December, 1916. 



American ^ee Journali 



the one when our assistance, unimpor- 

 tant as it may seem, gives the most 

 paying returns in proportion to our 

 labor. Every little detail must be care- 

 fully seen to, to obtain best results. 

 La Salle, N. Y. 



No. 



23.— The Honey-Producing 

 Plants 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT. 



Photoeraphs with this nuinbcr by A'l. C. Richtrr, 

 of San Fi'ancis(<\ 



THE acacias are shrubs or small 

 trees which are widely distributed 

 throughout the warmer portions 

 of the world. There are said to be 450 

 species, of which nearly 300 are native 

 to Australia and Polynesia. We also 

 find references to them in India, Africa 

 and South America. The different spe- 

 cies are known by various local names. 

 In Europe some are known as mimosa 

 trees. As sources of honey they are 

 important in Texas, Arizona, New 

 Mexico and California. 



The sweet acacia. Acacia farnesiana, 

 is found along the Gulf coast in Ala- 

 bama and as far east as South Carolina. 

 In Texas the huajilla. Acacia berlandi- 

 era, is an important source of nectar. 



In fact, according to the Texas bulle- 

 tin on honey plants, it is the main 

 source in southeast Te.xas. It grows 

 abundantly on dry and rocky hills 

 which often are not suited to growing 

 agricultural crops. The honey is white 

 and of fine quality. 



The catclaw or paradise flower, 

 Acacia greggii, is another very impor- 

 tant source of honey in the southwest. 

 It is one of the principal sources of 

 dependence in Texas, where it is re- 

 ported as yielding in April. Arizona 

 reports a later yield, blooming there in 

 May and June. Like the huajilla the 

 honey is light colored and of very fine 

 quality. 



We are indebted to M. C. Richter, 

 the well known Pacific coast authority, 

 for the two illustrations which accom- 

 pany this article. Figure 94 shows 

 the black wattle of California Acacia 

 decurrcns mollis, which is widely grown 

 as an ornamental in the gardens and 

 along roadsides in that State. It blooms 

 from February to June and produces 

 some honey and an abundance of pol- 

 len. Figure 95 shows the silver wattle. 

 Acacia dealbata, another widely grown 

 California shrub. 



As a family, the acacias are among 

 our most valuable honey producers. 



although they are confined to the 

 warmer sections. Many of them have 

 delicate fern-like foliage. 



Atlantic, Iowa. 

 Copyright: I9i6. by Frank C. Pellett. 



FIG. Q4. -ACACIA OR BLACK WATTLE {Acacia </ff«/v-OTf)— (Photoeraph by M. C. Richter) 



Bees on the Heather 



BY N. TOURNEUR. 



FEW British honeys are more es- 

 teemed by connoisseurs than that 

 coming from a certain district of 

 the borderland between England and 

 Scotland, where it is gleaned from bean 

 blossom and white clover. Yet, though 

 most delicious and much the most 

 beautiful, it does not sell so well, owing 

 to a lack of strength in the wax, with 

 the result that it runs easily. To rem- 

 edy this, then, the beekeeper shifts his 

 hives to the far distant moorland, or 

 hills, when the miles of heather are 

 coming into purple bloom. 



As soon as the oats begin to turn yel- 

 low the changeis made. For some weeks 

 previous the beeman has been making 

 preparations, and sending out far-scat- 

 tered inquiries as to the best tracts of 

 heather of the year; for sending his 

 bees to the moors is an event of great 

 importance to his pocket; and, to many 

 of his kind, living in secluded hamlets 

 of the foot-lands of the Cheviot Hills, 

 it is the great romance, adventure, 

 even, of the twelve months. The jour- 

 ney having to be made during the 

 night, there is a pleasing feeling of 

 danger owing to the wild nature of the 

 road or track and the character of the 

 burden conveyed. 



In places near the moors or hills, 

 or only two or three miles away, the 

 hives are carried on stretchers, at- 

 tended by a convoy of lantern bearers 

 to lay bare the perils of the way and 

 guard the footsteps of those carrying 

 the hives. But when there are many 

 hives, and the distance is great, other 

 means of transport are utilized. Some 

 fortunate beemen are so situated that 

 they can send the hives by train, but 

 they are few. Others, again, greatly 

 daring, have strapped a hive on each 

 side of a steady-going and sedate old 

 pony, or, more preferably, a donkey, and 

 the animal is carefully led along the 

 road and moorland paths. Most gen- 

 erally, however, a long cart is borrowed 

 from a near farmer, usually himself a 

 beekeeper. 



After dark, when the bees have given 

 over work for the day, the entrance to 

 the hive is closed by means of the per- 

 forated tin or zinc slide, and the hive 

 carefully marked in some secret place 

 to distinguish it from the others be- 

 longing to neighbors, also sending 

 theirs to the heather; for beemen are 

 not free from sleight-of-exchange tricks 

 with hives, as the canny borderer may 

 have experienced. 



Before the cart or carts arrive an 

 old beekeeper, whose hand and brain 

 are like a calculating machine, so near 

 can he get to the different weights, 

 goes around handling the hives, and 

 merely by the scent of the hive telling 

 its condition. He also closely exam- 

 ines the packing of the hives into the 

 vehicle, for there will be many a jolt 

 on the road where the ruts are deep 

 and the stones large. He can tell of 

 expeditions to the heather where 



