124 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



larger scale. Possibly if I knew better how to manage it, the 

 difficulty might disappear. Or, on other soil it might be less 

 difficult to }nanage. The same might be said of the other things 

 I have tried. My soil is clay loam, and hilly, although I live in 

 a prairie State. I am at least a mile distant from prairie soil. 

 I had an acre of as fine figwort as one would care to see. It 

 died root and branch the second winter ; even the young plants 

 that had come from seed the previous summer. It was on the 

 lowest ground I had, very rich, and much like prairie. 



When the boom for Chapman's honey plant (Echinops 

 spherocephalus) was on, I was among the first to get it, and I 

 succeeded in having a large patch. Bees were on it in large 

 nurnbers, but close observation showed that a great proportion 

 of them were loafing as if something about the plant had made 

 them drunk. I concluded I did not get nectar enough from it 

 to pay for the use of the land, to say nothing of cultivation. 



One year I raised half an acre of sunflowers, and I have 

 tried other things, but given them up. 



APPLE BLOOM. 



Quite likely if a second crop, of apple bloom came a month 

 or two later than the usual time, I might get some surplus from 

 that; but coming so early I think there are hardly bees enough 

 to store it. Still, the bees are at this time using large quanti- 

 ties of honey for brood, and so the apple bloom is of very great 

 value. Another advantage is that the great quantity of bloom 

 has somewhat the effect of prolonging its time, for the latest 

 blossoms, that with a few trees would amount to little or noth- 

 ing, are enough to keep the bees busy. So it happens that of- 

 ten I can scarcely recognize any interim between fruit bloom 

 and clover. A few items from a memorandum for 1882 may 

 be interesting. 



MEMORANDA OP 1882. 



April 4. — Last bees taken out of cellar. 



May 8. — Plum bloom out. Bees still work on meal and 

 sugar syrup. 



May 10. — Wild plum, dandelion, cherry, pear, Siberian, 

 Duchess of Oldeliberg. 



