1921 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



307 



poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), will 

 serve to show the influence these fac- 

 tors have on the nectar resources of 

 the State. White and alsike clovei's 

 occur in considerable quantities and 

 tulip-poplar forms a generous per- 

 centage of the forest areas. By na- 

 ture, however, the clover and tulip 

 are opposites. Clover, a resident of 

 the North, is found in cultivated or 

 open lands, while tulip-poplar, a rela- 

 tive of tropical plants, is confined to 

 the forests. Therefore, to state that 

 clover and tulip are common through- 

 out the State is misleading. 

 Clover 

 Since clover is confined to lands 

 not under constant cultivation, its 

 abundance will be determined largely 

 by the character of the agriculture. 

 In the Midland, where dairying is an 

 industry or hay is raised in large 

 amounts, alsike and white clover are 

 extensively found. On the Eastern 

 Shore, wherever clover will grow, it 

 does well, but here again the agricul- 

 ture limits its abundance, and in some 

 soils it is impossible to secure a stand 

 of it. In the mountain region clover 

 is not found to any extent. 



Clover is not at its optimum except 

 where lime is abundant and its fame 

 as a honey plant comes from glaci- 

 ated regions where the soil is rich in 

 lime. None of the soils of Maryland 

 are of glacial origin, and the lack of 

 native lime is shown by the vegeta- 

 tion. Chestnut and chestnut oak are 

 commonly found and neither of these 

 are tolerant of lime. There is more 

 lime in the Midland region than else- 

 where. 



Temperature also has a decided 

 bearing on the nectar secretion from 

 clover, and where clover thrives best 

 in the State the temperature is not 

 long favorable. It has been shown 

 by Hawkins that, in Wisconsin, on 

 glaciated soils rich in lime, the nectar 

 yield from clover ends when the daily 

 mean temperature reaches 74 de- 

 grees, although clover continues to 

 bloom thereafter. The following 

 shows the mean daily temperature for 

 a ten-year period in Maryland during 

 the blooming period of clover 

 June 



Garrett County 64 degrees 



Allegany County 70 degrees 



Frederick County 71 degrees 



Baltimore County 72 degrees 



July 



Garrett County 68 degrees 



Allegany County 74 degrees 



Frederick County 77 degrees 



Baltimore County 77 degrees 



Daily Range — June 



Garrett County 25 degrees 



Allegany County 29 degrees 



Frederick County 22 degrees 



Baltimore County 17 degrees 



July 



Garrett County 24 degrees 



Allegany County 30 degrees 



Frederick County 21 degrees 



Baltimore County 11 degrees 



Judging from this, the best re- 

 sults would be expected in Garrett 

 and Alleghany Counties, but clover is 

 not found here in any quantity. It is 

 most abundant in the Midland, and 

 when the temperature and rainfall 

 are just right good crops are ob- 



tained. This happens about once in 

 three years. If the bees are at the 

 proper strength a little clover honey 

 may be secured every year. 

 Tulip-Poplar 



The tulip-poplar, or tulip ti-ee, is 

 a more certain yielder of nectar, blos- 

 soming during May, just before the 

 clover flow begins. The honey from 

 it is a dark amber. When both clo- 

 ver and tulip are present in quantity 

 in the same locality the latter will in- 

 sure a crop where the clover fails. 

 Such situations are not common, how- 

 ever, and require careful seeking. 

 The tulip is not only a fox-est denizen 

 but it has a decided choice as to the 

 soil in which it sets its roots, and it is 

 limited, also, in its abundance by the 

 severity of the climate. In volume 

 111 of the Maryland Weather Service, 

 where much of this information may 

 be found in detail, the distribution of 

 the tulip tree is given as general from 

 the swampy lands of the east to the 

 mountain slopes of the west. How- 

 ever, it is not found directly in the 

 swamps of the Eastern Shore, al- 

 though its presence often indicates a 

 soil too moist for agriculture. It is 

 most abundant on the dry flood plains 

 of the higher lands. 



On the Western Shore it is not 

 found in the lowland forests, but is 

 plentiful in upland depressions and 

 on slopes where the moisture in the 

 soil is normal. On the soil covered 

 hillsides of the lower Midland it it 

 one of the predominant species, often 

 forming 80 per cent of the forest. 

 Some tulip is found in the flood plains 

 associated with maple, oak, gum and 

 elm. It is also abundant on top lands 

 where Cecil clay prevails and in Har- 

 ford County, except on the unculti- 

 vated gravel areas, three to five per 

 cent of all the trees are tulip. The 

 peculiar serpentine barrens prohibit 

 its growth. It so happens, however, 

 that the soil best suited to it is also 

 good wheat soil, and consequently 

 wheat is extensively raised in this sec- 

 tion, thus limiting the abundance of 

 the forest area. 



In the upper midland region it is 

 found only on the lower slopes and 



further west it is confined to the val- 

 leys, where it often forms 20 per 

 cent of the forest. In the upper 

 Monocacy Valley and in the region 

 north of Westminster, tulip is scarce. 

 It is not abundant in the Blue Ridge, 

 although found in the valleys near 

 North Mountain. In the mountain 

 region it is rare or absent, either on 

 the slopes or in the valleys. Where 

 it is best adapted, therefore, tulip- 

 poplar is limited by the well devel- 

 oped agriculture. On the other 

 hand, in Garrett County, where 64 

 per cent of the land is still in forest, 

 it occurs rarely. 



Although this is perhaps a discour- 

 aging picture, there is the saving fact 

 that the tulip is a prolific yielder of 

 nectar and when it is in bloom the 

 large, showy, cup-like blossoms drip 

 with sweetness. The liquid is rich 

 and thick, with all the characteristic 

 taste of the ripened honey, although 

 in a less degree. A few trees give a 

 large quantity, therefore, and there 

 are good locations in the Midland for 

 sizable apiaries. I have never seen 

 bees act so wild over nectar as they do 

 when the tulip begins to yield. It is 

 a verity that they "go crazy." A 

 most peculiar thing about their be- 

 havior, however, is that if clover or 

 locust begin to yield abundantly at 

 any time when the tulip is in bloom, 

 they gradually desert the latter and 

 work entirely on the former, leaving 

 the big tulip blossoms dripping with 

 unrecovered sweetness. 



The Extent of Beekeeping 



The early history of beekeeping in 

 Mai-yland is brightened by the names 

 of some men of considerable note. 

 Langstroth was a resident of Balti- 

 more for several years, and Samuel 

 Wagner published the American Bee 

 Journal in the adjoining District of 

 Columbia, at Washington. Mr. Wag- 

 ner and Mr. Richard Colvin, of Balti- 

 more, were the first to import Italian 

 bees to this country from Europe, in 

 1859. Mr. Samuel Cushman, one of 

 the first teachers of beekeeping in an 

 agricultural college in the United 

 States, has long been a resident of 

 Baltimore, and an active worker for 



A tomato tield on the iias:' 



