528 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



state, is a fine honey-plant. The wild 

 asters are all pxcellent honey plants, 

 bees sometimes collecting from them as 

 late as October. 



Spanish-needles yield large quantities 

 of rich, yellow honey. Smart-weeds 

 yield strong nectar, in abundance, of a 

 peculiar odor. Golden-rod, by many, is 

 given the proud distinction of being the 

 banner nectar-bearer of fall flowers, 

 giving bountiful measure from its golden 

 bloom. The list is almost endless, and 

 nearly all of the common garden vegeta- 

 bles and vines secrete honey in their 

 blossoms. One extravagant writer 

 speaks of a variety of corn which might 

 yield "a gallon of honey from the tas- 

 sel, a cake of beeswax under each leaf, 

 and a jug of whisky from each ear!" 



Among the trees, the locusts are 

 almost certain to bloom, and they yield 

 a bountiful supply of rich nectar, and 

 bees literally swarm among the highly 

 perfumed blossoms. Locust honey can 

 hardly be said to be dark ; it is of a rich, 

 pale red-gold, and its keeping qualities 

 are excellent. The basswood, or linden 

 trees, when in bloom are like great 

 music-boxes, giving forth the hum of 

 thousands of bees as they swarm in and 

 out to drain the nectar from over-flow- 

 ing cups. There is no tree that yields 

 so abundantly of nectar as the linden, 

 nor is there any superior in flavor. 



The tulip or poplar tree yields an 

 abundance of delicious honey, nearly a 

 teaspoonful of pure nectar often being 

 found in one of its large, bell-shaped 

 flowers. Box-elder, blooming between 

 the linden and poplar, is a great favorite 

 with bees, and yields a superior honey. 

 Several varieties of willows are good 

 honey-producers, and grow in nearly all 

 localities. 



Even small grounds could be utilized 

 for the benefit of bee-keepers. If there 

 is a pond or low place, it could be trans- 

 formed into a beauty spot with pussy 

 and button willows, golden-rods, wild 

 bergamot, wild asters, and mints. 



I have read of a honey-plant mound, 

 six or eight feet high, and sloping grad- 

 ually to a level. It was marked off in 

 rings ; in the center was planted figwort, 

 next golden-rod, then spider plant; next 

 motherwort and asters, then catnip and 

 smartweeds, surrounded with pepper- 

 mints and finished with ground ivy. The 

 combination of purple, yellov?, pink and 

 white flowers makes it attractive to both 

 man and bees. 



Early in spring, a round bed bordered 

 with dandelion and the center filled with 

 violets — white and blue — makes a beau- 

 tiful show of color. They are good 



honey-plants, and coming early, they 

 are a luxury for the winged pets. 



If on Arbor days bee-keepers would 

 see that maples, lindens and poplars 

 were planted, we should not only have 

 shade, but beauty and profit. Waste 

 places along the roadside and railroads 

 could be covered with figwort, mother- 

 wort and sweet clover, so that when the 



" Swift-winged forager, the bee, sets forth 

 Scouting from east to* west, from south to 



north, 

 Shall find and gather with industrious haste 

 Sweetness, that else upon the earth would 

 waste." 



"'Tls for them, the blooming world 

 Nectareous gold distils." 



Alice S. Moore. 



Pres. Russell— =-We have just listened 

 to this very able and enjoyable essay by 

 Mrs. Moore, and I think she deserves a 

 vote of thanks from this Association for 

 it. She is one who has always taken a 

 very great interest in this branch of 

 science, and has, at different times, 

 given us almost a volume of knowledge. 

 I think as a slight mark of our grati- 

 tude, we should send to her, as she is 

 absent, a vote of thanks. 



Mr. Muth — I am in favor of what our 

 President has said. It is an excellent 

 essay, indeed. I therefore make a mo- 

 tion that we send a vote of thanks to 

 her. 



The motion was carried, and the fol- 

 lowing adopted : • 



Resolved, That the Indiana Bee- Keep- 

 ers' Association hereby tender a sincere 

 vote of thanks to Mrs. Alice S. Moore, 

 of Gre^nsburg, Ind., for her entertain- 

 ing and valuable essay. 



Mrs. Moore's essay was then discussed 

 as follows : 



Pres. Russell — The basswood that 

 Mrs. Moore has spoken of I have been 

 working with for several years. I take 

 sprouts of these trees up by the roots, 

 which is very easy to do at this period 

 of their growth, and set them out all 

 around my farm, just where I want ray 

 fence — just a straight row of basswoods, 

 about 20 feet apart. In about two 

 years, during which time they did not 

 give me any trouble, I put up the wire 

 fence, using these trees as posts. I think 

 this is a very good plan, and then, be- 

 sides, it is a grand thing for the bees, as 

 it has on it a very pretty flower. 



Mr. Pope— I think that is a good idea, 

 and I think the people of this State 

 should set out that kind of tree more 

 than they do. If they wanted to get a 

 shade tree, what is prettier than the 

 basswood ? 



