September, lyiu. 



311 



American Hee Journal 



FIG. 42.-BLOSSOM AND LEAF OF BASSWOOD 



FIG. 41.— BLOSSOMS AND LEAVES OF BLACK LOCUST 



to be found in many places from New 

 England and Canada southward, and is 

 reported as producing a surplus of 

 honey in parts of California, and is 

 listed among the honey plants of Texas. 

 The wood is desirable for posts, rail- 

 road ties and other purposes requiring 

 durability. Large plantations are often 

 set for utility purposes, so that in some 

 localities the beekeeper may readily 

 expect a surplus from this source. 

 Borers are a serious menace to the life 

 of this tree, and whole plantations of 

 locust are sometimes injured by the 

 insects, which kill the branches and 

 sometimes the bodies of the trees, 



Saskatchewan, Colorado and Arizona, 

 south to Florida and Louisiana. I find 

 no mention of it in Texas or Califor- 

 nia, although related species are found 

 there. Figure 41 shows the blossom 

 and leaf of this species. The fruit is 

 very conspicuous in autumn and win- 

 ter, the crimson berries serving the 



causing them to sprout again from the 

 root.i^t.-j ; !I^^;rir^:^:rrnz 



According to Lovell, the honey is 

 water white, of heavy body and mild 

 flavor. Figure 43 shows the blossoms 

 and leaves. The flowers, it will be 

 noted, much resemble those of the 

 garden pea. 



In some localities the tree is known 

 as white or yellow locust. 



The sumac family is represented by 

 some species in nearly all parts of the 

 country. The smooth sumac, A7j«a- 

 glabra, is found from New England to 



FIG. 44 -SUMAC. 



birds as food. Honey from sumac is 

 of good quality and flavor and light in 

 color. In some localities the quanti- 

 ties secured are sufficient to insure a 

 good surplus in favorable seasons. 



The well known poison ivy or poison 

 oak belongs to this family and is a 

 good honey plant. Probably nearly all 

 the sumacs .produce some honey, and 

 the family may be regarded as impor- 

 tant additions to the honey-producing 

 flora. 



VIRGINIA CREEPER. 



The Virginia creeper, also known as 

 American ivy or woodbine, Partheno- 

 cissus ijiiinijui-t'olki, is a common climb- 

 ing vine in thickets and woods from 

 New England to Quebec and Mani- 

 toba, Dakota and Colorado and south 

 to the Gulf from Florida to western 

 Texas. 



While the bees seek it eagerly at 

 times and the vines fairly hum with 

 them, it can hardly be regarded as of 

 great importance to the beekeeper. 



This plant is often confused with 

 poison ivy, but the two plants can 

 easily be distinguished by the differ- 

 ence in habit of growth, and by the 

 five leaflets in the creeper, as shown in 

 F'ig. 45, while the poison ivy has only 

 three leaflets to each leaf. 



The grape family, iilis. is repre- 

 sented by wild species in all parts of 

 the temperate regions of bo'Ji hemis- 

 pheres, and by cultivated species in 

 nearly all parts of the world. There 

 are about *) species of wild grapes. 



