BITTER AND POISONOUS HONEYS 81 



sometimes to be found on the com plant, and it may be that 

 honey-dew is sometimes gathered from this source. 



The list might be extended indefinitely, but it is only neces- 

 sary to mention a few of the common plants, such as roses, 

 sorghum, hops and ragweed. Many brightly colored flowers pro- 

 duce pollen but no nectar. 



Bitter and Poisonous Honeys. — There are several plants that 

 yield honey of such a disagreeable taste that it is of no value, 

 except to feed back to the bees. The bitterweed, or sneezeweed of 

 the Ozark region, blooms after the close of the clover harvest, and 

 a good crop of white clover honey is frequently spoiled by mixing 

 with the bitter honey. In such a locality, it is important that 

 the bee-keeper be familiar with the time of blooming of such 

 plants, and remove all good honey from the hive before the bees 

 begin to store from them. The author has found this honey to be 

 so bitter as to be absolutely unpalatable. Scholl says of the 

 bitterweed of Texas (Helenium tenuifolium) : "Honey yield good 

 in favorable seasons; pollen; honey golden yellow, heavy body 

 but very bitter, as if 50 per cent quinine and some pepper were 

 added. June to October." 



The honey from snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia mar- 

 ginati) is said to be bitter and disagreeable, and possibly pois- 

 onous. 



Pammel, in his " Manual of Poisonous Plants," cites a num- 

 ber of plants which are supposed to produce poisonous honey. 

 Among them may be mentioned mountain laurel {Kalmia lati- 

 folia) y which is said to be common in the mountains of Virginia 

 and nearby States. The honey from rhododendron is said to be 

 poisonous also. 



In choosing a location it is desirable to avoid the sources 

 of these undesirable honeys as much as possible, and if they are 

 present in the locality where one is operating, to use care to pre- 

 vent them from being stored in the same comb with honey of good 

 quality. 



Cases of poisoning from honey in New Jersey are described 

 6 



