132 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



July 



THE ORANGE BLOSSOM. 



Bv W. S. Hare. 



EDITOR of The American Bee- 

 Keeper. 



My Dear Sir:— The photograph 

 of a spray of orange blossoms received 

 from you by the last mail is the finest 

 that I have yet seen. I think it should 

 go into the American Bee-Keeper, and 

 thus give many, who know not even 

 the form thereof, an opportunity to see 

 what a really beautiful flower it is. 



It is a matter of regret that photo- 

 graphic art cannot also catch the deli- 

 cious perfume, and fix it in the picture 

 for the delight of those who live too 

 far away from the orange growing 

 States to allow of their enjoying, to 

 the full measure, this most charming- 

 product of the Sunny South. 



This picture Avill be of special inter- 

 est to bee-keepers, for, as a pmlific 

 pollen, and less prolific honey jiroduc- 

 er, the orange blossom is a ^•(>l•y impor- 

 tant factor in building up our colonies 

 in late February. March and early in 

 April (the period of bloom varying 

 somewhat in different years) and start- 

 ing them into the season wfth an 

 abundance of young bees. 



To him who is both a bee-keeper 

 and an orange grower, there are few 

 if any, more pleasant experiences than 

 that of standing in the midst of the 

 glossy green, rich gold, and silvery 

 white, of his fruit and flower laden 

 trees, in early March, the air redolent 

 with the delicious iievfume of the l>los- 

 soms, and full of miisic from the busy 

 hum of his bees. Then is the time 

 to pluck and eat of "The fruit of the 

 Gods," while at its very best, and thus 

 aiTive at the ideal condition of man 

 when every one of the five senses are 

 rationally gratified to an extent sel- 

 dom reached even in life's happiest 

 experiences 



As a honey producer, the orange 

 blossom is often over-estimated as to 

 quantity, but never as to (luality. '^f 

 tlie latter too much can hardl.v l)e said; 

 for I am sure that pure orange blos- 

 som honey has no superior in any one 

 of the three qualities, color. l)ody or 

 flavor: the essentials that g<> to the 



making of a perfect product. It is. in 

 fact, one of Nature's most nearly per- 

 fect productions; and, like most such, 

 (]uite limited in quantity. While 

 working among the orange trees the 

 bees seem brisk and happy, and re- 

 turn to their hives well laden with 

 liollen ]>ellets. but their honey sacs, 

 though invariably containing some 

 nectar, are never filled to repletion as 

 when gatliering from the saw-palmet- 

 to or mangrove bloom. 



Owing to many tons of honey being 

 shipped from this State each year un- 

 der the mark of "Orange Blossom 

 Honey," an erroneous impression has 

 gone forth as to the quantity produced, 

 and its true characteristics. As this 

 honey all comes from locations to the 

 north and outside of the orange grow- 

 ing districts of the State, it is not pos- 

 sible that it could have come from 

 t'.ie orange blosso n. The explanation 

 offered for the use of the name is that 

 it "is used as a private brand," and 

 not intended to designate the source 

 from which the nectar was gathered. 

 In evidence that it is misleading. I 

 will state that I have repeatedly re- 

 ceived orders for "honey from the 

 oi*ange blossom" with the statement 

 that the sender had used one or more 

 barrels of that kind and liked it. I 

 think I am safe in the assertion that 

 a barrel of piu'e orange blossom honey 

 was never shipped from this State. 

 It is only very few locations, where 

 there are large orange groves in full 

 bearing, in the pine woods, as at De- 

 Land or Lake Helen, that pure orange 

 honey is ever secured; and even there 

 in only limited quantities. I would 

 think it quite possible that, at River- 

 side. California, it might be gathered 

 in an unmixed condition, and aiipreci- 

 able quantit.y, and. possibly at other 

 points in that great State. 



When pure, its color is as white as 

 the whitest of clover hone.v; its body 

 even heavier, and its flavor superior 

 to any other I have ever tasted. In 

 n\v own section of the "Orange Belt" 

 of Florida, it is invariably mixed with 

 dark honey from other flowers bloom- 

 ing at the same time, and its fine, dis- 

 tinctive qualities are thereby hidden, 

 to a greater or less extent. 



Hawks Park. Fla.. May 1. 1904. 



