152 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 



taste, and is highly flavored. The 

 demand for this honey is so great 

 that we cannot furnish our local 

 markets, consequently very little is 

 shipped from the southeast to other 

 markets. 



"We have raised tons of this 

 honey and have never seen a pound 

 of the pure article, well ripened, that 

 granulated. 



"It has been said that it is impossi- 

 ble to overstock a good gallberry lo- 

 cation. We do not know that this 

 statement is true, but we have never 

 heard of one being overstocked. We 

 have had bees in a location where 

 there were 362 colonies with the 

 same result as with 100 colonies. 

 Good gallberry locations are nearly 

 numberless and large quantities of 

 tlii- line honey are wasted every year 

 in localities where there is not a bee 

 to gather it. The gallberry should be 

 included in the list of the best honey- 

 plants." 



J. J. Wilder, Cordele, Ga., Glean- 

 ings, page 1200, September, 1907. 

 The Banana 



Since the banana plant is little 



grown in the United States it is sel- 

 dom mentioned as a honey plant, yet 

 it secretes nectar very abundantly, 

 and in countries where bananas are 

 grown on a large scale it must be 

 important to the beekeeper. We are 

 showing herewith two illustrations, 

 one of the plant in fruit and one 

 showing the opening of the bloom. 



The following description of the 

 possibilities of this plant is reprinted 

 from page 83 of The American Bee 

 Journal for 1880. and was written by 

 a correspondent in Clifton Springs, 

 Florida : 



"Recently noticing bees work- 

 ing upon blossoms I concluded 

 to examine them. To my surprise 

 I found that each blossom had a 

 sack on its under side, which con- 

 tained several drops of nectar 

 of the consistency and sweetness 

 of thin syrup. This sack gradu- 

 ally opens, allowing the contents 

 to escape, unless appropriated by 

 some insect. The blossom hangs 

 in a position that rain cannot en- 

 ter to dilute or wash out the nec- 

 tar. Procuring a teaspoon I emp- 



tied into it the contents of a 

 dozen blossoms, which filled it full. 

 Each stalk, on good land, will 

 produce a head having a hundred 

 hands or divisions of blossoms, 

 and each hand averages six blos- 

 soms, giving 600 blossoms to the 

 stalk. Estimating 100 teaspoon- 

 fuls to the pint (88 of the one 

 used filled a pint measure) we 

 have 50 spoonfuls, or half a pint 

 to the stalk. Planted in checks 

 8x8 feet, there will be 680 plants 

 to the acre, yielding, according to 

 the above estimate, 42J/2 gallons 

 of nectar. But usually more than 

 one stalk in a hill blossoms and 

 matures fruit annually. The blos- 

 soms used were below those that 

 produce fruit, which later, I am 

 told, are much richer in honey, 



"The first blossoms which open 

 mature fruit. These vary in num- 

 ber from 25 to 100, according to 

 quality of land, cultivation, etc 

 They sell here at from \14 to 2 

 cents per finger or pod. Estimat- 

 ing fruit at 25 fingers per bunch 

 and the bunches at 25 cents each 

 — which, you see, is a low esti- 

 iii. Mr for both, the result will be 

 a barrel of nectar on $170 worth 

 of fruit per .hit. I low does this 

 showing compare with other cul- 

 tivated plants as combined honey 

 ami money crop?" 



Uniting Bees 



By 



Di 



Banana stalk in frui' 



IN giving the system which I use 

 in uniting bees, I caution the be- 

 ginner, or those with little ex- 

 pel mil • . in .I lo get t be be< S excited 

 in looking for the queens, as this will 

 be sure to give trouble. Efficiency is 



