596 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



TUPELO GUM AS A HONEY-PLANT. 

 Black Tupelo. 



BY J. J. WILDER. 



Three species of this great honey-plant 

 have come inider my observation, and they 

 are all sources of honey from which my bees 

 store a surplus. The first that usually comes 

 in bloom is the black tupelo, which is jirev- 

 alent along almost all of the water-courses 

 of any consequence in the Southeast, and it 

 grows thinly over the low forest lands that 

 the streams cover when they overflow. 

 Along the edges of the lake' and small 

 streams it grows more dense, as also in the 

 low flat marshy places. These latter are 

 very common, and large bodies of this plant 

 can be found all along. 



In the fall, after the berries have dropi)ed. 

 I have seen the overflow of water drift them 

 up against logs, etc., until a carload or more 

 could be gathered from one pile. This shows 

 how thickly it is scattered over these parts. 



This plant does not grow to any great size, 

 but is usually slender and tall, and decays 

 first about tlie tops; but when this happeiis, 

 other limbs grow out below them and con- 

 tinue to bloom. The limbs are like stubble, 

 even at their extremities, and the blossoms 

 form about the new parts of tlie tender 

 shoots. The berries, when rii)ened, are dark 

 and about the color, size, and shajie of a 

 dried prune, although, peihaps, a little 

 smaller. 



Fig. 1.— The scrub tupelo of Georgia. 



The time for the honey-flow from this 

 source is governed somewhat by the length 

 of time that the swamjis or lowlands are cov- 

 ered by water. If there has been no over- 

 flow in the early spring, the bloom will com- 

 mence in March and last from twenty to 

 twenty-five days. If there has been much 

 rain, and the overflow, has lasted for a con- 

 siderable length of time, the flow is greatly 

 delayed. The honey usually has a very 

 good l)ody, and is very light in color when 

 flrst cajiped over, but begins to redden, 

 whether still in the comb or extracted, and 

 before long can be sold only for dark honey. 

 When first gathered, the flavor is fine and 

 mild; but it gets stronger until, when five or 

 six months old, it is hardly fit for table use. 



THE SCRUB TUPELO. 



The above name is one that I have been 

 using because I did not know ils true name 

 nor a better one. It is a very scrubby gum 

 tree, almost never gp.wing over twenty-five 

 or thirty feet high. It resembles the white 

 tupelo \"ery much; the bark is smoother, 

 and lighter in color than thai of black tu- 

 l)olo, but not as light nor as smooth as the 

 white tupelo. 



This species of tupelo is also very preva- 

 lent in many sections of the Southeast, and 

 is a honey-plant of considerableconsequence. 

 It does not grow in the same surroundings 

 as the black variety, but is found along 

 creeks, around ponds (as shown in Fig. 1), 

 and along rivers which rarely overflow, and 

 whose swanii)S are quickly dried. It will 

 not grow under water 

 nor on land that is 

 constantly covered 

 with water. Itthrivis 

 best, however, where 

 the water is not far 

 below the earth's sur- 

 face, and where the 

 land is low, level, and 

 drained by branches, 

 creeks, and rivers. 



The scrub tupelo 

 begins blooming near 

 the first of March, 

 lasts about twenty- 

 five days, and is a 

 sure y i e 1 d e r . For 

 about fifteen days the 

 flow is heavy. The 

 honey is light in color, 

 having a bright green 

 hue which makes it 

 an attractive article 

 indeed; but it appears 

 smoky in glass jars, 

 which impairs its val- 

 ue as a fancy article 

 when thus packed. 

 The body is very 

 hea\y, and the flavor 

 can not be excelled by 

 any honey produced 

 in the Southeast, be- 

 ing so mild that con- 

 sumers never tire of it. 



