310 



September, 1915. 



This ideal condition will probably 

 not be brought about, but we should 

 work toward that end. The beekeepers 

 are waking up to the fact that something 

 ought to be done along this line as is 

 shown by the subjects discussed at the 

 conventions held in New York State 

 the past winter. It would seem that 

 the 4'4x4,'4 section is now most exten- 

 sively used by the beekeepers; this, 

 then, would be the size upon which we 

 ought to settle, discarding all the 

 others. But does the 4 '4 section of 

 the past meet the requirements ? If 

 the 4 '4 wood section does not fill the 

 bill, and if in addition the supers now 

 in use are not suitable for a section 

 that will satisfy the demand, then it 

 does not matter whether or not the im- 

 proved new section is of the exact size 

 of the one now most commonly used, 

 and it might then be an advantage to 

 adopt another size altogether. 



Consumers of comb honey are often 

 obliged to pay 23 cents per 13-outice 

 section of clover honey in the city. 

 The 4x4 sanitary tin section, hermeti- 

 cally sealed when finished up. is a most 

 desirable package for the retail trade, 

 as may be found when visiting retail 

 stores in cities. It is preferred every 

 time by the purchasers. 



The question is, can the beekeepers 

 afford to use so expensive a package ? 

 In other words, will purchasers pay for 

 for it ? Let us suppose that we are 

 willing to furnish 13 ounces of honey 

 for 15 cents; this is by all considered 

 a good price; adding the present price 

 of the package, about 4 cents, and the 

 shipping case, about Yz cent for every 

 section, would make a total of nearly 

 20 cents, which such honey should 

 bring to the producer. This is indeed 

 what the retailers do pay for such 

 honey, but to obtain it at that price, 

 the producer would have to deal direct 

 with the retailer, a thing which but few 

 of us could possibly do. From this 

 standpoint we, the producers, would 

 gain but little if any by using the new 

 sanitary package of tin. But when we 

 consider thai it sells at the rate of 10 

 to one of the regular wooden package, 

 that the latter, even in paper carton, 

 was left in the retailer's hand unsold, 

 it would seem the sanitary would pay. 



The beekeepers in New York go still 

 further. They are not satisfied with 

 the above; they want a package, glass 

 or tin, for extracted honey interchange- 

 able in the s/iippinf,' crate with the 

 comb honey section, so that a case of 

 honey may contain both comb honey 

 and extracted honey. Such a feature 

 would be of especial value when pro- 

 ducer is dealing with consumer direct. 

 The latter may want, for instance, lYz 

 dozen sections of comb and 'A dozen 

 packages of extracted honey; the pro- 

 ducer can adapt himself to the demand, 

 as purchaser may desire. 



It seems to me that such uniformity 

 of the section would be the desidera- 

 tum. The New York beekeepers are 

 testing this matter this season. It may 

 be that we have arrived at a turning 

 point in section making. This would 

 be gratifying to ihose who have held 

 that the use of basswood for sections 

 is a criminal offense. 



Whether it is possible to use the tin 

 sections with our regular style wide 

 frames or section holders is a question 

 we will have to flliJ out- The origina- 



American Vee Journal 



tor of the tin section, Paul Hunten, 

 constructed a frame particularly fitted 

 for such a section, but this is rather 

 awkward, and we should have some- 

 thing better. 

 Naples, N. Y. 



No. 9.— The Honey-Producing 

 Plants 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT. 

 [Photographs hv the author.) 



WE come now to some of the trees 

 and shrubs which are generally 

 recognized as important sources 

 of nectar. Aside from the clover fam- 

 ily some of the largest yields ;=re 

 secured from trees. There are a num- 

 ber of trees that secrete nectar in suffi- 

 cient abundance to justify the bee- 

 keeper in seeking a location near such 

 forests. 



BASSWOOD OR LINDEN. 



The basswood, '/'ilia nmericana, also 

 known as linden, whitewood, and 

 sometimes as limetree. is one of the 

 best known sources of honey in the 

 eastern States. There are other spe- 

 cies closely related which also produce 

 nectar, and which, perhaps, would not 

 be distinguished l.y the casual observer. 

 The natural range of the basswood is 

 from Canada to Florida and west to 

 Nebraska and Texas. It is also grown 

 as a shade tree in other western States 

 and is mentioned by Richter in the 

 bulletin on honey plants of California, 

 as an introduced species of value. Fig- 



ure 41 shows the tree in bloom and 

 Fig. 42 a close view of the blossom 

 and leaf. 



The tree thrives on rich lands and in 

 the cooler regions of the country 

 reaches a large size. The wood is soft 

 and white and much in demand for 

 making sections, separators and other 

 bee supplies requiring a soft wood cut 

 in thin sheets. For such purposes 

 basswood has no superior. The wood 

 is also sought for use in the manufac- 

 ture of furniture, packing boxes, etc., 

 as well as for paper making. 



The blooming period is short, seldom 

 yielding to exceed ten days or two 

 weeks, and often for a much shorter 

 period. The honey flows from bass- 

 wood are irregular and only to be de- 

 pended upon about two or three years 

 out of every five. A heavy flow from 

 this source occurs only occasionally, 

 but when it does come it is worth wait- 

 ing for, for enormous yields are some- 

 times secured. The honey is white in 

 color with rather a strong flavor, but 

 is usually regarded as high quality. 

 Good basswood locations are no 

 longer plentiful, as the cutting of the 

 forests over the entire country has re- 

 sulted in a large reduction of this 

 along with other trees. 



LOCUST. 



The black locust or false acacia, 

 Rohina pseiido-aceicia, is a native tree 

 from Pennsylvania to Iowa and south- 

 ward. However, it has been widely 

 introduced into other States, thus 

 greatly extending its range. It is now 



FIG. 41.-BASSWOOU TREIi IN BLOOM 



