34 AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



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. Men- 

 dleson, 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. Occa- 

 sionally 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 im- 

 portant. 



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 for- 

 ests. 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 b;ndv/eed is a common weed throughout the Eastern States. 



