260 



April Plants. 



appear. The bees work on these, here m Michigan, the first 

 week of April, and often in March. They are als<) tnagmti^ 

 cent shade trees, especially those that have the weeping habit. 

 Thei:. early bloom is very pleasing, their summer form and to- 



FiG. 126. 



Judoi Tree. Willow. 



liage beautiful, Avhile their flaming tints in autumn are inde- 

 scribable. The foreign maples, sycamore, Acer pseudo-plata- 

 niLt, and Norway, Acer •platanoides, are also very beautii'ul. 

 Whether superior to ours as honey plants, I am unable to say. 

 The willows, too, (Fig, 126) rival the maples in the early 

 period of bloom. Some are very early, olossoming in March, 

 while others, like the white willow, Suhx alba (Fig. 126), 

 bloom in IMay. The flowers on one tree or bush oi' the willow 

 are all pistillate, that is, have pistils but no stamens, -while 

 on others they arc all staminate, liaving no pistils. On the 

 firmer, bees can gather only honey, on the latter only pollen. 

 That tlio willow furnishes both honey and pollen h attested 

 by the fact that 1 saw both kinds of trees, the pistillate and 

 the staminate, thronged with bees ll'.o ]iast season. The wil- 

 low, too, from its elegant form and silvery foliage, is one of our 

 niiest shade trees. It grows evcry\\herc in the United States. 



