452 THK liKU-KltKrKK'S lUUDE ; 



Honey-product of this plant is worthy its name. The closely 

 related snow-drop (S. racemosus), common in cultivation, is 

 also a honey-plant. I close this account witli nioiitiou of 

 another, Cleome, the famous spider-plant (Cleoiiic spiiiosa), 

 (Fig. 253). This plant thrives best in rich, danip, clay soil. It 

 is only open for a little time before nif^htfall and at Oiiily 

 dawn, closing- by the middle of the forenoon ; but when open 

 its huge drops of nectar keep the bees wild with e.vcitement, 

 calling them up even before daylight, and enticing tlicni to 

 the field long after dusk. It is a native of the tropics, and is 

 found now from south New Jersey to Florida and L,oiiisiana. 



I have thus mentioned the most valuable honey-planl.s of 

 our country. Of course, there are many omissions. IvCt all 

 apiarists, by constant observation, help to iill up the list. 



BOOKS ON BOTANY. 



I am often asked what books are best to make apiarists 

 botanists. I am glad to answer this question, as I he study of 

 botany will not only be valuable discipline, but will also 

 furnish abundant pleasure, and give important practical 

 information. Gray's L,essons and Manual of Botany, in one 

 volume, published by Ivison, Phinney, IHakemaii ^'v: Co., New 

 York, is the most desirable treatise on this subject. A more 

 recent work by Prof. C. K. Bcssey, and published by Henry 

 Holt it Co., is also very excellent. Coulter's and Atkinson's 

 I3otanies are also most excellent. The first treats of syste- 

 matic, the second of physioloj^ical botany, while the last two 

 are up to date and very fascinating;. 



rKAOTlCAl, CONCI,USIONS. 



It will pay well for the apiarist to decorate his grounds 

 with soft and silver maples, for their beauty and early bloom. 

 If his soil is ricli, sugar-maples and lindens may well servo a 

 similar purpose. Indeed, every apiarist should strive to have 

 others plant the linden. No tree is so worthy a place by the 

 roadside. The Judas and tulip trees, both North and Soutli, 

 may well be made to ornament his home. For vines, obtain 

 the wi.starias, where they arc hardy. In California, encourage 



