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QEOKUe W. YORK, Editor. 





• 







40th YEAR, 



CHICAGO, ILL,, JUNE 14, 1900, 



No. 24. 



The Common Black, or Yellow, Locust. 



BY JOHN R. SCHMIDT. 



BETTER known by some as " honey "-locust is one of 

 our most fragrant and beautiful honey-plants. Unfor- 

 tunately it is seldom found in large numbers in any 

 one place, and the nectar, which is borne more abundantly 

 than in some other honey-plants which receive more atten- 

 tion but possessing less desirable qualities, seldom reaches 

 the supers, and therefore this desirable honey-yielder is lit- 

 tle known to the bee-keeping- fraternity. 



The tree is of very rapid growth, and blooms profusely 

 when only a few years old. The specimen from which the 

 sprig was taken to be photographt was planted seven years 

 ago, then only a small sapling less than four feet high, and 

 about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. Now, the 

 thickest part of the trunk is five inches thru, and it was 

 necessary to use a 12-foot ladder to reach some of the lowest 

 branches. This will give some idea as to its rapid growth. 



The blossoms make their appearance about the second 

 week in May, and are of a creamy-white color, hang in 

 clusters like so many bunches of grapes, and are intensely 

 fragrant. The odor is so very pronounced that it often 

 causes one to have a headache when the blossoms are 

 smelled for any length of time, or when they are present in 

 large quantities in a closed room. 



Bees work upon these blossoms from morning until 

 night, and the hum, when one is under a tree in full bloom, 

 almost resembles that of a swarm clustering among the 

 branches. Several times I have stopt and examined the 

 tree to see if such were not the case. 



The time of bloom which I have already mentioned 

 make it a most desirable tree for the bee-keeper in this sec- 

 tion, as it comes when there is nothing for the bees to work 

 upon, and continues to bloom until the last of May, when 

 white and sweet clover open our main honey-flow. 



This tree, if planted in groves like linden or basswood, 

 would rapidly mature and yield a good crop of honey each 

 year. I do not remember ever seeing the bees fail to work 

 upon it. These are its good points. Now I will mention 

 some of its faults, as much as I know : 



1st. The trees are always worm-eaten ; that is, worms 

 are always present in the wood, and they eat the very life 

 out of the trees. This causes many dead branches and 

 much dead wood among the trees when they become old. 



2d, It is said they are very susceptible to lightning, 

 and many people refuse to have them on their premises for 

 this reason. Personally, I do not think them more so than 

 the oak, but I have seen many large trees which were struck. 



3d. Owing to the above faults, many trees soon lose 



their symmetrical appearance and beauty, and therefore 

 are not so attractive in appearance as the linden and some 

 others. Hamilton Co., Ohio, May 19. 



The Food of the Larval Bees. 



BY PROF, A. J. COOK. 



THE great difference between animals and plants con- 

 sists in the fact that animals must digest their food, 

 while the plant takes a food that needs no digestion. 

 By digestion we mean the changing of food so it can be 



Locust Blossoms. 



