Vol. VIIL 



NOVEMBER, 1898. 



No. J I. 



Improving Our Resources. 



Written for the Anirrivun Bee-Keeiter. 



P.V i;i>. .Till, LEY. 



F one-half the energy that is now 

 expended in inventing new hives 

 and other appliances; searching 

 for new races of bees; breeding for 

 beauty, etc., were turned to the better- 

 ment of the honey resources of the 

 country, bee-keeping as a business, 

 would be a more lucrative one. For it 

 matters not what kind of bees we keep, 

 nor what hive we use, our object is to 

 secure honey. And it matters little 

 whether the hive we use is large or 

 small, double or single, with fixed or 

 hanging frames; whether we use plain 

 sections with a fence, or the more com- 

 mon ones, for all these have to do 

 with producing honey is their respect- 

 ive conveniences. And no race of bees 

 can produce honey beyond what they 

 can gather from the flora within the 

 radius of their flight. If the flora is 

 wanting, no improvement in hives or 

 bees can attone for it. No application 

 of scientific methods can overcome it. 

 No one can be a true bee-keeper and 

 not be interested in his honey-pioduc- 

 ing flowers. Their increase and pres- 

 ervation should be as important to him 

 as the welfare of his colonies. Every 

 bee-keeper should have a thorough 

 knowledge of the honey-producing 



plants of his neighborhood. He should 

 know exactly when to expect the flow 

 from this and from that. In fact, he 

 must know it if he would be prepared 

 to make the most out of it when it 

 comes. 



It is a lamentable fact that some of 

 our best honey producers have de- 

 creased wonderfully during the last 

 two or three decades. The plough and 

 the reaper now hold supremacy over 

 the then vast fields of white clover. 

 The beautiful lindens that once decked 

 alike the hills and the valleys over a 

 large portion of North America have 

 been greatly devastated, and in many 

 localities completely "wiped out." 



These two great honey plants are de- 

 serving of more than a passing inter- 

 est. The American Linden or bass- 

 wood (Tilia Americana) is as the name 

 implies an American tree, being in- 

 digenous to the forest of North Ameri- 

 ca. It is one of America's most beau- 

 tiful and useful trees. It is a rapid 

 grower, and when properly trained, it 

 makes one of the finest of shade trees. 

 It is adapted to nearly all kinds of 

 soils, and thrives over the greater part 

 of North America. It is easily propo- 

 gated, and can be raised either from 

 the seed or from slips or cuttings. The 

 best way to start the seed, is to go into 

 the forest, I'ake the old rotted leaves 

 fiom a plot of ground, stir the top soil 



