AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 437 



EAST XEr<JNESSEE HOKfEY-YIEI^DERS. 



BY H. F. COLEMAN. 



So many persons are making inquiry as to the honey-producing plants of East 

 Tennessee, that I think it advisable to answer through the columns of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. But to those interested I will say that my answer will be con- 

 fined to the mountainous parts of East Tennessee. The flat lands, however, are 

 well adapted to honey-producing, but the mountainous sections of East Tennessee, 

 in my opinion, can be excelled in but few parts of the United States. 



In the early spring we have elm, willow, fruit-bloom and other flowers. Later 

 in the spring come buckeye, locust and blackberry. Locust blooms every other 

 year, but the blackberry is a sure bloomer, and a good honey-producer. White clover 

 and poplar come simultaneously, and both are plentiful. 



Poplar is a sure producer, and in my opinion is the greatest producer of all the 

 honey-producing plants or trees. The only difficulty with the poplar is, that it 

 blooms-rather early, and it takes care and attention to have the bees in a condition 

 to gather from it. In this locality bees usually gather it 20 to 30 days. It usually 

 begins blooming by May 15th, and continues until in June. 



Basswood comes next, and is plentiful along the rivers, in the coves, and on the 

 rich north lands. It does not bloom so long as the poplar, and is not as sure a pro- 

 ducer, though it seldom if ever entirely fails. Sourwood and basswood lap — the 

 sourwood beginning to bloom the latest, and it is probable that the sourwood, in a 

 measure, gets credit that is due the basswood. Basswood usually begins to bloom 

 by June 20th — sourwood by July 1st, and sourwood continues, if a fair season, until 

 the first of August. Sourwood produces more or less every year, and some years 

 enormously. The honey produced from it is lighter in color than that produced 

 from basswood, and is equal to it in flavor. 



Golden-rod and asters abound, and with us are next to sure producers. Golden- 

 rod usually begins to bloom by Sept. 1st, the asters by Sept. 15th, and asters con- 

 tinue until killed by the frosts of fall. 



It will be seen that if a favorable season, we have almost an unbroken honey- 

 flow from the blooming of the willows, early in March, until frost does its deadly 

 work in the fall. 



As to the quality of honey produced from the different trees and plants, poplar 

 honey among the people here stands first. It is darker than either basswood or 

 sourwood, but its flavor is relished by those who have it, and they hold it in high 

 esteem. Basswood and sourwood come next in quality, and golden-rod and asters 

 last. In some localities the honey from golden-rod and asters constitutes a large 

 per cent, of the crop, and in such localities the people speak high in its praise, and 

 sell it for more per pound than they do honey from poplar, basswood or sourwood. 



Sneedville, Tenn. 



FEEDING SIMPI^IFIED— A BIG IMPROVEMENX. 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



I've been having lots of fun trying different ways of feeding. It seemed that, 

 to do all the feeding I should want to do this year, the percolator I had would make 

 too slow work. Yet, after trying it, and finding how little work it was, I was loth 

 to go back to the old plan of boiling syrup. I might make additional percolators, or 

 a larger percolator; but while I was about it, I thought I might as well try to have 

 a plan by which the percolating would be done on the hives. If I could just carry 

 the dry sugar to a hive, also the water, it would save a good deal of work, as well as 



