370 
Beekeeping 
it is certain that not all of the plants named above produce 
such honey. Mountain laurel, yellow jessamine and rho¬ 
dodendrons are abundant in the lower Appalachian Moun¬ 
tains and there are more bees to a square mile in this section 
than anywhere else in the United States. Assuredly much 
nectar is gathered by bees from these plants, and if all the 
honey from these sources were poisonous there would be an 
epidemic of poisoning annually in this region. Clethra is the 
source of much honey, eaten widely with immunity. If any 
plant is ever the source of poisonous honey, this fact should 
be determined and made known, but the vague rumors now 
current are valueless. It should be remembered in this 
connection that certain individuals have idiosyncrasies 
toward certain foods and this may account for some of the 
recorded cases of honey poisoning. In some rare individuals 
the eating of honey from any source or thick sugar syrup 
causes violent pains in the stomach. Until physiologists 
agree as to the cause of this phenomenon it is unsafe to 
speculate, but assuredly honeys should not be ranked as 
poisonous because they cause distress in eccentric indi¬ 
viduals. 
Plant honey-dew. 
By all odds, the main source of the sugars that bees get 
is nectar from flowers. There are other sources which should 
be mentioned, however, which occur more frequently than 
is recognized by beekeepers. In the absence of floral nectar, 
bees gather sugars from any available source, giving prefer¬ 
ence to those which have attractive odors. Many species of 
plants are provided with glands which secrete sweet liquids 
and which are located outside the flowers (extra-floral nec¬ 
taries). Examples of this are found on the leaves of cotton 
( Gossypiurn hirsutum ) and Hawaiian hau ( Hibiscus or Par- 
itium tiliaceum, on outside of flower bracts also). Various 
acacias have glands on the stems. Other examples are 
found on castor beans (Ricinus) and partridge-pea ( Cham - 
(Ecrisla fasciculata ) and other cases are mentioned in the 
