THE BEES WHICH WE PASS BY. 213 



much fuss about it as an ordinary hen, what an inter- 

 minable racket would greet our ears from the beehive ! 

 The flowers and trees which line the side of the 

 road offer stores of honey for the bee ; let me men- 

 tion some of them, for they are by no means the 

 strong-scented ones. The raspberry (it bears the 

 finest flavored honey) stands at the head of the 

 list, next comes white clover. Red clover is hardly 

 eligible because the bee's tongue is not long enough 

 to reach down to the bottom of the blossom ; so we 

 must leave this flower to the bumblebee whose tongue 

 is longer. Then comes the dandelion, rich in both 

 pollen and honey, and the wild rose, melilot, Canada 

 thistle, all fruit trees, red and sugar maples, linden, 

 all willows (these furnish both pollen and honey), 

 Judas tree, yellowwood, locust, tulip tree (one of the 

 greatest honey-producing trees in the world), haw- 

 thorn, snapdragon, larkspur, borage, chamomile, mi- 

 gnonette, alyssum, coreopsis, sunflower, boneset, iron- 

 weed, fireweed, rudbekia, thoroughwort, catnip, 

 horsemint, dead nettle, basil, peas, beans, false 

 indigo, chicory, golden-rod, aster, and, last but not 

 least, that characteristic roadside flower, self-heal 

 (jSrunella vulgaris\ a blue-violet flower which is the 

 especial favorite of the bumblebee. I should not 

 omit to include the common milkweed, but this is a 

 great snare for the honeybee. 



