SOUTHERN BEE CULTURE 117 



shrubs, and trees, some of which begin blooming in December and others 

 ending the season with that month or January, so that actually there are 

 "thirteen months of bloom in each year." 



For Central Texas the mesquite-tree predominates. With this and the 

 cotton-fields and horse-mint {Monarda clinipodiordes and M. punctata) it 

 is also well adapted to bee-keeping. The cotton honey-flow begins about July 

 I, and continues until frost. The honey is the lightest in color of the 

 sources here, and has a characteristic flavor much liked in the well-ripened 

 honey. When first gathered the flavor is very characteristic of the juice of 

 the cotton-plant itself, but which disappears as the honey ripens. When 

 granulated the honey is almost pure white, and very fine-grained. Horse- 

 mint honey is clear, light amber in color, with a greenish tinge, and has a 

 characteristic flavor, stronger than those mentioned, and compares well with 

 basswood honey in character and flavor. This plant is not so abundant now 

 as it was years ago when the prairies were covered with it everywhere. 

 This is owing to the di^ summers, as this plant is a perennial and comes 

 up from the seed in the fall. It begins to bloom in May or June. 



The cotton and horsemint are the main sources for surplus honey for 

 North Texas. In addition, sumac, "shumack," of the genus Rhus; of which 

 there are several species, blooms in the fall of the year, August and Septem- 

 ber, while one species blooms in October and November. This honey is of 

 excellent quality. 



• East Texas is not so abundant in main honey-plants, but there are nu- 

 merous kinds of lesser importance. The great expanse of fruit-orchards is 

 of importance, as thousands upon thousands of acres of fruit-trees prevail 

 here. In the southern portion of this fruit belt basswood abounds in many 

 localities. This is the same as the well-known northern basswood, or linden 

 (.Tilia Americana). This tree yields more honey in favorable seasons 

 than the bees in a locality can begin to store. It gives a very rapid flow of 

 rather short duration. The honey is strong, aromatic in flavor, especially 

 when first gathered, and grows milder with age. The comb honey is most 

 beautiful, as the combs during the flow are very white. 



In South Texas, especially the coast country, the rattan-vine is very 

 abundant {Berchemia scandens), and is . a heavy yielder of amber honey 

 which goes mostly in barrels in biscuit-factories. The chinquapin (Castanea 

 pumila) is also of considerable importance. 



OTHER IMPORTANT HONEY-PLANTS. 



The earliest bloomer, important for early brood-rearing, is the mistletoe, 

 a parasite on most of our hard-wood trees (Phoradendron Aavescncs). It 

 yields pollen and some honey in December and January. Triple-leafed 

 barberry (Berberis trifolata) is a bush that blooms next in importance for 

 brood-rearing for its immense quantities of pollen in February. Then fruit- 

 bloom begins with the plums (Pruntcs), of which there are many species, 

 both wild and cultivated, followed by peaches and other fruits for several 

 months in succession. In February and March the oaks (Quercus) of many 



