TUPELO 
851 
The honey is thick and white, closely re¬ 
sembling that of white tnpelo, but has a 
greenish tinge. 
The white and black tupelos (N. aquatiGa 
and N. biflora ) are commonly found in 
the same swamplands from Virginia to 
Florida. In the swamps near Norfolk, Vir¬ 
ginia, they are important sources of nec¬ 
tar, and only rarely does the beekeeper fail 
to obtain a surplus. In the southeastern 
swamps of the Coastal Plain of North Car¬ 
olina the tupelos are very abundant, while 
gallberry covers much of the higher land. 
A large number of colonies of bees are 
successfully operated in this section, but 
much of the region is still unoccupied by 
beekeepers. In the river swamps of South 
Carolina both white and black tupelos are 
again common and yield a large portion of 
the crop of honey. In southeastern Georgia 
all five species of tupelo, native to the 
United States, occur; but none yield so 
large an amount of honey as the black and 
white tupelos. It is in this section of the 
State that the largest and most advanced 
beekeepers are located who operate thou¬ 
sands of colonies of bees. 
The most famous section of Florida for 
beekeeping is the northwestern part of the 
State along the Apalachicola and Oeklock- 
nee rivers, where white tupelo, black tu¬ 
pelo, and spring titi are abundant. From 
this section comes about one-third of the 
honey crop of the entire State. About 50 
miles from the point where the Apalachi¬ 
cola and Ocklocknee rivers enter the Gulf 
of Mexico the rivers have low banks, the 
main channels breaking up into small 
streams which wind thru the marshland. 
This strip of bottomland is about 10 miles 
wide and is covered by a luxuriant growth 
of tupelo trees. As it is overflowed in the 
rainy season, it is necessary to place the 
hives on platforms, 6 to 10 feet high. The 
season opens with the blooming in March 
of black titi, and a little later in April and 
May the flowers of the tupelos open. So 
copious is the flow that an average of 70 
pounds per colony is extracted each year, 
and in some seasons 100 or 150 pounds; 
250 barrels of extracted honey have been 
secured in 26 days. Vast quantities of nec¬ 
tar go to waste, and it is doubtful if this 
region will ever be fully stocked with bees. 
A full crop is obtained three years in five, 
and there is never less than a quarter of a 
crop. But many do not care to live in a 
desolate, unwholesome swamp, where ma¬ 
laria and mosquitoes are prevalent, roads 
are absent, and the only signs of civiliza¬ 
tion are sawmills. Other objections are 
the shortage of pollen and the absence of 
late-blooming plants to maintain the 
strength of the colonies in the fall. 
In the southeastern corner of Alabama 
the surplus honey plants in spring are titi, 
the tupelos, and gallberry. The yards, 
which are usually small in size, in a favor¬ 
able season average 60 pounds of surplus 
Black tupelo or gum with berries. 
per colony. Altho there are a large num¬ 
ber of colonies in this region, it is consid¬ 
ered better adapted to queen-rearing than 
honey production. At Mount Pleasant on 
the Alabama River the main crop comes 
from the tupelos, holly, blackberry, and 
velvet bean. This is one of the best loca¬ 
tions in the pine barrens. Beyond Ala¬ 
bama the black tupelo ( N. biflora) ceases 
to be an important source of honey, altho 
it has been reported as far west as Louisi- 
