&13 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



and grows profusely upon all wild land In 

 Southern California, with the exception of a 

 few localities. It seems to thrive equally well 

 upon the naountain-side and in the valley; and 

 the nearer we get toward the Mexican line, the 

 larger the growth. When in full bloom it is 

 one mass of flower- heads, each head a tangled 

 compact mass of little pinkish-white flowerets 

 resembling the blossoms of the cultivated 

 buckwheat. The flower-heads are a study iu 

 themselves, taking the various fantastic shapes 

 of wreaths, rosettes, shields, etc. It does not 

 burden the air with such a strong odor as the 

 ordinary buckwheat, and would be scarcely 

 detected by the scent. 



The bees work industriously upon these blos- 

 soms; and from this source come the great 

 yields of amber honey. It is not only profuse 

 in bloom, but it holds its blossoms and honey 



and give a fair yield of honey. It is a common 

 remark here, with our older bee-keepers, that 

 a range in which we find the sages, wild alfal- 

 fa, and wild buckwheat, can nearly always be 

 depended upon for something of a honey-yield; 

 and it is a bad season indeed when the buck- 

 wheat refuses its drops of nectar. There are, 

 perhaps, many localities where the plant is 

 sparingly distributed, or wanting altogether; 

 but the same must be said of the sages and 

 other plants. I conclude, however, that the 

 wild buckwheat is more evenly dist'-ibuted, 

 and covers a greater area, than any other 

 plant, and is the greatest and most reliable 

 honey-plant in Southern Cali forma: and if 

 there are any dissenting or consenl^ng views 

 among my California brethren fn jf-elation to 

 this statement, I trust they will let them be 

 known. 



1. ,«'«« »» ^^9 »-. 



CALIFORNIA WILD BUCKWHEAT (ERIGONUM FASICULATUM.) 



production longer than any other plant in Cal- 

 ifornia. From early in June until into August 

 it has this year made the hive overflow with 

 sweetness and the bee-keeper sing pagans of joy. 



Ordinarily this plant fails to secrete nectar 

 from the 1st to the middle of July; but after a 

 wet winter, and after late rains, it yields honey 

 in a prolonged ratio. In places where there is 

 much natural moisture it seems to bloom in- 

 definitely; and I have no doubt that, if a field 

 of it could be put under irrigation, it would 

 yield honey several months. The honey is not 

 so dark, and the flavor not so rank, as that 

 from common buckwheat. The flavor is mild, 

 and many people prefer it to the white honey, 

 which, in many instances, has but little flavor. 



Bee-keepers cite many instances where the 

 sages have failed to secrete honey; then a little 

 later the buckwheat would come to their rescue 



In relation to the sages. I note in Gleanings, 

 page 770, Mr. Israel entertains the same opinion 

 that I did of white sage until I saw the bees 

 doing such good business upon it. In the local- 

 ity I referred to, the bees worked the black 

 sage first; then there were two weeks of unin- 

 terrupted flow from tl^e abundant white sage, 

 before the buckwheat came into working order. 

 The bees would flit up the long stalks of white 

 sage from flower to flower, like climbing the 

 golden stairs. The result is some of the most 

 beautiful honey Mr. Israel could wish to ex- 

 amine. 



A word to the reader: In studying the figures 

 at the head of this Ramble, the reader will 

 hotice that it enumerates 145; this divided by 

 24, the number of issues per year, results in six 

 years and one issue over. For six years, then, 

 I have been a regular contributor to its columns. 



