POSITION OF Tm^ APIARY. ^ 



to rest on while drinking, and are the recommendation of Colu- 

 mella. I haye seen tin plates perforated with holes, and placed 

 over the pans, just on the surface of the water, used for drinking- 

 vessels for bees ; I, however, prefer the pebbles. 



It is essential that you have your gardens abundantly planted 

 with such shrubs and flowers as afford honey, in order, as much 

 as possible, to prevent the necessity of your bees constantly 

 traveling to an inconvenient distance in search of food. It will 

 be as well also that you contrive to have a succession of such 

 food, adapted to the season, a matter comparatively easily man- 

 aged and of very great consequence to the well-being of your 

 stock. Among these plants I may enumerate broom ; furze or 

 gorse ; thyme, especially lemon thyme ; clover ; crocus ; heaths ; 

 fruit-trees; mustard; mignionette ; sage; single roses; radish- 

 es; primroses; privet; parsley ; pease and parsnips; marigolds; 

 violets ; lily ; laurustjnum ; daflfodils ; celery ; cauUflower ; as- 

 paragus ; sunflowers, &c. Mr. Nli.tt has given a very copious list 

 of bee flowers in his work on bees, buf f think many of tiheiji 

 might be omitted without any loss. Mr. Briggs, a most enthusi- 

 astic bee-fancier, mentions also as good bee-flowers — phacelia U- 

 nacitifolia; salvia nemorosa ; lithry,m, salicaria ; winter aconite ; 

 hepatica and vfall-flpwers ; borage, winter vetches, ivy, a few 

 perches of turnips running to seed in spring, and a succession of 

 crops of buckwheat during summer and autumn. Mr. Briggs 

 also mentions a plant sp very valuat),le to bees that it is only a 

 pity it is not more generally known, viz., melilotus lbucantha, 

 \yhich, with bokjvge, he seems to think the most important of 

 bee-flo5vers. Mr. Briggs ^sidds that the former, for bee purposes, 

 " should be sown in March or the beginning of April, On a deep, 

 rich, and dry loamy soil, in drilj|^ jabout eighteen inches apart, and 

 .tfhe plants thinned to nine or ten inches' distance from each other. 

 It ^illgrow from six to eight feet in height during the first sum- 

 mer, and from ten to twelve .during the seqond. xi some plants 

 of it are cut down to the sroui^d, when about two feet in height, 

 they will bloom latter in t^ .summer-;-a succession oif them m^y 

 be had from June l;o Jjfoyen^her, ajid.they ^will be frecLuented by 

 tljousaiids of bees during .every [fine day throug^ovit the season. 

 Mr. Briggs has, with unusual generosity, distribute(i quantities 

 of this valuable seed to bee fenciers, so that there can be no dif- 

 ficulty in obtaining it. 



While I recommend the sowing of such seeds as will produce 

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