344 



April Honey Plants. 



Early in spring there are many scattering wild flowers, 

 as skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, which supplies 

 abundant pollen and some honey; the blood-root, San- 

 guinaria Canadensis, liver-leaf, Hepatica acutiloba, and 

 various others of the crow-foot family, as also many 

 species of cress, which belong to the mustard family, and 

 the gay dandelion,. Taraxacum dens-leonis, which keeps 

 on blooming for weeks, etc., all of which are valuable and 

 important. 



The maples, which are all valuable honey plants, also con- 



FiG. 145. 



Red Maple. 



M Male blossoms. 

 Ft Fruit. 



F Female blossoms. 



tribute to the early stores. Especially valuable are the silver 

 maples, Acer dasycarpum, the red or soft maples Acer 

 rubrum (Fig. 145), and the box elder or ash-leaf maple, 

 ^egundo aceroides, as they bloom so very early Ion"- 

 before the leaves appear. The bees work on these here 



