THE bee-keb:pers' review. 



267 



When livinj,^ at the old home in Kaslern 

 New York I was in daily contact with 

 specimens of such noble trees as the bass- 

 wood, sujrar maple and elm; and the 

 drooping willow grew to perfection on 

 the old homestead farm. The public 

 highway ran through it for a distance of 

 about eighty rods, and it was once my de- 

 sire to make that eighty rods a beautiful 

 avenue; and whenever opportunity offer- 

 ed I planted trees, both basswood and 

 maple. Those trees have now been grow- 

 ing for more than twentj* years; and I 

 have assurances from parties who live 

 near them that there is now a fine ave- 

 nue, with but few becs near to gather the 

 honey. Certainly, a score or more of 

 basswood trees along the roadside, would 

 amount to but little for the operations 

 of a large apiary, but if farmers could be- 

 come interested in tree planting there 

 would be a chance for more bee-keeping 

 later on. 



My ideas in relation to tree planting 

 had been definitely formulated and set- 

 tled long l)efore I left the East. There is 

 scarcely a farm in the hill country of East- 

 ern New York and the New England 

 States without more or less waste land 

 upon it. The steep and stony hillside 

 has been denuded of trees, what little 

 fertility the land possessed has been ex- 

 hausted from repeated croppings, and 

 now it is turned over to stones and weeds, 

 and called the back pasture. Upon this 

 same Vjarren hillside the tree will grow, 

 and in its thrift will draw moisture to the 

 surface, and perhaps the long forgotten 

 spring will come to life again. 



I have seen many hillsides that were 

 naturally moist, or which had a fringe 

 of springs upon their lower edges, made 

 as dry as a bone from the free use of the 

 wo<3dman's axe. When the spring fails, 

 the little stream below diminishes, the 

 river a little farther down becomes slug- 

 gish, sand bars appear, and navigation 

 ceases, all a result from the denuded hill- 

 sides. 



It seems to me that the remedy for 

 these evils is very simple. Nature has 



been thrown out of balance, and we must 

 get it back. In order to get it back we 

 must ask Nature a few questions. Nature 

 saj's that the shade of the tree is necessa- 

 ry for the continuous flow of the spring; 

 and how lovingly the willow performs 

 her part; and where the trout-brook winds 

 its way through the meadow, the clover 

 and the grasses grow with such vigor, and 

 intertwine from bank to bank if possible, 

 thus shielding the water from the rays 

 of the sun, and preventing evaporation. 

 Wherever the land is not too valuable, 

 these springs and little streams can be 

 protected by the planting of trees. The 

 willow, locust, basswood and the maple 

 would be agreeable to the bee-keeper and 

 perform the work of making shade. The 

 locust tree alone would make a rapid 

 growth, and in a few years the grove could 

 be trimmed out at a profit for wood or 

 fence posts. The sugar maple would 

 make fair returns from its honey and 

 sugar, while the basswood would bear 

 thinning out within twenty years for its 

 white lumber. Going a little further, is 

 there not a benefit in the judicious plant- 

 ing of trees even where the land is valu- 

 able ? 



The ten acres planted by Mr. Root was 

 upon poor ground, but, according to his 

 confession, if he had been as enthusiastic 

 in forestry as he is in gardening, the re- 

 sult would have been different in spite of 

 the lack of drainage. 



The basswood and the locust will make 

 a good growth in ten years, and produce 

 quite an amount of honey, and, as the 

 years pa.ss, the tree top acreage will in- 

 crease. 



The ])lanting of trees for the honey they 

 will secrete is a matter of wide ap{)lication ; 

 and here in California some of our bee 

 men are alive to its importance. 



Here where so much depends upon the 

 conservation of the water supply, the 

 government conies to our aid, and has 

 set off large tracts of our mountain lands 

 into government parks. Our large tim- 

 ber grows upon these mountains; and but 

 for the timely interference of the govern- 



