THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



29 



Bee Pasturage. 



The benefits spviuffing from bce-cultnre arc 

 so extensive and significant tliat the most 

 strenuous efforts arc being made at present not 

 only to simplify its processes, but to bring into 

 due acceptance and regard this inlcrcssing 

 brancli of rural economj'. From the remotest 

 antiquity honey and wax have been classed 

 among articles of trallic and consumption, for 

 mankind had learned to appreciate the value of 

 the bee whilst it was still swarming in the wilds 

 of nature uncontrolled. The industry and 

 thrift of these insects early attracted the notice 

 of the shrewd observer, who immediately strove 

 to turn their labor to his own advantage, and 

 thus laid the foundation of that art which has 

 become widely diffused in every civilized land, 

 and has of late years been brought to a high de- 

 gree of perfection. Hence, in the present ad- 

 vanced state of the art, whatever may conduce 

 practically to its wider extension, or contribute 

 to more assured success, is interesting and im- 

 portant to those engaged in the pursuit. In 

 this view the bee pasturage of the various dis- 

 tricts of country deserves special attention and 

 investigation, as the intelligent bee-keeper may 

 largely promote the introduction and cultiva- 

 tion of honey-yielding crops and trees in his 

 neighborhood, and also aid in preventing the use- 

 less eradication or destruction of wild plants 

 furnishing like supplies. If in the spring the 

 movements of the bees be carefully observed 

 during their excursions, we shall find numerous 

 varieties of flowers and blossoms which, they 

 delight in freciueutiug, from many of which 

 they derive the most abundant supplies of nec- 

 tar and pollen. Among these, as among the 

 earliest, we may name the common currant and 

 the gooseberry. These, cultivated on a large 

 scale, in the vicinity of towns and cities, would 

 yield remunerating crops of fiuit, and furnish 

 rich and unfailing pasturage for the bees, as 

 their hardiness enables them to resist the iutlu- 

 ence of snows and frosts. There is hardly a 

 yard or a garden in which currant and goose- 

 berry bushes might not be introduced both for 

 ornament and iise. The cultivation of hazel- 

 nuts, peaches, apricots and cherries should be 

 everywhere encouraged — of sour cherries espe- 

 ciall3% in the blossoms of which the bees seem 

 to revel with intense enjoyment. Xearly all 

 our common fruit trees yield honey in abund- 

 ance when in bloom ; though it has been ob- 

 served for some years past that the bees are 

 injuriously effected at times in some localities, 

 by the blossoms of the apple tree, producing 

 torpor and death. The cause of this is believed 

 to be found in the myriads of aphides with 

 which the blossoms are occasionally infested. 

 Of the blossoms of the various kinds of birch 

 the bees are exceedingly fond, and they are very 

 rich in honey. Maple trees of every variety yield 

 pollen and honey in abundance, and large old 

 trees are a perfect treasure, in this respect, in 

 the neighborhood of an apiary. The red and 

 the white beech, several species of the oak, and 

 the horse-chestnut, are valuable for bees, though 

 a prejudice prevails against the latter, in some 



sections, from an idea that its blossoms possess 

 a noxious ([ualily. Pine and fir trees jield 

 honey, pollen, andi)ropolisini)rot'usion, butthe 

 honey is of inferior quality, and has been held 

 in suspicion as the cause of foulbrood. The 

 Euroi)ean laurel and yew yield honey likewise, 

 but not so abundantly as the other evergreens; 

 and the same may be said of the juniper. The 

 common privet, an excellent hedge plant which 

 might be used for screens in yards or gardens, 

 is rich in nectar and continues long in bloom. 



Winter rape, when cultivated for oil, is one 

 of the most productive honey-yiciding plants, 

 and if the weather isfavoraJjle to the bees when 

 a large rape field is in blossom, immense quan- 

 tities of honey will be gathered and stored up 

 by strong stocks. It is to be regretted that this 

 crop is not sufficiently remunerative to induce 

 extensive cultivation, as it comes into bloom 

 after the fruit trees and previous to the lindens 

 and white clover, thus filling up an interval when, 

 bees usually find little to gather. Mustard, 

 both white and black, is a valuable crop for 

 bees, and when extensively grown for seed, 

 proves a great treat for the bees of the neigh- 

 borhood. Charlock, though a noxious weed — a 

 perfect pest to the former — has yet some redeem- 

 ing qualities in the quantity of the honey it 

 yields ; and the same is true of the Canada and 

 other thistles. We regret that this is all that 

 can be said in their favor — insufficient, we 

 know, to save them from universal execration. 



Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, dew- 

 berries, whortleberiies — the entire catalogue of 

 small fruits — when in bloom, are eagerly visited 

 by the bees and yield them a long-continued 

 feast. The honey from these plants is pecu- 

 liarly fine, that of the raspberry especially being 

 most delicious. Onions and leeks, when in 

 bloom, are visited by bees, and are deemed med- 

 icinal by some ancient bee-keepers, who possibly 

 had a predilection for high-flavored condiments. 

 White clover j'ields honey profusely, and contin- 

 ues in bloom four or five weeks in ordinary sea- 

 sons. Melilot is excellent though not so common. 

 Esparcette is a highly valuable honey plant, but 

 requires a limestone soil, and is not regarded as 

 so good a forage crop as the common red clover, 

 which unfortunately is of no account for bee 

 pasturage. Luzerne grass yields considerable 

 honey, but is not so extensively cultivated, ex- 

 cept in the south of France. The Swedish 

 clover, recently introduced, promises well as a 

 forage plant in northern districts. It winters 

 well, and yields honey as abundantly as the 

 white clover, and of as good quality. It de- 

 serves a fair trial everywhere, and will no 

 doubt become established where soil and climate 

 are adapted to it. Beans, peas and vetches, 

 rank only among the moderately productive 

 honey plants, but may prove to be of no small 

 importance in sections where they are regularly 

 grown us field crops. Hemp is a favorite with 

 bees, though seldom met with since cotton has 

 supplanted sail duck and hanging has gone out 

 of fashion. Flax, where grown for seed, is 

 much frerpiented by bees while in bloom. 



Among the wild plants and herbs are those 

 cultivated for medicinal and domestic purposes 

 — dandelion, savory, pennyroyal, hoarhouud, 



