“‘The small dose produced partial exhaustion, relaxation of the voluntary muscles and general depression. The large dose in a short time produced restlessness, vomiting, purging, prostration and almost complete loss of the voluntary muscles, showing that the honey contained a prompt and potent poison. The animal could scarcely be induced to move, and when motion was attempted, first the fore-limbs would fail, and then the back-limbs would give way. First one portion of the body would sway in one direction, then the other portion in another, reminding one of a highly intoxicated person. Had the entire dose been retained, death undoubtedly would have followed. As it was, the cat had regained her normal condition only at the end of twenty-four hours.’”

Along with this we may append the symptoms as reported by the physician who attended the persons who were poisoned:

“Mr. and Mrs. Chambers took but a small quantity, yet each noticed a peculiar, pungent, burning taste in the comb as soon as it had passed their lips. In fifteen or twenty minutes afterwards Mrs. C. was taken with nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting, soon followed by loss of consciousness, coldness of extremities, feebly acting heart, and complete collapse. While ministering to her, Mr. Chambers, who had also experienced the initiatory symptoms of pain and nausea, suddenly exclaimed, ‘I cannot see,’ and soon sank in a state of syncope to the floor. In each case the symptoms were similar. Retching, vomiting, purging, acute gastric and abdominal pain, and continued cramps for some hours, with surface coldness, and deadly pallor, and the general symptoms of collapse.

“Kebler was, however, unable to definitely locate the andromedo-toxin found by Plugge. This author recorded it for a large number of plants as follows: =Andromeda japonica=, =A. polifolia=, =A. Catesbaei=, =A. calyculata=, =Kalmia latifolia=, =Monotropa uniflora=, =Pieris formosa=, =P. ovalifolia=, =Rhododendron grande=, =R. barbatum=, and =R. fulgens=. It has been recorded for additional plants by Greshoff, who mentions the following plants which produce poisonous honey: =Nerium Oleander=, =Cytisus Laburnum=, =Pieris ovalifolia=, =Callotropis procera=, =Daphne=, =Pontica=, =Buxus balearica=, =Clerodendron serratum=, =C. Bhramaramari=, =Sapindus emarginatus=. (It is said that thousands of bees are killed by this honey.) =Centaurea scabiosa=, =Carduus natans=, =Scabiosa succisa=. A South African species of =Euphorbia= also produces a poisonous honey which was not noted by Greshoff.”

POISONWOOD (Metopium metopium).

The poisonwood is a tree found in southern Florida, the West Indies and Central America. It is known by a variety of names, bum-wood, hog-gum, coral sumac or doctor-gum. Its sap is dangerously poisonous, and some persons are affected by a near approach to the tree. The tree reaches a height of more than forty feet and in south Florida it is the source of large quantities of surplus honey of good quality. The honey is usually blended with that of other sources blooming during the same period.

The tree has a thin bark which splits into large scales as it grows older. These are of a reddish brown color, brighter on the inside. It is sometimes confused with manchineel and is often classified as a =Rhus=.

POLLEN.

Pollen represents the male element of reproduction in seed plants. The flowering plants are normally reproduced by seed. Fertilization is brought about by the intervention of the grains of pollen which are borne by the stamens or male organs. In the corn plant the stamens are produced in the tassels where pollen is developed in great abundance. The pistils, or female organs, are represented by the silks attached to the ear. There is a separate silk attached to each kernel, and each must be separately fertilized. In many plants both stamens and pistils occur in the same blossom, as is the case with apples, pears, etc. In some cases the stamens or male organs are borne on a separate plant or tree, as is the case with the persimmon. Cucumbers have the separate organs in separate flowers. In order to insure fertilization it is necessary that the pollen grains be carried from the stamens to the pistils. In the grasses and similar plants this is usually accomplished by the wind, while in most fruits, insects are the principal agents.

Pollen grains are very minute and are produced in small sacs in the tip of the stamen, commonly called anther. When ripe, the breaking of the sac sets the grains free in great abundance. A single grain is sufficient to fertilize an ovule and produce a seed; yet, because of the distance between the stamens and pistils, large quantities of the pollen or flower dust are necessary to insure pollination. Ragweed and corn produce pollen in such abundance that one brushing by the plants is dusted so freely as to appear to be covered with flour.

Pollen is of special importance to the beekeeper, since it serves as food for young bees. It is the sole source of nitrogenous food for the growing larvæ, and is stored in large quantity in the open cells of the brood combs. Without an abundance of pollen available for food for the developing brood, the colony cannot prosper. Pollen is second only in importance to surplus honey to the beekeeper, and an abundant supply of plants which yield pollen during the brood-rearing season is very desirable.

POLLINATION.

Pollination is the fertilization of the blossom of a plant, resulting in the development of seed. As ordinarily used among the beekeepers, pollination refers to the transfer of the pollen grains from the stamens of one plant to the pistils of another. Since many plants are self-sterile, it is necessary that pollen from other plants and sometimes from other varieties be brought to them to insure fruitage. As already stated under “Pollen,” the honeybee is the principal agent in the pollination of many of the edible fruits.

So important is the bee regarded by horticulturists that cucumber growers contract for colonies of bees to be placed in their greenhouses, cherry growers often lease apiaries to be moved to their orchards at the beginning of the blooming period, and apple orchardists contract with beekeepers to furnish sufficient bees to insure fertilization of their orchards.

Darwin was among the first to realize the importance of cross pollination. He showed that continued self-fertilization resulted in inferior fruit, while cross fertilization increased the vigor of the offspring. Beach has shown that many varieties of grapes are self-sterile, and at the California experiment station it was shown that “bees are a necessary aid in pollination with the French and Imperial varieties of prunes.” It was proven that practically no fruit was produced when all pollen-carrying insects were kept from visiting the blossoms. (Bulletin 291, California Experiment Station).

It has been shown by numerous experiments that many varieties of fruits, especially of apples and pears, are likely to be unfruitful if deprived of the services of the honeybee as pollen carriers.

POPLAR, see Tulip-Poplar, also Aspen.

POPPY (Papaver).

The garden poppy (=Papaver somniferum=) is a native of Asia, but is widely cultivated in many countries, including our own. It is the source of opium and morphine, drugs widely used in the practice of medicine. The bright-colored flowers are very attractive to the bees, which seek them in large numbers and fairly revel in the abundant pollen masses. The pollen secured from poppy blossoms is very dark. It is probable that the plant furnishes some nectar, also, and there are numerous reports to the effect that the bees show evidence of a narcotic when working on this plant.

The California poppy (=Eschscholtzia californica=) (Fig. 112) is a common and widely diffused plant in California. It is a gorgeous plant of variable habit, especially abundant in spring, but in some parts of the State may be found in flower at almost any season. Richter lists it as the source of some honey and of large amounts of orange-colored pollen.

The prickly poppy (=Argemone=), often called poppy thistle, is widely distributed, especially in the southwest. It is the source of large quantities of pollen.

POPPY THISTLE, see Poppy.

POSSUM HAW, see Holly.

POSSUM-WOOD, see Persimmon.

PRAIRIE CLOVER (Petalostemon).

There are several species of prairie clover native to the western prairies from Indiana west to the Rocky Mountains and south to Texas. There are frequent reports to the effect that they are valuable honey plants, though no longer sufficiently plentiful to be important except in a few localities.

PRICKLY ASH (Xanthoxylum Clava-Herculis). TOOTHACHE-TREE.

The prickly ash or toothache-tree is found from North Carolina to Florida and west to Texas. It is a small tree with the bark armed with short, warty thorns, while the branches have longer ones.

In east Texas it is frequently mentioned as a source of honey. The honey is reported as pungent in taste, sharp and peppery and light in color. The blossoms yield freely, and, where sufficiently abundant, may be expected to yield surplus. At Palestine, Texas, surplus is reported from prickly ash. (See also Colima).

PRICKLY PEAR or INDIAN FIG (Opuntia).

Plants of the cactus family are widely scattered in the arid regions from Dakota to Washington and south to Texas and California. (Figs. 114 and 115.) Of the prickly pears (=Opuntia=) there are about 150 species, mostly found in the warmer sections of North America and southward. A few are to be found in sandy soils further east, ranging from Ontario and Massachusetts south to Florida. They are also sometimes grown as ornamentals. The blossom of the prickly pear is of pale yellow color and very attractive. (Fig. 113.) It is reported as a source of nectar in both Texas and California. =Opuntia engelmanni= is reported by Scholl in “Honey Plants of Texas,” as “of much importance to the beekeeper, especially during a season of partial drought. Both an abundance of pollen and honey was obtained, the honey being light amber in color, of heavy body but ‘stringy,’ so much so that it fairly draws out into strings when very thick. The flavor is very rank.”

cactus as far as the eye can see.]

In some parts of the Southwest it is valued more for pollen than for nectar. Beginning in July, it blooms for four to six weeks. E. G. LeStourgeon reports that in the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas, it yields surplus honey about one year in four, but that the flow is usually short, seldom more than four or five days. A peculiarity of this honey is that of granulating in large crystals in clear liquid. It is often spoken of as “buttermilk honey,” because of this peculiarity. LeStourgeon secured an average yield of 87 pounds per colony of cactus honey in Atascosta County. Such yields from this source are rare. Cactus grows in great abundance over large areas of Texas and is probably of more importance to beekeepers in that State than in any other.

Brownsville, Texas.]

PRICKLY POPPY, see Poppy.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND--Honey Sources of.

Alsike and white clover are the principal honey plants of the Island, with =Tilia europea= also important at Charlottetown.--F. W. L. Sladen.

PROPOLIS.

Propolis is a resinous gum gathered by the bees from buds of trees, and used to close crevices about the hive. It becomes brittle and hard in cold weather, but when warm is sticky and very tenacious. The beekeeper finds it quite a problem to keep his hands free from propolis when manipulating the hives in mid-summer. Some races of bees deposit propolis much more freely than others, the Caucasians being especially inclined to gather a great surplus of the cement and place it in lumps about the hive. If, perchance, a mouse, beetle or other object enters the hive which the bees are unable to remove, they frequently coat it freely with propolis, and there it remains.

Cracks seem obnoxious to the bees, and the small spaces between the frames are quite likely to be filled with the cement. In the production of comb honey, the tendency of the bees to fill every crevice with it leads to much labor on the part of the beekeeper in cleaning his finished sections for market. This is especially true of honey left on the hive till late in the season, as propolis is gathered in quantity in late fall in anticipation of cold weather.

Cottonwood is thought to be one of the chief sources of propolis wherever that well-known tree is found.

Bees gather much material from a great variety of sources. In addition to the fresh wax gathered from plants and trees, they are often attracted by fresh varnish or other substances from which they can get sticky material to serve as glue.

PRUNE, see Plum.

PUMPKIN (Cucurbita pepo).

The pumpkin is a well-known gourd-like fruit, usually of deep yellow color, that is widely cultivated as a food for stock and for pie. There are numerous varieties of various sizes and colors. The blossoms are large and showy and very attractive to the bees. The plants yield an abundance of pollen as well as nectar. The honey is amber and not of high quality, and granulates readily.

Where pumpkins are grown on a large scale for stock feed or for canning factories, they are a valuable source of bee pasture.

PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE (Lythrum).

There are two species of lythrum frequently reported as honey plants. The European species, =Lythrum Salicaria=, the spiked loosestrife, has become naturalized in wet places from Nova Scotia to Delaware. According to H. D. House, State Botanist of New York, it is common in and around the inlets and backwaters of the Hudson River all up and down that stream. It is also common up the Mohawk Valley, at Oneida Lake and along the railroads westward across the State to Lake Erie. It is a tall plant of vigorous growth, but as it confines itself largely to wet places, it is not likely to be any more of a nuisance than the usual coarse weeds growing in such situations. The bees work this plant freely and occasional reports of honey from this source are received from New York State. The honey is very dark and of strong flavor, having a slight tobacco-like taste as it gets older.

=Lythrum alatum=, a native species, is found from Ontario and Minnesota south to Georgia, Florida and Texas. A report from Oklahoma is to the effect that it blooms with sweet clover, lasting till frost. The bees work upon it from daylight till dark in either wet or dry weather. Similar reports come from Texas. It is found on low lands in the southwest.

It is also reported by beekeepers from New Orleans as attractive to bees in Louisiana.

Q

QUEBEC--Honey Sources of.

In Quebec alsike and white clover furnish the principal surplus honey. In the southern part of the province buckwheat, basswood and sweet clover are also important. Fireweed, blueberry, goldenrod and aster are the source of surplus honey over much of the province and willows and maples are valuable for spring brood rearing.--F. W. L. Sladen.

QUERCUS, see Oak.

QUININE Tree, see Hop-Tree.

R

RABBIT BRUSH (Chrysothamnus nauseosus hypolluca).

Richter lists rabbit brush as yielding nectar in the vicinity of Independence, California, from September till November. He states that the bees work vigorously on it, but that the honey is dark, of poor flavor and disagreeable odor, and that when the bees are evaporating it it can be smelled all over the place.

There are seventeen different varieties of rabbit brush in the southwestern desert from New Mexico to California and north to Utah and Colorado. They are described as coarse plants, usually shrubby and growing to a height of as much as six feet. They have small heads of yellow flowers. The Navaho Indians use the heads of the various species to dye wool yellow.--(Flora of New Mexico.)

RADISH or JOINTED CHARLOCK (Raphanus Raphanistrum).

The wild radish or jointed charlock is a troublesome weed in the fields of eastern Canada and United States from New England to Pennsylvania. Like many other introduced plants, it has been widely scattered with grain seeds. It has been introduced into northwestern Iowa with oats, where it is spreading in fields and waste places.

Sladen lists it as one of the important sources of nectar in Nova Scotia.

RAGGED LADY, see Red Gaura.

RAGGED SAILOR, see Centaurea.

RAGWEED (Ambrosia trifida).

Figure 116 shows the blossom and leaf of the great ragweed, often called horseweed. This is a very common roadside weed, growing to a height of 10 or 12 feet. It is common in Quebec and Ontario, west to Manitoba. In the United States it occurs from New England west to Colorado and south to the Gulf. It is also found in Cuba and Mexico. It is especially common in the rich lands of the Mississippi Valley from Minnesota to Texas.

The ragweed does not produce nectar, but furnishes large quantities of pollen in late summer and fall.

RAPE (Brassica napus).

Rape is a foreign plant related to the cabbage, which has been introduced from Europe. In the United States it is chiefly grown as a catch crop or forage for hogs and sheep and sometimes as a cover crop.

In Europe it is highly regarded as a honey plant, as the following letter from Baron Von Berlepsch, which appeared in American Bee Journal in April, 1874, will show:

“During the years between 1841 and 1858, that I was a practical agriculturist, I cultivated rape, to a large extent, and can in consequence thereof, and from knowledge otherwise gained, testify most assuredly, that in all Germany there is no plant yielding more honey than rape. I know of instances, occurring in my own experience, where a very populous colony of bees, during time when rape was in blossom, gained a weight of 20 pounds and over in one day.

“On the 10th of May, 1846, there was near me a 65-acre field in blossom. The weather was excellent, and my strongest colony, which I placed on a platform scale, gained that day more than 21 pounds in weight. I know of only one other plant that can be compared with rape as a honey-yielding plant, and that is esparet (=Sainfoin=).”

A Wisconsin beekeeper, writing in American Bee Journal the same year stated that rape in Wisconsin is scarcely second to linden. He described the honey as of golden color and good flavor. He further cited the fact that rape blooms about the middle of August, when there is little else, as a great advantage in cultivating it for its honey.

The few references to it in our literature indicate that it may be of more value to the beekeeper than is generally recognized.

RAPHANUS, see Radish.

RASPBERRY (Rubus). Also called THIMBLEBERRY.

The wild raspberry (=Rubus occidentalis=) is a very common plant in the woods of the Northeastern States. Mohr gives its natural range as New England to Quebec and Ontario, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado and Oregon, south to Ohio and West Virginia, and along the mountains to Georgia.

Ontario and other northern regions.]

There are several species of wild raspberries, and probably all are good honey producers. Raspberry honey is produced extensively in northern Michigan, where the plant is abundant on cut-over lands. It blooms following the tree fruits and is usually ahead of the white clover. In localities where it is plentiful it is a most valuable honey plant and phenomenal yields have sometimes been reported from this source. A good raspberry location is very desirable. Beekeepers who chance to be near large plantations of raspberries cultivated for market are equally fortunate. The honey is white and of a superior quality. Figure 117 shows a luxuriant growth of wild raspberry as it is found in many localities in Ontario.

RATTAN VINE (Berchemia scandens).

Rattan vine, or supple-Jack, is a common climbing vine in low thickets throughout the Southern States from Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri, south to Florida and eastern Texas. The flowers are greenish yellow, usually appearing in June. The plant is slender and of vigorous growth, frequently climbing high trees.

In east Texas it is one of the important sources of surplus honey. There the plant is abundant along the streams, and is reported as yielding honey for a long period. The author has found rattan vine highly regarded in many sections of the South, especially in Alabama.

Scholl states that the honey is dark amber in color and used mostly for manufacturing purposes.

RATTLE BOX or RATTLE WEED, see Loco Weed.

RATTLESNAKE-ROOT (Nabalus altissimus).

Rattlesnake root is listed by the late A. J. Cook as “which swarms with bees all the day long,” but the author can find so few references to it that it is probably of little importance.

RED BAY (Persea Borbonia).

Red bay, or Florida mahogany, is also known as tisswood, sweet bay and laurel-tree. This tree should not be confused with the magnolia, which is also called sweet bay. (See Magnolia). The alligator pear (=Persea persea=) is a near relative, which has been introduced from Central America and extensively cultivated for its fruit. It has run wild in some parts of Florida.

Red bay is reported as yielding surplus honey in considerable quantity, but of poor quality along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The honey is said to be very dark, suitable for baking purposes. Beekeepers report that the plant is quite dependable, but of limited range.

RED-BERRY, see Buckthorn.

RED BOX-TREE, see Eucalyptus.

leaves.]

RED-BUD (Cercis canadensis).

The red-bud, or Judas-tree (Fig. 118) is a common shrub or small tree in the Southeastern States. It is found occasionally from western Pennsylvania to southern Michigan, southern Iowa and Nebraska south to western Florida and east to Texas. It grows along streams and in the woodlands where the soil is moist and rich. In Alabama it blooms late in February, and in southern Iowa in April. The rose-pink blossoms appearing in early spring, before the leaves are out, make the tree very conspicuous during the blooming period. Where the tree is abundant it furnishes a liberal pasture for the bees for early spring brood rearing. Blooming so early, it is rarely the source of surplus. In the northern part of its range it often blooms with fruit trees and dandelion, so that it is not as important as farther south.

There is another species in south Texas and Mexico which blooms in March, the Texan red-bud (=Cercis reniformis=), and one, the western redbud (=Cercis occidentalis=), which occurs in the mountains of California and occasionally in Utah.

The red-bud is also known as salad-tree, or June-bud.

RED CLOVER (Trifolium pratense).

There have been so many conflicting statements regarding the question as to whether or not the honeybee is able to secure honey from red clover (=Trifolium pratense=) that it has seemed worth while to investigate the subject with some care. There have been so many reports of honey from this source, that it is desirable to learn whether the honey did come from red clover, or whether the beekeepers have been mistaken, and some explanation of the confusion is necessary. There is no question but that the plant secretes nectar in abundance, but since the corolla tubes are much longer than the tongues of the bees, they are unable to reach it under ordinary conditions. It is a well-known fact that plants behave very differently under different climatic conditions, so an effort has been made to secure evidence from as many localities as possible, and from a great variety of conditions.

In Iowa the writer has sometimes found bees working freely on red clover in extremely dry seasons. At such times the bees were apparently getting some nectar, although it could not be detected in the hive. However, one year, Mr. C. H. True, of Edgewood, Iowa, had on exhibition at the State Fair, a generous quantity of honey which he thought was secured from red clover. It was slightly tinted with red, and had a flavor different from white or alsike clover honey. The explanation often given is that in dry seasons the florets are somewhat dwarfed, and because of the shorter tube the bee is able to reach the honey. Dr. L. H. Pammel, botanist at the Iowa College of Agriculture, has made a special study of bees and red clover under Iowa conditions. After having many measurements made, he has reached the conclusion that the effect on the length of the corolla tube, as a result of drought, is so slight that the bee would not be able to reach the nectar from this cause. He goes on record as follows:

“I have for several years closely observed honeybees and red clover, and from these observances I am still inclined to the opinion, earlier expressed, that honeybees do not get nectar from the flowers of the red clover, notwithstanding the opinion of many beekeepers in Iowa.”--Third report Iowa State Bee Inspector.

At the 1917 Convention of the Illinois Beekeepers, Mr. Frank Bishop, of Virden, reported that one season he secured an average of 100 pounds per colony from red clover. According to his statement, there was no other bloom within reach at that time. He further stated that he visited the red clover fields, investigated the matter carefully, and was fully satisfied that red clover was the source of the honey.

So many reports from well-known beekeepers are to be found in our literature, that it seems worth while to quote several of them, together with the place where the reference is to be found. Mr. Wm. McEvoy, of Woodburn, Ontario, wrote to Gleanings in Bee Culture, page 468, 1907, as follows:

“In September, 1905, I extracted over 3,000 pounds of pure red clover honey, after giving the bees plenty to winter on. This honey was a light amber color, and good in flavor, and sold for the same price as honey gathered from white clover. My bees being Italians, worked well on the second crop of red clover, which was not injured by the midge in my locality, in 1905, on account of the first crop being cut early.”

Adrian Getaz, of Knoxville, Tenn., makes the following contribution to the subject in Gleanings, page 660, 1909:

“In regard to bees gathering nectar from red clover, several opinions have been advanced. Generally, it is supposed, that, owing to dryer weather, the second crop has blossoms with shorter corollas, and that the bees can reach the nectar on that account. Another theory is that the nectar is more abundant, and fills up the corollas better, and thus comes within reach of the bees. A German apiarist a few years ago undertook to settle the matter, and spent a part of the summer lying down in the clover fields to see how it was. He reported that very few insects take the nectar through the corollas; but some kinds cut a hole near the bottom and help themselves through it. The hole once made, a number of insects, including bees, take advantage of it; and if the bees do not work on the first crop, it is because there are few hole-boring insects present.”

Here follows a brief report with nothing to indicate whether the bees were seeking nectar or pollen:

“Last year was very dry and there was scarcely any white clover in blossom here; but the bees went fairly wild on the red clover, and it was the first crop, too.”--J. F. Brady, Deerfield, Minn. Gleanings, page 149, 1911.

That the subject is not new will be found by examining the files of the bee magazines of many years ago. Apparently, it has been a controverted subject since beekeeping has been followed seriously in America. In the first volume of the American Bee Journal, page 228, 1861, we find the following:

“I noticed in August and the beginning of September, while the bees were gathering honey from buckwheat, that they obtained pollen of a brownish color from some source. On investigating the matter, I found that they collected it from red clover. This somewhat surprised me, as I had never seen them gathering honey from the red clover to such an extent, particularly while other forage was plenty. * * * I have also noticed that the bees visited only those heads that were imperfect, the tubes being shorter in consequence.”

The principal interest attached to the above is the statement that the bees visited only the imperfect blossoms. On page 9 of the same volume is a statement somewhat similar, reported in one of the German journals, of Italian bees getting honey from red clover, in 1858. It is said that the season was very dry and the blossoms somewhat smaller as a result.

In 1899, page 15, American Bee Journal, we find another report of bees working on it in dry weather:

“My bees work more or less on it almost every year during hot and dry weather, but it does not produce as fine honey as white clover; when candied it is coarser grained, and has a water-soaked appearance. I wish that my bees would let it alone, for we have plenty of white clover when the red is in bloom.”--Fred Bechle, Poweshiek County, Iowa.

Again, on page 27 of the same issue, Theo. Rehorst, of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, reports:

“The mammoth red clover produces good honey and all our honeybees can reach the nectar, although the corolla is far longer and deeper than the common red clover. I never saw any honey from common red clover; only thin, red stuff, thin as water.”

In 1903, E. E. Hasty, of Ohio, wrote, in the American Bee Journal, that while he admitted that bees worked on red clover at times, he was extremely doubtful about their ability to get much honey from it. The same doubt has been expressed by numerous observers from time to time, the usual explanation being that the bees are gathering pollen, rather than nectar.

On page 49 of the 1903 volume of the American Bee Journal is reported an interesting case of honeydew from red clover. Since it is the only case of the kind found in all the literature consulted it is quoted quite fully:

“For about ten days my bees have been bringing in honey from the second crop of red clover. Now this is nothing remarkable, for I have seen them doing so for more than twenty years past; but recently, passing through a field of red clover in bloom, I stopped to watch them, and, to my surprise, found them working, not on the blossoms, but on the leaves. This, I confess, I had never seen before. On closer examination I found the clover leaves covered with small plant lice, and the under leaves covered with honeydew, very similar to that frequently found on the leaves of the hickory, oak and other trees, though the honey is not so dark-colored as from leaves of trees.”

On page 839 of the American Bee Journal for 1906 is found a rather convincing discussion of the subject of honey from red clover. It was at a convention of the National Association, and several men of wide reputation took part in the discussion, and testified to the fact that they had secured surplus from red clover. Hutchinson stated that he had secured 500 pounds from red clover at a time when there was nothing else in bloom, and that it was a light amber or dark white color. Messrs. Townsend, Stone, Davenport and others agreed that they had secured red clover honey, Townsend reporting as much as 2,000 pounds stored in two weeks’ time.

The subject is discussed at length in Bulletin No. 46 of the New Zealand Department of Agriculture, by Isaac Hopkins, whose experience in this connection is interesting. We quote him in part:

“In my early days of beekeeping it was a moot point whether Italian bees worked on red clover or not. At this time I had a unique opportunity of testing the matter thoroughly, an opportunity which would rarely occur; therefore, I feel myself on safe ground when dealing with Italian bees and red clover.

“For five years (1882-87), I was located on the late J. C. Firth’s estate at Matamata, where I started large bee farms. My bees, which were chiefly Italians, were near to thousands of acres of red clover. * * * Now and again we saw a few here and there gathering pollen from the blossoms, and sometimes a good deal of pollen from red clover was brought in when, no doubt, it was scarce elsewhere.

“In order to make a thorough test, I shifted, on one occasion, a number of strong two-story colonies to the center of a 700-acre paddock of red clover. The first crop had been cut for hay, and the second crop flowers were just opening. There was no ordinary bee forage anywhere near. After the fourth day, I examined the hives and found from the odor that came from them on removing the covers that some nectar had been gathered from the surrounding clover. I also observed that some clover pollen had been stored.

“There were two seasons out of the five when my bees worked more freely on the red clover than in others. In these seasons it was noticeable that myriads of small-sized moths flitted about the clover, while they were rarely seen at other times. I was much interested, and in casting about for a reason, I became satisfied, after very many tests, that the red clover was secreting at times much more nectar than usual, and it may have been that it reached a higher level in the tubes on these occasions, and so came within reach of the tongues of the bees. Be that as it may, some red clover nectar was gathered from second crop flowers in these seasons.”

While the different observers are by no means agreed as to the reason why the bees are able to get nectar from red clover on occasion, the testimony is very closely agreed upon the fact that it is only from the second crop, and in hot and dry seasons, that the bees are able to store honey from this source. So many widely-known men come forward with the positive statement that they have been able to secure surplus honey from red clover, that we can hardly question the fact that honey is sometimes stored from this plant. Whether the corollas are punctured by other insects, the tubes are shortened by drought or the nectar rises higher in the tube, remains to be proven.

RED GAURA (Gaura coccinea).

The red gaura, also called ragged lady, is common from Montana to Arizona and Texas. It is much sought by the bees for both nectar and pollen. Its nectar secretion is abundant, but it is not sufficiently common to be important. A good stimulant.

RED GUM, see Eucalyptus.

RED-HAW, see Hawthorne.

RESEDA ODORATA, see Mignonette.

RETAMA (Parkinsonia aculeata).

Retama is a small tree common throughout southern and western Texas. It has slender branches, bearing the yellow petaled flowers in axillary racemes. It is frequently mentioned as a source of nectar by Texas beekeepers. Scholl states that the bees work on it more or less all summer. Like many Texas shrubs, it has a habit, of blooming at irregular periods, from spring till September.

RHODE ISLAND--Honey Sources of.

The sources of honey in Rhode Island grouped in the order of their appearance are willows, maples and other less numerous trees, which furnish bees with the early supply of pollen and honey, so useful and so needful in building up the bee population preparatory to the harvest in which the beekeeper shares.

Next come the fruit blossoms, plum, peach, cherry, pear, apple, raspberries, huckleberries and blueberries which, when the spring is favorable, yield good crops of honey. In some places, dandelions are an important addition to the fruit bloom, though not always opening at the same time. In several parts of the State there are large areas of locust. This blooms the latter part of May, and when conditions favor, yields for about eight days a heavy water-white honey. The clovers usually follow this, but are of consequence only under favorable conditions of rainfall, save in a few sections where soil conditions afford abundant moisture.

In many sections sumacs furnish the next crop, and where they are sufficiently abundant the beekeeper may rightly look for a good crop of a very fair honey.

In some of the more swampy and less settled sections, button bush, clethra (sweet pepper bush) and clematis yield a white and highly-flavored honey, that from clematis being of the very highest quality. But the yield from these plants is irregular, in some years being almost absent.

In some of the villages and cities the European lindens are numerous and yield heavily. The bloom ceases toward the end of the clover flow, though the time of flowering of different trees in the same neighborhood varies greatly. Native linden, basswood, is now found only in a few places. The season closes with the goldenrods and asters, which yield a rich, aromatic honey which, though not acceptable to many persons, commands a fancy price from others. The crop from these two sources is not always to be depended upon, being more affected by the weather than some of the others.--Arthur C. Miller, Bulletin, State Board of Agriculture.

RHODODENDRON, see Azalea.

RHUS, see Sumac.

RICHARDIA, see Mexican Clover.

ROBINIA, see Locust.

ROCKBRUSH (Eysenhardtia amorphoides).

Rockbrush is a small shrub common to southern and western Texas, and extending into Mexico. It blooms after heavy rains, several times during the year, and yields honey in surplus quantity. It is reported frequently throughout the region south and west of San Antonio to the Rio Grande.

=Colubrina Texensis=, an entirely different shrub, which is common from the Colorado River to the Rio Grande and west to New Mexico, is also known by the name of rockbrush. It is reported as yielding both pollen and nectar, but not as a source of surplus honey.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN BEE PLANT (Cleome integrifolia).

The Rocky Mountain bee plant, also known as stinking clover (Fig. 120), is principally confined in its distributions to the plains region west of the Missouri River. It is also reported from north Pacific Coast States. While it is a dry land plant, it is occasionally reported from Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. Although it is occasionally seen elsewhere, the author has not seen it in Iowa excepting on the Missouri River bluffs, where it is plentiful in some localities. This plant is reported as especially valuable in Colorado, where it is said to produce considerable quantities of honey.

It is an annual with large, showy, pink or purple flowers. At one time there was much interest in this plant on the part of eastern beekeepers who tried to introduce it by sowing seed. At the Michigan Agricultural College a small field was planted to ascertain whether it could be grown profitably for honey alone. As no plant has as yet proven to be sufficiently valuable to justify its cultivation for this purpose exclusively, it is not surprising that the Rocky Mountain bee plant did not prove to be an exception. It is acrid and pungent and said to be distasteful to animals, which seldom eat it. If the plant had any value for any purpose besides honey production, an effort to extend the area of the distribution might succeed, but the introduction of plants that are essentially weeds in their nature seldom meets with favor.

According to Frank Rauchfuss, the cleome is erratic in its yield. If there is a wet spring the seeds germinate early. When this is followed with good rains in June the plants are vigorous and spreading in their growth and each will have many blossoms. One year he extracted an average of 116 pounds per colony from a ten-days’ flow. The honey is white in color, with a greenish tinge. It has a rather sickening flavor when fresh, but improves with age. When pure it is a first quality honey. It is rare that a good crop is secured from his source.

The plant thrives best on sandy and gravelly soils.

ROMAN CANDLE, see Yucca.

ROSE (Rosa).

There are many species of roses of wide distribution. They yield pollen abundantly and are frequently valuable, in localities where they bloom when pollen is scarce. There are numerous reports of rose honey, but in most cases the observer has probably mistaken the object of the bees when working on the flowers. Several competent observers credit the Cherokee rose as a source of nectar. (See Cherokee Rose.)

“Some time ago quite a discussion was brought about by the assertion of Gaston Bonnier, that one never saw bees upon roses, no matter how colored or how fragrant. Dr. Miller replied that he had often seen them upon the crimson ramblers and that they even tore the buds open.

“The magazine ‘L’Abeille de l’Aube,’ in its August number quotes the different assertions which were made upon the subject since then in Europe.

“Mr. Bonnier came back with the assertion that the bees were only hunting pollen, for, according to him, there is no nectar in roses.

“Joan Ruppin, of Fountenay-Aux-Roses, saw his bees take pollen on the roses, but never any nectar.

“A. Martinot saw the bees often on the crimson ramblers and on other similar roses, never on the double flowers.

“Mr. Pitrat believes they find both nectar and pollen on the simple flowers.

“Louis Rosseil, Consul of Belgium in Athens, says that in the Island of Eubia, the bees work upon fields of roses and produce a white honey much esteemed.”--American Bee Journal, October, 1912.

Beekeepers in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and on the Pacific Coast report that their bees get honey from roses.

ROSIN WEED, see Cup Plant, also Gum Weed.

ROYAL PALM, see Palm.

RUBUS, see Raspberry.

RUDBECKIA, see Coneflower.

RUSSIAN OLIVE, see Oleaster.

S

SABAL, see Palmetto.

SAGE (Salvia).

When sage is mentioned, we of the east are likely to think of the common garden sage (=Salvia officinalis=), which for at least three centuries has been cultivated for its aromatic leaves. Of this there are several varieties, some with broad and some with narrow leaves. The garden sages are good honey plants, but seldom sufficiently abundant to amount to much as honey producers. The honey from the garden sage is said to be nice and white like that from catnip or motherwort.

The name sage is derived from its supposed power to make people wise by strengthening the memory, for which it was used in ancient medicine.

There are upwards of five hundred species of sages, widely distributed in the temperate and warmer regions of both hemispheres. Probably most of the species yield honey, although but few are known to be important. Rayment mentions the wild sage (=Salvia verbenacea=) as introduced into Australia from Europe, but now yielding honey during the dry months of the year. (Money in bees in Australasia.) There are more than two hundred species known to occur in Mexico and Central America and it is very probable that when beekeeping is developed on a commercial scale in those countries, the sages will be found to be very important honey plants.

Since practically all sage honey that goes to market in America is from California, the sages from that State are of first importance. Sage is known to occur in other Western States and the question is sometimes asked whether any honey is secured from this source elsewhere. In answer to this question Mr. J. E. Miller, of Caldwell, Idaho, writes, in Gleanings in Bee Culture (September 15, 1908), as follows:

“My neighbor, Mr. Garfield, experimented with one colony of bees by taking it eight or nine miles away from alfalfa or other cultivated fields, and setting it among the white sage. He went out to look after it every week and took fresh water. We do not know the exact amount of honey the bees gathered, but they did fully as well as those left at home near the alfalfa. The honey was of that water-white color peculiar to California sage honey. Mr. Garfield sent samples to California and it was pronounced A-1 white sage; so we are convinced that the white sage of Idaho does yield just as much and just as good honey as that of any other State.”

It is probable that one or more species of sage occur in nearly every State, but they increase in abundance westward. In the arid country west of the Missouri River they become sufficiently common so that an appreciable amount of honey might be expected in many localities. It is quite likely that sage honey in small amounts is mixed with honey from other sources, and so not detected, in many many localities outside of California. The fact remains, nevertheless, that sage, as an important source of surplus, is not reported outside of that State.

The quality of sage honey is of the best, being water-white in color, of a heavy body and delightful flavor. Since it does not granulate, it is much sought for by bottlers in the east, who blend it with clover or alfalfa. There are many who regard sage honey as the finest in the market. In this connection A. I. Root, in an early edition of his A B C of Bee Culture, wrote:

“I well remember the first taste I had of the mountain sage honey. Mr. Langstroth was visiting me at the time, and his exclamations were much like my own, only that he declared that it was almost identical in flavor with the famed honey of Hymettus, of which he had received a sample some years ago. Well, this honey of Hymettus, which has been celebrated both in prose and poetry for ages past, was gathered from the mountain thyme, and the botany tells us that thyme and sage are closely related.”

Although there are several species of sage which yield honey in California, the quality does not differ materially, as far as can be ascertained from printed reports. It is all described as “water-white, unexcelled flavor, of heavy body and does not granulate.”

Prof. A. J. Cook wrote to the American Bee Journal (June 21, 1906) concerning the sage as follows:

“Chief among the honey-bearing mints are the incomparable sages of California. These are not excelled even by the clovers or linden. The honey is white, delicate of flavor, and must ever rank among the best in appearance and quality. Not only this, but the quantity is often phenomenal. This comes from the fact that flowers are borne in long racemes of compact heads, and as the separated flowerets do not bloom all at once, but in succession, the plants are in bloom for weeks. The sages, then, are marvelous honey producers, first, because of the generous secretions of each flowerlet, and second, because of the immense number of these flowerlets and the long period of bloom.”

Pacific Coast.]

At another time Mr. Cook wrote that the honey from all sages is so much alike that it would be indistinguishable.--American Bee Journal, August 3, 1905.

Richter, in his Honey Plants of California, speaks of the white sage (=Salvia apiana=) Jep., as “very common on the dry plains toward the foothills, and ascending these to about 3,000 feet.” (Fig. 121).

Writing in Gleanings in Bee Culture, P. C. Chadwick describes a journey which he made in the San Bernardino Mountains with the intent to find out the highest elevation at which bloom could be found in sufficient quantities to support bees. Up to an elevation of 7,000 feet he found white sage in abundance, and all alive with bees. (Western Honey Bee, September, 1914.) Richter gives its range as common from Santa Barbara County southward, blooming from April to July. “As abundant as the black sage, but not as good a yielder, nor has the honey as fine a flavor.”

Black sage (=Salvia mellifera=), Greene, also known as ball sage, or button sage (Fig. 122), is generally credited as being the principal source of sage honey, most of the honey which goes to market under the name of white sage being produced from this plant. Quite probably it is the best honey plant on the Pacific Coast. Richter says of it: “As a general rule, every fifth year an excellent crop is obtained, and every third or fourth year a total failure is experienced, the flow being dependent upon winter rains, with warm spring quite free from cold winds and fog. When in bloom a certain amount of warm weather is required before it produces nectar.”

The range of black sage is given as “Mt. Diablo, Los Trampas Ridge, near Hayward, San Mateo County, Glenwood and Brieta, southward to southern California. April-May.” (Jepson). “Coast ranges and ascending to 5,000 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains. March to June. San Diego County, February to May.”

Mr. J. E. Pleasants, of Orange, California, writing in American Bee Journal (June, 1914) describes the peculiarities of the sages as follows:

“The black sage is king of them all. When climatic conditions are favorable I think black sage can be relied upon to produce more ‘gilt edge’ than any other plant in the West, and for body and flavor it is hard to excel. It blooms for weeks. The blossom is small and inconspicuous, but what a flow of nectar it can yield.

“The white sage is a much prettier plant. Its soft, grey leaves and tall blossom spikes make it quite showy, while its pleasing aromatic odor breathes the very essence of wild perfumes. But this queenly plant is much more inconstant than its plainer sister. Some years it produces a good harvest, others very light.

“The silver or purple sage, which has silvery leaves and brilliant light purple blossoms, is usually a good producer, but is much restricted as to locality.”

The purple sage (=Salvia leucophylla=) (Fig. 123), also called white-leaved sage, or silver sage, is reported as a good yielder, although not as abundant as either of the foregoing species. The Richter catalog gives the range as occasional in the foothills of the Santa Monica and San Fernando Mountains, April to July, and from San Luis Obispo to San Diego Counties and not extending inland beyond the coast ranges.

=Salvia amabilis=, loving sage, is reported from Santa Barbara, March-June, but probably not important.

=Salvia carduacea=, thistle or annual sage. “Inner coast range valleys and throughout the San Joaquin Valley, southern California, June.” (Jepson). “A well-known honey plant.” (Richter).

=Salvia columbariae=, annual sage. “Throughout the coast ranges, Sierra Nevada and southern California, on hill and mountain slopes.” (Jepson).

=Salvia sonomensis=, Greene, creeping sage. “Montana species at middle altitudes. Ramona Mountains west of Calistoga, Mt. Shasta, Calaveras and Mariposa Counties, San Diego County. May.” (Jepson). “Also June, Sierra foothills from Sierra to Inyo Counties, main source of honey in many districts.” (Richter).

Concerning the regularity of yield from sage, Mr. P. C. Chadwick wrote in Gleanings in Bee Culture (January 1, 1911), as follows:

“South of the Tehachapi Mountains lies practically the entire sage of our State, notwithstanding eastern people and many of our westerners term every form of small growth on the vast slopes of the Rocky Mountains “sage brush.” There is no denying that the button (or black) sage is, of all honey plants, our chief surplus producer. Neither does it average a crop more often than every other year, regardless of rainfall, for it seems necessary, from its semi-arid nature, to be dried out or rested before it comes back to its prime yielding condition. I have seen it return some surplus for three consecutive seasons; but the middle season was not what could be considered a crop, even after a sufficient rainfall.”

Again he writes to the same journal to the effect that the sage ranges soon give place to other crops (Dec. 15, 1911):

“If I should predict that thirty years hence the sage ranges of California would be almost a thing of the past there would doubtless be criticism of my views; but I firmly believe that we shall face such a condition, for emigration to this part of California is increasing rapidly. Hillsides are yielding to the plow, where twenty years ago it would have been thought almost impossible.”

Some writers give two hundred pounds per colony as a fair average in a good sage year, so that with even one good year in three it comes well up with the yield of many plants more constant in their production.

SAINFOIN or ESPARCET (Onobrychis sativa).

Sainfoin is grown to a limited extent in Canada, and although given numerous trials in various parts of the United States, has not, till the present, succeeded in establishing itself successfully. It is a splendid forage crop, somewhat similar to alfalfa, and is an important source of nectar in Italy and other parts of Europe.

Several years ago it was given an enthusiastic endorsement as a honey plant for America by John Fixter, at that time apiarist at the Central Experiment Farms at Ottawa, Canada. A test plot at the Farms proved so attractive to the bees that it attracted much attention on the part of eastern beekeepers. He reported that it yielded nectar in the morning and that the bees began work upon it fully an hour before they did on alsike or white clover. A further advantage was stated to be that the first bloom came between fruit bloom and white clover and the later bloom at a time when there was a dearth from other sources. On plots side by side he reported that there would be something like a hundred bees on the sainfoin to ten on the white clover.

In spite of the glowing accounts of its value and a general attempt to boom the plant, it failed to succeed. It should be remembered, however, that there was a general failure with alfalfa when first attempts were made to grow it in America, and it would seem worthy of further trial to see whether there are not sections better adapted to its growth.

The following article by C. P. Dadant, reprinted from the American Bee Journal, page 790, 1904, will give some information about the value of the plant in European countries:

“Sainfoin, otherwise called esparcet, is widely cultivated in Europe, especially in France. Its name, “sainfoin,” is French, and literally means “healthy hay”--sain-foin. It is a perennial, gives a splendid hay crop, and in some sections of the European continent it is a first-class honey-producer.

“The small province of France, formerly called “Gatinais,” is the leading producer of sainfoin honey. According to the best authorities, the honey of Gatinais has the reputation of being of the whitest color and sweetest taste, and is said to be in no way surpassed by white clover honey.

“Gaston Bonnier, the eminent professor who was President of the International congress of beekeepers at Paris in 1900, says in his book, the ‘Cours Complet d’Apiculture,’ that sainfoin honey is one of the best appreciated grades. He ranks it next only to the honey of the Alpine hills of eastern France and Switzerland.

“From immemorial times the honey crops of Gatinais have been considered as leading in the amount of production, and this was all credited to the sainfoin, which is grown there in immense quantities, somewhat as alfalfa is grown in the irrigated plains of the West. It was in Gatinais that the custom of inverting hives began, in order to secure the largest possible quantity of honey from the bees, regardless of future consequences. For that reason the beekeepers of Gatinais were compelled to replenish apiaries every season with bees brought from away, as their only aim was to secure the largest possible quantity of sainfoin honey during the short period of the bloom, and many of their bees perished the following winter.

“Although sainfoin has already been tried in the United States with unfavorable results, I believe it is worth while to try it again, especially in the countries where alfalfa succeeds so well. It might prove a useful honey plant.

“We must, however, not close our eyes to the fact that honey plants do not yield honey in the same proportion in all localities. White clover, which is the source of so large a crop of white honey in this country, is absolutely useless as a honey producer in some other countries. Edouard Bertrand, the editor of the Revue Internationale, told me positively that there never had been any white clover honey harvested in Switzerland by any of his friends, although it is quite common in the Swiss meadows.”

SALAD-TREE, see Red-Bud.

SALAL (Gaultheria shallon).

Salal is an evergreen shrub, one to five feet high, common from central California north to Washington. It grows abundantly in the redwood forests commonly covering the ground. The flowers occur in racemes three to six inches long and are pink or pinkish white.

It blooms with salmon-berry, wild blackberry and chittam, so the honey is seldom secured unmixed.

SALIX, see Willow.

SALMON BERRY or THIMBLE BERRY (Rubacer parviflorus).

The salmon berry or Thimble berry, also known as flowering raspberry, shown at Figure 124, is a well known honey plant on the Pacific Coast. It occurs along the coast from Alaska to Mexico. It also occurs in the mountains as far south as Colorado and New Mexico. It is a shrub with erect stem and red fruit. It is known to some extent in Ontario west to Dakota.

Salmon berry is frequently mentioned as a source of honey in the Pacific Northwest, especially in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.

SALT CEDAR (Tamarix gallica).

Scholl’s Bulletin lists the salt cedar as a source of honey in Texas. “Common European shrub which seems to have escaped in many places in Texas.” (Coulter). “On roadsides, in thickets and waste places in warmer parts of southern United States, naturalized from southern Europe.” (Small.) The author has reports of this plant being common in the vicinity of Corpus Christi, Texas. Reported also as a honey plant in places in California.

SANDVINE, see Bluevine.

SAPINDUS, see Wild China.

SASKATCHEWAN--Honey Sources of.

The sources of nectar, in the order of their importance, are fireweed, wolfberry, prairie flowers, alsike and white clover and Siberian pea-tree. Willows and maples for early brood rearing are important.--F. W. L. Sladen.

SASSAFRAS (Sassafras officinale).

Sassafras is an exceedingly well-known tree in the Southwestern States. It is known occasionally as far north as Ontario and Massachusetts southward to southeastern Iowa, eastern Kansas and south to the Brazos Valley in Texas. It is a conspicuous feature of the old fields of the southern plantations. It has spicy aromatic bark and mucilaginous buds and leaves which many people enjoy chewing. Oil of sassafras is distilled from the roots.

The flowers are small, yellow and inconspicuous, but are attractive to the bees. The writer has found occasional reports of bees working on sassafras in the Southern States. At Buffalo, Texas, it is reported as blooming about two weeks. H. B. Parks reports that it yields well in Missouri. The blooming period is early and short, hence its principal value is for spring brood rearing. It was blooming with willow on March 20, 1918, in Leon County, Texas, when the author visited that section, and the bees were apparently getting considerable nectar from sassafras at that time.

SATUREJA, see Wild Pennyroyal.

SAW PALMETTO, see Palmetto.

SCILLA.

The =Scilla siberica=, or Siberian squill, is an early blooming old world flower commonly naturalized in the grass of lawns, parks, etc., for ornamental purposes. It has small blue flowers which appear as soon as the ground is free from frost in the spring. The bees seek them eagerly and, coming at a time when little is to be had, they keep the bees busy on the few sunny days of early spring. Flower lovers will find this plant a desirable addition to their garden list. Aside from planting the bulbs no care is necessary. It will thrive in a stiff bluegrass sod, where few other plants would grow. It is only necessary to avoid cutting the grass till the plants have matured.

SCROPHULARIA, see Figwort.

SCRUB PALMETTO, see Palmetto.

SENSITIVE PEA, see Partridge Pea.

SHEEP LAUREL, see Laurel.

SHITTIM-WOOD, see Gum Elastic.

SHOESTRING VINE, see Bluevine.

SHRUBBY TREFOIL, see Hop-Tree.

to the bees in early spring.]

SIBERIAN SQUILL, see Scilla.

SILKWEED, see Milkweed.

SILPHIUM, see Cup Plant.

SILVERBERRY, see Oleaster.

SIMPSON’S HONEY PLANT, see Figwort.

SKUNK CABBAGE (Symplocarpus foetidus).

The skunk cabbage is found in wet places from Nova Scotia to North Carolina and west to Iowa. It receives its name from the strong odor which it gives off. Skunk cabbage is one of the very first plants to bloom as frost is leaving the ground in spring, and its principal value to the beekeeper comes from this early appearance. The late G. M. Doolittle wrote (Gleanings, 1909, page 200) that he had seen the bees gathering pollen from this plant when the temperature stood at 42 degrees. He stated further that he valued it more highly than any other pollen-yielding plant or tree, and that there was nothing with which he was familiar so eagerly sought by the bees, nor any source of pollen which so greatly stimulated brood rearing.

SMARTWEED, see Heartsease.

SNEEZEWEED, see Bitterweed.

SNOWBERRY (Symphoricarpos racemosus). WAXBERRY.

The snowberry is a low branching shrub with conspicuous white berries which hang on through most of the winter. It is of wide distribution in the Northern States from New England and Pennsylvania to the North Pacific Coast. It is also common in the hill country of much of California, in the White Mountains of New Mexico and in parts of Colorado and other mountain States. The blossoms are small and inconspicuous, but they are attractive to the bees, nevertheless. The snowberry is a valuable plant in many localities in the West, but is of special importance in Washington and British Columbia. There it is reported as blooming during the last half of June and well into July and as furnishing an important secondary flow. According to H. A. Scullen it is very important in northern Idaho and in Stevens County, Washington, the bees work upon it in preference to white clover.

Snowberry is a close relative of Indian currant and is illustrated in connection with that plant. (See Indian Currant).

SNOW-ON-THE-MOUNTAIN (Euphorbia marginata). SPURGE.

Snow-on-the-Mountain is a showy plant easily recognized by the white margined leaves. It is native from Minnesota to Montana and south to New Mexico and Texas. It is also cultivated for the peculiar foliage. It is probably nowhere important as a honey plant, and is of special interest from the fact that its nectar is so often reported as poisonous. (See Poisonous Honey.)

SNOWVINE or PEPPER-VINE (Cissus arborea).

The snowvine is a climbing vine with heart-shaped leaves, and berries the size of a pea, and which are edible. It is common in the low borders of woods and along streams from Virginia to southern Illinois and southward to Florida and eastern Texas. It is a relative of the cowitch. (See Cowitch). It is common in Alabama and Georgia from the central belt to the coast plain, where it begins to bloom in June. It is reported as being the source of considerable honey of fair quality.

SOAPBERRY, see Wild China.

SOAPBUSH (Guaiacum angustifolium).

The soapbush is native to the dry lands of south Texas and northern Mexico. It blooms after rains in both spring and fall. At Crystal City, Texas, it is reported as the source of the first honey in spring, coming in March. Beekeepers report that with very little moisture soapbush can be depended upon for honey and that it yields nectar every time it blooms. The honey is of fine quality, mild flavor and light color. The flow lasts from ten to fifteen days. (Fig. 126.) The soapbush has very hard wood, crooked and knotty branches and in places becomes a small tree and is known as lignum-vitae.

SOLIDAGO, see Goldenrod.

SORGHUM.

The sorghums are widely planted as forage crops. They yield pollen in great abundance and at times honeydew is gathered from this source, also.

SORREL-TREE, see Sourwood.

SOULARD CRAB APPLE, see Crab Apple.

SOUR-GUM, see Tupelo.

SOUR-TOP, see Blueberry.

SOURWOOD (Oxydendrum arboreum).

The sourwood tree reaches a height of thirty to forty feet and a diameter of twelve inches, on high lands, but seldom exceeds twenty feet in height on the low lands. It is a common tree from West Virginia to north Georgia and west to Arkansas. The white flowers grow in racemes and appear in July. It is sometimes called sorrel tree, because of the acidity of its leaves. The wood is soft and is not of much value except for light fuel.

Sourwood honey ranks high, both in quality and in quantity of yield. Many people regard it as the finest honey produced in America. It is light in color, of heavy body, fine flavor and slow to granulate. The bloom lasts from two to three weeks and comes in mid-summer, when bees have ample time to build up to maximum strength for the flow. Although sourwood honey is produced in limited areas in several States, North Carolina and eastern Tennessee probably contain the finest forests and remarkable yields are sometimes reported in this region. The crop from this source seldom fails and it is regarded as one of the most dependable sources of nectar. A lady beekeeper, writing from North Carolina, stated in the American Bee Journal that she had never known it to fail. An average of as high as 75 pounds per colony from sourwood has been reported and the local demand usually takes it all at prices above the open market.

SOUTH CAROLINA--Honey Sources of.

Willows, fruit blossoms, including such wild fruits as hawthorne, huckleberry and blackberry, furnish abundant nectar for early spring. Tulip-tree, sourwood and clover, persimmon, black-gum and holly are all good sources of nectar. Cotton may be expected to yield also on suitable soils. (See also North Carolina and Georgia for a longer list of plants likely to be of value in this State.)

SOUTH DAKOTA--Honey Sources of.

The best beekeeping territory in South Dakota is in the sweet clover districts in the southeastern part of the State. In this region large crops of fine honey are secured.

Maples and willows, dandelions and fruit blossoms start the bees off in the spring. White clover and alsike both yield well in the eastern part of the State. Sweet clover is important wherever grown and alfalfa is valuable in some localities. Heartsease is the principal source of honey in late fall. There are also many minor sources, such as are common to the Middle West.

SOUTHERN BUCKTHORN, see Coma.

SOUTHERN CRAB APPLE, see Crab Apple.

SOW THISTLE (Sonchus).

The sow thistles are weeds which are widely distributed from eastern Canada to Florida and from British Columbia to California. They are reported as valuable in east Texas, and Richter lists two species as yielding nectar in California. Probably seldom important.

SPANISH BAYONET, see Yucca.

SPANISH DAGGER, see Yucca.

SPANISH NEEDLE (Bidens).

The Spanish needles, also known as bootjacks, beggar ticks, stick tights and marigolds, are very widely distributed plants, and are of interest to the beekeepers from Nova Scotia to California. Most of the species are weeds growing commonly on low and swampy lands. Not all of them produce honey in appreciable quantity, and possibly some of them are not sought by the bees at all. Figure 128 shows =Bidens aristosa=, which has an attractive yellow flower and is most frequently mentioned as a source of honey. This is particularly valuable on the lowlands along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. During the seasons of 1915 and 1919 much honey was gathered from it.

Two species are reported among the honey plants of California by Richter, =B. frondosa= and =B. pilosa=. The former is one of the most widely-distributed species and closely resembles the one shown, but has a wider leaf. =Frondosa= is seldom reported as yielding nectar, and it is of doubtful value to the beekeeper.

Figure 127 shows the western bur-marigold (=B. involucrata=), which occurs from Illinois and Iowa south to Texas and Louisiana. This is reported as a good honey plant. This flower has no colored corolla, but is surrounded by greenish rays. August is the month of flowering with this species. The Spanish needles are all late bloomers, and where they occur yield nectar, and add something to the fall honey flow.

SPARKLE-BERRY, see Farkle-Berry.

SPICEWOOD, see Dogwood.

SPIDER PLANT (Cleome spinosa).

The spider plant is a close relative of the Rocky Mountain bee plant and very similar in habit. The spider plant had quite a boom among beekeepers of a few years ago. The seed was sold quite generally and planted in gardens, but as it is of no value except for honey and as an ornamental, its popularity soon declined and it is seldom mentioned of late. It secretes nectar abundantly and the bees work upon it freely just at nightfall, and again in early morning. It is a native of the tropics and has escaped and run wild in many places from North Carolina to Arkansas and Louisiana.

Much has been written about the remarkable secretion by this plant and the excitement it causes among the bees. Under favorable conditions it is one of the very best of honey plants and, if sufficiently common, would no doubt be the source of large quantities of surplus honey. There are reports to the effect that spider plant grows abundantly in neglected fields in some localities in southeastern Missouri and is there important. It is said to require a rich soil for best results in nectar secretion. A single blossom secretes nectar so freely that a bee often finds a drop larger than it can carry at one load.

SPIKEWEED (Centromadia pungens).

Spikeweed is a common plant in California, where its range is given by Jepson as follows:

“Abundant on the plains of the lower San Joaquin southward to southern California and westward to Walnut Creek and Alameda. On the alkaline plains of the upper San Joaquin this species covers tens of thousands of acres and often forms thickets four or five feet high. It is abundant in the low, more or less alkaline plains of Solano County and forms extensive colonies in summer fields. Extermination is often accomplished by means of bands of sheep, which leave the fields perfectly clean and destitute of this spikeweed pest.”--Flora of Western Middle California.

According to Richter, carloads of honey from spikeweed are shipped annually from Fresno County, the honey being of amber color, good quality and quick to granulate. He states that other plants are replacing spikeweed to such an extent that it is no longer of the importance which it was in the past.

SPOON-WOOD, see Laurel.

spring.]

SPRING BEAUTY (Claytonia Virginica).

The spring beauty is one of the early spring flowers common in open woodlands from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alaska and from New England west to Minnesota and Nebraska and south to Georgia and Arkansas. Appearing so early in spring it is much sought by the bees at a time when there is little of either nectar or pollen available. At a later season it would be of such slight value as to be hardly worthy of notice on the part of the beekeeper. Figure 129 shows a bee on the blossom of a spring beauty.

SPRUCE (Picea abies).

For years past there has been an occasional mention in our beekeeping literature of spruce honey, or of bees working on spruce. As far as the writer has been able to ascertain this is true only of the Norway spruce. Since the Norway spruce is not a native of this country, it is seldom found in considerable numbers except in the vicinity of cities, where it is planted freely for ornament. (Fig. 130.)

It was at the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph that the writer first saw the bees working on spruce to any extent. It was about June 12, and the bees were humming through these trees in large numbers. There are hundreds of these trees about the college grounds, and considerable honeydew seemed to be coming to the college apiary from this source. Honeydew is seldom desirable, as it is usually of poor quality and only serves to spoil the quality of good honey. However, this spruce honeydew seemed to be of rather better quality than is generally the case with honeydew, and, as it came ahead of the clover flow, was probably nearly all consumed for brood rearing.

For a time the writer was puzzled to know whether the bees were getting an exudation of sap from the tree, or were in fact getting honeydew. They were working on what appeared at first sight to be buds at the base of the new growth, but which under the microscope proved to be insects identified as =Physokermes picea=.

SPURGE, see Snow-on-the-Mountain.

SQUASH (Curcurbita maxim), also (C. moschata).

Squashes are widely cultivated for food. There are numerous varieties, but all are valuable sources of pollen and nectar. They secrete nectar freely, and where sufficiently abundant, a considerable quantity of honey is stored.

STAR THISTLE or KNAPWEED (Centaurea). BARNABY’S THISTLE.

There are several species of star thistles or knapweeds widely distributed. The yellow star thistle (=Centaurea solstitialis=) (Fig. 131) is an introduced species from Europe that occurs from Massachusetts and Ontario, west to Iowa. It is also common in parts of California. It is only from the latter State that it is reported as an important honey plant. According to C. D. Stuart (American Bee Journal, page 340, October, 1918), it furnishes from one-third to one-half of Butte County, California’s honey crop, an average of about sixty tons. Concerning the plant he writes as follows:

“Star thistle begins to bloom about the first of July and continues till frost, which usually comes between October 1 and November 1. The yield of nectar is slow but continuous. If it is stopped by drought it will start yielding nectar again after a rain. The plant has the faculty of existing in arid soils for long periods of drought, and when apparently dried up, it will start to grow and blossom after a rain. Some cattle growers find that thistle hay can be fed profitably when cut and dried like other hay, if it is moistened before feeding. The dampening of the fodder takes the sting out of the leaves and blossoms.

“Star-thistle honey is heavy-bodied, white, almost cloying in its sweetness as orange, and has a greenish yellow tinge, like olive oil. It is considered by large buyers equal in quality to any white honey in the State, and with the price at two cents a pound more than light amber of the alfalfa type, and still rising, beemen in northern California should worry.”

Richter lists Napa-thistle or tocalote (=Centaurea melitensis=) as yielding light amber honey of good flavor and fair body in Sacramento County, from May 15 to June 15. It is regarded as a bad weed and is abundant everywhere in fields and pastures. Like the foregoing, it has been disseminated with seed grain and grass seed. According to Richter, it does not yield nectar in southern California. Scholl lists American knapweed (=Centaurea Americana=) as not important in Texas.

STICKLEAF, see Mentzelia.

STICK-TIGHT, see Spanish Needle.

STINKING CLOVER, see Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.

STINKWEED, see Jackass Clover.

STONECROP (Sedum pulchellum).

Stonecrop is common from Virginia to Arkansas and south to Georgia. It is abundant in many localities and is reported to be a valuable honey plant in the South.

STORK’S BILL, see Pin Clover.

STRAWBERRY (Fragaria).

The wild strawberries are seldom sufficiently abundant to be of much value to the bees, but the cultivated varieties are grown in large plantations and are the source of both pollen and nectar. They bloom in early spring, for the most part, although some of the everbearing varieties continue to blossom through the summer. Strawberries, like most other fruits are of principal value to stimulate early brood rearing.

The bees are very important to the strawberry growers, as many varieties of strawberries are not self-pollinating or are deficient in stamens. The bees carry the pollen from the staminate blossoms to the pistils of the incomplete flowers.

STRINGY BARK, see Eucalyptus.

SUGAR GUM, see Eucalyptus.

SWEET CLOVER (Melilotus).

There are probably twenty species of melilotus native to the temperate regions of Europe and western Asia. Several have been introduced into America. Of these, two species, the white sweet clover (=Melilotus alba=) and the yellow sweet clover (=Melilotus officinalis=) are valuable plants and are widely distributed. The yellow variety blooms about two weeks earlier than the white and where both are present a long honey flow may be expected.

alba_).]

Sweet clover reaches the highest development in the secretion of nectar in the hot, dry summer climate of the plains region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. In the East, the surplus secured from this plant has been disappointing, and eastern men insist that sweet clover is overrated as a honey plant. However, those who have seen the big flows that are frequent along the Missouri River and westward are enthusiastic in its praise. In the region about Sioux City, Iowa, it is grown extensively as a farm crop. In this section an average of 200 pounds surplus per colony from sweet clover is not uncommon. On the limestone soils of Alabama and Mississippi it also yields freely and large yields are reported. In the irrigated regions of the West it is of great importance and beekeepers who ship sweet clover honey in carlots are not uncommon.

The quality of the honey is excellent. It is light in color and mild in flavor, although slightly peppery to the taste. It granulates more readily than white clover, but is regarded as of number one quality in the principal markets.

Sweet Clover as a Farm Crop

When our older readers were beginners in the beekeeping business it was a popular thing for the beekeepers to buy sweet clover seed and stealthily sow it along the roadsides. So general was this practiced that whenever the plant appeared in a new locality it was generally charged up to the beekeepers living nearby. So great was the prejudice against the plant that much ill-feeling developed in some places because of it. It even went so far that in some States it was placed on the list of noxious weeds and its eradication required by law. When Frank Coverdale, well-known Iowa farmer who did so much to popularize sweet clover, first sowed it in his own fields, neighbors called on the county attorney to enquire whether he could not be prosecuted for sowing weed seed. For a generation the beekeepers kept up the fight, and constantly preached that sweet clover was not a weed, but a valuable forage plant. It remained for men like Coverdale, who were both beekeepers and farmers, to prove the assertion and convince the unwilling public, by making as much profit from sweet clover pasture for forage as the neighbors could make from other farm crops.

It was on poor lands which had been worn out by bad tillage, that the plant made the best showing. When lands which had been lying idle, because no other crop could be raised profitably, were made to produce good yields of milk, butter and beef from sweet clover, the neighbors were inclined to give it a trial on their own poor lands. The change in sentiment has been very marked during the past few years and now the demand for sweet clover seed is greater than the supply, and will continue so for several years, since the area where it is being grown is constantly being enlarged. There are large areas where sweet clover is grown generally as a farm crop, in Kentucky, Nebraska and Kansas. The increased acreage of this plant will double the possibilities of honey production in most any locality, and in numerous instances will treble and quadruple it. In the early years of his experience, Coverdale kept bees in several outapiaries, so that much travel back and forth was necessary. Since sweet clover has become so generally grown in his locality, he is able to keep three hundred colonies in one yard in his orchard, where they are under his immediate care at all times. After traveling over much of the Central West, it has become apparent to the author that within a few years the beekeeping possibilities of parts of Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota will be almost inexhaustible because of the increase of this plant. On visiting Falmouth, Ky., I was amazed at the stories they told of what sweet clover had done for that region. One of the pioneer growers was E. E. Barton, and his experience with it sounded like a fairy tale. Mr. Barton said that following the civil war, most of Pendleton County was given over to tobacco growing, with little live stock, and not much rotation of crops. It was a hill country, and although it had a fertile soil over a clay subsoil, the heavy rains soon washed away the shallow surface soil, and one farm after another was abandoned. Hundreds of farms were abandoned, and many of them were sold for taxes, because no buyers could be found. More than a third of the population left the county, and the farmers who remained had hard lines to make ends meet. Sweet clover was stealthily sowed, probably by beekeepers intent on increasing the bee pasturage. At first it was regarded with disfavor and fought as a dangerous weed.

Mr. Barton came into possession of a farm, somewhat against his will, because the owner could not pay the mortgage. He tried renting it, and the tenant was unable to make a living, much less pay the rent. After it had been abandoned, he went to great trouble to keep down the weeds, especially sweet clover. Then came a year of drought, when there was very little feed for the cattle, and they were turned into the roads to graze. Even there there was but little except the sweet clover, which was by this time rather common along the roadsides. It was soon noticed that the cows were eating the sweet clover with relish and doing well. Then somebody tried an experiment by sowing it in a field. It thrived, the cows liked it, and the milk flow was increased. Mr. Barton by this time was quite ready to profit by the experience, and within five years the farm which would not grow grass was producing good crops. He bought more abandoned farms and sowed them to sweet clover, and his neighbors began to do likewise. One by one the farmers came back to their abandoned farms, new settlers came in, and everybody began to grow sweet clover. Now there are fifty thousand acres of it in that county. Ask any farmer you meet on the streets of Falmouth what he thinks of sweet clover and he will tell you such tales of rebuilt fortunes from a combination of dairy cows and sweet clover as you never expect to hear. There are now shipped from the county about half a million pounds of seed yearly, besides thousands of dollars’ worth of dairy products every week. They find that an average of 300 to 600 pounds of hulled seed per acre can be secured from the white variety and 500 to 700 pounds of the yellow. An average yield of from $40 to $100 per acre is the return from the sweet clover, according to local reports picked up on the streets. Now one finds evidences of prosperity on every hand. The farmers have fine homes, automobiles, and money in the bank.

Soil Requirements.

There is no forage plant that will succeed on such a wide range of soil conditions as will sweet clover. It will succeed under unfavorable conditions on the heaviest clays and on light sand. It will grow on hardpan and on gravelly and stony land unsuited for general cultivation. It does well on soils too wet for either alfalfa or red clover and on soils so dry that neither of these will succeed. It will grow on land so poor and devoid of humus that no other clover or grass will grow. It is the greatest soil builder known, and now that the public has finally accepted the fact that it is not a noxious weed, it will shortly be used to redeem untold thousands of acres of otherwise waste land. It grows all the way from sea level to the mountain sides, and is spreading in the semi-arid sections of Colorado and other Western States, where the annual rainfall is very light.

In the October, 1917, number of the American Bee Journal has been told the story of the sweet clover region of Alabama and Mississippi. In those States sweet clover has spread over thousands of acres of land which had been abandoned for agricultural purposes; and it is not only furnishing abundant pasturage to the bees, but is restoring the fertility of these worn-out plantations.

The growth of the plant, however, is no longer confined to the roadsides and worn-out fields, but farmers are growing it successfully and profitably on lands worth $300 per acre in Iowa and Illinois, because it pays them to do so. In some cases the railroad companies have discovered that sweet clover growing along the right of way is the best possible insurance against erosion of the roadbed. A heavy growth of sweet clover protects the banks from the washing of heavy rains, as no other plant will do. In places, one can see a continuous strip of sweet clover for miles and miles along the railroads. It would seem the part of wisdom for the beekeepers’ associations to bring this fact to the attention of the men in charge of keeping the lines in repair wherever possible. Once established along the railroads, it is bound to spread more or less along the byroads and into the fields, thus increasing the supply of forage within reach of the bees.

One of the most useful purposes which sweet clover serves is to smother out obnoxious weeds. So persistent is the plant where sowed in waste places that there are few weeds which can compete with it. Where bad weeds are present in old lots, along roadsides, etc., the easiest way to eradicate them is by sowing sweet clover freely. Within a few years the sweet clover will generally crowd them out. In spite of this fact, sweet clover itself is one of the easiest plants to destroy. Since it only lives two years and must come again from the seed after that time, all that is necessary to clear the ground of sweet clover is to cut it low when in blossom and before the seeds are formed.

Where there is difficulty in establishing alfalfa, sweet clover is often grown in advance to establish the nitrogen-gathering bacteria, which are peculiar to the leguminous plants. Following sweet clover, there is usually little difficulty in getting the alfalfa to grow, if the seed bed is carefully prepared. However, many farmers who have been growing both plants, are of the opinion that sweet clover is the more profitable of the two, and that it can be handled successfully with less difficulty.

There is no pasture crop which will support as many cattle or other live stock as will sweet clover during the second season of its growth. A small experimental plot of little more than an acre yielded two big loads of hay. The plants were permitted to get a good start after the hay was cut before pasturing, then two cows and a horse were turned in for the rest of the season. In addition to furnishing an abundant pasture for three, more than twenty bags of seed were secured. Allowing $15 per ton for hay, $1 a month per head for pasture, and $3 a bag for the seed, all very conservative figures, the crop returned about $96 per acre. While this small plot was experimental, there are numerous farmers who have received more than $100 an acre for seed alone.

Cultural Requirements.

It frequently happens that, having seen sweet clover growing along the roadsides, on gravelly banks and other unpromising situations, we are surprised to fail in getting a stand in a well prepared field. Sweet clover requires a firm seed bed, and will not succeed on land where the soil has been deeply stirred and left in a loose condition. It is well to scratch the surface with a tool that does not penetrate deeply, leaving the surface loose for an inch or so, and compact below. While it will succeed on a great variety of soils, it requires that they be in a well settled condition and not freshly plowed to a depth of several inches, such as best suits many forage plants. This condition probably accounts for more failures in getting a stand of sweet clover than any other cause.

Sowing the seed on top of the ground or on the snow in winter, will often secure a good stand with no cultivation at all. Good results often come from sowing it with small grain in spring, on land that has been cultivated the previous season. Some succeed by sowing after the last cultivation of corn, the seed germinating to some extent the same season, while some does not sprout until the following spring. The ideal condition is to cover the seed from half an inch to an inch with finely pulverized soil, with a firm soil underneath.

Time of Sowing.

Sweet clover may be sowed in the winter or early spring, as above stated, or at any time from March until August. It should not be seeded when it is likely to start so late that it will not have time to establish itself firmly before winter. Under the different conditions of soil and climate of this great country, it is difficult to give general directions that will apply everywhere.

The time of sowing will depend much upon the manner in which the crop is to be handled. Where it is desired to sow the seed on old meadows or pastures without plowing, it will probably be best to scatter it in winter or early spring. The freezing and thawing have a tendency to soften the hard coat of the seed, as well as to cover it with earth. As a field crop, the writer’s limited experience would indicate that spring sowing, with a nurse crop that can be cut early, will be best, though winter seeding on stubble should bring good results.

There is a great diversity of opinion as to the proper amount of seed to sow. Where it is used to thicken up meadows or pastures a smaller amount is needed than where sown as a field crop on newly prepared land. Some growers say that 4 pounds of good unhulled seed per acre is sufficient to sow on grass lands. As high as 20 pounds of hulled seed per acre is advocated by some for a field crop. The seed covering is very hard, and, unless treated, only about half of it will grow the first year. If the seed is scarified, the hard coat is scratched until it germinates readily, and much less seed is necessary to secure a stand than otherwise. Ten pounds of hulled and scarified seed per acre should be sufficient on good land.

It is often difficult to get a stand on old land which is deficient in lime, for lack of the nitrogen-gathering bacteria that thrive on the roots of clovers. It is sometimes necessary to treat a small area with a good coat of manure, and sometimes with crushed lime. After the sweet clover is growing well on this land the area can be gradually extended.

Utilizing the Crop.

Probably there is no forage crop which will furnish as much pasture per acre as will sweet clover in its second year of growth. It should be allowed to get a good start in spring before stock is turned in, and the area should be sufficiently large for the animals thus kept. Cattle, hogs and horses all eat it with relish after they become familiar with it, and thrive equally on it. It is a common practice to pasture the crop during the first part of the second season and then to turn the stock off and harvest a seed crop. The writer has harvested a very good crop of seed from a limited area, which was pastured lightly through the entire summer until the crop was cut. Of course, it is not possible to pasture heavily after midsummer, and still secure a good crop of seed.

Sweet clover makes a good quality of hay if cut at the proper time and well cured. If a seed crop is to be cut, the first crop of the second season may be cured for hay by cutting high enough to leave some of the small branches on the lower part of the stem. If cut too low at this time the plants will die. Sweet clover hay requires more time to cure properly than the clovers with small stems, but if piled in small cocks it is little damaged, even though some rain falls on it. If properly cured it makes a very good winter feed. When cut for hay it should be mown before it begins to bloom to any extent. When it is about two feet high is the right time. The first year it may be cut at almost any time the grower finds convenient.

Some practice sowing sweet clover with early oats, cutting the oats with a high stubble and later getting a crop of hay.

Saving the Seed.

The seed crop sometimes fails because the plants are too thick on the ground. They spread or branch widely as they grow, and where they are too thick the blossoms may drop off without setting a full crop of seed. Usually best results are obtained where a first crop is cut for hay or is pastured until mid-summer. The second crop does not grow as high as the first would do if permitted to seed, thus making it easier to handle. Seed is obtained only the second year, and if the first growth of that year is permitted to seed, the plants will die when cut, so that only the one crop can be obtained.

The seed ripens so irregularly that it is not always easy to tell just when it should be cut in order to save the largest amount of seed. At best, much of it will shatter off and be lost, since the first to ripen will be ready while there is still a large amount of bloom. The most seed will be secured by cutting when about three-fourths of the seed pods have turned brown. If cut sooner there will be too many blossoms and immature seeds; if cut later too much of the ripe seed will shatter in the harvesting. Usually enough seeds shatter off to reseed the land. Some growers have been able to continue the same land in sweet clover for fifteen or twenty years by sowing two years in succession to begin with. After the first year a crop of seed will ripen every year.

It is something of a problem to harvest the seed without losing a large portion of it. The writer has cut a small field with an ordinary mower when the plants were wet with dew, and immediately raked it into windrows. This method is hardly to be advised where the seed is to be hauled to a threshing machine, since more of the seed will be wasted than where it is bound into bundles. This small field was threshed by hand with forks. A large sheet of canvas was laid on the ground and the sweet clover carefully lifted on it, after it was fully dried. By beating with the forks the seed was readily separated from the stalks.

The ordinary grain binder is generally used for this purpose. Where much seed is to be harvested, it is necessary to provide some special pans to catch the seed that shatter off. Corn binders have been used in some cases.

When threshed with a grain separator, the straw is broken up so much that it makes a fair forage for wintering cattle or horses. They will not eat it readily when threshed by hand, since the straw is not broken up to any extent and the dry stalks are too coarse otherwise.

Those interested in this subject will do well to write to the U. S. Department of Agriculture for Farmer’s Bulletins which deal with different phases of the culture of sweet clover. They give in much greater detail information that space will not permit here.

SWEET FENNEL (Foeniculum vulgare).

The cultivated fennel from Europe has become naturalized in some places along the Atlantic Coast in Maryland and Virginia and other Eastern States. It is often cultivated in gardens in many localities. Lovell lists it as the source of a light amber honey.

SUMAC (RHUS).

There are about one hundred and twenty species of rhus found in Asia, South America and North America. There are fourteen species common to North America. The red or scarlet sumac, shown in Figure 133 (=Rhus glabra=) is most common, being found from New England west to Saskatchewan, Colorado and Arizona, and south to Florida and Louisiana. This species is a well-known source of nectar and is especially important in New England.

In Texas, Scholl lists the dwarf sumac (=Rhus copallina=) as yielding surplus throughout eastern and south Texas. He also lists green sumac (=Rhus virens=) as attracting the bees in west Texas.

In California, Richter lists poison oak (=Rhus diversiloba=) as yielding a superior grade of white honey which granulates readily. He also reports laurel sumac (=Rhus laurina=) as yielding amber honey of marked odor but fine flavor.

The poison ivy (=Rhus Toxicodendron=), common to the Eastern States from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and south to Arkansas and Florida, is a vigorous vine, climbing by means of aerial rootlets. The flowers are inconspicuous, but secrete nectar freely. Where sufficiently abundant, surplus may be expected from this source.

Some species of sumac may be expected in almost every section of the country where woodlands are common. Nearly all species seem to be attractive to the bees, although it is only in limited localities that honey in surplus quantity is reported. The honey is reputed of good quality, with mild flavor. In the east the honeyflow from sumac is sometimes very rapid and a liberal quantity of surplus secured, at times as high as 100 pounds per colony. New honey from this source is somewhat bitter to the taste, but this characteristic soon disappears. The blooming period usually comes in July and lasts for two or three weeks.

The dwarf sumac is a widely distributed species, known in some localities as mountain sumac. It is common in the Gulf States and is the source of honey in favored localities.

SUNFLOWER (Helianthus).

There are many species of the sunflowers, some of which may be found from the Atlantic Coast to California, and from Canada to the Gulf. (Fig. 134.) They are tall, coarse weeds, with yellow flowers. Large numbers of insects of many species may be found on the sunflower blossoms in search of the nectar. Whenever these plants are sufficiently abundant they are the source of large quantities of honey. M. H. Mendleson, of Ventura, California, reports that one year, following a wet winter, he secured a carload of surplus honey from sunflowers, although such yields are extremely rare in his locality.

The cultivated sunflowers are of little if any value for honey, but produce seed in large quantity, which is valued as poultry food. The Jerusalem artichoke is a variety of sunflower grown for the tubers. A variety of this plant grows wild in the upper Mississippi Valley States, where it is regarded as a bad weed. It is frequently reported as a good honey plant.

Many of the wild sunflowers are perennials, persisting for many years when once established. They are commonly to be found along wagon roads, railroads and other waste places. The honey is amber in color and strong in flavor.

SUPPLE JACK, see Rattan Vine.

SWEET BAY, see Magnolia.

SWAMP LAUREL, see Magnolia.

SWEET PEPPERBUSH, see Pepperbush.

SYMPHORICARPOS, see Indian Currant.

T

TOCALOTE, see Star Thistle.

TANGLEFOOT, see Aster, also Wild Alfalfa.

TARAXACUM, see Dandelion.

TARWEED (Hemizonia)

There are about eight species of hemizonia or tarweeds in California. (Fig. 135.) Of these Richter lists three as sources of honey and indicates that others may also be of importance. The tarweed (=Hemizonia fasciculata=) is reported as common over a large part of southern California, except on the desert, and north to San Francisco. The blooming period is given from June to August and the honey is said to be dark amber with strong aroma. He states that it is an excellent producer, especially along the coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and that the honey is largely used in the manufacture of chewing tobacco and shoe blacking.

The yellow tarweed (=Hemizonia virgata=) is said to be common in the interior valleys and to be a “heavy and consistent yielder, beginning in August and lasting for about twenty days, according to Mr. B. B. Hogaboom of Elk Grove.” The honey is stated to be of light yellow color, good flavor and heavy body.

The coast tarweed (=Hemizonia corymbosa=) is reported as yielding some honey, but not nearly as much as the foregoing species.

In Fresno County tarweed, known as yellow-tops, is stated to bloom from April to June and to yield an occasional surplus. The name vinegar weed is sometimes applied to tarweed in the San Joaquin Valley.--Honey Plants of California.

TEASEL (Dipsacus fullonum). FULLER’S TEASEL.

Fuller’s teasel is a European plant which was for a time cultivated in this country for the heads of stiff chaff with hooked points, used for raising the nap upon woolen cloth. Although no longer mentioned as a cultivated plant, it has escaped from cultivation and persists as a weed in some places.

During the time when it was generally cultivated in some parts of New York, the late G. M. Doolittle secured more than $1,000 per year from less than 100 colonies, credited with being largely from teasel. (American Bee Journal, July 21, 1886.) The high price of teasel in the market led to a great boom for a few years. A beekeeper writing in the American Bee Journal in 1878 stated that the honey-yielding qualities of teasel were equal to basswood. He described the flavor of the honey as excellent, the color white and transparent. Reports of carloads of teasel honey shipped to Thurber & Co., are referred to and the statement made that it is one of the greatest honey-producing plants in existence.

In the same Journal (Aug. 18, 1886), G. M. Doolittle writes a long article giving the history and cultivation of the plant. From this article the following extracts are taken:

“Bees work on teasel all hours of the day, and no matter how well basswood may yield honey, a few bees will be found at work on teasel. A bee that works on teasel is readily distinguished from those that work on basswood, by the abdomen being covered with a white dust. Black and hybrid bees work on it in larger proportion than the Italians.”

“The honey from teasel is very thin and white, in fact the whitest honey I ever saw; but it is not of as good flavor as either clover or basswood. This thinness of the nectar, and its coming just when basswood does is the great drawback to it. From careful tests I should say that it would take about four bee-loads of it to be equal to one bee-load of nectar gathered from basswood. Coming as it does with basswood, makes it of no great advantage, except that it usually lasts six to ten days after basswood is gone.

“Again, my bees have to fly two to ten miles to get this nectar, as I am on the southern edge of the teasel belt. According to those who believe bees fly only 11⁄2 to 2 miles for honey, I should not get anything from teasel. I have repeatedly seen my bees flying to and from the teasel fields from our church door, which is 21⁄2 miles from my apiary in line with the fields.

“As to what proportion of my honey has come from teasel the past fifteen years, I should say about one-tenth; some years more and some years not a single pound. In 1877 I got the largest crop, while from 1878 to 1884 little if any was obtained.”

TENDRIL-BEARING SMARTWEED, see Brunnichia.

TENNESSEE--Honey Flora of.

From a special circular sent to the largest beekeepers of the State, asking them to give the names of the chief nectar-producing flowers of their section, the following was gained. The list given below is arranged in order of importance in the estimation of these practical beekeepers:

White clover. Poplar. Linden or basswood. Sourwood. Aster. Black locust. Chestnut. Goldenrod. Stickweed. Red Clover. Persimmon. Alsike clover. Cowpeas. Tanglefoot (aster). Sumac. Maple. Black gum. Alfalfa. Melilotus. Cotton. Corn. Wireweed. Boneset. Buckbrush. Huckleberry. Whortleberry. Elm. Yellow-wood. Daisy fleabane. Heartsease. Cane. Crowfoot moss. Willows. Bitterweed. Turnip. Dandelion. Strawberry. Pea wood. Cottonwood. Cedar. Blackberry. Catnip. Fruit berries. Aspen. Raspberry. Oak. Spanish needle.

--G. M. Bentley, Tennessee Board of Entomology, Bulletin No. 9.

TEUCRIUM, see Germander.

TEXAN EBONY (Siderocarpos flexicaulis).

Texan ebony is a beautiful shrub or small tree common to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and abundant in northern Mexico. In the vicinity of Brownsville it is regarded as a valuable source of nectar, blooming two or three times during the year. The tree only blooms two or three days, so the flow is short, usually not exceeding a week, as the difference in blooming time between different trees is not great. The honey is of fine quality and light in color. In some localities beekeepers report that the flow only lasts about two days, but is heavy for this short period. Rains bring it into bloom, and in seasons when rains are frequent, it blooms several times.

agarita, mesquite, blackberry, brazilwood, anaqua, prickly pear and huisache, all growing together near Goliad.]

TEXAS--Honey Sources of.

Texas is a very large State, with a great diversity of soil and climatic conditions. In order to appreciate its vast extent, one needs to study the map and note something of the variety of climate represented within her borders. Orange, Texas, is very nearly south of Des Moines, Iowa, while El Paso is further west than Denver, Colorado. The northern line is near to southern Kansas, while Brownsville is a long distance south of San Diego, California. One might describe almost any condition of soil and climate with which he is familiar in any part of the United States and say with truth that it is like Texas, for almost every condition of soil or climate of the rest of the country is to be found somewhere in Texas. The climate ranges from a winter temperature of 20 degrees below zero in the Panhandle, to an almost frostless condition in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. In east Texas there is a heavy rainfall, with a consequent luxuriant vegetation, while in parts of west Texas one finds a desert flora and little rain. At one point which the author once visited he was told there had been no rain for eighteen months and the very dry and dead condition of everything, even the cactus, indicated that it was true.

Texas seems to be divided into about five natural beekeeping divisions. Each of these has a flora and conditions peculiar to itself, though, of course, there is a gradual merging of these natural divisions. The lower Rio Grande Valley is the southernmost section of the United States, except the extreme tip of Florida. Here we find conditions unlike any other part of Texas. There is a great variety of honey plants, with a light flow almost continuously, but no heavy honey flows. This condition favors the continuous breeding of bees and the consumption of the honey gathered in brood rearing. It is the most favorable situation in America for the rearing of queens and bees, but a poor place for honey production, since the average surplus per colony seldom exceeds twenty-five pounds.

In this section bees swarm as late as December and gather sufficient nectar to carry them through the brief period when vegetation is dormant. The huisache and catsclaw bloom in February and March. Hackberry also begins to yield in February. From February till December there are but short periods without some nectar coming from the field. Brazilwood, horsemint, Texan ebony, blackbrush, privet, coma, mesquite, whitebrush, and many others, yield light flows of nectar.

The Arid Region

The escarpment running east and west between San Antonio and New Braunfels marks a very definite boundary to the belt where cotton is the principal source of surplus honey. South of the escarpment and extending to the valley of the Rio Grande, we have the mesquite region. A line drawn in a southeasterly direction from San Antonio, through Cuera and Victoria to the Gulf, would mark the approximate eastern boundary of this region. Figure 136 shows a characteristic group of honey plants of southwest Texas. Agarita (barberry), mesquite, hackberry, Mexican persimmon, brazilwood, anaqua, prickly pear and huisache, all valuable plants to the beekeeper, are growing together. There are very characteristic plants for this region. Most of the honey comes from thorny shrubs, including catsclaw, huajillo (pronounced wa-he-ya), etc. This belt extends westward for a long distance and includes the famous Uvalde County, from which hundreds of cars of fine honey from catsclaw and huajillo have been shipped.

The Cotton Region.

North of the escarpment already mentioned we find the cotton belt extending north to Oklahoma and including the black, waxy lands and other heavy soils. Figure 46, in connection with the article on cotton, shows an outline map roughly indicating the different honey regions of the State. Within this particular area, we find the highest development of agriculture in Texas. The soil is rich and the climate mild. Cotton, corn, alfalfa, small grains and truck crops are all profitably grown. Mesquite is an important source of nectar in the cotton belt, as is also horsemint, and in the northern portion, sweet clover. Broomweed is also important, some seasons.

East Texas.

In the timbered regions of east Texas there is some splendid beekeeping territory unoccupied. There is a variety of flora to be equalled in few sections, and remarkable yields of honey are reported. On heavy soils cotton yields freely. Basswood, rattan, huckleberry, partridge pea, horsemint, bitterweed and cowpeas are all reported as sources of surplus honey in this section. Beekeepers of extensive experience report that one can depend upon an average of more than one hundred pounds per colony per year for a ten-year period.

Although the average yield is much higher and the flows are much more dependable than in other parts of Texas, the business of beekeeping is less highly specialized here than in other parts of the State. This is probably due to the fact that general agriculture is profitable and public attention has not been called to the possibilities of this section.

THIMBLEBERRY, see Raspberry; also Salmon Berry.

THORN APPLE, see Hawthorne.

THOROUGHWORT, see Boneset.

THYME (Thymus).

Thyme is an introduced plant from Europe which is sometimes cultivated in gardens and occurs occasionally as an escape. There are two species listed in this country: =Thymus vulgaris=, the source of the famed honey from Mt. Hymettus, and =Thymus serphyllum=, the wild or creeping thyme.

According to J. E. Crane, thyme is found in southwestern Vermont in sufficient abundance to make excellent pasture for the bees during August. There is an occasional report from some beekeeper who finds the bees much attracted to the plant, but as yet no reports of surplus honey worthy of mention have been received.

TIEVINE, see Morning Glory.

TISSWOOD, see Red Bay.

TI-TI.

The leatherwood or black ti-ti (=Cyrilla racemiflora=) is a shrub with shining leaves and large numbers of small flowers in clusters. It occurs in swamps from southern Virginia to Florida and west to Louisiana and Texas. In Alabama and Mississippi it occurs from the Central Pine Belt to the Coast Plain, in the edges of swamps and along streams. It is also known as white ti-ti, ironwood and red ti-ti. It sometimes reaches the height of 20 to 30 feet, becoming a small tree, though usually it is found as a shrub. The thin bark breaks up into large scales.

The bloom opens in June and July and is not regarded as a very dependable source of nectar. The honey is dark, with a mild flavor.

The ti-ti (=Cliftonia monophylla=), sometimes called buckwheat-tree or ironwood, also known as black ti-ti, occurs in wet, sandy soil and swamps from South Carolina to Florida and west to Louisiana. It is an attractive tree, often reaching a height of 30 to 40 feet. This shrub or tree, as the case may be, often grows in dense thickets called ti-ti swamps. The flowers are white and fragrant and appear in late February to April. There are large areas of ti-ti swamp in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, which furnish abundant bee pasture. According to Baldwin, it yields surplus honey in the extreme northwest portion of west Florida. He describes the honey as red, strong, and suitable mostly for baking purposes. (Gleanings, March 15, 1911.)

Ti-ti is of more or less value as a source of nectar in the swampy districts of all the Southeastern States from South Carolina to Louisiana. The honey is not of the best quality, nor is the yield generally heavy.

TOBACCO (Nicotiana tabacum).

The tobacco plant is a coarse annual. It is grown as a field crop in the South and also in a few northern localities, especially in Wisconsin and Connecticut. As a honey plant it is probably seldom important. The fact that the plants are usually cut in advance of the time when the bloom is at its best, would make it unavailable, for the most part, as a source of nectar.

“We are in a location where hundreds of acres of tobacco are raised every year. I have taken bees and placed them near the fields and they will store some honey from the plant some years. It is very dark, much like buckwheat in color, strong and very heavy body. Buckwheat is not my favorite honey, but I can eat it. Tobacco honey I cannot. It is very slow to granulate, and I have never seen it harden as other honey will, even when well ripened and two years old.”--W. K. Rockwell, Bloomfield, Conn. American Bee Journal, page 63, 1919.

“Tobacco yields a heavy flow under certain conditions in Porto Rico.”--Henry Brenner, in American Bee Journal, page 381, 1916.

“Tobacco in this section has always been raised in the open field and, when about 4 feet high, each plant has been ‘topped’ and not allowed to go to seed. * * * It is now being picked in the field instead of being cut by the old method. The plant is allowed to grow from 7 to 10 feet high and goes to seed. The leaves are saved by picking, this work commencing at the bottom, one row of leaves being gathered at a time, and the top leaves picked last. The plants are thus allowed to blossom, each one bearing hundreds of flowers, and they continue to bloom from August 1 till frost. Thus we have thrown open to our bees hundreds of acres of tobacco, containing myriads of flowers. The bees swarm on it, some days more than others, and the honey comes in as fast as during the earlier flows.”--E. H. Shattuck, Granby, Conn. Gleanings, page 268, 1911.

TOLLON BERRY, see Christmas Berry.

TOOTHACHE-TREE, see Prickly Ash.

TOY-ON BERRY, see Christmas Berry.

TRAILING ARBUTUS, see Arbutus.

TREE HUCKLEBERRY, see Farkle-Berry.

TREE OF HEAVEN, see Varnish Tree.

TREE CLOVER, TREE ALFALFA or TAGASASTE (Cytisus proliferus alba).

The tree alfalfa, or white broom, is grown to some extent in California. In Australia it is regarded as important, as the following extract from Rayment (Money in Bees in Australasia), will show:

“This rapid-growing hedge plant is now widely known as a grand honey yielder. As a wind break for the apiary it is unrivaled. The white blossoms burst the sheaves early in spring, almost before the winter has departed. Bees work upon it during a shower, as the drooping habit of the flowers prevents the nectar washing out with the rain. The pollen is cadmium in color and the honey very pale and clear, rather thin and of mild flavor. To make a close hedge it should be severely cut back. Unfortunately, the sheep and cattle, also the kangaroos are fond of it and keep it eaten back.”

It is native to the Canary Islands and adjacent regions. As it thrives in California, it is promising for trial in the warmer parts of America.

TRILLIUM.

One of the first spring flowers, the trillium, of which there are several species, is attractive to the bees. It is commonly known by the name of wake robin, or birthroot. As it blooms so early, it is seldom that the bees find many good days for flying, and such early spring flowers can never be regarded as important except for the purpose of stimulating brood rearing.

TROPICAL LILAC (Duranta plumiere). GOLDEN DEWDROP.

The tropical lilac is a hedge plant cultivated in Florida and California and other southern localities. W. K. Morrison lists it in Gleanings (Aug. 1, 1905), as extremely attractive to the bees and as blooming for some time. Probably not sufficiently abundant in America to be important anywhere.

TRUMPET WEED, see Boneset.

TULIP-POPLAR or TULIP TREE (Liriodendron tulipifera).

The tulip-tree, also known as yellow poplar, is a very large tree, often growing to a height of 100 to 140 feet, and a diameter of 6 to 9 feet. It is found from southern New England west to southern Michigan and south to the Gulf States, east of the Mississippi. It is also found to a limited extent in southeastern Missouri and eastern Arkansas. It blooms in April and May and produces a light amber honey of good flavor.

According to Buchanan, the honey yield from this source is heavy and the tree is an important addition to the nectar-secreting flora of Tennessee and nearby States. The showy flowers are shown at Figure 137.

The possibilities of this source of nectar are not properly appreciated. Since it blooms so early in spring, few colonies of bees are sufficiently strong to gather the crop possible from tulip-poplar. The skilled beekeeper, who can bring his colonies through the winter in good condition, gets large yields of honey from this source. In the vicinity of Washington, D. C., it is the principal source of surplus, and strong colonies often store an average of 100 pounds. In many cases the bees build up on tulip-poplar only to become strong after the flow is over. In locations where this tree is common, too much care cannot be taken to get strong colonies early in spring to take advantage of this flow.

TUPELO-GUM (Nyssa).

There are four species of the tupelo-gum trees, which should not be confused with the gums of the Pacific Coast, which are eucalyptus (See Eucalyptus). The tupelo-gum, or cotton-gum (=Nyssa aquatica=) (Fig. 138), is a very large tree common to the swamps from southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois east to Virginia and south to Florida and Texas. It grows to a height of more than 100 feet and yields enormous quantities of nectar.

The pepperidge, or highland black-gum (=Nyssa sylvatica=) sometimes called sour-gum, yellow-gum, tupelo, or stinkwood, grows in moist upland woods from Ontario and New England to Michigan and south to Florida and Texas. It reaches a height of 150 feet and a diameter of four feet, under favorable conditions.

The water-gum, or Southern black-gum (=Nyssa biflora=), also called water tupelo, has a swollen base and, when growing in the water, produces erect roots which rise to the surface. It is found from North Carolina to Florida and west to eastern Texas. It is sometimes regarded as a variety of the pepperidge or black-gum.

The ogeche plum or wild lime-tree (=Nyssa Ogeche=), called white tupelo, is much smaller than the other gum-trees, growing to a height of forty to sixty feet. It is common to the swamps of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

The first named species is very common in the swamps of Alabama and Florida, where it often grows with the bald cypress on the banks of the Alabama, Tombigbee and Appalachicola Rivers. A. B. Marchant averaged 82 pounds of surplus honey per colony from tupelo for a seventeen-year period on the Appalachicola River in Florida. During part of this time he kept as many as 500 colonies to the yard. In 1904, he took 250 thirty-gallon barrels from 750 colonies, an average of about 120 pounds per colony.

The tupelos are the source of much honey in Arkansas, east Texas and other Southern States, as well as in Alabama and Florida. Beekeepers complain that in many of the best tupelo locations there is a shortage of summer pollen, so that it becomes necessary to move the bees away when the tupelo flow is over.

The tupelo honey is of good quality, and, when unmixed, will not granulate. Bottlers like to use tupelo honey for blending with other grades to retard granulation. It is of good body and mild flavor, and finds a ready sale at better prices than most southern honey brings.

TURKEY MULLEIN (Eremocarpus setigerus).

The turkey mullein is also known as coyote weed, wooly white drought weed, and yerba del pescado. The latter, according to Jepson, is the Spanish-Californian name, derived from the custom of the Indians to use the heavy-scented herbage of this plant to stupefy fish in small streams, to catch them by hand. He gives the range as dry open areas from the plains or the Sacramento and San Joaquin, Sierra Nevada foothills to the low hills and valley fields of the Coast Ranges. It grows mostly in stubble fields following the grain harvests, contesting for survival with the blue curls.

From Western Honeybee we quote as follows:

“Turkey mullein is a different appearing plant (from blue curls), but grows under exactly similar conditions. Its insignificant pale green or white flowers yield a thick amber honey, of biting, astringent flavor, often in considerable quantities.

“I have known a beekeeper in San Diego County to market eight tons of this honey. It is fit only for manufacturing purposes. The foliage of turkey mullein is white, wooly, and exhales a pungent odor.” October, 1914.

TURNIP (Brassica).

Where turnips are grown for seed in large acreage, surplus honey may be expected from this source. The late J. S. Harbison said of them:

“Turnip blossoms are eagerly sought by the bees, and afford so rich pasturage during March and April as to make it a profitable crop, if but for this purpose alone.”--Beekeeper’s Directory.

TURPENTINE WEED, see Blue Curls.

U

ULEX, see Gorse.

UMBRELLA TREE, see Wild China.

UTAH--Honey Sources of.

Most of the surplus honey which goes to market from Utah is from sweet clover and alfalfa. Salmon-berry, clover, dandelion, willows and the desert flowers add something to the output of the apiary.