148 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Honey Locusts. 



Mr. R. Codd, of Canada, asks about 

 Honey Locusts for honey production, 

 and wants to know if they will prosper 

 as far north as the Dominion, etc. 



Perhaps the best way to reply to 

 the query about its adaptability to 

 Canada, will be to quote from a letter 

 from the Hon. L. Wallbridge, then of 

 Belleville, Ont., but now Chief Justice 

 of Manitoba. He says : 



" Another tree of great value to the 

 beekeeper is tlie honey locust. This 

 tree comes in bloom quite early, and 



Honey Tacust Tree. 



is valuable on this account. The bees 

 visit it almost in swarms, and the 

 honey and pollen then brought in gets 

 up the excitement in the hive, and 

 breeding goes on at a rapid pace. 

 Now this is the very thing bee-keep- 

 ers want. They want strong colonies 

 ready to gather honey when white 

 clover comes in, and I know of no 

 tree or plant which does so much to 

 strengthen the colony early as this 

 locust tree." 



The New York Tribune says that in 

 the Northern sections of the United 

 States, where the Osage orange is 

 more or less injured by the winter, 

 the honey locust is luidoubtedly the 

 most valuable plant for liedging pur- 

 poses. There is no special culture 

 necessary for it, more than is required 

 for other species, but it needs atten- 

 tion for the first 2 or 3 years to form a 

 thick base. The young hedge should 

 be frequently cultivated and kept 

 clear of grass and weeds all summer, 

 otherwise mice will harbor therein 

 and bark the young plants. In trim- 

 ming, cut well back for the first 2 or 3 

 years, bearing in mind there is no dif- 

 ficulty in quickly obtaining the de- 

 sired height, but it is far more trouble- 

 some to induce it to become dense and 

 twiggy. 



The best results are obtained from 

 running one strand, or. better still, 

 two strands of barbed wire along the 



middle of the hedge, thus preventing 

 the inroads of unruly animals, and 

 that bane of the honest orchardist, 

 boys with thieving propensities. To 

 start at the commencement, honey 

 locust seeds should be collected in the 

 pods as they fall from the trees in 

 autumn, and placed in a cold exposed 

 position until hard freezing weather, 

 when they can readily be threshed 

 like beans. After cleaning the seeds 

 from the fragments of pods, etc., 

 place in bags and preserve dry until 

 spring. At planting time soak the 

 seeds in warm water until they show 

 signs of germination, when they 

 should be sown in drills like peas, in 

 good, thoroughly pulverized soil. Like 

 tlie larger portion of our native trees, 

 this species forms more root than top 

 the first year, consequently one-year 

 seedlings are usually rather small for 

 planting in the hedge-row, but they 

 should not be left to remain longer 

 than 2 years, else they will be on the 

 other extreme. The cause of so many 

 poor hedges, however, is neglect in 

 cultivation, and the honey locust of 

 all others will not thrive without care 

 and attention. 



The Nebraska,i^cu-mer gives the fol- 

 lowing valuable instructions regard- 

 ing the planting and treatment of 

 honey locust for hedges : 



The secret in hedge-growing of any 

 kind, is well-directed care and atten- 

 tion during the first 3 or 4 years, and 

 if this be given to honey locust it will 

 make a hedge every time. The plants 

 must be good ones, vigorous and 

 thrifty— and should be about the same 

 size together, and not plant small and 

 large ones promiscuously. Before set- 

 ting, make the ground along the line 



Honey Locust Limb — pod and seed. 



rich and mellow. After setting out 

 tlie row must be cultivated and kept 

 clean until the hedge is matured or 

 finished. Let the plants grow the 

 first year undisturbed, and then cut 

 them down within 3 inches of the 

 ground ; the second year, 7 inches 

 from the ground ; third year, 12 inches; 

 fourth year, 2-5 inches ; sixth year, 33 

 inches ; and the seventh year, height 

 desired for fence. This takes seven 

 years, but the fence is good after the 

 fourth year. 



In view of the increasing destruc- 

 tion of our forests, and the . great cost 



of fencing material, any substitute 

 for good fences will be eagerly sought 

 after by the thoughtful farmer. Osage 

 orange has been extensively tried and 

 experimented with, but it fails to fill 

 the bill, there being many very ob- 

 jectionable features about it, chief 

 among which are its inability to stand 

 excessive cold winters ; but the honey 

 locust is free from this objection. As 

 an attractive hedging nothing can ex- 

 cel it in appearance, and certainly 

 nothing is easier of cultivation. AVhen 

 allowed to grow in tree-form it be- 

 comes a beautiful shade tree, and the 

 timber is among the most valuable. 

 For Jioney-producing it stands among 

 the best, and bee-keepers will do well 

 to alternate the honey locust with 

 linden and tulip tree or poplar, as it 

 conies into bloom before the linden, 

 and is a more certain producer, though 

 not so bountiful. Bee-keepers should 

 liberally ornament their grounds with 

 it, and try its virtues for hedging. 

 The seeds or plants can generally be 

 obtained of nurserymen. 



Local Convention Directory. 



1884. Time and place of Meetinff. 



March fi.— N. E. Michigan, at Lapeer, Mich. 



W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec, Rogersville, Micb. 



March 20.— Southern Indiana, at Madison. Ind. 

 H. C. White, Sec. 



Mar. 29.— Union Association, at Dexter, Iowa. 



M. E. Darby, Sec, Dexter, Iowa. 



April 9.— Lorain Co.. at Blyrla, O. 



O. J. Terrell Sec, North Ridgevllle, O. 



April 18.— Iowa Central, at Winterset, Iowa. 



J. E. Pryor, Sec. 



April 22.— Des Moines Co., at Middleton, Iowa. 



John Nau. Sec. 

 April 24.— Western, at Independence, Mo. 



€. M. Crandall, Sec. 



April 24, 25.— Texas State, at McKinney. 



W. R. Howard, Sec. 



May 26.— Will County, at Monee, 111. 



P. P. NelsoB, See. 



Oct. II, 12. —Northern Mich., at Alma. Mich. 



F. A. Palmer, Sec, McBride, Mich. 



Oct.!I.5, 16.— Northwestern, at Chicago, ill. 



W. z. Hutchinson, Sec. 



Dec. 10. II.— Michigan State, at Lansing. 



H. D. Cutting, Sec, Clinton. Mich. 



t^~ In order to have this table complete, Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetings.~ED. 



i^° The first edition of the " Apiary 

 Register " having been exhausted, we 

 have just issued a new edition, ele- 

 gantly bound in Russia leather, with 

 a large worker bee and " Apiary Reg- 

 ister " in gold on the side. It forms 

 not only a Register of both Queens 

 and Colonies, but has also an Ac- 

 count Book at the back, in which to 

 keep a record of all the receipts and 

 expenditures of the apiary, which will 

 be found exceedingly valuable. We 

 have also reduced the prices, as will' 

 be seen on another page. 



