Honey from buckwheat is very dark and has a strong flavor. People who
are accustomed to light and mild honey of the clover type seldom like
it. On the other hand, residents of the west, who were raised in the
buckwheat country of eastern New York, regard the clover honey as
insipid and not to be compared to the dark honey with which they were
familiar in childhood. Buckwheat honey has a peculiar flavor, slightly
nauseating to one unaccustomed to it.
During a heavy flow from this source there is a strong odor present
in the apiary which can be detected for some distance. J. L. Byer, in
the American Bee Journal, tells of a case where a farmer and his wife
spent some time looking for dead chickens in the vicinity of the hives,
mistaking the odor of the new nectar, which the bees were bringing in,
for that of a dead fowl. (Page 306, October, 1908.)
Buckwheat varies somewhat in density, according to weather conditions
at the time it is gathered. When fully ripened on the hives it is
sometimes so thick as to be hard to extract. Some beekeepers report
honey from this source which weighs as much as fourteen pounds to the
gallon. On the other hand, there are numerous reports of very thin
honey, probably because of being extracted before fully ripened.
Buckwheat honey is used largely in France to make a gingerbread “pain
d’épices,” in which the peculiar odor and flavor of the buckwheat is
very noticeable and is much liked by those who are accustomed to it.
BUCKWHEAT TREE, see Ti-Ti.
BUFFALO BEAN, see Loco Weed.
BULL BAY, see Magnolia.
BUM-WOOD, see Poisonwood.
BURDOCK (Arctium lappa).
The burdock is a coarse, disagreeable weed, introduced from Europe
and Asia. It is now common over the United States. The burrs fasten
themselves to the clothing or to passing animals, and in this manner
the seeds are spread. It is a biennial, common in barn lots and waste
places.
The burdock is one of the many plants on which the bees work to some
extent that never count for very much in the total production of the
hive. The sources of surplus are comparatively few in number, but there
are hundreds of plants from which the bees get a taste of honey or
pollen. The presence or absence of these minor plants makes a great
difference in the value of a locality for honey production. If there
are enough of them to keep the bees busy, and sustain the colony
between flows when the good yield comes, the bees are in the best
possible condition to take advantage of the opportunity.
[Illustration: Fig. 32. Burdock.]
=BUR CLOVER (Medicago denticulata).= Wild.
Bur clover is a relative of alfalfa which is very common over much of
California. The burs are produced abundantly and the plant is prized as
a stock forage. The plant, although spreading like a weed, is valuable
both to live stock and for bees. The principal blooming period is from
March till June, though it blooms to some extent at all seasons.
Richter lists it as especially valuable to stimulate early breeding,
but states that surplus is occasionally harvested from this source and
that it is fully equal to filaree or pin clover as a honey plant.
BUR-MARIGOLD, see Spanish Needle.
BUSH HONEYSUCKLE (Diervilla Lonicera).
The bush honeysuckle is a common bush shrub in the northeastern States.
It is to be found from Newfoundland south to North Carolina and west
to Minnesota. It is reported as common in New England and Ontario. In
Northern Minnesota, where it is abundant, beekeepers report that the
bees work it eagerly when the weather will permit. The flowers are not
showy, but the profuse bloom is rich in nectar. The blooming period
begins in June and, in some places, continues as late as August.