84 
BACKLOT BEEKEEPING 
either dried as hay ox green in the pastures. 
The 250 colonies of J. L. Byer, which pack¬ 
ed their hives with aster honey, survived 
the winter in fine condition. In a symposi¬ 
um, published in Gleanings in Bee Culture, 
Aug. 15, 1915, many beekeepers testified 
that they had wintered bees successfully 
year after year on aster honey with very 
little loss. It has been suggested that per¬ 
haps different species of aster yield differ¬ 
ent kinds of honey; but there is no ground 
for such a supposition. On the contrary, 
the nectar of the various species, as in the 
case of the goldenrods, is very similar. 
In Georgia several species of aster (the 
most common are A. adnatus and A. squar- 
rosus) grow all over the State, and in many 
places are the main reliance for winter 
stores. In a few localities a surplus is 
obtained. The honey is medium in quality, 
of fair color, but candies quickly in the 
comb if not sealed. The blooming time is 
from September to November. 
Several widely distributed and abundant 
species of aster are well jvorthy of cultiva¬ 
tion for their handsome flowers. .A very 
common form is A. patens, or purple daisy 
which has bright blue-purple flowers. The 
New England aster ( A . novae-angliae) has 
stout hairy stems, eight feet tall, with vio¬ 
let-purple rays, rarely white, or in one va¬ 
riety pink. Very common along the Atlan¬ 
tic Coast, especially in swampy marshes, is 
A. novi-belgii. The purple-stemmed aster, 
cocash, or meadow scabish (A. puniceus ), 
which is common in swamps, is a tall hairy 
species with purple stems and flowers. 
B 
BACKLOT BEEKEEPING. — A very 
large number of those who keep bees are 
those who might properly be called back- 
lotters—those who live in cities and towns 
and who keep a few bees in connection 
with a few chickens or a little garden. The 
backlotters comprise professional and 
business men, as well as women and chil¬ 
dren of their families. Included in this 
class might be also the farmers’ wives who 
have a few colonies to pollinate fruit trees, 
and who likewise desire recreation, amuse¬ 
ment, and a little money on the side for 
the family. Bees will earn as much money 
as chickens and often do much better. 
Backlot beekeeping does not differ great¬ 
ly from the keeping of bees on a large 
scale except that there are no outyards, 
no expensive moving-truck and elaborate 
extraeting-outfits, and no hired help. The 
backlotter, primarily, whether man, woman, 
or child, is one who desires to take up some 
form of amusement or recreation—some¬ 
thing that will keep him outdoors and 
something that will take up his time while 
lie is out of the store, office, or shop. If 
the backlotter happens to be an overworked 
business or professional man, he will surely 
need some line of diversion—something 
that will rest his mind, by taking it off 
from his business or profession, and allow¬ 
ing it to rest and recuperate in new lines 
of thought. Why not beekeeping? See 
Beekeeping for Women. 
While there are those who take up the 
hobby of kodaking or taking pictures, of 
running a little garden, or keeping a few 
chickens, the number of those who are tak¬ 
ing up bees in a small way is increasing 
very rapidly. The average back lot in 
the city will not permit of a very extensive 
garden—in fact, in most cases no garden 
at all. The chicken business is liable to 
cause trouble with the neighbors, especial¬ 
ly if the chickens fly over the fence and 
scratch up Mrs. Neighbor’s posy bed. 
While bees will not scratch up gardens 
they may soil Mrs. Neighbor’s wash on the 
line: but a box or two of honey in advance 
will so sweeten her up that she will toler- 
