206 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



must be applied soon ; and that remedy 

 is in planting the basswood, or, as it is 

 known by the German people, the lin- 

 den. The cause of the failure of the 

 white clover this year has been the fre- 

 quent heavy rain-falls for the past two 

 months in this locality. Only day be- 

 fore yesterday we had a precipitation of 

 at least four inches, amounting almost 

 to a flood ! 



Ten years ago I dug up three little 

 basswood trees, and brought them home 

 in my buggy, and planted them on the 

 rear end of my lot in this city. They' 

 are now about 8 inches in diameter, and 

 not only make a most beautiful shade, 

 but have bloomed heavily every year for 

 the last five years ; and every year I 

 have noted carefully the amount of nec- 

 tar secreted, and can truly say that 

 there is no other plant or tree in the 

 world that yields so abundantly of nec- 

 tar as the basswood ; neither is there a 

 honey gathered from any other plant or 

 tree that is superior to it in flavor, and 

 the color is almost as clear as clover 

 honey. 



The secretion of nectar goes steadily 

 on, night and day, and not as in many 

 kinds of plants, a little while in the 

 night and early part of the day. How- 

 ever, the calyx of the flowers of the 

 basswood fill up during the night with 

 nectar, so it can be plainly seen in the 

 morning in the five cups of the calyx ; 

 and I have often watched the bees take 

 up the nectar, and how quickly they 

 filled their honey-sacs and were away to 

 their hives. I know of no other flower 

 upon which the bees can get their " fill " 

 so quickly except the flowers of the 

 tulip tree or whitewood, which yields a 

 strong, dark-colored honey, unpalatable 

 to many. 



These facts prove conclusively that in 

 this country, at least, there is nothing 

 equal to or that can take the place of 

 the basswood for honey, and I would 

 therefore suggest that all of our bee- 

 papers, as well as all farm periodicals 

 that are interested in our pursuit, be 

 frequently urged to recommend the 

 planting of young basswood trees to 

 farmers and bee-keepers. 



There is not a farm in the country but 

 there is plenty of room to plant hun- 

 dreds of the trees. If there is no other 

 suitable place, they can be planted along 

 the roadside, and will soon give a beau- 

 tiful shade, and add to the value and 

 fine appearance of any farm many times 

 their cost and the labor of planting. In 

 cities and villages their planting should 

 be encouraged for the fine shade they 



give, and the beauty of well-trimmed 

 trees that is exceeded by no other trees 

 that are planted merely for shade and 

 ornament. 



All trees planted in public places, or 

 along roadsides, or other places where 

 animals can get at them, should be pro- 

 tected by two boards 6 inches wide, and 

 6 or 7 feet long. A few cleats 7 inches 

 long nailed to the edges will hold them 

 in place. 



WHEN TO PLANT BASSWOOD TKEES. 



The best time to plant the trees is in 

 early spring, but they may also be suc- 

 cessfully planted in the fall. They may 

 be grown from the seed as follows : 



Collect the seed as soon as ripe, and 

 before they yet dried out on the trees. 

 Cover them up on the ground with 

 leaves and brush, and as soon as the 

 ground can be worked in the spring, 

 gather them up and sow in drills. The 

 trees grow rapidly, and will begin to 

 bloom in about seven years from the 

 seed. Trees five or six feet high, that 

 may be obtained very cheaply from the 

 nurserymen, will begin to bloom in four 

 years. 



New Philadelphia, Ohio. 



[For editorial remarks on this subject, 

 see page 201 of this issue. — Eds.] 



Be Mating of Queen-Bees. 



MRS. JENNIE ATCHLEY. 



I wish to relate a little circumstance 

 that happened not long since. 



I had quite a number of young queens 

 to hatch a few weeks ago, and from 

 among them I confined a lot in the 

 hives for five days, and kept them in the 

 house, feeding them well each night. 

 They had two frames of brood and 

 about one pound of bees each. 



On the fifth day I took them to one of 

 my mating yards, 3 miles distant, at 

 about 4 o'clock in the evening. I put 

 them down and opened the entrances as 

 I went, and just as soon as I had all out 

 of the wagon, I went back and adjusted 

 the frames, and to my great surprise 

 every queen had mated and returned. 

 We saw one queen (whose wings were a 

 little bad, but could fly) that came in 

 very cautiously, and two or three drones 

 followed her right to the entrance. She 

 caught on a weed in front of the hive, 

 and the drones did the same. 



Now, it could not have been over 30 

 minutes from the time I took them out 



