Chapter IV: 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.