PASTURAGE.
It is of the first importance to the success of an apiary, that it should
be in a neighbourhood where the bees can be supplied with an abundance of
good pasturage, as upon that will depend the fecundity of the queen and
the harvest of wax and honey.
If _Dutch clover_ (_Trifolium repens_) be neither grown abundantly by
the neighbouring farmers, nor the spontaneous growth of the surrounding
country, the apiarian should, if possible, crop some ground with it
himself, as it is one of the grand sources from which bees collect their
honey in the spring, and indeed during a considerable portion of the
principal gathering season. From the value of clover in this respect,
one species of it (_Trifolium pratense_) has acquired the name of
Honey-suckle clover. _Yellow trefoil_ also (_Medicago lupulina_), though
not so great a favourite with the bees as Dutch clover, is nevertheless
a valuable pasturage for them, in consequence of its blossoming earlier
than the clover.
Though I have made Dutch clover take precedence of every other bee
pasturage,--a precedence which in this country at least it is fairly
entitled to,--yet it is by no means the first in the order of the
seasons.
"First the gray willow's glossy pearls they steal.
Or rob the hazel of its golden meal,
While the gay crocus and the violet blue
Yield to the flexile trunk ambrosial dew."
+Evans+
The earliest resources of the bee are _the willow, the hazel, the
osier, the poplar, the sycamore_ and _the plane_, all which are very
important adjuncts to the neighbourhood of an apiary. The catkins of
several of them afford an abundant supply of farina, and attract the
bees very strongly in early spring when the weather is fine. Mr. Kirby,
in his _Monographia Apum Angliæ_, considers the _female_ catkins of the
different species of Salix as affording honey, the _male_ ones, pollen.
To these may be added _the snowdrop, the crocus, white alyssum,
laurustinus_, &c.
_Orange_ and _lemon trees_ also, and other _green-house plants_, afford
excellent honey, and might be advantageously presented to the bees at
this season.
_Gooseberry, currant_ and _raspberry trees_ likewise, with _sweet
marjoram, winter savory_ and _peppermint_, should not be far off them.
From the early blossoming of the two first, and from their yielding an
extraordinary quantity of honey, they form some of the first sources of
spring food for the bees, and in all probability furnish them with the
pale green pellets, then seen upon their thighs.
_The peach, nectarine_, &c. are also valuable, on account of their
blossoming very early.
_Apple_ and _pear trees_, which in Worcestershire and Herefordshire,
during several weeks of spring, seem to form
"One boundless blush, one white empurpled shower
Of mingled blossoms,"
and give those counties the appearance of a perfect paradise, "may be
said to constitute a second course for the bees, after their earlier
spring feast on the bloom of the currants, gooseberries, and all the
varieties of wall fruit."
_Alder buds_ and _flowers_ are also particularly grateful to bees; the
former are said to afford honey for six months together. The maple and
the lime also afford it for a considerable time.
Dickson, in his "Agriculture," states that the blossoms of _the bean_,
which are highly fragrant, though affording but a scanty supply of honey,
are nevertheless frequented by crowds of bees. "Is this," says Dr. Evans,
"an instance of mistaken instinct?"
The young spotted leaves of _the vetch_ (_Anthyllis vulneraria_) they
likewise ply continually for three months together, as well as its
flowers, even though very distant from their homes. The beans also which
prove most attractive to them are those with spotted leaves.
From the partiality of these natural chemists for the spotted leaves of
the vetch and bean, I suspect that the spotting originates from disease,
which causes those leaves to throw out a honeyed secretion. In this
opinion I am strengthened by what Mr. Hubbard has stated, in a paper
presented to the Society of Arts for 1799, respecting papilionaceous
plants. "It is not," says he, "from the flower, but a small leaf, with a
black spot on it, which, in warm weather, keeps constantly oozing, that
the bees gather their honey." Mr. Hubbard also assures us in the same
paper that _the tare_ (_Ervum hirsutum_ et _tetraspermum_) is highly
useful to bees; and that several acres, sown near his apiary, otherwise
badly situated, rendered it very productive.
_Turnips, mustard_, and all _the cabbage tribe_ are also important
auxiliaries; their culture is strongly recommended by Wildman, as
affording spring food to the bees. In the autumn a field of _buckwheat_
becomes a very valuable resource for them, from its prolonged succession
of bloom. Buckwheat flowers in bunches, which contain ripe seeds in one
part, while blossoms are but just opening in another. Huber has given
his testimony in favour of this black grain, and Worlidge says that he
has known the bees of a very large apiary fill the combs with honey
in a fortnight, in consequence of being placed near a large field of
buckwheat. Bees indeed like to have every thing upon a large scale; whole
fields of clover, beans, the brassica tribe and buckwheat, as has been
just observed, attracting them much more strongly than scattered plants,
though affording finer honey, such as creeping lemon thyme, mignonette,
&c.
Some flowers they pass by, though yielding a considerable quantity of
honey: those of the honey-suckle for instance, though much frequented by
the humble-bee, are never visited by the hive-bee, the superior length
of the proboscis of the former enabling it to collect what is quite out
of the reach of the latter. Every flower of the trumpet honey-suckle
(_Lonicera sempervirens_), if separated from the germen, after it is
open, will yield two or three drops of pure nectar.
In the Transactions of the Society of Arts for 1789, Mr. John. Lane
speaks of the fondness of bees for _leek blossoms_, and says that he
raised leeks extensively for their use.
"Your bees will rejoice," says Mr. Isaac, "when they see the
neighbourhood variegated by the blossoms of _sunflowers, hollyhocks_
and _Spanish broom_, and even the _dandelion_, which embellishes the
garden of the sluggard." Dr. Evans observed that bees not only collect
farina from the numerous assemblage of anthers in the flower of the
hollyhock, but a balsamic varnish also, (most likely propolis,) from
the young blossom buds, and says he has seen a bee rest upon the same
bud for ten minutes at least, moulding the balsam with its fore-feet and
transferring it to the hinder legs. An elegant modern writer, speaking
of the fondness of bees in general for the flowers of the hollyhock,
observes that "it has been held a gross libel upon animals to say, that a
man has made a beast of himself, when he has drunk to such excess as to
lose his reason; but we might without injustice say, that he has made a
humble-bee of himself, for those little debauchees are particularly prone
to intoxication. Round the nectaries of hollyhocks, you may generally
observe a set of determined topers quaffing as pertinaciously as if they
belonged to Wilkes's club; and round about the flower, (to follow up the
simile,) several of the bon-vivants will be found lying on the ground
inebriated and insensible." I have frequently seen the ground beneath
one of my pear-trees strewed over with hive-bees and wasps, in a similar
state, after they had banqueted upon the rich juices of the fallen fruit.
Mr. Kirby, in his _Monographia Apum Angliæ_, observes that the male
humble-bees, when the thistles are in bloom, are often seen asleep or
torpid upon its flowers, and sometimes acting as if intoxicated with the
sweets they have been imbibing.
_The holly, the privet, phillyrea, elder_ and _common bramble_,
together with _sweet fennel, nasturtiums_ and _asparagus_, are also
much frequented by the bees. They are likewise very partial to the
yellow flowers of the _crowfoot_, as well as to the flowers of _the dead
nettle_, especially the white.
The blossoms of _the cucumber, gourd_ and _vegetable marrow_ also, yield
a considerable quantity both of honey and farina, as do likewise those of
the _white lily_.
"Apes æstate serenâ
Floribus insidunt variis, et Candida circum
Lilia funduntur."
+Virgil.+
Dr. Evans speaks of the _Cacalia_ or _Alpine coltsfoot_ as affording
a great quantity of honey, the scent of which is often diffused to a
considerable distance; and Dr. Darwin, in a note to his "Botanic Garden,"
mentions having counted on one of those plants, besides bees of various
kinds, upwards of two hundred painted butterflies, which gave it the
appearance of being loaded with additional flowers.
"When o'er her nectar'd couch papilios crowd.
And bees in clusters hum their plaudits loud."
+Evans.+
"What is it," says the anonymous writer whom I lately quoted, "that
brings the bees buzzing round us so busily? See, it is this tuft of
coltsfoot, which they approach with a harmonious chorus, somewhat like
the _Non nobis, Domine_, of our singers; and after partaking silently of
the luxurious banquet, again setup their tuneful Pæans."
Ornamental flowers, such as roses, ranunculuses, anemones, pinks and
carnations, afford little or no pabulum for bees, and tulips are probably
pernicious to them, dead bees being frequently found in their flowers.
It would be a great acquisition to the bees to have near them a large
plantation of _borage_, which affords peculiarly delicate honey, as
does also _viper's bugloss_. The former continues blooming for many
months, and, bearing a pendant flower, it is not liable to be washed by
rain; _mignonette_ too, if sown abundantly, is a plant of considerable
importance to the apiary, and for a somewhat similar reason,--its
continuing in bloom till the autumnal frosts set in, and its yielding
honey of peculiar whiteness and delicacy. Instances have been known, of
an abundant crop of these two flowers affording a large supply of honey
to the apiary, near which they were sown, when, at the same time, there
was a general failure of all the neighbouring stocks.
_Lemon thyme_ should be planted in every bee-garden, wherever room can be
afforded for it: it blossoms late, (the beginning of August,) and affords
very fine flavoured honey. It might be advantageously used as an edging
for garden walks and flower-beds, instead of box; some use thrift and
daisies for the same purpose. Box has the character of giving honey a
bitter flavour, and Pliny has observed that the Romans, in laying tribute
upon Corsica, exacted from the inhabitants two hundred pounds of wax, but
wholly excepted honey, on account of its being flavoured by the box-tree.
_The common teasel_ (_Dipsacus sylvestris_) should have a place near
every bee-house, as it not only supplies honey from its rich purple
heads, but yields a seasonable supply of water, in the cups formed by
the leaves at every joint of the stem, which contain from a spoonful
to half a pint of water. This convenience is still more efficiently
supplied by the large floating leaves of _the water lily_, which should
if practicable be introduced near every apiary. As should also the great
hairy _willow-herb_ (_Epilobium hirsutum_), a very ornamental though a
very common plant, growing by the sides of rivulets.
_Furze, broom, heath_ and _saintfoin_, are good neighbours to an apiary.
The blossoms of furze so abound with honey as to be pervaded strongly
by the scent of it, and the broom has been extolled ever since the days
of Pliny. Mr. Bradley speaks in the highest terms of its blossoms,
as affording a great quantity of honey; but he greatly prefers the
Spanish broom, and says that an acre of it would maintain ten stocks.
The culture of saintfoin as a bee-pasture is also well worthy of the
apiarian's attention in some situations; for though it flourishes best in
a calcareous soil, it will thrive in soils which are too poor either for
grass or tillage. Furze and broom are particularly serviceable on account
of their blossoming early and long, and abounding in farina.
On the other hand, the lateness of its bloom makes _ivy_ a very valuable
resource for the bees. On a fine day at the end of October, among the
ivy-mantled towers of an old castle, I have heard their humming noise,
so loud as scarcely to be exceeded by that which they make, among the
trees affected with honey-dew, in summer. I should however conceive that
the ivy blossom is principally serviceable as affording pollen, which
the bees probably warehouse, for feeding the young larvæ in the ensuing
spring. Mr. Hunter recommends St. John's wort (_Hypericum perforatum_),
which also comes in late, as a favourite plant for collecting pollen,
for winter's store. This stored pollen is used for feeding the earliest
hatched larvæ, though it is evident that the bees prefer fresh for the
purpose, from their collecting it as early in the spring as possible, and
from the quantity of stored pollen that is found in every old hive.
_Commons surrounded by woods_ are well known to make an apiary
productive, the commons abounding with wild thyme and various other
flowers, which the scythe never touches; and the trees, in addition
to their farina, affording in some seasons a profusion of honey-dew.
The forwardness and activity of hives thus situated, may, in part, be
attributed to the sheltering protection of the woods.
Keys says he never observed bees to be particularly fond of the wild
thyme. In this he is opposed to almost all the authors who have written
upon the subject. Theophrastus, Pliny, Varro, Columella, and various
other writers, speak in the highest terms of it. The Abbé Barthelemy
speaks thus of bees. "These insects are extremely partial to Mount
Hymettus, which they have filled with their colonies, and which is
covered almost every where with wild thyme and other odoriferous plants;
but it is chiefly from the excellent thyme the Mount produces, that they
extract those precious sweets, with which they compose a honey in high
estimation throughout Greece."
"Here their delicious task the fervent Bees,
In swarming millions, tend: around, athwart,
Through the soft air the busy nations fly,
Cling to the bud, and, with inserted tube.
Suck its pure essence, its ethereal soul;
And oft with bolder wing, they soaring dare
The purple heath, or where the wild thyme grows,
And yellow load them with the luscious spoil."
+Thomson+
That flowers impart a portion of their flavour to honey, seems to be
generally admitted, though probably not so much as some have imagined. It
is not to be supposed that the bee confines itself, in this country at
least, to a few particular flowers,--it ranges through a great variety;
excellent honey has been produced where the bees had little access to any
flowers but those of nettles and other weeds.
Still however the balm of Pontus, the thyme of Hymettus, and the rosemary
of Narbonne, are generally supposed, from their aromatic flowers, to give
its peculiar excellence to the celebrated honey of those places.
It should seem therefore that _rosemary_ might prove of importance in
the neighbourhood of an apiary, by improving the quality and increasing
the quantity of honey in certain seasons, viz. if the weather were very
hot and dry, when it blossomed; for it never affords much honey in this
country, excepting in such a season. It blossoms the earliest of aromatic
herbs, and should of course be planted in a southern aspect.
Having said thus much upon the power which flowers possess of imparting
a peculiar flavour to the honey which is extracted from them, I will
now advert to what has been stated relative to their impregnating it
with deleterious qualities. During the celebrated retreat of the ten
thousand, as recorded by Xenophon in his _Memorabilia_, the soldiers
sucked some honey-combs in a place near Trebizonde, where was a great
number of bee-hives, and in consequence became intoxicated, and were
attacked with vomiting and purging. He states that they did not recover
their senses for twenty-four hours, nor their strength for three or four
days. Tournefort, when travelling in Asia, bearing in mind this account
of Xenophon, was very diligent in his endeavours to ascertain its truth,
and had good reason to be satisfied respecting it. He concluded that the
honey had been extracted from a shrub growing in the neighbourhood of
Trebizonde, which is well known to produce the before-mentioned effects,
and even to disturb the head by its odour. From his description and that
of others, the plant from which this honey was extracted, appears to be
the _Rhododendron ponticum_ or _Azalea pontica_ of Linnæus, both nearly
allied to each other, and growing abundantly in that part of the country.
The smell resembles honey-suckle, but is much stronger. Father Lamberti
confirms Xenophon's account, by stating similar effects to have been
produced by the honey of Colchis or Mingrelia, where this shrub is also
common.
Dr. Darwin, in his "Temple of Nature," states that some plants afford
a honey which is intoxicating and poisonous to man, and that what is
afforded by others is so injurious to the bees themselves, that sometimes
they will not collect it. And Dr. Barton, in the American Philosophical
Transactions, has stated that, in the autumn and winter of 1790, the
honey collected near Philadelphia proved fatal to many, in consequence
of which, a minute inquiry was instituted under the direction of the
American Government, when it was ascertained satisfactorily, that the
fatal honey had been chiefly extracted from the flowers of the _Kalmia
latifolia_. Still more recently, two persons at New York are said to have
lost their lives by eating wild honey, which was supposed to have been
gathered from the flowers of the dwarf laurel, a thriving shrub in the
American woods. I shall resume this subject in Chap. 24, on Bee-maladies.
It appears also that at the time of the inquiry set on foot by the
American Government, similar fatal consequences were produced among those
who had eaten the common American pheasant, which, on examination, was
found to arise from the pheasants having fed upon the leaves of the same
plant _Kalmia latifolia_. This led to a public proclamation prohibiting
the use of the pheasant for food during that season.
As most of the plants here enumerated are now introduced into our
gardens, they might be supposed to injure the British honey. Most
probably, however, their proportion to the whole of the flowers in bloom
is too small to produce any such inconvenience; whereas on their native
continent they exclusively cover whole tracts of country.
I cannot close this chapter on Bee-Pasturage, without adverting to what
Linnæus has said of the _Fritillaria imperialis_ or _crown imperial_, and
of the _Melianthus_ or _honey-flower_. Of the former, he observes that
"no plant, melianthus alone excepted, abounds so much with honey, yet the
bees do not collect it." Of the latter he remarks "that if it be shaken,
whilst in flower, it distils a shower of nectar." This observation
applies more particularly to the _Melianthus major_. And with respect to
the _Fritillaria_, Dr. Evans says, "that the bees do sometimes visit it;
and he thinks that they would do so oftener, but for the disagreeable
fox-like smell that emanates from it."
The _liquidambar_ and _liriodendrum_, or _tulip-tree_, both which are
so ornamental, the former to our shrubberies and the latter to larger
plantations, have been much extolled, as affording food for bees. The
liquidambar bears bright saffron-coloured flowers, and highly perfumed
and glossy leaves, and its whole rind exudes a fragrant gum. The
liriodendrum is crowned with large bell-shaped blossoms, of every rainbow
hue, which give it a very splendid appearance.