WILLOW. 



477 



WILLOW. 



teresting- to see the bees work on these flowers, as 

 you can see their motions itbiinly, for tlie tree or 

 bush does not grow so high but that some of the 

 lower limbs are about on a level with the eye. Here 

 is a peculiarity of the willows, for all those in this 

 section which give pollen grow in bush form, while 

 all of those which yield honey grow to be quite 

 large trees, often reaching six feet in circumference. 



PUSSY WILLOW. 



The pussy willow naturally grows on low swampy 

 ground; but with a little culture to start, it will grow 

 readily on dry ground. It grows readily from cut- 

 tings put in the ground in early spring, as do all ol 

 the willow tribe. The above are often set down as 

 "honey-plants;" but, according to Quinby and my 

 own observation, they produce no honey. As they 

 grow plentifully about here, I have made close 

 observation regarding them. To be sure, the bee is 

 continually poking its proboscis into the blossoms- 

 the same as it does when seeking for honey; but 

 after killing many bees and dissecting them, I have 

 been uiiablj to find the least bit of honey in their 

 sacs. This, when bees are at work on any of Ihc 

 honey-bearing flowers, never fails to reveal any 

 honey they ire getting. 



HONEY-PRODUCERS. 



Of these we have three kinds- the golden willow, 

 the white willow, and the weeping willow, and they 

 are of value as honey-producers in the order named. 

 The weeping willow blossoms about three days earli- 

 er than the others, which would make it of more 

 value to the bees, even did it not yield honey quite 

 so profusely, if there were enough trees to keei^ the 

 bees busy; but there are very few trees of this kind 

 about here to render it of any account. None of 

 the three willows mentioned here give any pollen 

 that I ever could discover, for none of the bees at 

 work on these trees ever have any of it in their pol- 

 len-baskets. If there is any species of willow which 

 yields both honey and pollen, I am not acquainted 

 with it. The flowers are similar to those which grow 

 on Iho birch and poplar, being of a long tag-like 

 shape, as large as a slate pencil and from one to two 

 inches long. Those on the golden willow are the 

 1 )ngest, and yield honey abundantly. 



Tlie engra\ing presented herewith so nearly rep- 

 resents the golden willow that any one should know 

 it In connection with its yellow bark, which dis- 

 tinguishes it from the other kinds of honey-yielding 

 willow, as all of the rest, so far as I know, have a 



light-green bark. When these willows are in bloom, 

 and the weather warm, the bees rush out of their 

 hives at early dawn, and work on it all day long as 

 eagerly as they do on clover or basswood. The blos- 

 soms often secrete honey so profusely that it can be 

 seen glistening in the morning by liolding the blos- 

 som between you and the sun, while the trees resound 

 with that dull busy hum from morning till night, so 

 often heaid when bees are getting honey. As this 

 is the very first honey of the season, I consider it of 

 the greatest value to the bees, for brood is now 

 crowded forward with great "vim," giving us the 

 bees which work on white clover, while the honey 

 often helps very greatly in piecing out the depleted 

 stores of the hive. These willows blossom a little in 

 advance of the hard maple, yet hold out equally 

 long; and from the fact that, when I kill a bee at 

 work on these willows I always find honey in its sac, 

 while when I do the same to a bee at work on the 

 maple I never find any, I have been led to think that 

 perhaps those reporting honey from msiplcs might 

 be mistaken, and that the honey really came from 

 the willows. Again, maple blossoms only every 

 other year with us, while the willows never fail; 

 and I have noticed for years that I get fully as 

 much honey in the years when the maples do not 

 bloom as when they do. From the few trees along a 

 small creek near here, my bees frequently make a 

 gain of from six to ten pounds of honey while the 

 willows are in bloom, and one season they ma^'e 



Got. DEN WILLOW. 



gain of 15 pounds. This present spring some of my 

 best colonies gained 8 pounds, while on apple-bloom 

 they did not get more than a living from apple-or- 

 chards white with bloom all about. The honey 

 from the willow is quite similar to that from the 

 apple-bloom, and has a nice aromatic flavor. As the 

 willows give the first pollen, and also the first hon- 

 ey each season, it will be seen wl:al a great help 

 they are to all who have them in profusion near 

 their bees. The only drawback is the weather often 

 being unfavorable, for I do not think thai more than 

 one year in three gives good weather all through the 

 time willows are in blossom. So far as 1 know, honey 

 and pollen are always present in the lespectivc 

 kinds when in bloom; but the trouble is, that it is 

 too cold, rainy, cloudj-, or windy for the bees to get 

 to the trees so much of the time, at this season of the 

 year, that honey or pdlen from this source i:? not at 

 all certain. 

 Borodino, N. Y, G. M. Doolittle, 



