BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Beginning with North Texas, which includes the Panhandle country, beekeeping is not prominent except in a few favorable localities. The greater part of this division is level plains country where stock raising, wheat growing and other agricultural pursuits are followed. Its vast, level topography and the lack of honey yielding flora, with severe cold weather in winter and extreme hot and dry summers at times, make it, as a whole, not well suited to beekeeping. However, there are some localities in the eastern part of this section, especially along the Red River and adjacent valleys, that are well adapted to beekeeping.
The mesquite tree (_Prosopis_) areas extend into the southern part of this North Texas division, and in some places, where cotton yields honey in connection with it, bees may be kept profitably. Horsemint (_Monarda_) and cotton are the main sources in the eastern portion, and in a few places are supplemented by sweet elover (_Mellilotus_), which is abundant in some places where it was planted previously. Other minor honey and pollen yielding plants help in the building up of the colonies.
Just below this, Central Texas occupies the middle portion of the State. It covers the main black land agricultural districts with intervening high ridge lands and smaller valleys. Horsemint and mesquite are here the two most prominent natural sources, and cotton honey is produced abundantly. In addition to a vast number of minor plants throughout the spring and summer, sumach (_Rhus_) and broom-weed (_Guttierezia_) produce honey in the fall. There are some excellent localities in Central Texas, especially where horsemint, mesquite and cotton can be depended upon in the same locality. During favorable seasons, one of these three main sources will insure a profitable crop. However, it is wise to locate where more than one source can be depended on in ease one of them fails.
East Texas has few large honey plants, but a good many small ones. Fruit growing is of great importance in this part of the State. The orehards, covering thousands of acres, not only make it profitable to keep bees in small numbers for honey production, but for pollenizing fruit blossoms, for which their services are absolutely necessary. In the southern portion of East Texas, bass-wood (_Tilia_) prevails in the forest districts and yields an abundance of light colored honey. During a favorable season the yield is so great that the bees are unable to store it. The flow is very rapid and of rather short duration. Holly (_Ilex_), Chinquapin (_Castanaea_) and other bloomers help out during the season.
In South Texas, which practically includes the lower coast country east of the Guadalupe River valley, bekeeping is not so profitable. The rattan vine (_Berchemia_) is very abundant, together with other honey yielding vines and plants in some parts, especially in the low places and along the water courses. The honey is dark in color as a rule, although of good flavor. Most of it is shipped in barrels to large bakeries. In a few favored locations bees do well, but immense stretches of low lands are without suitable flora for bekeeping.
West Texas resembles the western part of North Texas, on account of its close proximity thereto. Its level prairies are, however, checkered by river canyons, along which the natural honey yielding flora is abundant, especially in the southern portion, which extends in a rough line to that section traversed by the Southern Pacific railway, which will be used, for convenience, as a southern boundary of West Texas. In the agricultural districts, alfalfa (_Medicago_) is reported a main honey source where it is abundantly grown. There are large areas of mesquite, cats-elaw (_Acacia_) and other honey yieldeds in abundance in and adjacent to the canyons. There are many places not suitable to bekeeping, however; especially in those sections where rainfall is deficient and drouths are long and severe.
Southwest Texas can well be considered the most important section for bekeeping, as honey yielding flora is here most abundant. Although a semi-arid region, there are numerous honey-yielding plants and trees, mostly of shrub-like nature. Among these is the mesquite (_Prosopis_), which covers the prairies. This yields in favorable years great stores of honey of a very light annebor color and of good flavor. There are two distinct and separate, and sometimes three, blooming periods in each year. The first oceurs in early April, earlier or later aeroding to the season. This lasts for several weeks. In it pods, or ''beans,' are formed, so that ripe and immature beans are on the trees when the second blooming period opens in June and July. As a regular yielded this source can be depended upon. The most important source in Southwest Texas, however, is the 'huajilla' brush, pronounced, 'wa-he-ah' (_Acacia berlandieraBenth.) It blooms in April and yields nectar, for a period of about two weeks, in such abundance that it is impossible for the bees to gather it in favorable seasons. It is perhaps the most light colored and mild flavored honey produced in the State; has a most delicate aroma, and has become famous for its excellent quality. "Cats-claw'; abounds in this portion of the State and produces excellent honey very early in the season. Mesquite, "'huajilla' and "'eats-claw' are the three main sources in Southwest Texas. "Cats-claw" blooms so early in some years that late cold weather sometimes cuts off this source to some extent, if not all together.
Besides these main honey yieldeds, there are scores of other more or less important honey-yielding and pollen-producing plants and shrubs, as well as trees, that provide more or less forage for the bees almost throughout the year. The main honey flows in this part of the State, however, come during the spring months and are of short duration, but the nectar is produced in such abundance that enormous crops are obtained.
## Other Honey Plants.
From the author's extensive collection of about four hundred species of Texas honey-yielding plants, the following is a list of some that are more or less worthy of remark and not already mentioned.
The earliest bloomer, important for early brood-rearing, is the mistletoe (_Phoradenron_), a parasite on most of our hard-wood trees. It yields pollen, and some honey, in December and January. Triple-leafed barberry (_Berberis_) is a bush that blooms next in importance for brood-rearing, yielding immense quantities of pollen in January, February and sometimes as late as March. Then fruit-bloom begins with the plums (_Prunus_), of which there are many species, both wild and cultivated, followed by pears, peaches and other fruits for several months in succession. In February and March the oaks (_Quercus_), of many species, also yield much pollen. The willows (_Salix_), and the elms (_Ulmus_), aid much in stimulating brood-rearing. Hoar-hound (_Marubium_) begins blooming in February, and lasts until summer. This yields an amber honey of a rather nauseating flavor. but which is lost in time. As it is generally mixed with mild honey from other sources, no serious complaint is made against it.
The trees belonging to the hickory family (_Hicoria_), to which the pecan and hiekory nut belong, and also the walnut (_Juglans_), yield pollen and some honey; also the cottonwood-trees (_Populus_). These are followed in March and April by a carpet over the entire open country and prairies of our State flower, commonly known as "'blue-bonnet,' the blue lupine (_Lupinus subcarnosus_), which yields pollen of various colors, from the palest yellow to the deepest red and orange. Redbud (_Cercis_), otherwise known as Judas-tree, is another stimulator early in the season.
Along regions where light, stony and adobe uplands prevail, what is known as roek-brush (_Eysenhardtia_), yields an abundance of excellent honey in April and May. Several species of holly (_Ilex_), also bloom during this time. Two species of persimmons (_Diospyros_), are very common in Texas, and yield much honey, especially the black Texas persimmon of the western part of the State, while the yellow kind is common in East Texas. Several species of crotons (_Croton_), in May and June, yield pollen. These are found in most parts of the State, and furnish some pollen even during severe drouths.
The eacti (_Opuntia_), of which the large kind, with its thick, fleshy, green, and pear-shaped leaf-like stems, known as "'prickly-pear," is most common, sometimes yield much honey, and are great pollen yielders nearly every season. The honey is not considered good for surplus as it is astringent in character and strong in flavor; but it is valuable for sustaining the colonies during the early summer when very little else is in bloom.
A rich golden honey is produced by a small plant known as "'margold' (_Gailliardia_), which often covers the prairies in May and June. The flavor of this honey is rather marked. The vast fields of Indian corn and sorghum are much visited by the bees during their bloom in May and June, and these yield immense quantities of pollen. Of some importance both for pollen and honey are also the melons, and all of the members belonging to the gourd family (_Cucurbitacea_). _Lippia ligustrina_, known as "white brush," is most common and abundant in Southwest Texas. It is a very frequent bloomer during the season, depending upon the abundance of rain, and is so fragrant that the whole adjoining country is perfumed with its odor.
In East Texas abounds the bitter-weed (_Helenium_), which begins to bloom in June, and lasts until frost. This plant is not affected to any great extent by drouth, and blooms very regularly every season. Bees rarely work on it, except during such a dry season when there is nothing else, and then the bright colored honey is so bitter that it can not be eaten. The comb built during such a flow is of a characteristic bright yellow. A yield from this source alone is obtained only occasionally, hence it need not be feared. Blended with mild flavored honey from other sources its quality is not too bad to be used.
Another common weed is the ragweed (_Ambrosia_), of which there are several species. This is much like the croton in distribution, and yields pollen.
A valuable fall bloomer in most parts of the State is the broom weed (_Guttierezia_), beginning to bloom in August and continuing until frost. The honey is amber in color, strong flavored, but is most excellent for winter stores, and the colonies build up on it for the winter in splendid condition. This plant is sometimes not so abundant during a dry season, but comes quite regularly year after year. Where abundant, much fall honey is obtained from Virginian crown-beard (_Verbesina_), often called "wild tobacco." It blooms in October, but the dry summers cause a stunted growth of the flowers in many seasons, when it yields only sparingly.
While these follow in the order of their respective blooming periods, it must not be understood that all of them exist over the entire State, or in any one locality. While some of them have a very wide distribution, others are restricted to the particular habitat over a comparatively very small area. It is impossible, in limited space, to give a more comprehensive list with the distribution of the various honey-yielders than is presented here and in various places in the foregoing chapters.
Planting for honey.
This subject has been discussed for many years, not only among beekeepers, but others. Almost every beekeeper has heard some person ask: ''What do you plant for your bees!'' Here in Texas, practically the entire dependence is upon indigenous flora, or cultivated honey-yielding plants raised for other purposes. It has been determined that it will not pay to grow crops for honey alone, but that it is profitable to produce them if they can be used for other purposes as well as honey-yield, for instance, sweet clover and alfalfa in regions where they do well. There are few valuable trees that may be planted to aid in the honey yield, which would do well under Texas conditions when planted for shade or ornamental purposes. Seeds from some valuable honey producing plants and shrubs may be scattered in waste places in some instances, but growing plants on valuable land for their honey-yield alone will not be found to pay. Forage crops that produce nectar may be planted and grown to advantage.
Bees and Alfalfa.
Since alfalfa, grown in some western States so extensively, yields nectar to such an extent that hundreds of carloads of alfalfa honey are annually produced, and since the western part of Texas is in such close proximity to these States and has very similar climatic conditions, it would appear that as this part of the State is developed and put under irrigation large areas will be devoted to alfalfa fields, and apiaries be established to utilize the nectar. A study of the subject developed, that, while alfalfa does yield nectar abundantly in certain locations at times, it fails to yield altogether during some seasons without any apparent reason. Some years the most productive alfalfa fields with a profusion of bloom are not visited by the bees, which indicates that no nectar is yielded. This observation does not refer to the western part of the State alone, but to other parts as well. Bees have been found abundantly upon alfalfa blossoms on land of various conditions in northern, central and southern parts of the State, and on,high, dryer land alfalfa farms, as well as those of rich alluvial river bottom soils and, after several years of observation, it was found that during the majority of the blooming seasons the fields were not visited. There are some locations in western Texas where alfalfa honey is produced almost every year, but to what extent is not positively known. It is a subject that should be given further attention in the way of thorough investigation, since it is an important one. If, with the advent of large areas put under irrigation and the planting of alfalfa the production of alfalfa honey follows, it would mean a great deal to the honey producing industry of the State.
Buckwheat as a honey plant.
It is generally supposed that buckwheat honey is ''something fine.'' This is probably due to every one having heard the old saying, ''buckwheat cakes and honey." Such cakes with good honey do, indeed, make one's mouth water; but not when "'buckwheat honey'' is employed. Buckwheat honey is dark and strong and has a peculiar twang. These peculiarities prevent its having a place on our Texas markets. Few people like it, though some are said to acquire a taste for it by continued use. Furthermore, generally speaking, buckwheat does not do well in Texas. Planting it is not advised.
In some parts of the State where the seasons are more favorable it may be utilized to tide the bees over a dearth of nectar from natural sources, by making successive plantings, one month apart, to obtain a succession of bloom for several months in early summer before the dry season, which is detrimental to its development. The seeds are planted best drilled in rows just as cotton is planted, and should be cultivated to produce a better growth of the plants. Sown broad-cast, it does not grow so luxuirantly and soon seeds and dies down.
## 113 White and yellow sweet clover.
As a general rule none of the clovers thrive well in this State except the sweet clovers--white clover (_Melilotus alba_) and yellow sweet clover (M. _officialis_). Seasons over most of the State are too dry for the white clover, from which the greater part of the honey of the Northeast is produced. There are a few localities in the South Texas coast country, however, where this grows well.
In many places in Texas there are periods during which there is no bloom from which the bees can obtain even enough honey for the sustenance of their colonies. These dearths between honey flows from natural sources, are sometimes very long ones. In some localities they occur between the spring and fall flows, and are very serious, as the bees sometimes starve during their continuance, unless fed. Feeding bees at these times is objectionable, because it incites robbing and stimulates the bees to unnecessary brood rearing, besides using up a large quantity of food. In such cases planting of sweet clover beforehand to tide the bees over might bring good results, as the clover, if it thrives, will come into bloom and yield nectar during the time. There is great variation in the length of these dearths in various localities, beginning and ending soon in some and late in others. In many places the gaps may be filled in entirely by the blooming period of sweet clover, which begins about June 1st in most localities and a little earlier in other and more protected situations, and depending, also, upon weather conditions. The yellow variety begins to bloom several weeks earlier than the white sweet clover and should be chosen for localities where the dearth begins earlier in the season. Either variety, however, would cover the period of the average dearth, as the _melilotus_ blooms very well in favorable seasons, when planted in localities favorable to its growth. In situations not so favorable, and during dry seasons, the blooming period is shortened considerably. However, it generally extends through June, July and August.
Sweet clover grows well after it is started, and waste places, found in the poorest soils, can be planted with this forage crop for the bees. There are thousands of acres of such waste land that could be made to grow sweet clover in the place of weeds. Our fence rows would be worth thousands of dollars if sweet clover grew where weeds of no use whatever now disport themselves. Especially would the clover be valuable where a nectar yield would be produced just at a time when there was nothing else in bloom.
It was once feared that sweet clover was a noxious weed that spread rapidly and was hard to kill out of a field. This apprehension has been proven to be baseless, since a single plowing will kill the clover, and there is no danger of its spreading out of its bounds. It grows well in the northeastern part of the State, where it has become abundant in various places. It needs little attention in localities where the atmospheric and soil conditions are not too dry. In the dry parts of the State (West and Southwest Texas) it is hardly advisable to plant sweet clover, except in some of the low and fertile valleys and along streams. It has been found that it grows luxurantly when drilled in rows and cultivated, but it would hardly pay to do this as a forage crop, as its growth is large and coarse.
The seed should be obtained in the fall of the year and scattered in waste places and along fence rows and rains will beat it in. It does best in places where grass and weeds do not crowd the little plants out. When once started it re-seeds itself. Being a perennial, it does not bloom until its second season's growth.
Sweet clover honey is of good quality, light in color and of very good flavor. The bees work industriously on the blooms from early until late.
CGTON VERY IMPORTANT.
It has been only a comparatively few years since cotton has come into prominence as a valuable honey yielding plant. Previous to that time cotton honey was hardly known. This was due perhaps to the fact that the honey obtained from the cotton plant was attributed to some other source. Of later years cotton has come to be known as one of the very best honey yielding plants. Especially is this true where it is grown on rich lands in valleys and river bottoms, where the growth is a luxurian one. It gives largest yields under warm, damp atmospheric conditions. On poor soil and sandy land it does not yield nectar plentifully, and in some sections, or under certain weather conditions, not at all. In the average season a good yield may be expected from cotton in the black land districts and the river valleys. In favorable conditions it is not excelled by any other nectar yielded in the cotton growing belt.
The nectar is not produced inside of the cotton blossoms as in other flowers. The nectaries are located under the bracts next to the stem of the blossom, from which the nectar is secreted. There are other nectaries located on the underside of the leaves, one on each of the three main ribs of the leaf. The nectaries can easily be located as small low identations on both blossoms and the leaves. There are three underneath each blossom, and those located on the ribs of the leaves are situated about one-third of the length from the main stem of the leaf. At the proper maturity of both blossoms and young leaves, the nectar may be easily seen in a large drop in each neetary, and is easily gathered by the bees. During favorable conditions it is not necessary for the buds or "squares," as these are called, on the cotton plant, to develop into full bloom, but nectar secretion begins before the blossoms open.
The yield is most abundant in the early morning and decreases as the atmosphere becomes dryer toward the middle of the day. In the afternoon, unless the atmospheric conditions are very dry and hot, the nectar flow begins to increase again. During cloudy days, or when the atmosphere is damp, the yield continues abundantly throughout the entire day. The yield is most. plentiful in locations where the cotton makes the most luxurian growth and, in conjunction therewith, the most favorable atmospheric conditions prevail. It is often that single colonies store a hundred pounds, or more, of cotton honey during a favorable season. However, the average yield per colony of cotton honey depends largely upon the soil conditions and the favorableness of the season toward the cotton growth, together with the,atmospheric conditions existing during the honey yielding period, since all of these factors have an important bearing in the matter of a good yield. The lack of any of them decreases the average production of the colonies. There are many factors that must be considered as it does not yield nectar in all localities and under all climatic, as well as atmospheric, conditions.
Cotton honey is very light in color and mild in flavor when thoroughly ripened, and it compares well with the very best grades of honey. When gathered from upland cotton, or that grown on poorer soils, it has a slight amber color. When first gathered, the flavor is very characteristic of the juices of the cotton plant, but changes entirely as the honey ripens. During a heavy flow from this source there is a strong scent in the apiary like that of bruised cotton leaves, produced by the evaporation of the nectar in the hives. This is so pronounced that it has a sickening effect upon some persons who visit the apiary at such a time.
Ordinarily cotton honey granulates easily, and in the granulated form it is almost pure white and very fine grained.
The cotton honey flow ordinarily begins about July 1st and continues until frost, except when the fall of the year is a very dry one that causes the cotton to stop growing and producing squares, blossoms and the growth of young leaves that yield nectar.
DISEASES AND ENEMIES.