1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



301 



Washington, and Nevada. But a few species 

 range southward, and I have found them 

 among the Chaparral Mountains of Ventura 

 County and elsewhere. 



C. spinosus, the next to the most prominent 

 species, occurs from Santa Barbara to Los An- 

 geles, and is known by the local name of "red- 

 wood" — not the timber tree redwood— on ac- 

 count of its reaching the height of a small tree 

 and producing a passably serviceable red-col- 

 ored wood, which, however, is not much used. 

 Like all the other species it has clusters of 

 beautiful fragrant flowers, which are blue, as 

 in all but a few with white flowers. 



Two genera of the Heath family, Arbiitiis, or 

 madrono (pronounced * mathrone 'yo), and Arc- 

 tostapliyV OS, or manzanita (manzanee'ta), af- 



ford valuable bee pasturage in early spring. 

 The former, in California, contains only Arbu- 

 tus Menziesii, a relative of the strawberry tree 

 of other countries, and the manzaniias are 

 found in about a dozen species in mountain re- 

 gions. The madrono is a beautiful tree SO to 

 100 feet high among the Coast Range Moun- 

 tains of Northern California; but it dwindles to 

 a shrub in the southern portions of the range. 

 It presents a fine appearance at all seasons, 

 with its long glossy leaves and smooth, red- 

 dish-brown trunk and branches. One writer 



*The word "marlrouo" mig-ht be represented by 

 the spelling- mndhtuti-yd, soundinK the o as in ah, 

 and tbe o as in tlie wofd uld. Spanish d is pro- 

 nounced by pushing tlie tip of the tongue slightly 

 against tlie upper teeth instead of the roof of tlie 

 mouth just above the upper teeth, as we do in 

 Enpli>h: it is also accompanied by a slight trill 

 when r follows it.— Ed. 



truly remarks that the madrofio should be the 

 Irishman's favorite tree, upholding as it does 

 the green above the red. But when it has hung 

 out its fragrant delicate white blossoms, in 

 March and April, its beauty can not be excelled. 

 The madrono and the manzanitas bear their 

 blossoms in clusters, each individual blossom 

 being partly or wholly pendent, or drooping, 

 from a slender pedicel; and, while the shape 

 varies with the species, the flowers of all, in 

 form and texture, are much like tiny porcelain 

 lamp-shades, the opening of the flower corres- 

 ponding to the narrow part of the shade. 



These two genera are closely related to the 

 huckleberry and cranberry. The madrono 

 bears very sweet berries about the size of cher- 

 ries; and, while some botanies describe them 

 as "scarcely eatable," I have 

 found quite delicious ones. 

 The wood is very hard and of 

 a pretty color, susceptible of 

 high polish, and fine for fan- 

 cy work. Madrofio is found 

 as a tree from the Santa Cruz 

 Mountains to British Colum- 

 bia, and as a shrub along the 

 higher parts of the Coast 

 Range, where the rainfall is 

 more plentiful, clear down to 

 Mexico. 



Manzanita, in Spanish, 

 means "little apple;" but 

 the berries of most of the spe- 

 cies are bony and tasteless.- 

 The wood is similar to that 

 of madrouo, as are the flow- 

 ers. Most of the species 

 range from Monterey north- 

 ward; but A. tomentosa is 

 found as far south as Santa 

 Barbara; and A. pungens, 

 with slightly acid fruit, eat- 

 en by bears and Indians, 

 abounds in all mountain re- 

 gions throughout the State. 

 Bees work busily on all species. But as the 

 various manzanita shrubs blossom in February 

 and March, and the madrono in March and 

 April, when bees are using most of what they 

 gather in the rapid production of young bees, 

 and when, in the regions where these plants 

 thrive, rainy weather is very frequent, surplus 

 honey is too rare from them to have acquired 

 any market reputation. I have just sampled 

 some (Feb. 37) that the bees have lately capped 

 ov(!r in the brood-nest, recognizable by the 

 frej-h whiteness of the cappings on recently 

 lengthened cells; and it is of a darker shade 

 than sage honey, but without redness of tint, 

 and has a mellow, pleasant flavor that many 

 would like: but that would be less universally 

 liked than sage, clover, or basswood honey. 

 The trailing Arct. uva ursi, or bearberry, of 



