1300 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15 



this locality. White clover is not abundant; 

 and what there is, I am afraid, is not yield- 

 ing as it should. A field of alsike, with most 

 luxuriant bloom, attracts the bees but little. 

 Would Mr. Weaver's theory account for 

 this? C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111. 



THE 



GALLBERRY AS 

 PLANT. 



A HONEY- 



A ^"ery Reliable Source; Roots Hard to Ex- 

 terminate; Many Localities not now 

 Occupied with Bees. 



BY J. J. WILDER. 



The gallberry is a sprangle-top evergreen 

 bush four or five feet high, and grows prolif- 

 ic everywhere, but is mostly found on waste 

 lands, and spreads both from seed and roots, 

 and is so dense that it is difficult to pass 



FIG . 2,— RANCH Ol' 'IHK GALLBERRY -BLSH. 

 This is a very reliable source ol honey in Georgia, for it is almost impossible 

 to overstock a locality with bees. 



through it, and the roots are hard to exter- 

 minate. No growth is detrimental to it; but 

 the great pine forests seemed to have hinder- 

 ed its progress on high lands; but since the 

 forest has been lumbered it is fast spreading. 

 The bushes are never rid of ripe berries, 

 which are food to the birds of the forest 



ITS VALUE AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



As a honey-plant perhaps it has no equal 

 in the Southeast. We have never failed to 

 get a surplus from it, even during the most 

 unfavorable weather conditions. It begins 

 to bloom the first of May (settled weather 

 here then), and continues for 24 to 28 days. 

 During this time bees disregard other bloom, 

 working it up to about 8 o clock for pollen, 

 then the flow comes on for the remainder of 

 the day. 



A glance at the cut shows that it is a great 

 bloomer; even the stems are rolls of blooms, 

 and there can be no greater sight in all bee- 

 dom than to be in the 

 midst of acres of this 

 solid mass of blooms, 

 4 and 5 feet deep, and 

 see the bees tumbling 

 over the blossoms, load- 

 ing up and doing but 

 little flying. 



We have never taken 

 o& a large crop of this 

 honey, as 147 lbs. of 

 surplus is the best crop 

 we have ever had from 

 one colony. The hon- 

 ey is of a light amber 

 color, has a heavy 

 body, a very mild taste, 

 and is highly flavored. 

 The demand for this 

 honey is so great that 

 we can not furnish our 

 local markets; conse- 

 quently very little is 

 shipped from the South- 

 east to other markets. 



We have raised tons 

 of this honey, and have 

 never seen a pound of 

 the pure article, well 

 ripened, that granulat- 

 ed. It is strange we 

 have never seen a bum- 

 ble-bee, butterfly, nor 

 any kind of insect on 

 the gallberry blossoms, 

 except the stingless and 

 honey bees. Both 

 blacks and Italians 

 work it alike. 



It has been said it 

 was impossible to over- 

 stock a good gallberry 

 location. We do not 

 know that this state- 

 ment is true; but we 

 never heard of one be- 

 ing overstocked. We 

 have had bees in a lo- 

 cation where there were 



