CHAPTER VI._The honey bee: a manual of instruction in apiculture

=BEE PASTURAGE.=

Bees obtain their food from such a variety of sources that there

are few localities in our country where a small apiary could not be

made to yield a surplus above its own needs. Even in the center of

our larger cities bees placed on the roofs of stores and dwellings

have often furnished quite a surplus gathered from the gardens of

the city and its environs. Again, in regions where the soil is too

light, rocky, or wet to admit of profitable cultivation, it is often

the case that honey-producing plants abound; indeed, waste land is

frequently far more profitable for the honey-producer than fields that

have been brought under cultivation, especially when the latter are

mainly devoted to grain or potato raising, for insignificant weeds

in field or swamp often yield honey abundantly, and among the best

yielders are certain forest trees, whose blossoms, by reason of their

distance from the ground and in some instances their small size, escape

notice. Showy flowers made double by the gardener's skill, such as

roses, dahlias, chrysanthemums, etc., have rarely any attraction for

our honey bees. Moreover, the small number of these ornamental plants

usually found in any one locality renders the honey yield, even in

case they are abundant secreters of nectar, so slight that they are

of little value. The novice who is seeking to determine the honey

resources of his locality should therefore not be led into error by

these. He should compare the flora of his locality with reliable lists

of honey-producing plants, and, if possible, consult some practical

bee-master familiar with his surroundings. And all information on this

score should be fully accepted only after careful verification, as it

is very easy for anyone to be deceived regarding the sources of given

honey yields--plants which produce abundantly one season not always

yielding the next, or those that produce honey freely in one portion

of the country not yielding anything in another. Soil and climate, the

variations of successive seasons, and all other conditions affecting

plant growth--conditions which even the most skillful scientific

agriculturists admit are exceedingly difficult to understand, and in

many respects, as yet unexplainable--influence the amount and quality

of nectar secreted by a given plant.

The danger of overstocking is largely imaginary, yet in establishing

a large apiary it is of course essential to look to the natural

resources of the location, and especially to decide only upon a place

where two or more of the leading honey-producing plants are present in

great numbers. In the North, willows, alder, maples, dandelion, fruit

blossoms, tulip tree (frequently called whitewood), locust, clovers

(white, alsike, crimson, and mammoth red), with alfalfa and melilot,

chestnut, linden or basswood, Indian corn, buckwheat, fireweed,

willow-herb, knotweeds, mints, cleome, golden-rods, Spanish needle, and

asters may be cited as the chief sources of pollen and honey; and of

these the tulip tree, locust, white clover, alfalfa, melilot, linden,

and buckwheat furnish most of the surplus honey. The fruit blossoms,

with the exception of raspberry, come so early that a small proportion

only of the colonies are sufficiently strong to store surplus, and of

course this statement applies with still more force to plants which

blossom before apple, pear, cherry, etc. Some of the clovers, mustard,

rape, cultivated teasel, chestnut, barberry, sumac coral berry,

pleurisy root, fireweed, borage, mints, willow-herb, Spanish needles,

cleome, etc., though yielding well, are only found abundantly over

certain areas, and do not therefore supply any considerable portion

of the honey that appears on the market, though when any of them are

plentiful in a certain locality the bee keeper located there will find

in nearly all cases that the surplus honey is greatly increased thereby.

[Illustration: Fig. 44.--Willow herb (_Epilobium angustifolium_). A,

young flower: _s_, stigma turned back: _a_, anthers; _l_, lobe or pod.

B, older flower: _s_, stigma turned forward; _a_, anthers: _l_, lobe.

C, spike of flowers. D, section of pollen grain: _e_, extine; _i_,

intine; _ti_, thick intine; _f_, fovilla. E, growing point of pollen

grain: _e, e_, extine; _i, i_, intine; _f_, fovilla; _pt_, pollen tube.

(From Cheshire.)]

In the middle section of our country, from Maryland, Virginia, and

North Carolina westward, most of the sources named above are present,

although the maples (particularly hard maple) furnish less, and fruit

bloom, the clovers, linden, and buckwheat are not as great yielders

as in the North. Sourwood or sorrel tree, mountain laurels, sour gum

or tupelo, huckleberry, cowpea, magnolia, and persimmon make up in

part for these, the sourwood being especially important, while in some

localities certain species of asters yield very abundantly. The tulip

tree (known commonly as poplar) is a greater yielder than in the North,

while in the western portion of the middle section the Rocky Mountain

bee plant or cleome and more extensive areas of alfalfa and melilot are

very important sources.

In the more southern States fruit bloom is far from being as great a

source of honey as in the North, though with the extension of orange

groves in Florida and Louisiana an increased production of very fine

honey maybe looked for in those States. The titi, magnolia, palmetto,

and black mangrove yield well in some parts, and sour gum (tupelo or

pepperidge), cotton, and pennyroyal are sources not to be overlooked.

In Texas horsemint and mesquite, the latter also extending farther

West, furnish fine yields, while many mountain localities of southern

California are clothed with white and black sages--wonderful honey

producers. In certain localities there the orange and other fruit

orchards, and also wild buckwheat, give the bees excellent pasturage

for a portion of the year.

Certain small homopterous insects, such as plant-lice, bark-lice,

mealy-wings, and some leaf-hoppers, which congregate on the leaves or

bark of various plants and trees, notably pines, oaks, and beeches,

and suck their juices, secrete a sweet liquid, which is often taken

up by bees as it falls on the surrounding vegetation. This secretion,

commonly known as honeydew, or plant-louse honey, is usually of an

inferior qua lit y, though that from pine-tree aphides is sometimes

fairly good. Most of it granulates very soon after having been

gathered, sometimes even before the cells have been sealed.

Under peculiar conditions of the atmosphere sweet exudations, also

known as honeydew, drop from the leaves of certain plants and are

eagerly taken up by the bees. This substance is sometimes very abundant

and of excellent quality. It should not, however, be confounded with

the secretions of extra-floral glands such as are possessed by the

cowpea, horse bean, partridge pea, and vetches. These seem to be

natural productions for the purpose of attracting insects to the

plants, while the former is apparently an accidental exudation through

the plant pores, brought about very likely by some sudden change of

temperature. Both are, however, merely the saccharine juices of the

plant, and when refined by the bees may become excellent honey.

CULTIVATION OF HONEY PLANTS.

In all localities there will probably be found intervals during

the working season when bees will find very little or even nothing

gather, unless supplied by cultivation. When possible it is ah best

to till in such intervals with some honey-producing plant which at

the same time furnishes some other product--fruit, grain, forage,

green manure, or timber. The attempt to cultivate any plant for its

honey alone has not thus far been found profitable, in practice,

however promising it may seem theoretically. Catnip (_Nepeta

cataria_), motherwort (_Leonurus cardiaca_), globe thistle (_Echinops

sphærocephalus_), figwort (_Scrophularia nodosa_), bee balm (_Melissa

officinalis_), borage (_Borago officinalis_), Rocky Mountain cleome

(_Cleome serrulata_), melilot or sweet clover (_Melilotus alba_), and

linden (_Tilia americana_) have all been recommended repeatedly and

tried here and there somewhat extensively. But thus far the hope of

securing a sufficient increase in the crop of honey to pay for the

cultivation of these plants has in all cases had to be abandoned.

With the appreciation in value of agricultural lands the prospects

for the profitable cultivation of any crop for honey alone are still

further removed. Yet the writer is fully convinced that in the future,

especially in the older portions of our country, eminent success in

bee raising will require much more attention to the furnishing of

artificial pasturage for the bees, a close study, in fact, of the

bee flora of one's locality, and a systematic effort to supply the

deficiencies by sowing self-propagating honey plants, and such as may

be cultivated with profit for other reasons besides their honey yield.

[Illustration: Fig. 45.--Wagner a flat pea (_Lathyrus sylvestris

wagneri_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 46.--Dwarf Essex or winter rape (_Brassica napus_).]

Among those plants which have just been mentioned as having been

cultivated at various times for their honey alone, the linden for shade

and ornament as well as for timber, catnip for sale as an herb or to

secure its seed, and melilot for forage or green manuring are the only

ones which, under present conditions, might in some cases be profitably

cultivated. There may be introduced with advantage, however, all such

honey-producing plants as, with one sowing or planting, will readily

propagate themselves and without cultivation extend their area along

roadsides and over waste lands, always excepting of course such as may

become troublesome weeds. For this purpose most of the plants referred

to above are available, and many others which like these are adapted to

one portion or another of our country might be added, as, for example,

pleurisy root or butterfly weed (_Asclepias tuberosa_), Indian currant

or coral berry (_Symphoricarpos symphoricarpos_), viper's bugloss

(_Echium vulgare_), lady's thumb (_Polygonum persicaria_), horsemint

(_Monarda citriodora_), willow-herb (_Epilobium angustifolium_),

etc., but of course it can not be expected that they will thrive and

thoroughly establish themselves without further attention, except

in such localities as present very favorable conditions for their

growth. Furthermore, there is always the risk that a plant which yields

honey abundantly in one part of the country may not do so in another

region, even though it grows well, so that it is necessary in most

cases, especially with wild plants, to test them anew before extensive

introduction, no matter how well established their reputation as honey

producers may be elsewhere.

[Illustration: Fig. 47.--Summer or bird rape (_Brassica napus_).]

Among plants of economic value in other directions fruit trees and

shrubs are to be counted as of much importance to bees. The apple and

the cherry yield well, the others less, though the gooseberry, were it

more plentiful, would be of considerable value. Strawberry blossoms

are, in general, visited sparingly and yield only a small amount, but

the raspberry, coming later, when the colonies are stronger, is a most

important source, greatly liked by the bees, and furnishing as fine a

quality of honey as is known. Ten acres in raspberries will furnish

pasturage for three weeks to 75 or 100 colonies of bees. Mustard for

seed, and rape for pasture and seed, may be made to furnish much to

the bees in early spring. Buckwheat honey is dark and strong, but is

relished by some, and when well ripened is good winter food for bees,

so that whenever this plant can be made to blossom at a time when the

bees find nothing better and a crop of grain can also be harvested from

it, a plentiful supply should by all means be sown: the clovers, white,

alsike, crimson, and mammoth or medium red may be sown for pasturage,

hay, forage, for purposes of green manuring, or for seed, and honey of

fine quality obtained if a sufficient number of blossoms are allowed to

appear.

[Illustration: Fig. 48.--Sacaline or giant knotweed (Polygonum

sachalinense).]

[Illustration: Fig. 49.--Russian or hairy vetch (Vicia villosa).]

Alfalfa (_Medicago sativa_), a most important honey producer as well

as perennial forage crop, can be grown over a much greater area of the

United States than has heretofore been generally supposed. Sainfoin

(_Onobrychis sativa_) and serradella (_Ornithopus sativus_), both most

excellent honey plants, have not received the attention they merit

either North or South. Japan clover (_Lespedeza striata_) is grown

profitably in the South, and more even might be expected from the

introduction of sulla clover (_Hedysarum coronarium_) there, the latter

a great honey producer. Chicory, even on poor soil, is a good honey and

pollen plant. Northern bee keepers should try the dwarf (quick-growing)

varieties of cowpeas (_Vigna sinensis_) extensively grown in the

South for forage and green manuring. Vetches are of recognized value

for the same purposes, especially the Russian hairy vetch (_Vicia

villosa_). Sacaline (_Polygonum sachalinense_) and flat peas (_Lathyrus

sylvestris_) are visited by bees, and in certain situations may be

found of value otherwise. Peppermint (_Mentha piperita_) yields well in

July and August. Parsnips (_Pastinaca sativa_) when grown for seed are

assiduously visited by bees for honey during June. July, and August.

Gorse or furze (_Ulex europæus_) for forage may prove valuable in some

localities here, as it is highly esteemed in some parts of Europe.

Its odorous yellow blossoms, much frequented by bees, appear in May.

Filbert bushes (_Corylus avellana_) will grow in many portions of our

country, yielding, besides nuts, an abundance of early pollen, even in

February or March. The carob tree (_Ceratonia siliqua_) succeeds in the

Southwest, yielding a crop of economic value, besides a harvest in

late summer for bees. It is also a fine ornamental tree. There are no

finer shade or ornamental trees for the lawn or roadside than lindens

(basswoods) and horse-chestnuts. To these chestnut, locust, sourwood,

and tulip trees may be added. The timber of all is useful; and since

they are great honey yielders their propagation near the apiary is very

desirable.

Bees range ordinarily within 2 or 3 miles in all directions from their

homes, but sometimes go farther. Pasturage to be especially valuable,

however, should be within 2 miles, and less than a mile distant to

the main source is quite preferable. The advantage is probably not so

much in the saving of time in going back and forth, for bees fly with

great rapidity, but because when sudden storms arise, especially those

accompanied by high winds, the heavily laden bees are more likely to

reach home safely and the hive will not be decimated of its gathering

force.

BEES AS CROSS-FERTILIZERS.

Allusion has already been made in this bulletin to the importance of

bees in the complete cross fertilization of fruit blossoms and to the

fact that certain varieties of pears have been found to be completely

self-sterile, requiring, therefore, pollen from other varieties before

they can develop perfect seeds and fruits. It is interesting to study

the ways in which cross fertilization of plants is secured through the

visits of insects. The part that bees perform in the development and

perpetuation of numerous ornamental and economic plants is thereby

clearly shown. Space will only permit the introduction here of one or

two examples. The willow-herb, which is an abundant secreter of nectar

and thus attracts bees freely, illustrates one feature in pollination

by bees. A young blossom of this plant (fig. 44, A) shows the stamens

maturing and shedding their pollen, while the pistil remains curved

downward and with closed stigmas. In the older flower (fig. 44, B), the

stamens having shed their pollen and begun to wither, the pistil has

straightened up and exposed its stigmatic surfaces for the reception

of the pollen which a bee chancing to come from a younger blossom is

likely to bring. Self-pollination is thus positively prevented and

cross fertilization is insured.

In the mountain laurel the anthers are held securely by little pockets

in the corolla, so that as the flower opens the stamens are found bent

over (fig. 50, B) ready to be liberated (fig. 50, C) by the visit of a

bee. When the stamen flies up the pollen is discharged from the anther

and dusted on the underside of the bee. The latter as it alights on the

next flower naturally touches the stigma first and rubs off some of the

pollen it has brought from the last flower visited. It then proceeds to

secure the nectar of the flower on which it has just alighted, and in

doing this liberates the stamens of this flower and gets dusted again

with pollen, which it carries to the next flower.

[Illustration: Fig. 50.--Mountain laurel (_Kalmia latifolia_). A,

flowering branch. B, expanded flower: _ap_, anther pocket. C, section

of expanded flower: _ap, ap_, anther pockets; _s_, stigma: _a_, anther

(free); _pg_, pollen grains in shower: _ca_, calyx. D, section of

flower bud: _ap_, anther pocket. E, stamen more enlarged: _a_, anther;

_po_, pores; _pg_, pollen grains; _f_, filament. (From Cheshire.)]

[Illustration: Fig. 51.--Apple (_Pyrus malus_), showing structure of

flower and result of imperfect fertilization. A, blossom: _s_, stigmas;

_a_, anthers; _p_, petal; _s′_, sepal; _ca_, calyx; _d_, dissepiment.

B, cross section of imperfectly developed fruit: _f, f_, fertilized

carpels; _u_, unfertilised carpel. (From Cheshire.)]

The cross section of an imperfectly developed apple shown herewith

(fig. 51, B) illustrates the importance of complete fertilization of

fruit blossoms. The seed vessel at u shows only an abortive seed,

and the side of the fruit nearest this point is also correspondingly

undeveloped. This is owing to imperfect or complete lack of

fertilization of this carpel, five distinct fertilizations being

necessary to produce a perfect fruit. Bees being, during the period

of fruit blossoms, the most abundant insects that might effect the

necessary distribution of the pollen of these flowers, the importance

is at once seen of having an apiary in or near the orchard. Continued

rainy or cold weather may keep the bees confined to their hives much of

the time during fruit bloom, hence it is advisable to have them near

at hand and in numbers proportionate to the size of the orchards, so

that even a few hours of sunshine will assure their making a thorough

distribution of the pollen. In the absence of accurate experiments

regarding the number of colonies of bees required to insure proper

fertilization in the orchard, and also in view of the fact that

surrounding conditions vary greatly, it is difficult to say exactly how

many colonies are positively necessary for a given number of trees.

However, four or five well-populated hives for every hundred large

apple trees will doubtless suffice, even though no other hive bees are

within a mile of the orchard. The bees of a neighbor's apiary are often

quite sufficient for the orchardist's purpose, the benefit resulting

from their labors being, therefore, mutual, though the orchardist

doubtless derives in this case greater advantage from them than does

their owner himself. Escaped swarms lodged in forest trees in the

vicinity of the orchard are sometimes sufficiently numerous to perform

the work well. The great value of bees as cross fertilizers makes their

destruction a serious injury to the interests of the fruit grower.

Therefore spraying with arsenicals during fruit bloom should never be

practiced. The injurious insects can be reached quite as well before

and after the blooming period.

[Illustration: Fig. 52.--Heath-like wild aster (_Aster ericoides_).

(Original.)]