The acacias are shrubs or small trees which are widely distributed
throughout the warmer portions of the world. There are said to be 450
species, of which nearly 300 are native to Australia and Polynesia. We
also find reference to them in India, Africa and South America. The
different species are known by various local names. In Europe some are
known as mimosa trees. As sources of honey they are important in Texas,
Arizona, New Mexico and California.
[Illustration: Fig. 2. _Acacia melanoxylon._]
The sweet acacia (=Acacia farnesiana=), in Texas called huisache,
is found along the gulf coast in Alabama and as far east as South
Carolina. In Texas the huajilla (=Acacia berlandiera=), is an
important source of nectar. In fact, according to the Texas bulletin
on honey plants, it is the main source in southwest Texas. It grows
abundantly on dry and rocky hills which often are not suited to growing
agricultural crops. The honey is white and of fine quality.
The catsclaw, or paradise flower (=Acacia greggii=), is another very
important source of honey in the southwest. It is one of the principal
sources of dependence in Texas, where it is reported as yielding in
April. Arizona reports a later yield, blooming here in May and June.
Like the huajilla, the honey is light colored and of very fine quality.
[Illustration: Fig. 3. Golden wattle (_Acacia longifolia_).]
Figure 4 shows the black wattle of California (=A. decurrens mollis=),
which is largely grown as an ornamental in the gardens and along the
roadsides of that State. It blooms from February to June and produces
some honey and an abundance of pollen. Fig. 3 is the Sydney golden
wattle (=Acacia longifolia=), another widely-grown California shrub. A
third California species, =A. melanoxylon=, is shown at Fig. 2.
The huisache (=A. farnesiana=), Fig. 1, already mentioned, is a common
plant in south Texas, from San Antonio to the lower Rio Grande valley.
It is of special importance for early pollen, though Scholl reports it
as yielding honey also.
[Illustration: Fig. 4. Acacia or black wattle (_Acacia decurrens
mollis_).]
The huajilla (pronounced “wa-he-ya”) grows abundantly over a wide
territory in southwest Texas and, as it requires but a small amount
of moisture, makes beekeeping profitable where it would otherwise
be a precarious business. Large quantities of white honey of mild
flavor and fine quality are stored from this source. In a journey of
several hundred miles among the beekeepers of Texas, the author found
this plant, together with catsclaw and mesquite, to be the principal
source of surplus south and west of San Antonio. Various sources were
reported, but in nearly every case these three plants were mentioned as
heading the list. Huajilla ranks high in both quantity and quality of
nectar produced.
The catsclaw (=Acacia greggii=), known in some localities as paradise
flower or devil’s claw, is a low spreading, bushy shrub or small tree
with curved thorns, hence the name, “catsclaw.” This is a close rival
of huajilla for first place as the source of white honey in much of
southwest Texas. The far-famed Uvalde honey is largely huajilla and
catsclaw. In many places the yield of surplus honey is being reduced
through the clearing of the land for farming purposes. Both these
plants grow in very dry sections, on land which until recently was
thought to be of little value for any purpose without irrigation.
Scholl lists the round-flowered catsclaw (=Acacia roemeriana Schlect=)
as a heavy yielder of honey of good quality, but plants are not
abundant. He also lists =Acacia amentacea= as a source of pollen and
some honey, but not in sufficient quantity to be important.
ACER, see Maple.
ADAM’S NEEDLE, see Yucca.
AESCULUS, see Buckeye.
AGARITES, see Barberry.
AGAVE, see Century Plant.
ALABAMA--Honey Sources of.
There is a large district in Alabama where sweet clover is the
principal source of surplus honey. In this region good crops are the
rule, since it yields from early June till late in August. In addition,
rattan, tulip-poplar, black gum, hawthorne, field peas, privet, locust,
redbud, cotton, bitterweed, asters and occasionally white clover,
yield honey. There is the usual spring stimulation from fruit blossoms
and willows in Alabama and a large number of minor sources which add
something to the total yield, but which alone are unimportant.
[Illustration: Fig. 5. A group of Alaska honey plants.]
ALASKA--Honey Sources of.
By the accounts given in Bancroft’s History of Alaska and in
translations made for me by Rev. George Kotteometinoff from the records
of the Orthodox Russo-Greek Church at Sitka, the honeybee was first
introduced into Alaska in 1809 by a monk named Cherepenin. These
bees came from the Department of Kazan, in Siberia, and were brought
that honey might be added to the scanty food supply of the pioneer
teachers of the Faith as well as to supply the candles for the church
services. By decree of Church, only beeswax candles can be used, and it
is recorded that at Sitka, in 1816, no services could be held for six
months because the supply of wax ran out. As early as 1819 apiculture
was taught in the church school and was continued up to 1894. It would
appear that the bees never flourished and seldom swarmed. There are
a number of records of new importations to take the place of dead
colonies. Very early a white clover was introduced to help out the
honey supply. About 1830 bees were taken from Sitka to Fort Ross in
California. As late as 1905 there were about 30 colonies at the Russian
school at Sitka. These bees were in straw skeps and were kept on
shelves under the eaves of the house. In winter they were kept within
the same projecting eaves. In 1906 the Experiment Farm at Sitka made
an unsuccessful attempt to keep bees in Langstroth hives. It is not
probable that beekeeping will ever be a commercial project in Alaska.
References to beekeeping at Sitka by Dr. Sheldon Jackson are to be
found in the Report on Education in Alaska, Bureau of Education. Prof.
C. C. Georgeson, in the reports on work done at the Experiment Station
in Alaska also mentions beekeeping. Bees were observed collecting
nectar and pollen from plants given below during the years 1905 to
1912. It should be observed that a majority of these plants have
pendulous flowers. In a climate such as at Sitka, where the normal
precipitation is 120 inches, only pendulous flowers could protect the
nectar:
Willow (=Salix speciosa=).
Crab Apple (=Pyrus rivularis=).
Salmon Berry (=Rubus spectabilis=).
Salmon Berry (=Rubus nutkonus noctino=).
Cloud Berry (=Rubus Chamaemorus=).
Nahgoon Berry (=Rubus stellatin=).
Wild Red Raspberry (=Rubus strigosus=).
Blue Berries (=Vaccinium uliginosum=).
Blue Berries (=Vaccinium ovalifolium=).
Blue Berries (=Vaccinium vitis Idaea=).
Seaside Portulaca (=Claytonia sp.=).
White Clover (=Trifolium sp.=).
Wild Tansey (=Achillea borealis=).
Yellow Water Lily (=Nymphaca advena=).
Water Smart Weed (=Polygonum sp.=).
Elder (=Sambucus racemosa=).
Cow Parsnip (=Heracleum lanatum=).
--H. B. Parks.
ALBERTA--Honey Sources of.
In the southern part of the province alfalfa is of first importance.
Fireweed, white clover and alsike are the chief sources elsewhere.
Willows and maples stimulate early brood rearing and some honey is
gathered from prairie flowers.--F. W. L. Sladen.
ALDER (Alnus).
The alders are a group of shrubs or trees common from New England and
Canada west to Michigan and south to Texas. The bark is sometimes used
for tanning and as a dyestuff, and to some extent in medicine. The
blossoms appear early in spring, and are the source of an abundant
supply of pollen at a season when it is often much needed by the bees.
[Illustration: Fig. 6. Pollen-bearing blossoms of the alder.]
ALFALFA (Medicago sativa).
Alfalfa is the most important honey plant west of the Missouri river.
It is also the most valuable forage plant in the same region. Once
established, a field of alfalfa continues to return valuable crops
year after year. From two to five cuttings are secured each season,
depending upon the available moisture and the length of the growing
period. It thrives best in the irrigated regions with its roots in the
rich soil supplied with abundant, but not excessive, moisture. It is an
old-world plant which has contributed much to the prosperity of western
farmers since its introduction to this country.
The honey from alfalfa varies in color and quality in different
localities. In Colorado and Idaho it is of very light color and with
a spicy, mild flavor of excellent quality. In the Imperial Valley of
California it is much darker in color and of poorer quality. Alfalfa
honey granulates readily, but is generally regarded as a high quality
of honey. The tendency to early granulation makes it more desirable to
market in the extracted state than in the sections.
The yield varies greatly, according to season, but the heaviest
yields come when there is a vigorous growth of the plant. Where grown
without irrigation a much greater variation in yield can be expected.
In Nebraska and Kansas, alfalfa often yields good crops of nectar
without irrigation, while east of the Missouri River it is seldom of
much value to the beekeeper. The author had a small field of alfalfa
in western Iowa for several years. Only one season did the bees pay
much attention to it. That season was very wet in the early part of
the summer, thus promoting a vigorous plant growth. Later the weather
turned very hot and dry. Conditions similar to those of the irrigated
sections of the west were approximated. The roots of the plants were
supplied with an abundance of moisture, while the air was hot and dry.
Under such conditions alfalfa is at its best as a honey producer.
[Illustration: Fig. 7. Blossoms of alfalfa and yellow sweet clover.]
Alfalfa is reported as the source of considerable surplus honey in
northeastern Louisiana, which is the farthest east of any locality
where it is important, with which the author is familiar. While it is
largely grown as a field crop in parts of Iowa, Illinois, New York and
other eastern States, beekeepers all report but little honey from it.
It seldom yields to any extent in humid climates. Given sufficient
moisture at the roots, the hotter and dryer the atmosphere, the better
seems to be the yield of nectar. The conditions which most favor nectar
secretion are also favorable to seed production.