SOURCES OF HONEY.
THE sources from which bees collect honey are various and almost
innumerable. Almost every flower, tree, plant, shrub and vine, in
field, forest, pasture and garden yield honey to some extent. White
clover is, perhaps, the greatest source of honey in the New England and
Middle States, it being found in a greater or less extent in almost
every field and pasture. South and West there is, in many localities, a
profusion of wild flowers, producing considerable quantities of honey.
In some sections buckwheat affords a rich harvest. Basswood yields a
very nice quality of honey, and in sections where it abounds, great
quantities are collected from it. Fruit blossoms--apple, pear, peach
and all the different varieties of plums, cherries, etc., are very
important sources of honey.
Pollen is the first material gathered by the bees in early spring.
Several varieties of alder, willow, red maple, etc., produce pollen
in great abundance. Raspberry, blackberry, catnip, dandelion, etc.,
all contribute largely of honey in their season. Corn and most kinds
of grain furnish pollen in abundance late in the season. Mustard and
sweet clover are great favorites with the busy bee, yielding the most
beautiful honey, clear as crystal and white as snow. The sugar maple
produces honey of excellent quality, and where forests of this tree
abound, large quantities of honey are stored, while it is in blossom
in early spring.[8] Locust, whitewood, mignonette, golden rod, sumach,
etc., all produce honey. When we take into consideration the fact that
the bee will go seven miles or more to collect his sweets, it is easy
to understand that a certain number of swarms will succeed in almost
any locality even without feeding. To make this still more clear,
we have only to take into account the vast number of honey yielding
flowers, trees, plants, shrubs, etc., within a circle of fourteen miles
in diameter, the hives occupying the centre, and the bees flying to
collect honey seven miles in every direction from the hive. Those who
have not tested the matter, will be likely to dispute the statement,
that a bee will go seven miles to gather honey. But on this point
I am able to offer ample proof, to establish, beyond a reasonable
doubt, the fact that the Italian bee will go that distance. The proof
I offer is this: The first Italian bees brought into the New England
States, I had the honor of receiving. The Italian bees being entirely
distinct from the native or black bees in color or size, I determined
to avail myself of the opportunity offered to satisfy myself on the
long-disputed question--"How far will a bee go to collect honey?" I
therefore made close and repeated examinations, at different times
during the honey season, and it was no uncommon occurrence, to find the
Italian workers seven miles from their hives. As there were no Italian
bees except mine within hundreds of miles, I considered this positive
proof that this variety will travel seven miles from its hive in its
search for honey-producing flowers. As the native or black bee is, to
some extent, found in all parts of the country, it is impossible to
prove conclusively the distance they will go from the hive; yet my
observations give very strong evidence that they journey five miles or
more after honey.
[Footnote 8: Climate and soil are so variable, it is impossible to
give the sources of honey so as to apply minutely to every locality. I
shall strive to designate the principal sources. The bee keeper will
very soon learn from experience and observation, what are the principal
sources of honey in that particular locality. Many different flowers,
trees and shrubs are found in one section yielding honey profusely
which do not exist in another.]
When the distance a bee will go for honey is so well established, and
having found from repeated tests that the flowers, when yielding honey,
may be visited many times each day by the bee, and yield at each visit
a bountiful supply, we can form some idea of the vast amount of honey
now permitted to go to waste, which might be collected by bees, stored
in nice boxes, and thus add wealth and enjoyment to the human family.
The question is often asked, "Which is best for bees, a wet or dry
season?" I think either extreme of very wet or very dry season is bad.
A warm, medium wet spring, followed by a summer of light and frequent
showers, will usually give a good yield of honey; while a cold wet, or
a cold dry spring, followed by a dry or very wet summer, produces a
light crop of honey from flowers.
The bee keeper sometimes finds his bees idle, when the flowers are in
bloom in profusion, the sun shining brightly, and to the superficial
observer, everything indicating honey in abundance. And yet the bees
are dormant, and scarcely one flying about the hives, notwithstanding
the hives and boxes are full of them. The truth of the matter is,
there is no honey in the flowers, although they are in full bloom.
The air is dry and clear. Suddenly there is a change, the atmosphere
becomes moist and charged with electricity, with occasionally light
showers. Immediately all is activity about the hives. The greatest
show of industry is manifested; scores of workers, and in some cases a
hundred, coming into each hive every minute, loaded with honey, many
of them so heavily weighted that they fall to the ground before they
reach the hive, where they rest a moment, and then try again, usually
succeeding in entering with their load. I have seen a change, as here
described, brought about in a half-hour's time in the middle of the
day, viz: The bees pass from an idle, almost an entirely dormant state,
to the greatest activity and industry. And all because a change in
the atmosphere had caused the flowers to secrete honey. The question
arises--How did the bees know at that particular hour there was a
change, and that the flowers, which a few minutes before were destitute
of honey, were now bountifully supplied? I answer, the bee was aware of
the change almost the moment it took place. The bee is very sensitive
to all atmospheric changes. A case in point will show this: The bees
are collecting honey abroad in the fields. The day is warm and balmy.
Suddenly there is the appearance of a shower, and distant thunder is
heard. Immediately the bees come rushing in from the fields, in clouds.
They cover the entire front of their hives, in their eagerness to gain
a shelter from the approaching rain. Again, if the morning is cloudy
and dark, with every appearance of rain, and you find the bees leaving
their hives for the fields, you may be quite certain that rain is not
near, and may expect soon to see the sun break forth and the clouds
disperse. If on the other hand there is an appearance of rain, and the
bees are quiet in their hives, it is quite sure to rain in a very short
time. How wonderful are the workings of nature. How great the sagacity
of the little, busy bee. Who dares say that this wonderful little
insect does not possess the power of reasoning? But I am digressing
from the subject.
Bees, in their journeys to collect honey, seldom visit more than one
species of flower, plant or shrub at one excursion; and this is a wise
provision of nature, for were it otherwise, and any and all species
visited promiscuously, the vegetable world would be thrown into chaos,
by the fertilizing dust of one species being imparted to another,
through the medium of the bee.
Pollen as fast as collected is deposited in little basket-like cavities
on the inside of the bee's posterior legs. It is packed in little
pellets, varying in size from that of a pin's head to a small pea. In
color it is usually yellow, but sometimes green or red. Hundreds of
bees may be seen entering the hives, with pollen, at almost any time
in the honey season, particularly in the morning before the dew is off
the grass. It is easier for the bees to collect it at this time, as
the moisture causes it the more readily to adhere to the cavities of
the legs. Honey when collected is deposited in the stomach of the bee,
in which it is borne to the hive, and there deposited in cells in the
comb. The bee has the power of raising this honey from its stomach, in
the same manner that all ruminating animals raise the cud.
Some have contended that bees cause an injury to all kinds of fruit,
such as apples, peaches, plums, etc., by taking away the substance and
sweetness, in the form of honey, which otherwise would be absorbed, and
eaten with the fruit. This is a great mistake. The provisions of nature
are wise in this respect as in all others. There is the strongest
evidence to prove that honey, once secreted in the cups of the tiny
blossoms, never returns to the flower or fruit, but evaporates and
passes into the air. Who, in passing an apple or peach orchard in full
bloom, has not noticed the delicious fragrance, which is undoubtedly
honey, which has evaporated from the myriads of blossoms. It is very
plain to the close observer that nature has placed in the cups of
flowers this honey, expressly as food for the honey bee, and that it is
in harmony with all her great and wonderful works.