The Bulletin. 15 



gets a lower price, since everything' that is sold under the name of 

 extracted honey falls under suspicion unless the bee-keeper has a 

 fixed trade and has the full confidence of his customers. On the 

 other hand, comb honey cannot be imitated, so that it does not suffer 

 so keenly from this unfair competition. The only way to adulterate 

 comb honey is by the well-known process of feeding the bees with 

 syrup, which is, of course, necessary at times, but should not other- 

 wise be practiced, for the reason that it is costly at best, and impairs 

 the quality of the product, to the detriment of the price. 



LEADING HONEY PLANTS. 



North Carolina is well supplied with native honey plants, especially 

 in the eastern section. Three of the questions sent out by the writer 

 bear on this subject, and the answers give an excellent view of the 

 matter for the entire State. Of course each bee-keeper may have his 

 own preferences or prejudices as to which plant yields the best quality 

 of honey, but the averages derived from a large number of replies are 

 likely to be near the truth. We have been over all the reports, so as 

 to reach some definite conclusions as to the order in which our princi- 

 pal honey plants should be ranked. Taking the State as a whole, 

 sourwood, poplar (sometimes called tulip tree) and the clovers (all 

 kinds) are the three leaders. As one of the main sources of honey, 

 the sourwood is mentioned 167 times, to 162 for poplar, and 157 for 

 the clovers. As to quality of honey, sourwood is mentioned 121 

 times, to 30 for poplar, and 65 for the clovers. For quantity of 

 honey, the sourwood is mentioned 48 times, to 57 for poplar and 39 

 for the clovers. Of these three leaders the poplar is the most widely 

 distributed, and is prominently mentioned in all sections, from east 

 to west. The sourwood is principally confined to the piedmont sec- 

 tion, though reported also from the lower mountain localities and 

 from the western border of the eastern region. The clovers are found 

 in all parts, though more abundant in the mountain and piedmont 

 sections. Next to these three we find the gallberry (Vaccinium sp.) 

 and black-gum, both taking high rank and both found principally in 

 the east. Persimmon ranks sixth and is reported chiefly from the 

 east, several mentioning it as irregular in yield and lasting but a 

 short time, but doing well for the short period. The basswood, or lin- 

 den, comes seventh and is reported only from the west. Holly and 

 huckleberry (low and high) are next in order, both being in the east. 

 Buckwheat follows and is confined to the west. Iron weed (so-called, 

 really a species of aster), while reported almost entirely from the 

 piedmont, and especially from Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and neighbor- 

 ing counties, taking relatively high rank both for quality and quan- 

 tity of honey produced, grows over larger areas in the piedmont and 



