256 



AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



"The honey from teasel is very thin and white, in fact the whitest 

 honey I ever saw; but it is not of as good flavor as either clover or 

 basswood. This thinness of the nectar, and its coming just when bass 

 wood does is the great drawback to it. From careful tests I should 

 say that it would take about four bee-loads of it to be equal to one 

 bee-load of nectar gathered from basswood. Coming as it does with 

 basswood, makes it of no great advantage, except that it usually lasts 

 six to ten days after basswood is gone. 



"Again, my bees have to fly two to ten miles to get this nectar, 

 as I am on the southern edge of the teasel belt. According to those 

 who believe bees fly only 1^ to 2 miles for honey, I should not get any- 

 thing from teasel. I have repeatedly seen my bees flying to and from 

 the teasel fields from our church door, which is 2>^ miles from my 

 apiary in line with the fields. 



"As to what proportion of my honey has come from teasel the 

 past fifteen years, I should say about one-tenth; some years more and 

 some years not a single pound. In 1877 I got the largest crop, while 

 from 1878 to 1884 little if any was obtained." 



TENDRIL-BEARING SMARTWEED, see Brunnichia. 



TENNESSEE— Honey Flora of. 



From a special circular sent to the largest beekeepers of the State, 



asking them to give the names of the chief nectar-producing flowers of 



their section, the following was gained. The list given below is arranged 

 in order of importance in the estimation of these practical beekeepers: 



White clover. Huckleberry. 



Poplar. Whortleberry. 



Linden or basswood. Elm. 



Sourwood. Yellow-wood. 



Asrer. Daisy fleabane. 



Black locust. , Heartsease. 



Chestnut. Cane. 



Goldenrod. Crowfoot moss. 



Stickweed. .Willows. 



Red Clover. Bitterweed. 



Persimmon. Turnip. 



Alsike clover. Dandelion. 



Cowpeas Strawberry. 



Tanglefoot (aster). Pea wood. 



Sumac. Cottonwood. 



Maple. Cedar. 



Black gum. Blackberry. 



Alfalfa. Catnip. 



Melilotus. Fruit berries. 



Cotton. Aspen. 



Corn. Raspberry. 



Wireweed. Oak. 



Boneset. Spanish needle. 

 Buckbrush. 

 — G. M. Bentley, Tennessee Board of Entomology, Bulletin No. 9. 



