DIABY OF HONEY PLANTS. 



165 



to revel in its white fringe-like flowers, of a delicate odor, resembling 

 honey scented with anise. It is one of our finest honey plants." 



It blooms in spring, soon after the fruit trees cease to yield their 

 honey. Eev. James W. Shearer, formerly of Virginia, tells us that 

 through many of the poorest parts of Virginia and the Carolinas, the 

 persimmon tree abounds, and describes it thus : 



" It is a tree seldom found in the forests, but abounds in waste land 

 throughout many parts of Virginia and North Carolina. It grows from 

 twenty to forty feet in height, and is peculiar in this respect, that when 

 left for shade, the soil around and under the tree is enriched, and grain 

 will grow even up to the roots better than in the surrounding soil. The 

 fruit, which is a very sure crop, is unfit for use until after heavy frost 

 falls upon it on the tree. When fully matured in winter it tastes very 

 similar to the date of commerce. In many section where the persim- 

 mon abounds the land can be bought at very cheap rates ." 



THE OKANGE. 



In the far South, where the orange is grown, bees gather honey 

 from its blossoms in abundance, whilst northern bee-keepers have their 

 hives in the cellar or covered deep in the snow. 



THE SOUR-WOOD, OB SOEEEL TEEE. 



The sour-wood is a small tree, abounding in the natural forests in 

 many parts of the South, from Virginia to Georgia. It grows from 

 twenty-five to forty feet high, and in the early summer is full of fringes cf 

 blossoms, which afford large amounts of the most beautifuliand delicious 

 honey in the world. Each little blossom somewhat resembles the cup 

 of the lilly of the valley, but somewhat between it and the mountain 



