BEE VhOWSLb AJTD PLANTS 'Jiil. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



BEE FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 



Spring. — ^Among the garden flowers which are most useful 

 to bees are those which bloom before the field flowers, and 

 after the Clover aiid Lime: — of the former. Aconite, Crocus, 

 Hellebore, Scilla, White Rock, and Aubretias, in which bees 

 revel during every sunny hour from January to April; and 

 Limanthes Douglasii, a prime favourite in May. Of trees and 

 shrubs, Pyrus Japonica, Cotoneaster, Box, Sally, Gorse, Willow, 

 Broom, Ribes Rubra, and Gooseberry yield largely in the open- 

 ing months of the year, and are followed by Sycamore, Haw- 

 thorn, and fruit trees, which usher in the honey flow, and 

 usually give bees continual employment until White Clover 

 and Sainfoin begin to yield. Of the foregoing, those which 

 produce honey in quantity, and of a distinct type are : — 

 Sycamore — honey heavy, somewhat green in tint, and lacking 

 in flavour. Hawthorn — honey heavy, amber coloured, flavour 

 and aroma delicious. Fruit trees — honey excellent, in colour 

 and consistency resembling that from Sycamore. 



Summer. — The main honey flow, which occurs in summer, is 

 from White Clover and Sainfoin, commencing about the begin- 

 ning of June and continuing for about a month. Ragweed also 

 yields at this time. Then the Lime carries on the season until 

 the end of July, which terminates the honey flow except in 

 heather districts. White Clover and Sainfoin yield the thinnest 

 and lightest coloured honey, of a most agreeable and delicate 

 flavour. Ragweed, which grows in profusion all the time of 

 White Clover, gives a most disagreeable honey, and often spoils 

 that gathered at the same time from Clover ; its honey is rank 

 and coarse like the flower, and has an objectionable aroma. 

 Lime gives a heavier honey than that from Clover, and of a 

 much deeper hue, the cappings of the combs being straw 

 colour. Between the Lime and Heather, Saxifrage, Poppy, 

 Borage, Mignonette, Canterbury Bells, etc., provide good 

 forage for bees. Blackhead {Centaurea Nigra) blooms at the 

 same time as heather, and, being a prolific source of nectar, 

 is often preferred by bees. Its honey is thin, of a rich amber 

 colour, and acrid in flavour. Heather honey is quite distinct 

 from any other; its colour is deep, often approaching purple; 

 and it crystallises to an unattractive brown. Its flavour is rich and 



