52 AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



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. Alex- 

 ander 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 buck- 

 wheat 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, mistak- 

 ing 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, acording to weather condi- 

 tions 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'epices," 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 tliat never count for very much in the total production of 

 tlie 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 



