Msr. 15, 1912 



ey, and at a time of year when a dearth is 

 usually on in this locality. The plant fur- 

 nishes nectar between the buckwheat flow 

 and the fall llowers, such as goldenrod, as- 

 ters, etc., and is a heavy yielder in some 

 seasons; but a cool dry summer, such as we 

 have just experiencetl, stops the flow to a 

 great extent. In liHl there was very little 

 honey of any kind produced in this locality. 

 In liMO the bees from my apiary swarmed 

 on the tobacco, some colonies producing 100 

 pounds of surplus in sections. It will be 

 several years before the value of tobacco 

 honey is fully known; and whether this 

 new source of nectar will eventually help or 

 retard the Connecticut beekeeper, will be a 

 question that will be decided in the near 

 future. 



I wish to emphasize especially the state- 

 ment that our beekeepers have nothing to 

 fear from the nectar of the tobacco plant. 

 All the early section honey is ready to come 

 otY the hive before the tobacco commences 

 to yield, and it has been quite the rule in 

 <"onnecticut to let the fall flow go to the 

 brood nest for winter food, and this new 

 source will fill the bill exactly, helping out 

 largely in seasons when fall flowers fail, or 

 are cut by early frosts. The bees winter 

 finely on the honey; and if any sections are 

 matle during this flow they will certainly 

 sell as well as buckwheat, being somewhat 

 lighter in color, and, for many uses, equal 

 to any of the darker grades of honey, if not 

 superior. If for any reason the beekeeper 

 does not wish it to go into sections he can 

 put on extracting supers and handle the 

 product in any way he sees fit. 



Connecticut does not boast of many large 

 apiaries, under 20 colonies being the rule in 



163 



this locality; but if the tobacco plant con- 

 tinues to be raised and allowed to blossom, 

 many more can be kept to advantage. 

 More colonies have been lost during the 

 winters for lack of supplies than any other 

 one thing, as a good fall flow is the excep- 

 tion rather than the rule. If the new source 

 will fill the brood nest for winter, bees will 

 increase much more rapidly, and give the 

 beekeeper more assurance of success. 



Fig. 1 shows outdoor tobacco in full bloom 

 owned by Fred M. Colton, of (iranby, Conn. 

 Mr. Colton's tobacco-warehouse for sorting 

 the crop is seen in the distance. About 60 

 hands are employed in the place during the 

 winter. Fig. -1 presents the tobacco blos- 

 soms near at hand. A remarkable thing 

 about the flower is that a bee will disappear 

 in the depths of the flower, and remain per- 

 haps a full minute, and, upon coming out, 

 fly straight home. It can readily be seen 

 that a field of 100 acres or more will keep 

 quite a few bees busy, with such a supply to 

 draw from. 



Fig. o gives an idea of the tents which are 

 used to produce "shade grown" tobacco. 

 Notice the splendid roadways that lead one 

 through these vast fields, some of them be- 

 ing nearly a mile in length. These roads 

 occur every little way in order that the har- 

 vesting may be the more easily carried on. 

 A severe thunderstorm sometimes comes 

 along, ripping the cloth olT from hundreds 

 of acres, giving the bees a fine chance to 

 visit the bloom. But the tents are never 

 "bee tight," so that they find a way in if 

 the nectar is to be had. 



People who have not visited the large tent 

 plantations that have sprung up as if by 

 magic can not realize the progress the in- 



Kig. 2.— Close view of tobacco blossoms. The honey from this source Is dark In color, but answers nice- 

 ly for winter stores. 



