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BASSWOOD. 



'Wholesale Destruction of the 

 L.iudeii or Basswood Tree§. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY D. MILLARD. 



The following paragi'aph was taken 

 from the news items of a late issue of 

 a Michigan newspaper : 



A. W. Slayton, of Tecumseh, the bass- 

 wood lumber king, has now so big a busi- 

 ness that he will liave to travel 13,000 miles 

 during 1889 to look alter it. He has sixty 

 mills, which are cutting basswood In 29 

 counties, and his freight bills run in the 

 neighborhood of $10,000 a year. 



This shows conclusively that it is not 

 the poor season alone that is making 

 such inroads upon our surplus honey 

 crop. Within the last 18 months, over 

 100 linden trees have been cut within 

 easy i-each of my bees. I have kept 

 bees the greater portion of the time 

 for over 40 years, and I have ever ob- 

 served this, that whenever my bees 

 were in anything like a fair condition, 

 and with a good flow of nectar from 

 the lindens, I never failed to get a 

 good crop of surplus honey. 



White clover usually furnishes a sur- 

 plus, but a good yield from the lindens 

 always insured me a full crop of this 

 most beautiful and best of honey. I 

 fear that unless something can be done 

 to check the wholesale destruction of 

 this most beautiful and useful of trees, 

 that the profits of bee-keeping will be- 

 come lessened to an extent that will 

 cause many to abandon the pursuit. 



Plantius: lor Honey. 



Much has been said and written of 

 late, in regard to planting for honey ; 

 but I am thoroughly convinced that it 

 never will pay to plant for honey alone. 

 Buckwheat, which has a value aside 

 from its nectar, pays well in favorable 

 seasons. Mint is extensively raised in 

 this vicinity, and pays well for the oil 

 extracted therefrom. My bees worked 

 on it very busily for some time last 

 fall, but it seems to yield nectar very 

 sparingly, and of a quality and color 

 about identical with that of catnip. 

 The best thing to do, I think, is to 



Plant L.inden Trees. 



Laws have been enacted by many 

 of the Northern States, with a view to 

 the encouragement of tree-planting — 

 not only on private grounds, but along 

 the public thoroughfares, parks, etc. 



In this State, owners of real estate 

 are allowed to apply a portion of their 

 highway tax in setting trees by the 

 roadside, but I regret to say that very 

 few embrace this opportunity to thus 

 erect living monuments to their mem- 

 ory, and further add to the beauty of 

 the country and the enjoyment of the 



coming generations. If they would 

 but do so, and but one-fourth of the 

 trees thus set out and properlj- cared 

 for were lindens, it would be but a 

 few years ere this country might be 

 truly a land flowing with "milk and 



If there is any profit in setting out 

 trees for shade, there would certainly 

 be a great profit in growing those that 

 would yield honey as profusely as the 

 lindens. They flourish best on low, 

 rich soil, but will grow on almost any 

 upland. If planted thickly in groves 

 or with other timber, they grow slim, 

 forming excellent timber ; but if iso- 

 lated, they branch out and become 

 more stocky, and make beautiful shade- 

 trees. The trunks furnisli a nice white 

 lumber that is of great value for manu- 

 facturing purposes. 



The leaves and tender branches are 

 readily eaten by any kind of farm 

 stock, and as a honey-producing tree 

 it has no equal. I have a I'ow of them 

 growing on two sides of my farm, and 

 also several hundred in a nursery, 

 nearly all of which blossomed the past 

 season at a heighth of from 4 to 5 feet, 

 being six years from the seed. 



Hotv to tirovr I^indens. 



To produce them in large quantities, 

 the seed should be gathered in the fall 

 and dried ; then packed in boxes with 

 alternate layers of sand, and hurried 

 just below the reach of frost. Plant in 

 shallow drills in early spring, and give 

 a light mulching to retain the moisture; 

 keep the ground mellow and free from 

 weeds, and you will get from 4 to 6 

 inches of growth the first season. 



The following spring they should be 

 transplanted into rows 18 inches apart, 

 and 4 feet between the rows, and kept 

 well cultivated throughout the entire 

 season. The next spring each altei-- 

 nate shoot should be removed and 

 jjlaced 3 feet apart in rows, and 4 feet 

 between the rows, and kept well culti- 

 vated during the forepart of the sea- 

 son ; later give a mulching of partially 

 rotted straw to retain the moisture, and 

 keep down the weeds. At the end of 

 the fourth year, the larger ones will do 

 to take up and permanently re-set. 



If only a few are wanted they can 

 sometimes be found in the open tim- 

 ber where stock have not been allowed 

 to run, as stock of any kind will keep 

 them grazed down close to the ground. 

 These can be transplanted the same as 

 those grown from the seed. 



I have no faith in trees grown from 

 shoots, slips, or cuttings ; they seldom 

 make good trees, and are short-lived 

 at best. Abundant evidence of this 

 fact exists in apple orchards through- 

 out the country. Seedling trees are 

 frequently seen bearing heavy loads of 

 fruit at any age that those grown from 



root-grafts would have been long con- 

 signed to the brush pile. The re-set- 

 ting from time to time causes them to 

 grow more stocky, also more thickly 

 rooted and hardy, enabling them to 

 better withstand the change of final 

 setting. The tops should be cut back 

 and evened up to keep them in good 

 shape, and assist in making them more 

 stocky. 



IIoM- to Set Out lindens. 



This can be done at any time after 

 they have shed their leaves in the fall, 

 but early spring is much to be pre- 

 ferred. Prepare the ground by plow- 

 ing and cultivating it the season pre- 

 vious. Never set them out in hard 

 ground or sod, and leave them to take 

 care of themselves. They should be 

 set in rows from 2 to 3 rods distant 

 from each other, and cultivated for at 

 least two seasons, after which the 

 ground may be allowed to grass over. 



Start Liindens by tlie Roadside. 



First, it is presumed that there is no 

 risk of damage from stock, as they 

 should never be allowed to run at 

 large in any civilized community. 

 Next select a place whei-e the adjoin- 

 ing field is to be used to grow corn the 

 next season. Remove the old fence, 

 plow and fit the ground as for a crop ; 

 the following spring set out the trees 

 7 feet from the road line, inside the 

 highway. Plant corn alongside, and 

 cultivate all together for the season. 



The next season plant some root crop 

 on either side of the row of trees, 

 while the adjoining ground may be 

 sown to oats or wheat. The third 

 season, make the ground by the trees 

 smooth by harrowing, and seed with 

 Alsike clover, with about one-eighth 

 part Kentucky blue-grass, or common 

 June gi-ass. This, in time, will form a 

 sod after the Alsike runs out. 



Next build a good iron fence on the 

 road line, and you have made an im- 

 provement that will add greatly to the 

 value of your farm, an everlasting 

 beauty to the highwaj', and a source 

 of profit through employment for your 

 bees. 



Mendon, Mich. 



t^* The International Bee-Keepera' AssnciatiOD 

 wiU meet in the court-house, at Brantford. Ont., 

 Canada, on December 4, 5, and 6, 1889. All bee- 

 keepers are invited to attend, and State and District 

 bee-lieepers' societies are requested to appoint del- 

 esrates to the convention. Full particulars of the 

 meeting will be given in due time. Anyone desirous 

 of becoming amember, and receiving the last Annu- 

 al Report bound, may do so by forwarding $1.00 to 

 the Secretary. — R. F. HOLTERMANN, Sec, Brant- 

 ford. Ont., Canada. 



Money in Potatoes, by Mr. Joseph 

 Greiner. Price, 25 cents, postpaid. This 

 is a complete instructor for the practical 

 potato-grower, and explains the author's 

 new system in 40 interesting lessons. It is 

 for sale at this ofBce. 



