American honey plants

Transcriber’s Notes

Text between =equal signs= and _underscores_ represents text printed in bold face and italics respectively.

More transcriber’s notes may be found at the end of this text.

American Honey Plants

[Illustration: Summer’s last stand in the author’s wild garden at Atlantic, Iowa. Masses of white snakeroot in bloom in October.]

American Honey Plants

Together With Those Which Are of Special Value to the Beekeeper as Sources of Pollen

By Frank C. Pellett

Author Beginner’s Bee Book, Productive Beekeeping, Practical Queen Rearing, Etc.

155 Illustrations

1920 AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL Hamilton, Illinois

Copyright, 1920, By Frank C. Pellett All Rights Reserved

To my indulgent parents, who early encouraged me in my passion for the study of Nature, this book is affectionately dedicated.

Foreword

In the first volume of American Bee Journal, published in 1861, appears a plea for the publication of a volume devoted to the honey flora of America. In numerous instances since that time, writers have mentioned the great need of a work of this kind. In common with other students of beekeeping, the author came to feel this lack in our beekeeping literature. This book is an attempt to fill that need. It is to be expected that the first work on this great subject will overlook many things which should have been included and that numerous errors should creep in. In an attempt to gather the desired material, the author has visited the important beekeeping regions from the Atlantic Coast to California and from Canada to Florida and Texas. Careful notes have been made of the honey plants of each section as indicated by the many beekeepers with whom the author has come in contact. To this multitude of beekeepers who have thus assisted by furnishing notes of this kind the author is greatly indebted.

The literature of beekeeping has been carefully examined for references to honey plants, and hundreds of quotations appear in the text. The few bulletins which have appeared on the subject have been quoted freely, as well as similar material appearing in the bee magazines.

The illustrations are for the most part from the author’s original photographs, although a number have been borrowed from the American Bee Journal, which appeared in that publication, from John H. Lovell, Homer Mathewson, J. M. Buchanan, M. C. Richter, C. D. Stuart, Florida Photographic Concern, Wesley Foster, W. A. Pryal, and some others, the identity of the originator of which are lost.

Since most of the readers of this book will be men who are not accustomed to botanical classification, it has been thought best to treat each plant under the name by which it is most widely known, giving other names as cross references, and to treat all in alphabetical order. Numerous related subjects which seemed to have a place in a book of this kind, such as nectar and nectar secretion, poisonous honey, propolis, pollination, weather and honey production, etc., have been likewise included in proper alphabetical order.

No one is likely to be more conscious of the shortcomings of the volume than is the author. As it is his hope to expand the scope of the work in a later edition, he will be grateful for notes on additions and corrections from all parts of America.

Frank C. Pellett.

Hamilton, Ill. November 18, 1919.

American Honey Plants

The late Prof. A. J. Cook estimated that there are nearly eighteen hundred species of plants on which bees work in America. Most of these are minor sources, which the bees visit incidentally for the minute quantity of nectar that may be available, or for pollen. There are some plants rich in nectar which can never be important to the beekeeper because they are not sufficiently plentiful.

Honey production, as a business enterprise, is dependent upon a few species which yield nectar abundantly and which are sufficiently common to enable the bees to secure honey in large quantity. In order to make the most of his business, the beekeeper should have a thorough knowledge of the honey plants in all the country surrounding his apiaries. It often happens that a distance of but a few miles makes a great difference with the available honey sources. Many a man by moving an apiary a few miles has greatly increased the yield. It sometimes happens that the plant which is the main dependence will fail, and that by moving to some other source, a crop may be harvested. To know fully the honey plants of his region, their time of blooming and habit of nectar secretion under his particular conditions, is of fundamental importance to the man who would succeed as a beekeeper.

In many places the presence or absence of a single plant determines whether or not beekeeping is worth while. Over a large portion of the Middle West, the beekeepers depend almost entirely upon white clover for surplus, and in seasons when this plant fails they get no honey to sell.

Likewise, in many localities in the irrigated regions of the Rocky Mountain States, when alfalfa fails to yield, there is no surplus honey. Yet in all these sections, beekeeping would be impossible if there were no other plants. There are localities where tremendous honeyflows occur for a short period of time, where beekeeping is not practical because there is insufficient forage to support the bees the rest of the year. In such places beekeepers often take advantage of the flows by moving the bees away as soon as the plants cease to yield nectar, and returning them the following year at blooming time. This applies to some parts of the valley of the Appalachicola River in Florida. While the flow from Tupelo is sometimes remarkable, there is a shortage of pollen throughout the summer months.

The ideal situation for beekeeping is one where there are at least three plants which yield surplus honey in considerable quantity, and which bloom at different periods. Beside the main sources, there should be a great variety of minor plants yielding both pollen and honey throughout the season to support the bees between the main flows. In such a situation, there is seldom an entire failure of the honey crop; and, in good years, the beekeeper fares well, indeed.

There are many localities where the bees suffer seriously for lack of pollen at some seasons of the year. An available source of pollen is second only in importance to an abundant honeyflow. This being the case, the plants which are generally regarded as valuable for pollen, especially those blooming at seasons when pollen is not abundant generally, are included in this book.

Honey Plant Regions

Several attempts have been made to outline the principal regions of the United States. A careful examination of all these outlines brings out serious discrepancies. There are too many small regions within larger ones to permit of anything like accuracy with the present data and the present knowledge of the honey plants. In general, white clover may be said to be the principal honey plant of all the region from Nova Scotia west to eastern Dakota and south to Tennessee and Arkansas. Yet within that large area, there are many places where white clover is unimportant, and where other plants furnish the principal surplus. In much of Michigan white clover is of first importance, yet in the cut-over districts of the northern part of the State, raspberry, fireweed and milkweed furnish nearly all the honey that goes to market. It is good clover territory, and with the ultimate development of the region, clover will predominate.

In the irrigated regions of the Rocky Mountain States, alfalfa is the principal source of surplus, but sweet clover is rapidly crowding it for first place.

Basswood was once a very important source of honey over all the Northeastern States. The cutting of the basswood forests has gradually reduced the basswood area until there are now few localities, in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois or Iowa, where it is really an important honey source. In parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario, basswood is still sufficiently plentiful to yield large quantities of honey, but there it is being rapidly reduced.

In the cotton belt, where cotton would naturally be expected to be the principal source, the area would be divided into many small regions. Cotton may yield much honey in a locality where the soil is heavy and rich, while a few miles distant, where soils are light and sandy, there is little honey from cotton, although the plant is just as commonly cultivated. In the cotton region there would be a great many sub-divisions. In parts of Texas, mesquite is the principal source, in others catsclaw and huajilla (wa-he-ya), while in eastern Texas basswood yields heavily. Buckwheat is important principally in the region about the Great Lakes and south in the higher elevations to Virginia and Tennessee. Goldenrod is one of the most important sources of nectar in New England, while it is seldom of much value west of the Mississippi River, although growing abundantly.

In California and Florida there are several entirely different regions within the State. There is no one plant of major importance over all parts of either State. A large amount of work still remains to be done before the honey resources of America can be mapped out with anything like accuracy. Changing conditions are rapidly removing one plant and substituting another in many sections. When the author visited west Texas he was told by the beekeepers there that the clearing of the land and planting it to cultivated crops was rapidly curtailing the bee range, as no cultivated crops being planted were equal to the desert flora which was being removed.

In other sections, the planting of forage crops which are good sources of nectar, like alfalfa and sweet clover, is greatly increasing the available bee pasturage. In parts of California, the extensive growing of garden seeds is providing pasture sufficient for producing surplus honey of a kind seldom heard of in the markets a few years ago. Parsnip and celery honey are examples.

The Minor Plants

Although only a few dozen plants are important sources of surplus honey, there are hundreds of minor plants which are of value for the support they give the bees when no major plant is in bloom. The number and variety of these plants will largely determine the value of the locality, and whether it will be necessary for the beekeeper to resort to migratory beekeeping at times.

[Illustration: Fig. 1. Blossoms of huisache (_Acacia farnesiana_).]

Catnip is famous as a bee plant, yet it is doubtful whether a single pound of catnip honey was ever stored in America, unmixed with honey from other sources. If catnip could be grown in large fields like clover, it is probable that catnip honey would appear in the markets.

If the beekeeper is familiar with the minor plants, he will often be able to locate outyards where the bees will be able to gather enough nectar from such sources to keep his colonies in the best possible condition for the surplus flows. It is a well-known fact that it is only the big colonies which produce large crops of surplus honey. A little nectar coming to the hive for some time in advance of the main flow, is the best possible stimulant for brood rearing. It often happens that bees will be poorly prepared for the harvest in one yard, while others only two or three miles distant will be in the best possible condition, because of the presence of some minor plants not within reach of the first.

A

Acacia.

The acacias are shrubs or small trees which are widely distributed throughout the warmer portions of the world. There are said to be 450 species, of which nearly 300 are native to Australia and Polynesia. We also find reference to them in India, Africa and South America. The different species are known by various local names. In Europe some are known as mimosa trees. As sources of honey they are important in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California.

[Illustration: Fig. 2. _Acacia melanoxylon._]

The sweet acacia (=Acacia farnesiana=), in Texas called huisache, is found along the gulf coast in Alabama and as far east as South Carolina. In Texas the huajilla (=Acacia berlandiera=), is an important source of nectar. In fact, according to the Texas bulletin on honey plants, it is the main source in southwest Texas. It grows abundantly on dry and rocky hills which often are not suited to growing agricultural crops. The honey is white and of fine quality.

The catsclaw, or paradise flower (=Acacia greggii=), is another very important source of honey in the southwest. It is one of the principal sources of dependence in Texas, where it is reported as yielding in April. Arizona reports a later yield, blooming here in May and June. Like the huajilla, the honey is light colored and of very fine quality.

[Illustration: Fig. 3. Golden wattle (_Acacia longifolia_).]

Figure 4 shows the black wattle of California (=A. decurrens mollis=), which is largely grown as an ornamental in the gardens and along the roadsides of that State. It blooms from February to June and produces some honey and an abundance of pollen. Fig. 3 is the Sydney golden wattle (=Acacia longifolia=), another widely-grown California shrub. A third California species, =A. melanoxylon=, is shown at Fig. 2.

The huisache (=A. farnesiana=), Fig. 1, already mentioned, is a common plant in south Texas, from San Antonio to the lower Rio Grande valley. It is of special importance for early pollen, though Scholl reports it as yielding honey also.

[Illustration: Fig. 4. Acacia or black wattle (_Acacia decurrens mollis_).]

The huajilla (pronounced “wa-he-ya”) grows abundantly over a wide territory in southwest Texas and, as it requires but a small amount of moisture, makes beekeeping profitable where it would otherwise be a precarious business. Large quantities of white honey of mild flavor and fine quality are stored from this source. In a journey of several hundred miles among the beekeepers of Texas, the author found this plant, together with catsclaw and mesquite, to be the principal source of surplus south and west of San Antonio. Various sources were reported, but in nearly every case these three plants were mentioned as heading the list. Huajilla ranks high in both quantity and quality of nectar produced.

The catsclaw (=Acacia greggii=), known in some localities as paradise flower or devil’s claw, is a low spreading, bushy shrub or small tree with curved thorns, hence the name, “catsclaw.” This is a close rival of huajilla for first place as the source of white honey in much of southwest Texas. The far-famed Uvalde honey is largely huajilla and catsclaw. In many places the yield of surplus honey is being reduced through the clearing of the land for farming purposes. Both these plants grow in very dry sections, on land which until recently was thought to be of little value for any purpose without irrigation.

Scholl lists the round-flowered catsclaw (=Acacia roemeriana Schlect=) as a heavy yielder of honey of good quality, but plants are not abundant. He also lists =Acacia amentacea= as a source of pollen and some honey, but not in sufficient quantity to be important.

ACER, see Maple.

ADAM’S NEEDLE, see Yucca.

AESCULUS, see Buckeye.

AGARITES, see Barberry.

AGAVE, see Century Plant.

ALABAMA--Honey Sources of.

There is a large district in Alabama where sweet clover is the principal source of surplus honey. In this region good crops are the rule, since it yields from early June till late in August. In addition, rattan, tulip-poplar, black gum, hawthorne, field peas, privet, locust, redbud, cotton, bitterweed, asters and occasionally white clover, yield honey. There is the usual spring stimulation from fruit blossoms and willows in Alabama and a large number of minor sources which add something to the total yield, but which alone are unimportant.

[Illustration: Fig. 5. A group of Alaska honey plants.]

ALASKA--Honey Sources of.

By the accounts given in Bancroft’s History of Alaska and in translations made for me by Rev. George Kotteometinoff from the records of the Orthodox Russo-Greek Church at Sitka, the honeybee was first introduced into Alaska in 1809 by a monk named Cherepenin. These bees came from the Department of Kazan, in Siberia, and were brought that honey might be added to the scanty food supply of the pioneer teachers of the Faith as well as to supply the candles for the church services. By decree of Church, only beeswax candles can be used, and it is recorded that at Sitka, in 1816, no services could be held for six months because the supply of wax ran out. As early as 1819 apiculture was taught in the church school and was continued up to 1894. It would appear that the bees never flourished and seldom swarmed. There are a number of records of new importations to take the place of dead colonies. Very early a white clover was introduced to help out the honey supply. About 1830 bees were taken from Sitka to Fort Ross in California. As late as 1905 there were about 30 colonies at the Russian school at Sitka. These bees were in straw skeps and were kept on shelves under the eaves of the house. In winter they were kept within the same projecting eaves. In 1906 the Experiment Farm at Sitka made an unsuccessful attempt to keep bees in Langstroth hives. It is not probable that beekeeping will ever be a commercial project in Alaska. References to beekeeping at Sitka by Dr. Sheldon Jackson are to be found in the Report on Education in Alaska, Bureau of Education. Prof. C. C. Georgeson, in the reports on work done at the Experiment Station in Alaska also mentions beekeeping. Bees were observed collecting nectar and pollen from plants given below during the years 1905 to 1912. It should be observed that a majority of these plants have pendulous flowers. In a climate such as at Sitka, where the normal precipitation is 120 inches, only pendulous flowers could protect the nectar:

Willow (=Salix speciosa=). Crab Apple (=Pyrus rivularis=). Salmon Berry (=Rubus spectabilis=). Salmon Berry (=Rubus nutkonus noctino=). Cloud Berry (=Rubus Chamaemorus=). Nahgoon Berry (=Rubus stellatin=). Wild Red Raspberry (=Rubus strigosus=). Blue Berries (=Vaccinium uliginosum=). Blue Berries (=Vaccinium ovalifolium=). Blue Berries (=Vaccinium vitis Idaea=). Seaside Portulaca (=Claytonia sp.=). White Clover (=Trifolium sp.=). Wild Tansey (=Achillea borealis=). Yellow Water Lily (=Nymphaca advena=). Water Smart Weed (=Polygonum sp.=). Elder (=Sambucus racemosa=). Cow Parsnip (=Heracleum lanatum=).

--H. B. Parks.

ALBERTA--Honey Sources of.

In the southern part of the province alfalfa is of first importance. Fireweed, white clover and alsike are the chief sources elsewhere. Willows and maples stimulate early brood rearing and some honey is gathered from prairie flowers.--F. W. L. Sladen.

ALDER (Alnus).

The alders are a group of shrubs or trees common from New England and Canada west to Michigan and south to Texas. The bark is sometimes used for tanning and as a dyestuff, and to some extent in medicine. The blossoms appear early in spring, and are the source of an abundant supply of pollen at a season when it is often much needed by the bees.

[Illustration: Fig. 6. Pollen-bearing blossoms of the alder.]

ALFALFA (Medicago sativa).

Alfalfa is the most important honey plant west of the Missouri river. It is also the most valuable forage plant in the same region. Once established, a field of alfalfa continues to return valuable crops year after year. From two to five cuttings are secured each season, depending upon the available moisture and the length of the growing period. It thrives best in the irrigated regions with its roots in the rich soil supplied with abundant, but not excessive, moisture. It is an old-world plant which has contributed much to the prosperity of western farmers since its introduction to this country.

The honey from alfalfa varies in color and quality in different localities. In Colorado and Idaho it is of very light color and with a spicy, mild flavor of excellent quality. In the Imperial Valley of California it is much darker in color and of poorer quality. Alfalfa honey granulates readily, but is generally regarded as a high quality of honey. The tendency to early granulation makes it more desirable to market in the extracted state than in the sections.

The yield varies greatly, according to season, but the heaviest yields come when there is a vigorous growth of the plant. Where grown without irrigation a much greater variation in yield can be expected. In Nebraska and Kansas, alfalfa often yields good crops of nectar without irrigation, while east of the Missouri River it is seldom of much value to the beekeeper. The author had a small field of alfalfa in western Iowa for several years. Only one season did the bees pay much attention to it. That season was very wet in the early part of the summer, thus promoting a vigorous plant growth. Later the weather turned very hot and dry. Conditions similar to those of the irrigated sections of the west were approximated. The roots of the plants were supplied with an abundance of moisture, while the air was hot and dry. Under such conditions alfalfa is at its best as a honey producer.

[Illustration: Fig. 7. Blossoms of alfalfa and yellow sweet clover.]

Alfalfa is reported as the source of considerable surplus honey in northeastern Louisiana, which is the farthest east of any locality where it is important, with which the author is familiar. While it is largely grown as a field crop in parts of Iowa, Illinois, New York and other eastern States, beekeepers all report but little honey from it. It seldom yields to any extent in humid climates. Given sufficient moisture at the roots, the hotter and dryer the atmosphere, the better seems to be the yield of nectar. The conditions which most favor nectar secretion are also favorable to seed production.

Field Culture

Alfalfa is a long-lived plant and very deep-rooted. The long tap root penetrates deep into the soil, thus securing all available moisture and making the plant drought-resistant when once well established. The plant is very tender when young, and great care is necessary in the preparation of the soil when starting a new planting of this crop. The seed bed should be thoroughly stirred, all lumps fully pulverized, and the surface soil as smooth as an onion bed. It is important that the ground be prepared some time in advance of seeding and frequently stirred to start any weed seeds that may be present, and destroy them before the alfalfa is sowed. On old land it is advisable to prepare the seed bed in the spring and stir it at frequent intervals until August before sowing the alfalfa seed.

Alfalfa does not do well on sour land, or land that is wet or weed-infested. It does best on rich, well drained soil, well supplied with lime. Lime is essential, and if the soil is lacking in lime it must be supplied.

In many localities it is the practice to grow a crop of sweet clover in advance of seeding to alfalfa.

From seven to twenty pounds of seed are required per acre. If good seed is used and put in with a drill, ten to fifteen pounds should be ample.

In cutting alfalfa it is important that some care be used to select the proper time. When the new shoots are well started is usually regarded as the safest time, if the plant is cut for hay. The leaves constitute the greatest portion of the feeding value, and much care is necessary in handling the crop to avoid shattering.

In localities where the plant is grown for seed, a much longer blooming period results and the beekeeper profits accordingly. Where cut for hay, alfalfa loses much of its possible value through the cutting just when it is reaching its period of greatest nectar secretion.

Harry K. Hill, of Willows, California, states that he gets three distinct shades of pure alfalfa honey in the same year. The honey from first extracting is much darker than later extractings.--Western Honeybee, April, 1913.

ALFILARIA, see Pin Clover.

ALGAROBA, see Mesquite.

ALLIGATOR PEAR, see Red Bay.

ALLIUM, see Onion.

ALMOND (Prunus amygdalus).

The cultivated almond is closely related to the peach and is native to Southern Europe, where it has been grown for centuries for its nuts.

[Illustration: Fig. 8. Almond orchard in bloom.]

The tree is extremely early in its blooming period and more tender than the peach. It is grown in large orchards in parts of California, and to some extent in Arizona. It grows on higher and dryer lands than any other fruit trees in California. The tree will not thrive on wet lands.

Bees gather both honey and pollen from the flowers and in the almond belt of California it is of great value for early brood-rearing. There it blooms in February, and beekeepers sometimes move their bees from a distance to the almond orchards to build them up for the orange flow.

ALSIKE CLOVER (Trifolium hybridum). Hybrid or Swedish Clover.

Alsike clover is one of the very best honey plants of America. The beekeeper who lives within reach of large fields of this crop is fortunate, for there is no better honey, and under favorable conditions the crops harvested from alsike are such as to give little ground for dissatisfaction. Some beekeepers have estimated that alsike will produce 500 pounds of honey per acre in a good season.--American Bee Journal, page 409, 1886.

[Illustration: Fig. 9. Alsike clover.]

Alsike thrives on clay soil, or lands inclined to be wet, where the other clovers do not succeed. It is sown very generally in a meadow mixture with timothy or red-top. In localities where grown for seed there is a long period of bloom, which is greatly to the advantage of the beekeeper. It is good for either pasture or hay, and although by itself alsike does not yield as many tons of hay per acre as red clover, when mixed with red clover the two together make more and better hay than red clover does alone.

Alsike is intermediate in size between white and red clover. The blossom looks like that of white clover, except it has a pinkish tinge of color not found in the white clover. The stem is upright and branched and on land with sufficient moisture reaches a height of two feet or more.

While alsike will grow nearly everywhere that red clover will grow, it thrives best in the northern part of the country. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario and New York all report alsike as especially valuable to the beekeeper.

The honey is white in color, mild in flavor and is regarded as one of the best for table use. At times the yield is very heavy. In American Bee Journal, Nov. 2, 1899, are given several instances of large yields from this source. In one case a single colony of bees gathered 72 pounds in four days, or 18 pounds per day. Another report was of 251 pounds in 21 days, or 25 pounds per day, from alsike.

In number two of the first volume of the “Review,” Editor Hutchinson states that ten colonies of bees gathered 300 pounds of extracted honey from alsike, with only two acres within reach. This, of course, takes no account of the honey consumed by the bees, but indicates that the yield is good for the acreage within reach. In the following number of the same journal an Ontario beekeeper reports that he had not known a failure from alsike in eight years.

See also Clover.

ALTHEA, see Hollyhock.

Andromeda.

“Andromeda (a scraggy shrub of the heath family) blooms in the central northwestern part of Florida for about four weeks in March and early April; yielding but little, three years out of four. The honey, too, is reddish yellow, thick and pungent, not very valuable as a surplus honey plant.”--E. G. Baldwin, Gleanings, March 15, 1911.

AMERICAN ALOE, see Century Plant.

AMERICAN CRAB APPLE, see Crab Apple.

AMERICAN IVY, see Virginia Creeper.

ANAQUA, see Knockaway.

ANGLEPOD, see Bluevine.

APPLE (Malus).

America’s best and most widely used fruit is the apple. It is a native of Asia, but as a cultivated fruit is grown in most of the temperate regions of the world. Hundreds of varieties have been developed by plant breeders until there are few horticulturists who are familiar with them all. They range in size from the small cultivated crab-apples not more than an inch in diameter to the big Wolf River, often five or more inches in diameter. Some varieties are hard and sour and suitable for little else than making cider, while others are of the finest quality.

There is no more beautiful sight than an orchard in bloom in spring. The blossoms secrete nectar freely and in favorable weather the bees fairly swarm over them. The honey is light amber in color and of good quality. The trees bloom so early that it is of greatest value to stimulate spring brood-rearing, though strong colonies easily store surplus when the weather is suitable for the bees to fly freely during the period of bloom. Large orchardists often offer inducements to beekeepers to locate near their orchards for the better pollination of the fruit blossoms which results from the presence of large numbers of bees. In orchard districts there is frequently complaint on the part of the beekeepers that the bees are killed by the application of poisonous spray while the trees are in bloom. When American beekeepers learn to winter their colonies in such a manner as to maintain a reasonable strength in early spring, surplus honey in quantity may be expected from the orchard districts in favorable seasons. The weather is often too wet or too cold for the bees to fly during apple blossom, and this condition the apiarist can never overcome.

APOCYNUM, see Dogbane.

APRICOT (Prunus armeniaca).

The apricot is a well known cultivated fruit, somewhat intermediate between the plum and peach. It blooms very early in spring and is valuable as a source of early nectar and pollen. It is grown in large acreage in some portions of California, where it is regarded as valuable, by the beekeepers.

ARBUTUS (Epigaea repens). Trailing Arbutus or Ground Laurel.

A trailing plant with evergreen leaves. The rose colored flowers, in small clusters, appear in early spring. They are fragrant and attractive to the bees. There is an occasional report to the effect that arbutus is valuable to the bees as a source of early nectar.

ARCTOSTAPHYLOS, see Manzanita.

ARIZONA BUCKTHORN, see Gum Elastic.

ARIZONA--Honey Sources of.

The sources of our honey are the desert flora and cultivated crops, chiefly alfalfa. A few of the principal producing plants and their seasons are as follows:

Time of Blooming. Mesquite (=Prosopia velutina=) April-July Screw Bean (=Prosopis pubescens=) April-July Catsclaw (=Acacia greggii=) May-June Acacia (=Acacia constricta=) June Paloverde (=Parkinsonia torreyana=) May Desert flora (=Miscellaneous=) Depending upon rainfall Alfalfa (=Medicago sativa=) April-September

The wild honey plants, because of grazing animals and of wood-cutters, have greatly decreased within recent years. The area in alfalfa, on the other hand, is constantly increasing; but without a corresponding increase in honey-producing power. This is due to two principal causes: Farmers are now cutting alfalfa for hay at a much earlier stage in its growth than formerly, not allowing the plant to come into full bloom; and the alfalfa butterfly (=Colias eurytheme=), has so increased in numbers since 1895, that the honeyflow, which used to continue well into September, is now cut short in July. It is difficult to state the net effect of these changes upon the producing power of the country as a whole; but in Salt River Valley, under present conditions, judging from the shipments made during the last few years, our present irrigated areas, with adjoining desert tracts, are pretty fully stocked with bees. Other parts of the territory are as yet less thoroughly occupied.--R. H. Forbes, University of Arizona. “Timely Hints for Farmers,” No. 46.

ARKANSAS--Honey Sources of.

White clover is the source of some surplus in Arkansas, although it is too far south for such heavy yields as occur in the northern part of the range of this plant. Sweet clover is valuable in some localities. Tupelo, holly, blackgum, redbud, locust, tulip-poplar, blackberry, heartsease and asters are the important sources of nectar. Cotton yields in some sections of the State. Fruit bloom is valuable in spring, and where colonies are sufficiently strong some surplus may be expected.

ARTICHOKE, see Sunflower.

ASCLEPIAS, see Milkweed.

Asparagus.

The garden asparagus is an introduced plant widely cultivated. It is very attractive to the bees and yields pollen plentifully. As a source of nectar it is unimportant.

ASH (Fraxinus).

There are more than twenty species of ash trees common to various sections of America. Some are well known timber trees, furnishing lumber for furniture and for interior finishing. The flowers are small, inconspicuous and of a greenish color. Their principal value to the beekeeper is as a source of pollen, although Richter lists the Oregon ash (=Fraxinus oregona=) as a source of honey also.

ASH LEAVED MAPLE, see Box Elder.

=ASPEN (Populus).= Poplar or Cottonwood.

There are several species of poplars. It is a widely distributed group, some species being found in most all sections of the country. They are important for pollen, though some honeydew is reported from them also. They thrive especially well on the low lands along streams and are the most common trees of the plains region from Dakota south to Oklahoma and western Texas. This group should not be confused with the tulip-poplar, which see.

[Illustration: Fig. 10. White field aster (_Aster vimineus_).]

Aster.

The aster family is very widely distributed, being common in Europe, Asia and South Africa, as well as America. There are more than 200 recognized species, of which at least 125 are found in the United States. They are extremely common in the Eastern and Southern States, although some kinds are to be found in every State in the Union, and from Canada to Mexico. Every American beekeeper may be sure that his bees are within reach of at least one species of aster, and, in most localities, there are several species. Some species produce nectar much more abundantly than others, and it is probable that the flow from all kinds is more or less affected by soil or climatic conditions. So few beekeepers differentiate between the species that it is very difficult to secure satisfactory information regarding their comparative value.

[Illustration: Fig. 11. Purple stemmed aster (_Aster puniceus_).]

Asters are very seldom mentioned as sources of nectar in the southwest. Yet twenty-one species are listed as occurring in New Mexico. They seem to be of importance principally in the Eastern States. There are numerous reports of honey from asters in the Southeastern States of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, the amount of surplus increasing northward.

In most localities, the aster honey is mixed with that from goldenrod, and the two sources are usually spoken of together. In the September, 1917, issue of the American Bee Journal, appeared an extended article on goldenrods. Like the asters, they are of wide distribution, and, like them, they seem to produce nectar more abundantly in the moist climate of the Eastern States. Both bloom late in autumn, the crop often being cut short by frost.

According to Lovell, the asters are never common enough to yield a surplus in Maine, and the honey is always mixed with goldenrod.

As to the quality of the honey, there are many conflicting reports. Many reports are to the effect that the quality is poor and not suitable for table use. The fact that the honey is seldom unmixed with that of other fall flowers, may be responsible for this impression. C. P. Dadant had one year, in Illinois, a crop of about six barrels which was almost pure aster honey. This honey was secured late in the season, after other plants had ceased to yield, and was almost white, and of very fine quality.

[Illustration: Fig. 12. Large-leaved aster (_Aster macrophyllus_).]

There are numerous reports that a strong odor is apparent in the apiary when asters are yielding. We quote some of these:

“We had a fall flow from wild asters that filled the hives with honey for wintering, and gave a few gallons of extracted honey. The honey is of good color and weight, but rather strong for table use. It also granulates very quickly. When the bees are gathering this honey the hives give off a rank and somewhat sickening odor, which can be detected for quite a distance away. * * * This odor disappears as the honey ripens and the flow ceases, but the strong taste never entirely disappears. It is as strong as basswood and not nearly so pleasant.”--D. E. Andrews, Bloomington, Ind., page 98, American Bee Journal, 1907.

“The odor is not unpleasant, but is very noticeable when the bees are bringing much of it in, and it can be distinguished a considerable distance from the hives. The amount of ‘smell’ is such a good criterion as to the amount of honey that one can tell the quantity he is getting from these indications alone.”--W. H. Reed, Herrodsburg, Ky., page 228, Gleanings, 1911.

“In the Shenandoah Valley, in Virginia, where I lived for fourteen years, there were many acres of white aster. There were several years when the bloom was in sheets, affording a good yield of surplus. The honey was very light amber, of fine quality, and was considered next to white clover. At such times a strong odor, which was distinctly sour, could be noticed.”--Burdet Hassett. Page 257, Gleanings, 1911.

Much has been written concerning the danger of aster honey for winter stores. So many reports of disastrous results from wintering on aster honey have been published, that it is generally understood not to be safe for winter stores. However, it is probable that the trouble comes from honey gathered too late to be properly ripened, rather than because the honey is of poor quality. The fact that the honey granulates readily also probably accounts for the trouble in some cases.

[Illustration: Fig. 13. Arrow-leaved aster (_Aster sagittifolius_).]

In some localities, asters seem to be a dependable source of surplus, while in others they yield in appreciable quantity only in rare seasons. Kentucky seems to be in the heart of the territory where asters are important. The following are typical reports:

“We have never failed to get a good crop of surplus honey, and plenty left for the bees, from aster for more than twenty years, till this year.”--H. C. Clemons, Boyd, Ky. Page 90, Gleanings, 1909.

“In this section the asters are invaluable as fall forage for bees. Let the season be cold or hot, we are certain to have a continuous bloom from early in September until a really hard frost occurs. My Italian bees have never failed to secure enough honey from aster to carry them through the winter, even when there was hardly a pound of honey in the hives at the end of August--Daniel M. Worthington, Elkridge, Md., American Bee Journal, page 125, 1869.

“Blue aster (=Aster azureus=), known among farmers as blue devil, or stickweed, in my judgment, is one of the best we have, from the fact that it produces honey in the fall of the year. It is usually in full bloom until about the middle of October, and if the weather is warm enough for the bees to fly, they get plenty of honey to winter on from this flower.”--West Virginia. Page 869, American Bee Journal, 1906.

It is probable that most of the species are of more or less value for honey under favorable conditions. The writer has seen bees working on arrow-leaf (=Aster sagittifolius=) on sunny days in Cass County, Iowa, the first week in November, after everything else had been killed by frost. Figure 13 shows this species, which occurs in dry, open woods, from New Brunswick to Ontario, and west to Dakota, and from New York to the Ohio valley, and along the mountains to Georgia and Alabama.

Generally speaking, the small-flowered species with willow-shaped leaves, are best for honey. =Aster tradescanti= is probably first in the list as a source of surplus. It is found from Ontario to Saskatchewan, and throughout the States east of the Mississippi, south to the Gulf States. =Aster salicifolius= is probably one of the best in Iowa and Illinois, being common on low ground.

[Illustration: Fig. 14. Swamp aster (_Aster acuminatus_).]

In a private letter, F. W. L. Sladen writes concerning the asters in Canada, as follows:

“I have this year had confirmation that =Aster cordifolius= is a useful source of surplus honey in favorable seasons in the Gatineau valley in September. During a period of very fine weather between September 11 and 22, a crop of 12,000 pounds of honey, principally from this source, and from the late flowering species of goldenrod, was obtained by Joseph Martineau, at Montcerf, Quebec, from 300 colonies. The honey was light amber color, and a pleasant flavor, and not unwholesome for wintering, not granulating in the combs. (See Experimental Farms report 1914-15, page 996). Other valuable species of aster in Canada for honey production are =A. lateriflorus= (Maritime provinces to Ontario); =Aster umbellatus= (Maritime provinces to Eastern Manitoba), and =Aster puniceus=, Fig. 11 (Maritime provinces to Ontario).”--Ottawa, October 2, 1917.

=Aster puniceus=, the purple-stemmed aster, Fig. 11, is found from Nova Scotia to the Rocky Mountains and south to Northern Alabama. It is one of the most attractive of the asters, growing on wet land and in the borders of swamps. Lovell writes that in Maine he has seen the bees on this species in large numbers on September 17.

The white field aster, or frost flower (=Aster vimineus=), Fig. 10, is common from Eastern Canada to Minnesota, and south to Arkansas and Florida. It grows in dry, open fields, along roadsides, and in waste places. It is a late bloomer, belonging to the group of field asters which are important for nectar. Some other species, however, yield more freely.

The swamp aster (=Aster acuminatus=) occurs on wet land, but as far as available information goes is not valuable for honey.

The large-leaved =Aster macrophyllus=, Fig. 12, is a northern species, found in open woodlands. Graenicher observed ninety-five species of insects on the flowers of this species in Wisconsin, which indicates nectar in abundance in that State.

Several other species are known to produce nectar freely, =A. multiflorus=, =A. lateriflorus=, =A. dumosus=, =A. paniculatus= and =A. vimineus= being reported from various localities. =A. ericoides= is reported as valuable in Missouri.

“There is an abundance of =Aster ericoides= now in full bloom. The bees are working on it more vigorously than they have on white clover or any other bloom.”--George E. Wilkins, Wright County, Mo. Page 699, American Bee Journal, 1904.

So far, we have been unable to find any records of surplus honey from asters west of the Missouri River.

ASTRAGALUS, see Loco Weed.

AZALEA (Rhododendron).

The azaleas are closely related to the mountain laurel and are likewise sometimes reported as poisonous. (See Laurel; also Poisonous Honey). The flame-colored azalea is common in the mountains of the Eastern States from Pennsylvania to Georgia. It has a profusion of showy, flame-colored blossoms coming just when the leaves appear. Probably several of the group yield nectar in quantity to be important wherever they are sufficiently plentiful.

B

BALLOON VINE (Cardiospermum halicacabum).

The balloon vine is a herbaceous climber with alternate leaves and clusters of small white flowers, followed by a three-celled inflated pod. This species is common along streams in south Texas. =C. molle=, a Mexican species, is also found to some extent in the mountains west of the Pecos River, according to Coulter.

Balloon vine is reported as the source of considerable honey in Texas. Scholl lists it is a fair yielder, but plants not abundant. Other reports indicate that it is the source of considerable surplus along the Gulf Coast of that State.

BALSAM APPLE, see Wild Cucumber.

BANANA (Musa sapientum).

Since the banana plant is little grown in the United States, it is seldom mentioned as a honey plant, yet it secretes nectar very abundantly, and in countries where bananas are grown on a large scale it must be important to the beekeeper. We are showing herewith two illustrations, one of the plant in fruit and one showing the opening of the bloom.

[Illustration: Fig. 15. Blossoms of the banana.]

The following description of the possibilities of this plant is reprinted from page 83 of the American Bee Journal for 1880, and was written by a correspondent in Clifton Springs, Florida:

“Recently noticing bees working upon blossoms, I concluded to examine them. To my surprise, I found that each blossom had a sack on its under side, which contained several drops of nectar of the consistency and sweetness of thin syrup. This sack gradually opens, allowing the contents to escape, unless appropriated by some insect. The blossom hangs in a position that rain cannot enter to dilute or wash out the nectar. Procuring a teaspoon, I emptied into it the contents of a dozen blossoms, which filled it full. Each stalk, on good land, will produce a head having a hundred hands or divisions of blossoms, and each hand averages six blossoms, giving 600 blossoms to the stalk. Estimating 100 teaspoonfuls to the pint (88 of the one used filled a pint measure) we have 50 spoonfuls, or half a pint to the stalk. Planted in checks 8×8 feet, there will be 680 plants to the acre, yielding, according to the above estimate, 42¹⁄₂ gallons of nectar. But usually more than one stalk in a hill blossoms and matures fruit annually. The blossoms used were below those that produce fruit, which later, I am told, are much richer in honey.

“The first blossoms which open mature fruit. These vary in number from 25 to 100, according to quality of land, cultivation, etc. They sell here at from 1¹⁄₂ to 2 cents per finger or pod. Estimating fruit at 25 fingers per bunch and the bunches at 25 cents each--which, you see, is a low estimate for both, the result will be a barrel of nectar, or $170 worth of fruit per acre. How does this showing compare with other cultivated plants as combined honey and money crop?”

[Illustration: Fig. 16. The banana.]

BARBERRY (Berberis).

[Illustration: Fig. 17. Triple-leaved barberry, or agarita.]

The common barberry, introduced from Europe, has become naturalized in the Northern States and occurs in thickets and woodlands from the Atlantic Coast to Iowa and southward. It blooms in May and June and is well known as an attractive plant to the bees, though seldom sufficiently abundant to be important. It is much cultivated for ornament.

In Texas, the triple-leaved barberry (=Berberis trifoliata=) is known as agarites, the Mexican name, and as wild currant. It is common over a large part of the southern portion of the State and is an important source of early nectar. It is a shrub 4 to 6 feet high, with stiff leaves and bright yellow flowers that grow in dense clusters along the stem. The red berries ripen in May and are often called currants. They are used for jelly or sauce, as well as for barberry wine. The plants are to be found in thickets, in open woodlands and along roadsides, in fence corners and other waste places where the seeds have been scattered by birds.

“As a honey plant it is one of much value to me. It blooms here early in February, and the bloom continues for several weeks, some bushes blooming later than others. The pollen yield is abundant, bright yellow in color. It is the second bloomer of the year on my list of Texas honey plants, coming after mistletoe and before our main fruit bloom.”--Louis Scholl, Gleanings, Feb., 1907.

Richter reports the California barberry (=Berberis pinnata=) yields surplus in Monterey County after manzanita has bloomed. The honey is amber in color. The plant is rather common from Berkely Hills south to Monterey, blooming in March and April, according to Jepson. (See also Oregon grape).

BARNABY’S THISTLE, see Star Thistle.

BASIL or MOUNTAIN MINT (Pycananthemum virginianum).

Basil is common from New England to the Missouri River and southward. There are numerous reports from beekeepers to the effect that bees work upon it very eagerly from morning till night. It is probably nowhere of much importance, though it would be if sufficiently common.

BASSWOOD (Tilia americana).

[Illustration: Fig. 18. Basswood tree in bloom.]

The basswood, also known as linden, whitewood, and sometimes as limetree, is one of the best known sources of honey in the Eastern States. There are other species closely related which also produce nectar, and which, perhaps, would not be distinguished by the casual observer. The natural range of the basswood is from Canada to Florida and west to Nebraska and Texas. It is also grown as a shade tree in other Western States and is mentioned by Richter in the bulletin on “Honey Plants of California,” as an introduced species of value. Fig. 18 shows the trees in bloom, and Fig. 19 a close view of the blossom and leaf.

[Illustration: Fig. 19. Blossom and leaf of the basswood.]

The tree thrives on rich lands, and in the cooler regions of the country reaches a large size. The wood is soft and white and much in demand for making sections, separators and other bee supplies requiring a soft wood cut in thin sheets. For such purposes basswood has no superior. The wood is also sought for use in the manufacture of furniture, packing boxes, etc.; as well as for paper making.

The blooming period is short, seldom yielding to exceed ten days or two weeks, and often for a much shorter period. The honeyflows from basswood are irregular and only to be depended upon about two or three years out of every five. A heavy flow from this source occurs only occasionally, but when it does come it is worth waiting for, for enormous yields are sometimes secured. The honey is white in color, with rather a strong flavor, but is usually regarded as high quality. Good basswood locations are no longer plentiful, as the cutting of the forests over the entire country has resulted in a large reduction of this along with other trees.

The European linden (=Tilia europaea=) has been planted in many places and, according to Sladen, is the source of surplus honey at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

BASTARD-PENNYROYAL, see Blue Curls.

BATCHELOR’S BUTTON, see Centaurea.

BAY, see Magnolia.

BEAN (Phaseolus).

There are two varieties of the garden bean which are the source of nectar in quantity. Surplus honey from beans is seldom reported except in Southern California. Ventura County is said to produce as high as 72 per cent of the lima beans raised in the entire United States; 800,000 sacks is the reported output for 1910. The honey from lima beans is almost water white in color and of fine flavor, according to M. H. Mendleson, of Ventura, California, who has produced many tons of this honey. The black-eyed beans yield a dark amber honey, but of good quality. A peculiarity of honey from lima beans is that it will sometimes sweat and ferment when left too long on the hives of weak colonies, near the coast. This, according to Mendleson, seldom happens with strong colonies, nor does it happen in any case in the interior. Honey from beans granulates very readily.

The honeyflow from beans is regarded as very dependable. Occasionally the blossoms are blasted by hot east winds, but not frequently. In Ventura County the average from this source is reported as 50 pounds per colony per year, with as high as 140 pounds in an exceptional season. The beans bloom through a long season, beginning in July and continuing till September, with the principal crop of nectar harvested in July. The bloom is prolonged by irrigation.

The principal counties of California where beans are important are: Ventura, Orange, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego.

BEARBERRY, see Manzanita.

BEAVER TREE, see Magnolia.

BEE BALM (Melissa officinalis).

A sweet perennial herb, cultivated in gardens, from Southern Europe and North Africa. Sometimes escaped; flowers yellow or whitish, several in each auxiliary cluster. Plant erect and branching, with broad opposite leaves. Attractive to the bees, but not sufficiently abundant to be important.

BEECH (Fagus grandifolia).

The beech is a large tree common to Eastern America. It is known from Nova Scotia to Ontario and southward, sometimes in extensive forests. Its principal value to the beekeeper is as a source of pollen, though honeydew is sometimes secured from the leaves.

BEEWEED, see Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.

BEGGAR TICK, see Spanish Needle.

BINDWEED (Polygonum convolvulus).

The black bindweed is a common weed throughout the Eastern States. It is of European origin, introduced into this country. It belongs to a family of plants which produce honey in quantity, but, is itself, of little value. The first indication that reached the author that this plant was sometimes of value to the bees, was the receipt of a specimen, by mail, with the information that the bees were working upon it. Careful watch was then kept for several years, before they were seen to seek it in his locality. Since that time there have been a few occasions when the bees have sought it freely and when it seemed to yield some nectar. It is doubtful whether it is ever of much importance as a source of honey.

The seed has been widely distributed with grain seeds and is very troublesome in fields of small grain. The vine closely resembles the wild morning glory, to the casual observer, but the blossom is small and inconspicuous, followed with a seed somewhat like buckwheat, hence it is often called wild buckwheat.

[Illustration: Fig. 20. The Black bindweed is a common weed.]

BIRCH (Betula).

There are several species of birch trees and shrubs common to Eastern America. They are partial to low, rich woodlands, and some occur in the far north. In some localities they are valuable for pollen.

BITTERSWEET (Celastrus scandens). Waxwork, or Climbing Bittersweet.

A well-known climbing shrub common in woodlands. The orange-colored pods displaying the scarlet covered seeds are often gathered for winter bouquets. The flowers are small and greenish in raceme-like clusters at the termination of the branches.

“The bees work freely on bittersweet.”--Miss Mitchell, Keokuk, Iowa.

BITTERWEED (Helenium tenuifolium).

The author’s first experience with bitterweed honey was in south Missouri in 1904 or 1905. There had been a good flow from white clover, followed by a dearth for a time, and the unfinished sections were filled out with bitterweed honey. The sections looked very nice and a northern beekeeper who had recently settled near the town of Salem, innocently sold his honey to the townspeople. The next time he came to town there were numerous persons looking for him, and he found it necessary to take back most of the honey he had marketed on his previous visit. The honey from this source is so bitter that a very little of it will spoil a fine crop of the best white honey. A few cells are sufficient to make a whole section absolutely unpalatable.

[Illustration: Fig. 21. Honey from bitterweed is unfit for table use.]

On a visit to Tennessee the author was very much interested in this plant, which grows freely along roadsides, in barnyards and similar places, much as dogfennel or mayweed does in the Northern States. The range of the plant is given as from Arkansas and Texas to North Carolina. It probably does not appear to any extent north of Tennessee.

Chas. Mohr says of it (Plant Life of Alabama, page 54):

“The bitterweed, originally from the sunny plains west of the Mississippi River south of the Arkansas Valley, was first observed in Mobile in 1866. It has spread along the embankments of the railroads to the mouth of the Ohio River, literally covering in many places the waste and uncultivated grounds, and reaching out along byroads and borders of fields and woodlands. It its northward spread it has largely taken the place of the mayweed (=Anthemis cotula=), a European weed of early introduction.”

Regarding honey from this source J. J. Wilder says (American Bee Journal, Vol. 54, page 410):

“It is truly a nectar-laden plant. Though it does not grow in great fields as yet, bees will store from 30 to 35 pounds of surplus from it. Its flowers are of a deep yellow; the honey, light yellow, heavy body, soon granulates when extracted. It is bitter; in fact it is about as offensive to the palate as quinine. In most sections of the South the cotton plant begins yielding two or three weeks before the bitterweed, and if it were not for the well-established fact that bees do not desert a honey plant for another as long as it yields well, nearly all the summer and fall honey would be unfit for market on account of the bitterweed. In sections where the cotton does not yield much, the honey is all bitter, and a small amount of it will ruin a tank of good honey. Bitterweed is also a great pollen plant, furnishing abundance of bright yellow pollen throughout its blooming period. Even the stems and foliage of this plant are intensely bitter, and no animals eat it.”

Pammel cites a quotation which states that it has been reported as fatal to horses and mules in several of the Gulf States. It is said to contain a narcotic poison and to be the cause of bitter milk.

A relative of this plant, the northern sneezeweed (=Helenium automnale=) is also a good honey plant, and probably less bitter than the southern or narrow-leaved sneezeweed just described. Neither, however, can be said to be a desirable addition to the honey-producing flora, because of spoiling good honey from mixing with it. The northern sneezeweed is found in various localities from Connecticut to the Dakotas and southward. It is also found in places in the Rocky Mountain States.

The bitter honey seems to be as good as any for brood-rearing and, where present, the beekeeper should use care to avoid mixing it with his marketable produce, and use it for feeding the bees. The bitterness is said to come from the pollen grains present in the honey, which improves greatly with age, as the pollen grains settle to the bottom of the container.

BLACKBERRY (Rubus).

The blackberries, dewberries and raspberries are closely related plants, all of which are good honey sources. The blackberry is especially well known in the Southeastern States, where it thrives in fence corners and moist woodland borders. In north Georgia it is one of the principal sources of surplus honey. Farther north the nectar yield is apparently not as good, and in some localities the bees apparently do not get much honey from this source. Lovell states that in New England there is very little nectar available from either wild or cultivated blackberries. Richter states that the Himalaya variety of blackberry yields some honey in Yuba County, California. John W. Cash reports an average of 25 pounds per colony of surplus at Bogart, Georgia. The honey is amber, very thick, and does not granulate.

There are parts of California where the dewberry is reported to be very important and to yield surplus. The honey is of good flavor and a light amber color.

The raspberry is the most important of the group. (See Raspberry).

[Illustration: Fig. 22. Mangrove bloom.]

BLACK BINDWEED, see Bindweed.

BLACK GUM, see Tupelo.

BLACK HAW (Viburnum prunifolium).

The black haw belongs to a group containing several valuable honey plants. It occurs from Connecticut to Michigan and south to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. (In the South it is given a varietal name.) It is a shrub or small tree, blooming in the North in May and June and in the South in April and May. Its principal value lies in stimulating early brood-rearing, since in few localities it is of sufficient abundance to be important as a source of surplus.

Scholl lists it as yielding well, early, in Texas.

[Illustration: Fig. 23. The black mangrove tree.]

BLACK LOCUST, see Locust.

BLACK MEDIC (Medicago lupulina).

Black medic is a widely distributed plant in California, but not very common. It blooms from April to June. It is the source of some nectar, but is probably not of much importance, except possibly in a few limited localities.

BLACK MANGROVE (Avicennia nitida).

Black mangrove (=Avicennia nitida=) is also known as blackwood, or blacktree. It is an evergreen tree, growing along the seashores of the coast of Florida. It is said also to occur to some extent along the gulf coast to Texas and throughout the coasts of Tropical America. It varies from a bushy shrub to a tall tree 60 or more feet in height in tropical regions. The wood is coarse-grained, hard and very durable in contact with the soil. The tree is to be found only in the vicinity of salt water.

The honey from the mangrove is light in color, mild in flavor, and is generally regarded as of first quality. According to E. G. Baldwin it was the heaviest yielder of nectar known in the south prior to the big freeze of 1895. In one year he reports Harry Mitchell, of Hawk’s Park, as having secured an average of 380 pounds per colony from mangrove alone. Following the freeze it failed to yield nectar in surplus quantity for about fifteen years, and reports since that time have indicated that it is not up to its former importance.

The blooming period opens about the middle of June and usually includes the entire month of July. The flow usually lasts from six to eight weeks.

BLACK TREE, see Black Mangrove.

BLACKWOOD, see Black Mangrove.

BLOODROOT (Sanguinaria canadensis).

The bloodroot is a common wild flower in the moist woods of all our Northern States. It blooms early in April, and is eagerly sought by the bees for pollen. The plant is shown at Fig. 24.

[Illustration: Fig. 24. The bloodroot is a source of early pollen.]

BLUEBERRY (Vaccinium).

There are at least four species of blueberry which give surplus honey in localities where they are abundant. According to Sladen, the dwarf or early sweet blueberry, (=Vaccinium pennsylvanicum=), and the sour-top or velvet-leaf blueberry (=Vaccinium canadense=), often give surplus in northern Ontario, northern Quebec and eastern Manitoba.

Blueberry honey is frequently reported from New England. W. J. Sheppard reports that =Vaccinium ovalifolium= is of importance in British Columbia.

There are several other species in the Northeastern States that probably yield some nectar. Sladen reports blueberry as important in Nova Scotia.

According to Lovell =Vaccinium corymbosum=, the high bush blueberry, is important in southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, in some localities beekeepers being principally dependent upon it. The flow comes late in May or early June and lasts for about ten days. Strong colonies store as high as 50 to 90 pounds of surplus from it. He reports =V. pennsylvanicum=, the low bush blueberry already mentioned, as common throughout northern New England, in pastures and on rocky land. It is important in the blueberry barrens of Maine. The honey is amber and of good flavor.

BLUEBONNET, see Lupine.

BLUEBOTTLE, see Centaurea.

BLUE CURLS (Trichostema lanceolatum).

Blue curls is a plant known by a great variety of names in California. It is known as vinegar weed, camphor weed, turpentine weed, flea weed, bastard-pennyroyal, etc. It abounds over a large portion of California. According to Jepson, the range is throughout the Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada foothills and southern California. The Western Honeybee lists it as the best fall honey plant in California. Both foliage and flowers have a pungent, penetrating odor. The plant is found mostly in stubble fields, where it appears after grain harvest. From the same source we quote as follows:

“Under favorable atmospheric conditions it yields abundantly of a very white honey, that granulates quickly and with a fine grain. Sometimes it granulates before the bees have time to seal the cells. One peculiarity of this plant is that it continues to yield honey for several hours after falling to the ground. The quality of the honey is good.”--Western Honeybee. October, 1914.

“It is often claimed that rain will end the honeyflow from blue curls. I find by several seasons’ observation that this is an error. If a rain is followed by favorable atmospheric conditions--warmth and humidity--the nectar secretion is increased instead of diminished.”--Western Honeybee, November, 1916.

The flow from blue curls begins in August and continues till frost. Richter reports that very large yields are sometimes secured from this source, tons of honey sometimes being stored in the vicinity of Fresno. A report of an average of 80 pounds per colony from this source reached the author when visiting at Visalia.

[Illustration: Fig. 25. The blue curl.]

BLUE GUM, see Eucalyptus.

BLUE LUPINE, see Lupine.

BLUET, see Centaurea.

BLUE THISTLE (Eryngium articulatum).

The blue thistle is listed by Richter as the source of a dark honey of good flavor in California. He reports it from the Suisun Marshes, along the Consumnes River and the Alvarado Marshes, blooming from August to October.

BLUEVINE (Gonolobus laevis).

This plant is also known as devil’s shoestring, climbing milkweed, sand vine, wild sweet potato vine and anglepod. It is a vine of luxuriant growth, common on low lands from Virginia and Tennessee westward to Missouri and south to Texas. It is common in Southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, where it is a persistent and troublesome weed. It is especially troublesome in the corn fields, where it may be found climbing the stalks. A single vine will run for many feet on fence wires or other support. It blooms freely through July and August, and is the source of large quantities of surplus honey of good quality. The honey is light in color, mild in flavor and does not granulate readily. S. H. Burton, of Washington, Indiana, reports a yield of 60 pounds per colony in three weeks and an average of as high as 80 pounds per colony has been reported from Southern Indiana. From Missouri come similar reports, W. L. Wiley, of Brunswick, reporting as much as 100 pounds surplus from strong colonies.

[Illustration: Fig. 26. Seed pods and leaves of the bluevine, or sandvine.]

The plant may be readily recognized by the abundant clusters of small, white flowers, which are followed by seed pods similar to those of the milkweed. When the pods are dry they split open and the seeds are widely scattered by means of their cottony parachutes.

The honey is clear, heavy-bodied and of excellent flavor. The plant grows chiefly in cornfields in river bottom land and is perennial. It blooms before smartweed, but the smartweed honey is usually mixed with it, as it comes in later.

BLUEWEED or VIPER’S BUGLOSS (Echium vulgare).

The blueweed, or viper’s bugloss, is a weed naturalized from Europe. It is common in the meadows and roadsides of the Eastern States. It has showy purple or blue flowers and grows about two feet high. June is the flowering period. Sladen lists it as an important source of nectar in Southern Ontario. Probably not sufficiently abundant to be very important in many places.

This plant was introduced into Australia from Europe by a settler named Patterson, and has become widely spread there, where it is known as “Patterson’s curse.” Rayment states that it yields honey, but hardly sufficient to store much in the supers. (Money in Bees in Australasia).

[Illustration: Fig. 27. Boneset yields in late summer and fall.]

BONESET (Eupatorium).

There are 475 species of =Eupatorium= known, many of them found in Tropical America. Some are found in Europe, Asia and South America, so that the plants have a wide range. Forty-five or more species are common to North America. Whether nearly all yield nectar, we have no records to prove. Fig. 27 shows =Eupatorium ageratoides=, a species common from New England south to Tennessee and Georgia. According to J. M. Buchanan, it is common over the State of Tennessee, but only yields honey in the northern part. He reports the honey to be a light amber, of strong flavor. The yield comes in August and September. Fig. 28 shows the white snakeroot (=E. urticaefolium=), a species common to the woodlands of the Middle West. Although the bees visit this species freely, from September until killed by frost, usually in October, the honey yield is probably rather small.

The Joe-Pye weed or turnip weed (=E. purpureum=), is frequently reported as yielding honey, and it is one of the most widely distributed species. It is found from New Brunswick to Manitoba and south to Colorado, Texas and Florida.

The boneset of commerce is made from thoroughwort (=E. perfoliatum=), which is one of the best for honey in the Northern States and Canada.

All the bonesets are autumn bloomers, and the honey is usually mixed with that of heartsease, asters, goldenrod, Spanish needles and other plants blooming at the same period. Several years ago Professor Beal made the statement, in the American Bee Journal, that there were twenty species or more valuable to the bees. The wide distribution of the group, together with the regularity of its yield, make it one of special importance to the beekeeper, although the amount of surplus gathered from boneset is not often as large as that of many other well-known plants.

Some species of boneset are to be found in almost any kind of situation. While white snakeroot grows in shady woodlands, other kinds delight in open, sunny situations, along roadsides and in pastures or waste places. Some do best on high lands, while others thrive in low, wet land. In places in the Mississippi River bottoms in Illinois, boneset, together with heartsease and Spanish needle, cover acres of the richest land like a waving grain field.

[Illustration: Fig. 28. White snakeroot.]

An Illinois beekeeper reports =Eupatorium serotinum= to be one of the best honey plants he knows.

BOOTJACK, see Spanish Needle.

BORAGE (Borago officinalis).

Borage is a European plant which is cultivated for honey and as an ornamental. Its blue flowers are very attractive to the bees. The following quotations indicate its value to the beekeeper:

“The period of blooming is from June 20 to cold weather. Where there are no plants for bees to work upon, borage does very well; but when white clover and basswood are in bloom, bees will forsake the borage for them. As cold weather begins to come, they swarm to the borage. It is a good honey plant, when there are no plants of greater importance in bloom.”--Fisk Bangs, American Bee Journal, page 84, 1878.

“In Practicher Wegweiser, page 280, Herr Willhelm says that in response to the general cry, ‘Sow borage,’ he has been sowing it for years and now has it in abundance. How the bees do hum upon it! But, alas! now that he has it in such abundance that it shows its character in the surplus honey, he finds it such as no customer wants, and says it is as black as a certain ‘gentleman’ with whom beekeepers do not generally care to have dealings. The task of getting it now rooted out is a difficult one.”--American Bee Journal, page 103, 1908.

BOX ELDER (Negundo aceroides or Acer negundo).

The box elder, or ash-leaved maple, is a near relative of the maples, and is sometimes included with them. Fig. 29 shows the staminate blossoms of box elder. As in the willows, the stamens are borne on one plant and the pistils on another.

[Illustration: Fig. 29. Blossoms of the box elder.]

The box elder is found from New England and Southern Canada west to Dakota and southward. It is also common in California. Apparently its range does not extend as far southward as other maples. It is very commonly planted for windbreaks and shade in the prairie States of the Central West. Some honey is yielded by the blossoms, and honeydew is often secreted by aphis feeding on the leaves. While not generally regarded as especially valuable, its season is such that its addition to honey-producing flora is important. The blooms come very soon after soft maple, in April.

BOSTON IVY (Ampelopsis veitchii).

The Boston ivy is a well-known climbing vine, clinging to the walls of brick and stone buildings in all our northern cities. The flowers are very attractive to the bees in midsummer and the bees store some honey from this source. The quality is rather inferior.

BRASSICA, see Mustard.

BRAZIL or LOGWOOD (Condalia obovata).

Brazil or logwood is a spiny shrub, or small tree, common to Western Texas. It occurs in the lower Rio Grande and is reported as a source of honey at Brownsville. There it is smaller than farther north and west. In places it forms very dense thickets, called “chaparral.” Beekeepers report it as important in the fall, yielding a dark honey. The honey is said to be of fine flavor, despite its dark color. The flow at Beeville is reported as being very rapid. At Goliad, W. C. Collier reports Brazil as the best all-round honey plant. He states that it blooms sometimes in spring and sometimes in fall. Again, it sometimes blooms several times, and yields at irregular periods. At Crystal City, the honey from Brazil is reported as rank flavored, exactly opposite from reports of quality in eastern parts of its range.

BRITISH COLUMBIA--Honey Plants of.

Indigenous honey-yielding flowers, Kootenays, B. C.: Willows--Glauceus or pussy willow (=Salix discolor=). River bank willow (=Salix longifolia=). Flower in March and April and probably yield more pollen than honey. Dandelion (=Taraxicum officinale=). Flowers in April and May. Bearberry--Kinnikinnik (=Arctostaphylos Uva ursi=). Blueberry (=Vaccinium ovalifolium=). Huckleberry (=Gaylussacia resinosa=). Choke cherry (=Prunus demissa=). Bird or pin cherry (=Prunus pennsylvanica=). Bearberry--Kinnikinnik (=Arctostaphylos Uva ursi=). Wild raspberry (=Rubus=). Flowers in June. Dogbane--Milkweed (=Apocynum androsaemifolium=). Spreading dogbane. Snowberry (=Symphoricarpos racemosus=). Wolfberry (=Symphoricarpos occidentalis=). Canada thistle (=Cirsium arvense=). Flowers in June and July. Willow herb or fireweed (=Epilobium angustifolium=). Goldenrod (=Soladago canadense=). Flowers in July and August.

--W. J. Sheppard. American Bee Journal, Nov., 1917.

BROOMWEED (Gutierrezia texana).

Broomweed is a common fall plant over a large portion of Texas, on the prairies. According to Scholl it yields well in September and October. The honey is dark and strong and valued mostly for winter stores. In the November 1, 1906, issue of American Bee Journal he writes as follows concerning this plant:

“Broomweed is still in bloom, the pastures being one sheet of golden yellow. Cold nights and cool, windy days have interfered with the bees somewhat, but there are yet many warm days when the bees are very busy. Some of my bees have stored a good deal of surplus from this plant, for this time of the year--about 20 pounds per colony. The honey is a golden yellow and has a somewhat strong taste, a little bitter, and hence is not a suitable honey for market.”

BUCKBRUSH, see Indian Currant, also Snowberry and Dogbane.

BUCKEYE (Aesculus).

The buckeye or horse chestnut is widely distributed and well known because of the poisonous properties of the peculiar nut-like fruit, everywhere called buckeye. There are several species, with minor differences. The photograph is of the blossoms of the Ohio buckeye (=Aesculus glabra=). This species occurs from New England west to Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma and south to Georgia, Alabama and east Texas. There is a species common on the Pacific Coast known as the California buckeye (=Aesculus californica=). This species is reported as yielding considerable honey in some localities in California, and some beekeepers think it is poisonous to the bees.

[Illustration: Fig. 30. Blossoms and leaves of buckeye or horse-chestnut.]

The buckeye is widely mentioned as a honey plant, though there are few localities where it is sufficiently abundant to be important as a source of surplus.

BUCKTHORN (Rhamnus).

The common buckthorn (=Rhamnus cathartica=) is a hedge plant introduced from Europe and commonly cultivated. It has become naturalized in some localities.

In California there are three species reported as important sources of honey. The coffee berry (=Rhamnus californica=) is an evergreen shrub 4 to 6 feet high, with olive-like leaves, common to the Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada Mountains and southward. Called also pigeon berry.

Richter reports this species as yielding an amber honey of very heavy body in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and also in San Diego County. Honey of good flavor, slightly cathartic.

The redberry (=Rhamnus crocea=) occurs in the Napa Range and southward near the coast to southern California, according to Jepson. It is tree-like, with a distinct trunk, sometimes several stems clustered, 5 to 12 feet high. Richter reports it of special value for early breeding.

The Cascara Sagrada or Chittam (=Rhamnus purshiana=) occurs in northern California, where it is reported as an important source of amber honey. In the timbered portions of western Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, it is reported as one of the chief sources of honey. The honey is amber, with a delightful aroma. When fully ripened it is too thick to extract readily, and there is much breakage of combs. The flow begins in May and the honey is usually mixed with that from other plants. The blooming period lasts about a month.

“We get more honey from cascara than from any other one plant in this vicinity. It is so dark as a comb honey that it is a poor seller to those who go on looks alone. We prefer it on our table to any other honey. I have customers who will take no other. It is not purgative, but one of the best remedies for chronic constipation known. I have never known any of the pure article to granulate under any conditions.”--A. D. Herold, Gleanings, Jan. 1, 1910.

BUCKWHEAT (Fagopyrum esculentum).

Buckwheat is a native to Asia, which was early introduced into America from Europe by the colonists. It has become an important field crop, and buckwheat flour is a staple in American markets. It is often sowed as a catch crop on lands that have not been ready for early sown crops, or where the first sowed crop failed to secure a stand. It requires a short season in which to reach maturity and is usually sown in June or July. It needs a cool, moist climate for best results and often fails to yield a satisfactory crop of grain or to secrete nectar in the hot and dry atmosphere of Iowa and Nebraska.

It is well suited to sandy or other light soils and is grown extensively in the sandy lands of northern Michigan.

Buckwheat is an important source of surplus honey in the region of the Great Lakes. Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan are the States from which come the great crops of buckwheat honey. Although the crop is often grown further west, the amount of honey secured is very disappointing in most cases. The author corresponded with a number of prominent Iowa beekeepers, and found only one who had secured surplus honey from buckwheat to any extent, and his was mixed with other sources to such an extent as to have a very different color and flavor from that which is secured unmixed.

It was given a trial at the Texas Agricultural College for a period of three years. It failed to meet expectations as a honey plant on account of the hot and dry weather which prevails there during most summers. It was reported as blooming profusely, but not yielding nectar.

[Illustration: Fig. 31. Buckwheat field in bloom.]

In New York it is regarded as one of the best honey plants. The late E. W. Alexander, writing in Gleanings, stated that he had kept 200 colonies in a location with scarcely 100 acres of buckwheat within four miles, yet had harvested 15 to 20 pounds of section honey from buckwheat per colony. He stated that it yielded best with cool nights followed by a clear sky and a hot sun, with little or no wind. Under such conditions it secreted nectar freely from about 9 a. m. to 2 p. m. No bees would be seen on it earlier or later in the day. On one occasion, when there were 1,500 acres of buckwheat within reach of his bees, they were gathering fast at the beginning of the August harvest. A thunder storm caused the temperature to drop 21 degrees in less than half an hour. The weather remained cloudy and windy, with a temperature of about 65 degrees, for eleven days. During that time the bees gathered no honey, and destroyed much of their brood.--Gleanings, March 15, 1907.

The Ontario Association’s Crop Report Committee reported an average per colony production of 23 pounds from the more than ten thousand colonies belonging to its members for two years in succession. A writer in the American Bee Journal asserts that in a favorable season an acre of buckwheat will yield 25 pounds of honey daily, and that a strong colony within half a mile of a field, will store six to eight pounds per day. Alexander kept as high as 700 colonies in one yard, at his home near Delanson, New York, and secured satisfactory crops, though, of course, there was a large acreage within reach.

Quality of the Honey

Honey from buckwheat is very dark and has a strong flavor. People who are accustomed to light and mild honey of the clover type seldom like it. On the other hand, residents of the west, who were raised in the buckwheat country of eastern New York, regard the clover honey as insipid and not to be compared to the dark honey with which they were familiar in childhood. Buckwheat honey has a peculiar flavor, slightly nauseating to one unaccustomed to it.

During a heavy flow from this source there is a strong odor present in the apiary which can be detected for some distance. J. L. Byer, in the American Bee Journal, tells of a case where a farmer and his wife spent some time looking for dead chickens in the vicinity of the hives, mistaking the odor of the new nectar, which the bees were bringing in, for that of a dead fowl. (Page 306, October, 1908.)

Buckwheat varies somewhat in density, according to weather conditions at the time it is gathered. When fully ripened on the hives it is sometimes so thick as to be hard to extract. Some beekeepers report honey from this source which weighs as much as fourteen pounds to the gallon. On the other hand, there are numerous reports of very thin honey, probably because of being extracted before fully ripened.

Buckwheat honey is used largely in France to make a gingerbread “pain d’épices,” in which the peculiar odor and flavor of the buckwheat is very noticeable and is much liked by those who are accustomed to it.

BUCKWHEAT TREE, see Ti-Ti.

BUFFALO BEAN, see Loco Weed.

BULL BAY, see Magnolia.

BUM-WOOD, see Poisonwood.

BURDOCK (Arctium lappa).

The burdock is a coarse, disagreeable weed, introduced from Europe and Asia. It is now common over the United States. The burrs fasten themselves to the clothing or to passing animals, and in this manner the seeds are spread. It is a biennial, common in barn lots and waste places.

The burdock is one of the many plants on which the bees work to some extent that never count for very much in the total production of the hive. The sources of surplus are comparatively few in number, but there are hundreds of plants from which the bees get a taste of honey or pollen. The presence or absence of these minor plants makes a great difference in the value of a locality for honey production. If there are enough of them to keep the bees busy, and sustain the colony between flows when the good yield comes, the bees are in the best possible condition to take advantage of the opportunity.

[Illustration: Fig. 32. Burdock.]

=BUR CLOVER (Medicago denticulata).= Wild.

Bur clover is a relative of alfalfa which is very common over much of California. The burs are produced abundantly and the plant is prized as a stock forage. The plant, although spreading like a weed, is valuable both to live stock and for bees. The principal blooming period is from March till June, though it blooms to some extent at all seasons.

Richter lists it as especially valuable to stimulate early breeding, but states that surplus is occasionally harvested from this source and that it is fully equal to filaree or pin clover as a honey plant.

BUR-MARIGOLD, see Spanish Needle.

BUSH HONEYSUCKLE (Diervilla Lonicera).

The bush honeysuckle is a common bush shrub in the northeastern States. It is to be found from Newfoundland south to North Carolina and west to Minnesota. It is reported as common in New England and Ontario. In Northern Minnesota, where it is abundant, beekeepers report that the bees work it eagerly when the weather will permit. The flowers are not showy, but the profuse bloom is rich in nectar. The blooming period begins in June and, in some places, continues as late as August.

Brunnichia.

The tendril-bearing smartweed, or ladies’ ear drops (=Brunnichia cirrhosa=) is a perennial climbing vine, common to the southeastern States. It ranges from southern Illinois and Arkansas to South Carolina and Florida. An Arkansas beekeeper reports that the plant is abundant in his locality and covered with bees.

H. B. Parks reports it grows on the low lands of Southeast Texas, where it blooms from March till August and yields some surplus.

BUFFALO CURRANT (Ribes aureum).

The yellow flowers of the buffalo currant are very fragrant and apparently contain much nectar. The writer has often noticed the bees working on the blossoms, but since the corolla tubes are half an inch or more in length he supposed they were getting only pollen. A close examination showed that the bees were unmistakably getting nectar from this source and that the tubes had been slit entirely down one side by some unknown agency. Whether this is a common occurrence the author cannot say.

[Illustration: Fig. 33. Blossoms of the button-bush.]

BUTTER WEED or GROUNDSEL (Senecio).

The groundsels are herbs with alternate leaves and mostly yellow flowers, common to the northeastern States. The bees are reported as working upon them freely, but they are probably of minor importance.

BUTTON-BUSH (Cephalanthus occidentalis).

The button-bush, also called button willow, is a bushy shrub growing in marshy places, stagnant shallow water, and along streams, from New England to Texas and west to California. This shrub, or in places a small tree, has a very wide range and is found in most of the States where honey production is important. Bulletin No. 102 of the Texas Agricultural College, reports it as common throughout Texas, and the bulletin relating to honey plants of California (217 Experiment Station), records it as a good honey plant in California. It is listed in the catalog of plants of nearly every State and of Canada, which the author has consulted. It is also said to occur in Asia, and possibly Africa.

Our readers who live in the vicinity of wet lands are likely to find specimens near at hand. In a few sections it is sufficiently abundant to be an important addition to the midsummer flora. It is reported as more particularly valuable in the overflowed lands along the Mississippi River. The bees seek it eagerly when in bloom, and in places where it is plentiful it is regarded as of considerable value as a honey plant.

The honey is light in color and mild in flavor, according to published reports. Fig. 33 shows a near view of the flowers, which are crowded together in dense heads, giving them the appearance of cotton balls.

The shrub is very bushy, with an abundant foliage. It is reported as reaching a height of 40 feet in California. In Alabama it is recorded as a shrub of from 6 to 15 feet in height, which is more like its appearance in Iowa, according to the author’s observation. Here it is rather a small bush, not much higher than a man’s head, and as far across, with many branches from the ground.

The blooming period is July and August, according to locality, a season when additions to the honey-producing flora are most welcome.

BUTTON-WEED (Diodia teres).

The button-weed occurs on sandy lands from New England to Florida and west to Kansas and Texas. Scholl lists it as yielding honey well during drought in Texas, but not as a source of surplus.

BUTTON WILLOW, see Button Bush.

C

CABBAGE (Brassica oleracea).

Cabbage belongs to a group of valuable honey plants, including mustard, turnip, etc. In the seed belt of California, where grown for seed on a large scale, cabbage is valuable. The late J. S. Harbison said of it:

“Cabbage blossoms afford a considerable amount of honey of a fine quality and flavor.”--Beekeeper’s Directory.

CACTUS, see Prickly Pear.

CALICO BUSH, see Laurel.

CALIFORNIA HOLLY, see Christmas Berry.

CALIFORNIA--Honey Sources of.

Honey plants yielding a surplus during an average season:

Yucca (=Hesperoyucca whipplei=). Willow (=Salix sp.=). Wild buckwheat (=Eriogonum fasciculatum=). =Berberis pinnata.= Black mustard (=Brassica nigra=). English mustard (=Brassica sp.=). Rocky Mountain honey plant (=Cleome integrifolia=). Jackass clover (=Wislizenia refracta=). Christmas berry (=Heteromeles arbutifolia=). Pear (=Pyrus communis=). Apple (=Pyrus malus=). Wild alfalfa (=Lotus glaber=). Bur clover (=Medicago denticulata=). Alfalfa (=Medicago sativa=). White sweet clover (=Melilotus alba=). Yellow sweet clover (=Melilotus officinalis=). Lima bean (=Phaseolus lunatus=). Alfilerilla (=Erodium cicutarium=). White stem filaree (=Erodium moschatum=). Orange (=Citrus aurantium=). Tree of heaven (=Ailanthus glandulosa=). Poison oak (=Rhus diversiloba=). (Laurel) Sumac (=Rhus laurina=). Pepper tree (=Schinus molle=). California buckeye (=Aesculus californica=). Coffee berry (=Rhamnus californica=). Cascara sagrada (=Rhamnus purshiana=). Wild hollyhock (=Sidalcea malvaeflora=). Prickly pear (=Opuntia lindheimeri occidentalis=). Lemon scented gum (=Eucalyptus citriodora=). White stringy-bark (=Eucalyptus eugenioides=). Blue Gum (=Eucalyptus globulus=). Red gum (=Eucalyptus rostrata=). Manna gum (=Eucalyptus viminalis=). Blue thistle (=Cryngium articulatum=). Manzanita (=Arctostaphylos=). Yerba santa (=Eriodictyon trichocalix=). Caterpillar phacelia (=Phacelia hispida=). Valley vervenia (=Phacelia tenacetifolia=). Carpet grass (=Lippia nodiflora=). Horehound (=Marrubium vulgare=). Peppermint (=Mentha spicata=). White sage (=Salvia apiana=). Thistle sage (=Salvia carduacea=). Annual sage (=Salvia columbariae=). Purple sage (=Salvia leucophylla=). Black sage (=Salvia mellifera=). Creeping sage (=Salvia sonomensis=). Blue curls (=Trichostema lanceolatum=). Button willow (=Cephalanthus occidentalis=). Napa thistle (=Centaurea melitensis=). Spike weed (=Centromadia pungens=). Bull thistle (=Cirsium lanceolatum=). Common sunflower (=Helianthus annuus=). Coast tarweed (=Hemizonia corymbosa=). Tarweed (=Hemizonia fasciculata=). Yellow tarweed (=Hemizonia virgata=). “Yellow Tops” (=Hemizonia=). Goldenrod (=Solidago occidentalis=). Rabbit brush (white) (=Chrysothamnus nauseosus hypolluca=).

Cultivated plants that would rank with the above had they a wider distribution:

Common century plant (=Agave americana=). White clover (=Trifolium repens=). American linden (=Tilia americana=). Tamarisk (=Tamaris=, =Eucalyptus calophylla=). Yate tree (=Eucalyptus cornuta=). Sugar gum (=Eucalyptus corynocalyx=). Cider gum (=Eucalyptus Gunnii=, =Eucalyptus Lehmannii=). White ironbark (=Eucalyptus leucoxylon=). Spotted gum (=Eucalyptus maculata=). Honey scented gum (=Eucalyptus ficifolia=). Red boxtree (=Eucalyptus polyanthemos=). Red mahogany gum (=Eucalyptus resinifera=). Swamp mahogany gum (=Eucalyptus robusta=). Broad leaved ironbark (=Eucalyptus siderophloia=). Victoria ironbark (=Eucalyptus sideroxylon=). Apple scented gum (=Eucalyptus Stuartiana=). Forest gray gum (=Eucalyptus tereticornia=).

Honey plants occasionally yielding a surplus:

Asparagus (=Asparagus officinalis=). Live oak (=Quercus agrifolia=). Blue oak (=Quercus douglassii=). Valley oak (=Quercus lobata=). Mistletoe (=Phoradendron=). Common mustard (=Brassica campestris=). Wild radish (=Raphanus sativus=, =Escallonia montevidensis=). Wild currant (=Ribes sanguineum=). Greasewood (=Adenostoma fasciculatum=). Castor oil plant (=Ricinus communis=). Islay or holly leaved cherry (=Cerasus illicifolia=). Bitter almond (=Prunus amygdalus=). Apricot (=Prunus amygdalus=). Apricot (=Prunus armeniaca=). Cherry (=Prunus cerasus=). Plum and prune (=Prunus domestica=). Peach (=Prunus persica=). Raspberry (=Rubus strigosus=). Cultivated blackberry (=Rubus villosus=). Himalayan berry (=Rubus villosus var.=). Common wild blackberry (=Rubus vitifolius=). Black wattle (=Acacia decurrens mollis=). Golden wattle (=Acacia pycnantha=). Rattleweed (=Astragalus=). Yellow sweet clover (=Melilotus indica=). Locust (=Robinia pseudo-acacia=). Sour clover (=Trifolium fucatum=). Alsike (=Trifolium hybridum=). Gorse (=Ulex europaeus=). Mandarin (=Citrus nobilis=, =Croton californicus=). Turkey mullein (=Eremocarpus setigerus=, =Ceanothus cuneatus=). Wild lilac (=Ceanothus=, =Rhamnus corcea=). Grape (=Vitis vinifera=). Cotton (=Gossypium herbaceum=, =Godetia bottae=). California waterweed (=Jussiaea californica=). Sweet fennel (=Foeniculum vulgare=). Madrona (=Arbutus menziesii=). Oregon ash (=Fraxinus oregona=). Olive (=Olea europaea=). Morning glory (=Convolvulus arvensis=, =Gilia chamissonis=). Hill vervenia (=Phacelia distans=, =Phacelia ramosissima=). Heliotrope (=Heliotropium=). Lawn plant (=Lippia repens=). Wild verbena (=Verbena prostrata=). Yerba Buena (=Micromeria chamissonis=). Hedge nettle (=Stachys bullata=). California figwort (=Scrophularia californica=). Simpson’s honey plant (=Scrophularia vernalis=). Watermelon (=Citrullus vulgaris=). Cantaloupe (=Cucumis mello=). Cucumber (=Cucumis sativus=). Winter squash (=Cucurbita moschata=). Pumpkin (=Cucurbita pepo=). Globe artichoke (=Cynara Scolymus=). Jerusalem artichoke (=Helianthus tuberosus=). Mayweed (=Anthemis cotula=). Beggar ticks (=Bidens frondosa=). Spanish needle (=Bidens pilosa=, =Coreopsis gigantea=).

Cultivated plants that would rank with the above had they a wider distribution:

Mignonette (=Reseda odorata=). White tree clover (=Cystisus proliferus=, =Melilotus bicolor=). Poinsettia (=Euphorbia pulcherrima=).

Honey plants not known to yield a surplus:

Corn (=Zea mays=). Tanbark oak (=Quercus densiflora=). Virgin’s bower (=Clematis ligusticifolia=, =Clematis=). California laurel (=Umbellularia californica=). California poppy (=Eschscholtzia californica=). Cream cups (=Platystemon californicus=). Canyon gooseberry (=Ribes menziesii=). (Western) chokecherry (=Cerasus demissa=). Rose (=Rosa californica=). Wild sweet pea (=Lathyrus splendens=). Lupin (=Lupinus affinis=). Nonesuch (=Medicago lupulina=). Red clover (=Trifolium pratense=). Spring vetch (=Vicia sativa=). Maple (=Acer negundo=). Virginia creeper (=Ampelopsis quinquefolia=). California wild grape (=Vitis californica=). Small flowered mallow (=Malva parviflora=). White mallow (=Malva sylvestris=, =Helianthemum scoparium=). Milkweed (=Asclepias mexicana=). Milkweed (=Asclepias speciosa=). Dodder (=Cuscuta=). Common heliotrope (=Heliotropium curassavicum=). =Tournefortia heliotropoides.= Tule mint (=Mentha canadensis=). Pennyroyal (=Monardella lanceolata=). Loving sage (=Salvia amabilis=). Winter savory (=Satureia montana=). =Stachys ajugoides.= =Stachys albens.= =Veronica andersonii.= Common plantain (=Plantego major=). Wild honeysuckle (=Lonicera=). Blue elderberry (=Sambucus glauca=). Cornflower (=Centaurea cyanus=), =Encelia californica=, =Eriophyllum confertiflorum=, =Heterotheca grandiflora=, =Malacothris saxatilis=. Common sow thistle (=Sonchus oleraceus=, =Sonchus maruanthus=).

--M. C. Richter, Bulletin 217, Agricultural Experiment Station, Cal.

CALIFORNIA POPPY, see Poppy.

CAMPANILLA (Ipomoea).

The campanillas, or Christmas bells, are plants similar to our American morning-glory, which are common to Cuba and adjacent countries. The vines are perennial and grow to considerable size, covering wayside fences, trees, etc. The name Christmas bells, applied to white bellflower, comes from the fact that the height of the blooming period is reached near the holiday season. There are two species, known as white campanilla (=Ipomoea sidaefolia=), and the pink bellflower (=Ipomoea triloba=). The latter blooms a month or two before the white variety.

The honey, according to Root’s A B C, is equal to alfalfa or sage in color and flavor, the comb built during a campanilla flow being pearly white and the wax, when melted, as white as tallow.

CAMPHOR WEED, see Blue Curls.

CANADA THISTLE (Carduus arvensis).

The Canada thistle is a most troublesome weed, naturalized from Europe and widely spread through Eastern America. It is a perennial plant, growing from one to two feet high. The roots creep extensively, thus gradually spreading the plant to surrounding areas. It is very persistent and difficult to eradicate. It is common in fields, pastures and along roadsides.

It is the source of a light honey of good quality. It is most frequently reported as a source of surplus in Ontario and the Eastern States.

CANADIAN HEMP, see Dogbane.

CARPET GRASS (Lippia).

The carpet grass of California (=Lippia repens=) is a native of Chili which has been introduced on the Pacific Coast and widely cultivated as a lawn plant. It is known as lawn plant, carpet grass and lippia. It is much sought by the bees and is the source of some honey, a surplus of two cases per colony being not unusual, according to C. D. Stuart. The honey, he states, is light amber, heavy body, and similar in quality to alfalfa. The plant is of trailing habit, spreading by rooting of runners like strawberries. Fig. 34.

[Illustration: Fig. 34. Carpet grass or Lippia.]

=Lippia nodiflora=, mat grass or fog fruit, is native to California, and, according to Richter, is the principal source of surplus honey in the vicinity of Sacramento. Three-fourths of the surplus honey from Sutter County he reports as from this source. There it begins to bloom in May and lasts till frost. According to Jepson, the plant is esteemed as a covering for levees, to resist erosion. It is especially valuable on overflowed lands after the water recedes. The honey is said to be light in color, mild in flavor, and to granulate readily.

CARROT (Daucus carota).

The carrot is a well-known garden vegetable which came from Europe and is everywhere cultivated in gardens. It has escaped and become naturalized over a wide scope of country. It yields some honey, and where grown on a large scale for seed or for the roots, it is valuable for the bees.

We quote Richter as follows:

“Honey white, with a characteristic flavor, and granulating within a few months after extraction. A most excellent yielder in the Sacramento Valley, where it is considered to surpass the onion as a honey plant.”--Honey Plants of California.

CASCARA SAGRADA, see Buckthorn.

CASSIA, see Partridge Pea.

CASTOR BEAN (Ricinus communis).

The castor bean, or castor oil plant, is often cultivated for the oil contents of the beans. Large areas were planted during the late war, especially in Texas. The plant has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in the Southeastern States. It is generally planted for ornament over a large scope of country. It is reported as very attractive to the bees and of some value for honey, where sufficiently abundant. Scholl lists it in the Texas bulletin as yielding well in favorable seasons. Richter lists it also for California.

CASTOR OIL PLANT, see Castor Bean.

[Illustration: Fig. 35. Catalpa blossoms.]

CATALPA (Catalpa speciosa).

The catalpa tree produces a great profusion of bloom. The blossoms are so large that a bee can readily crawl right into the heart of the flower.

The testimony of competent observers gives an unqualified indorsement of the catalpa as a nectar producer, though there is slight mention of it in our literature. The fact that large areas of these trees are being planted for timber, in many places, makes them of special interest to the beekeeper. The catalpa, or Indian bean (=Catalpa speciosa=) is a native of the woodlands of southern Indiana and Tennessee, west to Arkansas. This form, known as the hardy catalpa, is also widely planted in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and other States. There is another similar species closely resembling it which occurs further south, and is common in the Gulf States.

The leaves are heart-shaped and the blossoms are large, nearly white, and grow in large clusters, as shown in Fig. 35. The tree grows very rapidly furnishing desirable timber for fence posts, telephone poles, railroad ties, etc. In Kansas, large areas have been planted by the railroad companies for the purpose of growing ties. Beekeepers situated near such plantings should find the trees of material value.

[Illustration: Fig. 36. Catnip.]

CATNIP (Nepeta Cataria).

Catnip, or catmint, was introduced from Europe, and cultivated in herb gardens. It is thus an escaped introduction and has become very widely naturalized in the United States, although it is generally considered a weed. It is usually found only in the vicinity of buildings and gardens, and seldom spreads into the fields to any extent. Almost all or us remember the popularity of catnip tea among the grandmothers of an earlier generation. The plant is a perennial, growing from 2 to 3 feet high, with flowers in clusters, the more conspicuous ones being in a terminal spike. The blooming season is rather long, and the bees visit it very freely. Apparently, the plant yields much nectar, although it is seldom present in sufficient quantity to test its real value as a honey producer. If it had sufficient value for other purposes to justify its cultivation, it would probably be an important source of nectar.

CATSCLAW, see Acacia.

CAT’S EAR (Hypochaeris radicata).

Cat’s ear, sometimes called California dandelion, is abundant west of the Cascade Mountains in Washington and south to California. It is a naturalized European weed in pastures and fields, blooming in midsummer. According to H. A. Scullen, it supplies considerable nectar in Washington. It is amber color and in some localities darkens the fireweed honey.

CELASTRUS Scandens, see Bittersweet.

CELERY (Apium graveolens).

The blossoms of the cultivated celery yield nectar abundantly, and where grown for seed, it is a valuable source of honey. In the seed belt of California it yields well, as the following will indicate:

“I saw the hives stacked five or six high and on opening them we found them jammed full of honey; in fact, the bees should have had room long before, but Mr. Gear had had difficulty in getting help, and the bees had got ahead of him. The colonies were so crowded that the space between the frames and the tops of the hives were built full of burr combs. All this honey was from celery and parsnip. * * * On our arrival at the field it was easy to see that there was honey in the blossoms. In the sunlight the little drops of nectar gleamed like myriads of little diamonds. * * * I tasted some of the raw nectar from the celery. Sure enough, there was quite a strong suggestion of celery flavor.”--E. R. Root, Gleanings, Nov., 1919, page 712.

Centaurea.

There are several species of centaurea which yield nectar. The common corn-flower of the gardens (=Centaurea Cyanus=), also known as blue-bottle, bluet, ragged sailor or batchelor’s button, is a good honey plant. The bees work upon it from morning till night, though it is seldom sufficiently abundant to be important as a source of surplus. Richter lists this species from California as commonly cultivated. He also lists the Napa thistle, or tacalote (=Centaurea melitensis=), as yielding some honey of light amber color, good flavor and fair body. This species is known in the southeastern States as Lombardy star thistle. (See Star Thistle.)

[Illustration: Fig. 37. The century plant is slow to bloom, but is a striking sight when it does so.]

CENTURY PLANT (Agave).

The agaves are an important group of long-lived perennial plants native to Tropical America, Mexico and, to some extent, to the southwestern United States. Each plant has a cluster of numerous fleshy leaves and, when blooming, a tall flower stalk. There are at least five species native to the United States. The range is southern New Mexico, Arizona and California. The best known is the common century plant (=Agave americana=), an introduced species, cultivated for ornament. This is a conspicuous figure of ornamental planting in southern California.

In Mexico some species of agaves furnish fibre, while others are the source of pulque and mescal, intoxicating drinks much used in the country below the Rio Grande.

The plants do not bloom until they are several years old. The flower stalks grow very rapidly and reach a height of 25 or 30 feet within a few weeks’ time. When in bloom they secrete nectar in abundance, and the bees swarm over them in great numbers. As will be seen by the illustration, the flower stalks support innumerable blossoms, so that a single plant will yield a considerable amount of honey. The fact that the plants are nowhere abundant in this country, together with the long period which must elapse before they bloom, makes it improbable that they will ever be of much importance to American beekeepers.

CEPHALANTHUS, see Button Bush.

CHAMISE, see Greasewood.

CHAPMAN HONEY PLANT (Echinops sphoerocephalus).

The Chapman honey plant was introduced from France about 1885. The bee journals of 1886 and 1887 devote a large amount of space to a discussion of this plant. It was brought prominently to the attention of American beekeepers by Hiram Chapman, of Versailles, New York, who planted about three acres of it at that place. He made such glowing reports of the plant at the National Beekeepers’ Convention that a committee of prominent men was appointed to visit the Chapman home and report on the new plant at the convention of the following year. They made a lengthy and very favorable report, which is published in full on page 28 of the American Bee Journal for January 5, 1887.

Numerous beekeepers secured seed, and so attractive did the plant prove to the bees that favorable reports appeared frequently in the columns of the journals for the next few years. However, the great expectations were not realized, for it soon disappeared, and is seldom mentioned in current literature. The following quotation from Dr. C. C. Miller, which appeared in Gleanings, in December, 1918, is probably a correct estimate of the value of the plant:

“After reading the British Bee Journal of September 26, I should have made a vigorous effort to secure a supply of seed of =Echinops Sphoerocephalus=, if I had no previous experience with the plant. No bee plant that I have ever grown was so attractive to the bees. Whenever the weather was favorable the heads were crowded. I have counted fourteen or fifteen bees on one at the same time.”

This is the Chapman honey plant that had a big boom in this country a number of years ago; but it is not heard of now, and is not included among the honey plants in the bee books. Upon its introduction I planted quite a patch of it, and like Mr. Harwood, I never saw the bees so thick on any other plant. But close observation showed that the bees were not in eager haste in their usual way when getting a big yield, but were in large part idle. It looked a little as if the plant had some kind of stupefying effect on them. At any rate, I should not take the trouble to plant it now, if land and seed were furnished free.

CHAYOTE (Sechium edule).

Chayote is a vegetable of the squash family, commonly grown in the American Tropics. It is found in Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico and other countries in that latitude. There has been some discussion of the plant in the bee magazines and occasionally the plants have been grown in American gardens. That it is a valuable honey plant there can be but little doubt. J. J. Siebert, writing from Porto Rico to the American Bee Journal, says that it is all that it is claimed to be, and that as a source of nectar it has only one rival, the banana, blossoming all the year round. The following is from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Bulletin No. 28:

“As in other vegetables of the squash family, the stamens and pistils are in separate flowers, pollination taking place through the agency of insects. To attract these, the flowers of both kinds, but especially the pistillate, yield abundant nectar, which is secreted in ten glands, two at the base of each of the lobes of the corolla. In most of the countries into which it has been introduced, beekeeping has not been a regular industry, and the value of the chayote as a source of honey has not been noticed, but the reports of experimenters in New South Wales contain very emphatic statements on the subject:

‘When the plant is in flower I have noticed that the vines were swarming with bees, and as flowers are scarce in the autumn, the plant will no doubt be valuable as a honey-producer.

‘The plant, which spreads over a large area, commenced flowering at the close of the year, and has been well laden with mellifluous blossoms ever since. The bees are extremely fond of the chocho, and with the apiarist the newly-introduced plant must become a strong favorite.’

“The chayote differs from many cucurbitaceae in producing numerous flowers on each fertile branch. It has long been known that the flowers of this family are rich in honey, but from the standpoint of the beekeeper they have been considered of little importance, because seldom accessible in sufficient amount, though in the United States fields are recognized as good bee pastures. The chayote seems to make up by numbers what the flowers lack in size, so that the yield of honey may be larger than in related plants. In addition to this there is the fact that Sechium is a perennial bloomer in the Tropics, and in the sub-tropical regions has a very long season. It is thus possible that in the regions like parts of Florida, where beekeeping is already an established industry, the honey-producing qualities of the chayote may be found of practical account in connection with its other utilities.”

CHEROKEE ROSE (Rosa laevigata).

The Cherokee rose is found from the Coast Region of the South Atlantic States westward through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to eastern Texas. It occurs also in California. It was in Alabama that the author first heard it mentioned as a source of nectar. Later reports from California indicated that bees sometimes find nectar from this source, though most of the roses yield only pollen. H. B. Parks states that he has observed the bees getting honey from this source, and M. B, Talley, of Victoria, Texas, states that he has observed the bees gathering nectar from it in Mississippi and also at Victoria. It is probably of little importance, unless it be as a source of pollen.

CHERRY (Prunus cerasus).

The cultivated cherry is closely related to the plum and is equally attractive to the bees. Both bloom at about the same time. In California the cherry is reported as one of the best of the fruit trees for honey production. In the East it is valued principally for stimulating early brood-rearing.

When the weather is warm and bright during its period of bloom a great variety of insects may be found on the blossoms. Bees are seldom strong enough to store surplus from cherry. (See also Wild Cherry.)

[Illustration: Fig. 38. Cherry blossoms.]

CHESTNUT (Castanea dentata).

The chestnut is an important timber tree from northern New England and Ontario to Michigan and along the mountains to Georgia. It is a tall and slender tree in the forests, but a magnificent spreading shade tree when grown with sufficient room. It sometimes reaches a height of 90 to 100 feet.

As a source of nectar it is probably nowhere important, though it yields pollen in June or July. E. E. Hasty, writing in the American Bee Journal, from Toledo, Ohio, (Sept., 1906), reports that there the bees roar on chestnut bloom, even when basswood blooms at the same time.

It is frequently listed as a source of honey, but the author can find no authoritative records of surplus stored from it.

[Illustration: Fig. 39. Bloom of China-tree.]

CHINABERRY, see Wild China.

CHINA TREE (Melia azedarach).

The China tree, also known as pride of India, is a native of the Far East, probably coming from China. It has become naturalized in the Southeastern States from the Atlantic Coast to Texas. It is found as far north as Arkansas and Virginia.

[Illustration: Fig. 40. The chinquapin.]

H. B. Parks reports that in Texas it is a fairly good honey plant, blooming very early in the season. On account of its early blooming, it is principally valuable to stimulate early brood rearing.

This tree should not be confused with the Wild China, which see.

CHINESE SUMAC, see Varnish Tree.

CHINQUAPIN (Castanea pumila).

The chinquapin is a shrub or small tree common from New Jersey and southern Pennsylvania southward to Missouri and Texas. It is well known to the beekeepers in parts of Alabama, Georgia and north Florida, where it flowers in May. In Arkansas, it is a large tree, reaching a height of fifty feet in some cases.

In some localities beekeepers report good crops of honey from chinquapin, but the quality is inferior. It is dark and strong, with a bitter taste. Some use it for feeding to replace the better grades of honey which may be taken from the bees. In color it looks like New Orleans molasses, and a sample, in the author’s collection for several years, shows no tendency to granulation.

CHITTAM, see Buckthorn.

CHOCTAW ROOT, see Dogbane.

CHOKE CHERRY, see Wild Cherry.

[Illustration: Fig. 41. The Christmas berry, or California holly.]

CHRISTMAS BERRY, or CALIFORNIA HOLLY (Heteromeles arbutifolia).

The Christmas berry is known also as toy-on or tollon berry, as well as California holly. It is common along the streams and on the mountain-sides of California, where it flowers in June and July. It has white flowers and the bright red berries ripen in late autumn. The berries, according to C. D. Stuart, are acid and slightly astringent, though not unpleasant. He states that the berries were eaten by the Indians as a kind of salad, and that a wine-red drink is sometimes made from them after an old Spanish-Californian recipe. The plant is much used for Christmas decoration on the Pacific Coast.

According to Richter, the plant is the source of a thick amber honey of decided flavor, which candies with a coarse grain, within two or three months after extraction. He reports surplus from this source in Monterey, Colusa and Nevada Counties, California.

Jepson gives the range as “Throughout the coast ranges and Sierra Nevada, and southward to southern and Lower California. Frequent along streams and gulches in the lower hills, and also abundant on stony slopes at middle elevations, especially from Napa to Humboldt Counties.

At Visalia the author heard reports of an average of a case per colony of surplus honey from this source in the mountains.

CITRUS FRUITS, see Oranges, Lemons, Etc.

Clematis.

The white clematis is commonly known by the name of virgin’s bower, but also has several other local names, such as love vine, traveler’s joy and devil’s hair. Fig. 42 shows the delicate white blossoms and the leaf, and Fig. 43 shows a mass of vines on a roadside fence.

The range of the plant is from Nova Scotia and Ontario west to Lake Winnipeg and Nebraska and south to Louisiana and Florida. It may be expected almost anywhere east of the Mississippi River. It is a slender climbing vine on the borders of woods, roadsides and hedgerows. The blossoms are white and fragrant, blooming in midsummer. It is much sought by the bees, and apparently produces considerable nectar. It is doubtful whether the plant is anywhere sufficiently abundant to make an appreciable difference in the production of the hive.

[Illustration: Fig. 42. Blossom and leaf of white clematis.]

Richter, in his “Honey Plants of California,” reports a related species, the hill clematis, (=Clematis ligusticifolia=), as common in the hilly districts almost throughout California. It is said to produce “a great deal of pollen and probably some honey,” but it is not known to produce surplus. Common also in the Rocky Mountains.

[Illustration: Fig. 43. White clematis on a roadside fence.]

CLEOME, see Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.

CLEOMELLA (Cleomella angustifola).

The Cleomella is very similar to the Rocky Mountain bee plant, or cleome. The flowers are small and yellow and the plant does not grow so tall as the cleome.

An Oklahoma beekeeper reports as follows:

“It seems to be a remarkable honey plant. It was in bloom for more than ten weeks during the dry season, and bees worked upon it freely every morning. The blossom is very fragrant, sweet, yellow, and is at the branches. It keeps crowding out a new growth and blooming, forming small purse-shaped seed pods as the blossoms drop. The growth is much like sweet clover or yellow mustard, but forming a larger spreading top. Some plants grow four feet tall and three feet across and an inch through at the butt. It is an annual, and no stock will eat it.”--M. S. Hubbell, Helena, Okla. American Bee Journal.

Cleomella is found from Nebraska to Utah and south to Texas.

CLETHRA, see Pepperbush.

CLIMBING MILKWEED, see Bluevine.

CLOVER (Trifolium).

The clovers are by far the most important American honey plants. If we include the closely related alfalfa and sweet clover, they probably are the source of more surplus honey than all the other plants together. They are to be found in nearly every part of America and yield nectar more freely than most plants. The quality of clover honey is of the best and in quantity of yield it ranks high, under favorable conditions. If the whole group was to be removed, honey production as a commercial proposition would decline to a very large degree.

Clover seems to yield most heavily in the northern part of its range and gradually declines southward. White clover is the most important of the group. Alsike is quite as valuable where equally abundant. The corolla tubes of red clover are usually too deep for the honeybee to reach the nectar, but occasionally some honey is secured from this source. (See Red Clover). Each of the clovers is considered separately. (See White Clover, Alsike, etc.)

COCKLEBUR (Xanthium canadense).

The cocklebur is a coarse weed, common in fields and waste places from Louisiana. In Texas, Scholl lists the plant as a source of pollen in clinging to clothing and to the hairs of horses and cattle.

There is an occasional report of honey from this source, especially from Louisiana. In Texas, Scholl lists the plant as a source of pollen in late fall.

COFFEE BERRY, see Buckthorn.

COLIMA (Xanthoxylum pterota).

Colima is a species of prickly ash common to the valley of the lower Rio Grande River. It is a small shrub with zigzag branches, armed with short curved thorns. The flowers are in axillary clusters.

Colima is reported as yielding but a light flow, of principal value for stimulative purposes. At Mathis, Texas, Wm. Atchley reports that he had a good surplus flow from colima in 1900. The honey was golden and very thick, weighing 12¹⁄₂ pounds to the gallon. The flavor was good. Although he kept bees in that vicinity for a number of years he secured surplus from Colima but the one time. (See also Prickly Ash).

COLORADO--Honey Plants of.

Practically all surplus is secured from alfalfa and sweet clover, with an occasional crop from cleome. The rosin weed (=Grindelia squarrosa=) yields considerable honey of low grade which often spoils the grade of the white honey by being mixed in the supers. Narcissus, parsley and prairie clover are prairie plants which attract the bees freely. Wild onion yields some honey. Dandelion and fruit bloom are important for spring brood rearing and canteloupes yield some surplus in the Rock Ford region. Sunflowers, mentzelia, lupines and loco weeds add something to the sum total brought to the hives. The white clematis is very common along the streams, as are willows. Wild currant is common in the mountain canyons. =Gaura coccinea=, the red gaura or ragged lady, is much sought by the bees for both honey and pollen. Oreocarya is a desert plant which yields surplus, but which is rapidly disappearing through cultivation of the land on which it grows.

[Illustration: Fig. 44. A white clover field in Iowa.]

COLUMBO, see Monument Plant.

COMA (Bumelia lycioides).

Coma is the Mexican name for southern buckthorn (=Bumelia lycioides=), which is found from Florida north to Virginia and west to Texas. It is also known as ironwood. It is a spiny shrub with flowers in dense clusters. In South Texas it is also known as coma and is frequently reported as an important source of honey. It blooms there from October to February and produces nectar freely. At Rio Hondo, in the lower Rio Grande Valley, beekeepers reported to the author that a flow of six weeks from coma, from September to November, was common, and that swarms issuing as late as December had gathered sufficient honey from this source to carry them through. The honey is said to be light amber in color and of good quality. The flow varies greatly, depending upon the rains. (See also Gum-elastic.)

[Illustration: Coma in bloom. This species (_Bumelia angustifolia_) is abundant from Pearsall, Texas, to the Rio Grande River, blooming from October to February, and is the best of the group.]

CONE FLOWER (Rudbeckia).

The cone flowers, also called golden glow, are not often mentioned as honey plants, yet the bees visit them freely and apparently they are the source of some nectar. The plants are widely distributed east of the Missouri River and are probably of limited local importance.

CONNECTICUT--Honey Sources of.

The clovers, alsike and white clover, occur all over Connecticut and yield nectar freely. Goldenrod and asters are also important. Buckwheat, wild raspberry and milkweeds all yield surplus under favorable conditions. Basswood, locust maple and clethra are among the valuable trees and shrubs. Fruit bloom, willow, etc., are important in early spring. Some honey from tobacco is reported in Connecticut.

CORAL BEAN or FRIJOLILLO (Sophora secundiflora).

The coral bean is a small tree common along the streams of Texas and New Mexico, and southward to the interior of Mexico. The Mexicans call it frijolillo. The beans are said by Coulter to be used by the Indians as an intoxicant. The beans are round and red and as large as small marbles. They contain a powerful poisonous alkaloid. Some beekeepers have expressed a fear that the honey might be poisonous to the bees, though apparently there is little grounds for such fear. The tree is abundant along the Nueces River in the shade of larger timber and was yielding nectar very freely at the time of the author’s visit to that section on March 10, 1918. There had been a long dearth of nectar and the bees were extremely short of both honey and pollen. The new nectar was coming in in considerable quantity and the honey stored had a peculiar flavor. The tree is particularly abundant in the vicinity of Matagorda Bay.

CORAL BERRY, see Indian Currant.

CORAL SUMAC, see Poisonwood.

CORN, see Indian Corn.

CORNEL, see Dogwood.

CORN-ITCH, see Cow-itch.

COTTON (Gossypium herbaceum).

Although the cotton plant is found growing wild in many warm countries, in the United States it is known only as a staple field crop. It was brought to this country as early as 1621, and has been the most important plant grown on southern plantations since the early development of the country.

[Illustration: Fig. 45. Blossoms of the cotton plant. (U. S. Department of Agriculture.)]

The plant thrives in a warm and humid climate, and needs five to six months of warm weather. However, it is grown successfully under semi-arid conditions in parts of Texas and other Southern States. The so-called cotton belt extends from the northwest corner of Texas south to the Rio Grande, and east to the Atlantic seaboard. A limited acreage is grown in California, but, excepting very restricted areas, it is not important outside the territory mentioned. Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia are perhaps the most important of the cotton-growing States. The Carolinas, Louisiana and Oklahoma also grow it in large areas.

Honey production reaches its highest development in localities where good nectar-bearing plants are grown in large acreage. Hence we find beekeeping thriving in dairy communities, where alsike and white clover are grown abundantly. We also find the beekeepers prosperous where alfalfa is an important crop. In the Southern States, cotton is the one field crop grown on a sufficient scale to offer ideal conditions for the beekeeper. However, cotton is fickle in its behavior, and cannot always be depended upon to produce nectar, no matter how abundant the crop. In some cotton-growing districts the beekeepers swear by cotton, while in other localities they declare that it is of little value. The character of the soil seems to be a very important factor in the secretion of nectar by this plant. The vigor of the growth and the amount of available plant food in the soil are also important. Reports from different sections indicate that the quality of the honey varies in different sections.

W. D. Null, of Demopolis, Ala., wrote to the author as follows:

“This, you know, was for sixty years the heaviest cotton-growing section in the nation. Bees will not work cotton if they can work anything else, even bitterweed. It yields honey of very poor quality, and never very much, some years none at all. Weather conditions must be just right, and that don’t come often. The honey is the same grade as the most honeydews.”

In contrast, we find the following report of good honey and abundant yield in American Bee Journal for 1907, page 267:

“Cotton blossoms furnish a great deal of excellent honey, and the theory that it explodes or ferments is all bosh. It makes an excellent rich honey, oily, and it is not liked so well by some until they get used to it.”--Jules Belknap, M. D., Sulphur Springs, Ark.

When the writer made his first trip through Georgia he was much puzzled by the different reports of apparently good observers in different parts of the State. The matter was finally explained by a beekeeper who had lived in different localities, by the variation in behavior of the plant under different conditions. There is perhaps no important honey plant which varies so much, in the quality of its nectar, as does cotton. The poor quality in some places can doubtless be explained by the fact that the flow is not abundant, and is mixed with other low-grade stores. However, honey dew is also sometimes reported from the plant itself.

“Sometimes, during a damp spell, the cotton gets covered with vast numbers of aphis, and the upper side of the leaves will first get gummy and then will even drip a kind of dirty-looking sweet fluid. If there is anything else on hand the bees will not touch it.”--W. H. Alder, Callahan County, Texas, page 334, American Bee Journal, 1899.

[Illustration: Fig. 46. Honey plant regions of Texas.]

It is needless to say that this would make a poor product, and it is not improbable that honeydew is sometimes secured from cotton in localities where it seldom yields nectar. The secretion is apparently dependent far more upon soil than upon any other condition. Upon the black, wavy lands of Texas and upon other soils, it reaches its highest development. The boundary of the belt, where cotton yields freely and where it does not, is very marked in Texas. North of the escarpment which runs across Bexar County, Texas, near San Antonio, it is an important source. South of that line few beekeepers report it as dependable. North of this line the soil is black and heavy; south it is sandy. Wherever the writer has found beekeepers on sandy soil, they have reported the yield from cotton as uncertain; while on the heavy soils they report it as fairly constant, with suitable weather conditions. The map shown herewith, Fig. 46, roughly outlines the heavy section where honey from cotton is important in Texas. Cotton is grown east, south and, to some extent, west of that line. In east Texas cotton is reported as yielding well on river bottom lands and but little on the hills. In the southern sections, and also in other States, an occasional crop is reported where it does not yield regularly:

“We had a very dry, sultry spell here the latter part of last August, and up to that time the bees were living from hand to mouth. All at once they began storing from the cotton bloom, though it looked as though cotton was going to die in the fields from drought and heat, yet it yielded until the bees had stored from 30 to 60 pounds per colony.”--J. J. Wilder, Cordele, Ga., American Bee Journal, page 141, 1906.

On suitable soils it is one of the most dependable sources of nectar:

“The apiarist who has his bees located within range of extensive cotton areas can count on at least an average crop year after year, with more certainty than many of the other numerous honey yielders which we have.”--Louis Scholl, page 652, Gleanings, 1912.

“My main sources for surplus are mesquite trees, the cotton fields being the second of importance in the central and northern parts of the State, or throughout the black land region. On sandy or light soil cotton yields very little honey. * * *

“The yield is good, averaging about 73 pounds of bulk comb honey per year. One year it was over 100 pounds. Honey from cotton is very light in color, the comb very white, and of excellent flavor when well ripened. As soon as cool weather sets in this honey fairly draws out in long strings, when handled with a spoon.”--Gleanings, page 1313, 1907.

From the above it will be seen that cotton honey is of good quality, at least in some localities Samples said to be from cotton from Georgia, are strong and of rather poor quality, while cotton honey received from Texas is light in color, of mild and rather pleasing flavor. The honey from Cotton granulates very quickly. That produced in the Southeastern States also has the effect of bursting the containers, possibly from the effects of fermentation. The humidity of the atmosphere evidently has a marked effect on the quality of the honey from this plant. The following reports indicate the quality:

“As to the quality of cotton honey, I can say from my own experience, that it varies in color from light amber to almost water white. While I do not consider it equal to white clover in flavor, it is superior to basswood. * * * The flow increases toward the last of the season, and if we can get two weeks of nice weather after frost it amounts to a considerable increase in the crop.”--J. D. Yancey, Hunt County, Texas. Gleanings, page 162, 1910.

“It did well on our rich bottom land and yielded a fair crop of the finest honey it was ever my pleasure to see. It was so thick that it was almost impossible to extract it, and entirely out of the question to strain it through a single thickness of cheese-cloth. It was light in color, mild in flavor, and very heavy, and in my opinion superior to any honey ever shipped to this locality, not excepting huijilla. The long drought and consequent absence of all other bloom, enabled us to get a purer cotton honey than we had ever been able to get before. Again, in the late fall, when the weather began to get cool, our cotton took a second growth, soon blooming profusely, and by accident we got also a fair fall crop.”--O. Saunders, Trenton, Texas. Page 734, Gleanings, 1910.

One great advantage of the cotton flow is its long continuation. In Texas it begins to bloom in May or June, and the bees work it steadily until late fall, often November. Extra cultivation or fertilization of the soil increases the vigor of the plant and the nectar flow is increased accordingly:

“I can remember when the bees gathered only enough nectar from it to stimulate brood rearing, and now we get from one to three supers of surplus from this source alone. * * * On land where we used to make a bale of cotton to 4 or 5 acres, now we make 1 to 2 bales per acre, using high grades of commercial fertilizer and more prolific varieties of the plant. It yields more where it grows best, and of a much longer duration.”--J. J. Wilder, Cordele, Ga. Page 237, American Bee Journal, 1911.

Bees get nectar not only from the cotton blossoms, but from extra floral nectaries as well. At times almost entirely, and to gather freely they seem to neglect the blossoms for the extra-floral nectaries. Some of these are located under the flower and begin to secrete nectar before the blossoms open. Others are located on the under sides of the leaves, and vary from one to three on each leaf. When atmospheric conditions are favorable, these glands secrete abundantly and the nectar gathers in drops. At times it is so abundant that the men cultivating get their clothes saturated with the nectar, from the brushing of the leaves against them. Later in the day the heat of the sun evaporates most of the moisture, leaving the clothing sticky. In hot and dry weather the flow is on in the morning and again in the evening, while in cloudy or damp weather it lasts all day.

When first gathered, the honey is said to be very thin and clear, with a strong and nauseating taste, resembling the taste of the plant itself. As the moisture is evaporated and the nectar ripens in the hive this disagreeable taste is lost to a large extent. During a heavy flow a strong odor is frequently present in the apiary, which can be noticed at some distance from the hives. Scholl compares this odor to that of crushed cotton leaves. He reports that at times it becomes so strong as to have a sickening effect on the apiarist, even interfering with his work, on calm days.

The heaviest flows come from rank-growing plants on rich soils, during warm and wet weather. At such times the honey is lighter in color and superior in quality, while the honey stored from plants growing on light soils during dry weather is darker and strong in taste.

Pollen from the cotton plant is white in color, and is produced in abundance from the large bell-shaped flowers. When the bloom first opens it is white, later turning pink.

COTTON-GUM, see Tupelo.

COTTONWOOD, see Aspen.

COW-ITCH (Cissus incisa).

The cow-itch is a climbing vine found from the coast of Florida to western Texas and north to southern Arkansas. In south Texas it is called “yerba del buey,” according to Coulter.

Scholl states that it “yields sufficiently to keep the bees out of mischief during a dearth, and giving surplus when abundant.” At Buffalo and Palestine, Texas, the author found reports to the effect that cow-itch was a heavy yielder of nectar, bees beginning on it as soon as the basswood bloom closed. It blooms from June till October, with fruit in all stages. The honey was reported to be light amber in color and of good flavor. R. A. Nestor reported that he had secured as high as 35 to 40 pounds of surplus per colony from this source mixed with partridge pea. It is also called corn-itch.

COWPEA (Vigna sinensis).

The cowpea is widely cultivated in the warmer regions of the old world and in our own Southern States. It is grown for forage and for green manure. The plant is more closely related to the beans than to the peas.

R. A. Nestor reports that it yields freely in east Texas, and where planted in sufficient acreage yields surplus. The honey is very dark in color, but of mild flavor, according to his report.

The nectar from cowpeas is secreted by extra floral nectaries and beekeepers are often mystified because the bees are working at the “joints” instead of on the flowers. Some report that bees gather nectar from the flowers, also.

The following reports indicate the value in different localities:

“There is no finer honey plant than the cowpea, while it lasts, but it blooms only about a week. During this time, if the weather is fair, the bees swarm over the fields from early morn till dewey eve.”--J. D. Rowan, Tupelo, Miss. Gleanings, Sept. 15, 1909.

“The cowpea is one of our most abundant sources of honey for late summer. The crop is planted here from May 1 to August 1, and furnishes nectar through a considerable period of otherwise scarcity. Unlike other plants, the stems, and not the blossoms, secrete the nectar as the young pods are forming. These the bees work upon excessively. The honey is of good body, thick, deep, approaching dark yellow in color, and of strong taste like that of tulip-poplar, only stronger, with a somewhat slight, wild-green-bean-like flavor.”--C. C. Gettys, Hollis, N. C. Gleanings, Sept. 14, 1909.

“A small patch of peas was covered with bees from morning till night. Nearly all of them were working on the stalks, as usual; but here and there I saw a few Italians pushing their tongues down into the blossoms. I have never noticed any pollen from the field peas.”--Mrs. Ameda Ellis, Fremont, Mo. Gleanings, June 1, 1910.

“The peas bloom when there is a honey dearth and the bees gather honey from them. However, I notice they do not work on them much if there is a better honey plant blooming at the same time. My bees get a good deal of nice honey from them.”--G. H. Latham, Jr., Rapidan, Va. Gleanings, May 15, 1910.

COYOTE WEED, see Turkey Mullein.

CRAB APPLE (Malus).

There are several species of wild crab apples native to America. The fruit is small and sour and of little value. The blossoms are rose colored and very fragrant, making the tree worthy of cultivation as an ornamental. As a source of honey the wild crab apple ranks with the cultivated apple and other fruit trees. The blossoms appear from March to May and serve to stimulate spring brood rearing, though where abundant, strong colonies may gather some surplus.

The southern crab apple (=Malus angustifolia=) occurs in open woods from southern Pennsylvania south to Florida and west to Louisiana and Missouri.

The American crab apple (=Malus coronaria=) is common from eastern Canada to Michigan and south to Alabama and South Carolina. It is a small tree and often grows in dense thickets, where it furnishes ideal bee pasturage.

The Soulard crab apple (=Malus soulardi=) is much like the American crab apple in tree and flower, but has a larger fruit, which leads some authors to regard it as a hybrid between the cultivated apple and a native species. It is sometimes cultivated for its fruit, which is used as a substitute for quince. It occurs in the wild state from Minnesota to Texas, but not very common.

The Oregon crab apple (=Malus diversifolia=), is a native of the Pacific Coast from Alaska through Western Canada south to California. The fruit was formerly dried by the Indians for winter use.

All the wild crab apples are valuable sources of nectar, though the principal value is to stimulate early brood rearing.

CRIMSON CLOVER (Trifolium incarnatum).

Crimson clover is grown in the Southern States, but is not hardy in the North. It is an earlier bloomer than the other clovers. The blossoms are more showy than either alsike or red clover. The plant is an annual, and must be resown to perpetuate a field.

The honey yield is reported to be good and the quality similar to that of the other clovers. It is nowhere grown on the scale of the others, so is not so-well known as a source of honey.

Bonnier gives it third rank as a honey yielder, while the British Bee Journal states that it is about on a par with buckwheat, and that neither is satisfactory when honey of later yield is worked for.

Niswonger lists it as a very important plant in Kentucky, and states that the honey is of a very light yellow color of good quality.

[Illustration: Fig. 47. Crocus blossoms are among the first to furnish pollen in spring.]

Crocus.

A group of early spring flowers native to the Mediterranean region of Europe, widely cultivated in gardens. Among the first flowers to bloom, they are very attractive to the bees, as shown in Fig. 47.

CROTON (Croton).

Scholl lists four species of croton as yielding pollen and nectar in Texas, though none of them are of much importance. Richter states that the bees visit the small blossoms of =Croton californicus= in large numbers. The author can find no records which indicate that the plants are of special value anywhere.

CROWNBEARD (Verbesina).

There are several species of this plant, some of which are very attractive to the bees. They may be found in the borders of open woodlands and partially shaded situations of the region east of the Missouri River. Where sufficiently abundant the crownbeard is the source of a considerable quantity of nectar. A coarse weed, growing four to eight feet tall, with winged stems and yellow, or sometimes white, blossoms.

[Illustration: Fig. 48. The crownbeard is a favorite of the bees.]

CUCUMBER (Cucumis sativus).

The cucumber is dependent upon bees for pollination of the blossoms. The flowers are imperfect, the male organs being contained in one flower while the female organs are in another. For this reason it is necessary that insects carry the pollen from the staminate blossoms to the pistillate ones. Where pickles have been grown under glass, they have proved unfruitful until bees are given access to the bloom. Formerly the pickle growers fertilized the blossoms by hand to some extent. This was very laborious. According to B. N. Gates (In 3rd Report Iowa Bee Inspector), one grower has forty acres under glass in Massachusetts and the industry requires about three thousand colonies of bees annually to serve in the cucumber greenhouses.

In some sections, cucumbers are grown extensively for pickles. At Marengo, Ill., Doctor Miller reports that about 600 acres are planted to pickles. He reports that, whereas he formerly had no fall flow, his bees now gather some fall crop, part of it evidently from cucumbers. There are numerous localities where cucumbers are of some importance to the beekeeper. Lovell states that the honey is pale yellow or amber and has at first a rather strong flavor, which largely disappears in time.

CUP PLANT (Silphium perfoliatum).

Cup plant, also called rosin weed, is a common square-stemmed plant with leaves grown together at the base forming a cup. It grows from four to eight feet high and is abundant on rich lands, along streams and in woodside borders, in the Mississippi Valley. It produces numerous large yellow flowers and, where plentiful, furnishes considerable forage for the bees. It is probably seldom important as a source of surplus.

[Illustration: Fig. 49. The cup plant.]

CULVER’S ROOT (Veronica virginica).

The Culver’s root is found from New England and Ontario to Manitoba and southward to Arkansas and Georgia. There are reports to the effect that the bees fairly swarm on this plant, but apparently it is not of much importance to the beekeeper.

CURRANT (Ribes).

There are several varieties of the cultivated garden currant and many species of the wild currants which are valuable sources of nectar. There are at least seven species of wild currant native to New Mexico. It is probable that some species of wild currants are to be found in every State where bees are kept. In the vicinity of large plantings of cultivated currants they are an important source of nectar, but generally speaking, they are a minor source and of chief value for pollen and for stimulating early brood rearing along with most other fruits.

CYNOGLOSSUM, see Hound’s Tongue.

D

DAHOON, see Holly.

[Illustration: Fig. 50. The much despised dandelion is a valuable source of nectar.]

DANDELION (Taraxacum officinale).

The dandelion is one of the most widely distributed plants in America. Originally introduced from Europe, it has been naturalized over practically the entire continent. As each plant will produce hundreds of seeds, which are borne for long distances on the wind, its wide distribution is not surprising. The plant is sometimes used for medicinal purposes, serving as a mild laxative and tonic. The tender shoots are very popular as a table delicacy in early spring, with those who are fond of greens. The bright yellow flowers are very showy, and if the plant was not so abundant, would be considered attractive. The warfare against the dandelion is as relentless and as continuous as the campaign against the house fly. Little is to be accomplished by digging the plants from one’s own lawn, when a whole pastureful are going to seed a mile or two away.

The beekeeper has little to complain of from these weeds, as there is nothing of greater value during the short period of bloom. While the honey gathered from dandelions is dark and strong, most of it will be consumed for brood rearing. Occasionally a small surplus will be secured from this source, but it blooms so early that surplus is unusual. Large quantities of pollen as well as nectar are produced, so that a large acreage of dandelions within reach of the apiary is much to be desired. Fig. 50 shows the plant as it appears during the period of bloom, with blossoms and unopened buds.

Hon. Eugene Secor, the beekeeper’s poet, has written a number of things regarding the intimate relation existing between bees and flowers, and for one of these, the dandelion furnished the inspiration:

“Here’s a bee, my children see! Gathering sweets for you and me, On Sir Dandy Lion’s crown; She is yellow that was brown, Yellow with the golden dust Lent to her in solemn trust; Blossoms bart’ring gold for gold. Through this dusty trader bold, Dandy Lion seeks a bride, Sends his offerings far and wide With his trusty friend, the bee, And with Honey pays the fee.”

DATE-PLUM, see Persimmon.

DEER CLOVER, see Wild Alfalfa.

DEER’S EARS, see Monument Plant.

DELAWARE--Honey Sources of.

Clover, tulip-tree, willows, maples, fruit bloom, dandelion, heartsease, buckwheat, blueberry, huckleberry, boneset and asters are among the well-known sources of honey in Delaware. Beekeeping is not highly developed in this State and few pay serious attention to honey production.

DEVIL’S CLAW, see Acacia.

DEVIL’S SHOESTRING, see Bluevine.

DEWBERRY, see Blackberry.

DIERVILLA, see Bush Honeysuckle.

DOCTOR-GUM, see Poisonwood.

DOGBANE (Apocynum).

When not in bloom the dogbane resembles the milkweed. There are several species found in Europe, temperate Asia and North America. In the United States there are two common species, =Apocynum cannabinum=, known as Indian hemp, Canadian hemp or Choctaw root, and =Apocynum androsaemifolium=, the spreading dogbane.

Dogbane can be distinguished from milkweed by the finer stem and smaller leaves. The stems are unusually reddish in color. By Fig. 51 it will be seen that the flowers are very different. At times the bees work on this plant very freely. It is especially abundant in some localities along the Missouri River in Kansas and Missouri.

[Illustration: Fig. 51. Dogbane.]

DOGWOOD (Cornus).

The dogwoods or flowering cornels are a large group of shrubs with showy flowers. Some species are common over all of Eastern America, from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick south and west to Texas. The group is not important to the beekeeper, although occasionally some honey is reported from them. W. C. Brass reports that in central Arkansas smooth dogwood (=Cornus femine=), locally called spicewood or buckbrush, is very abundant, and the bees work upon it industriously during May. He reports, however, that it is uncertain in its value, the bees not working upon it every year. H. B. Parks reports that the bees