Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-09-15
The Sources of Honey


NJ II. b. Washington. Ga,
writes: Where does a bee get
honey, or the nectar from which
honey is made? I have had an
argument with a friend concern
ing this matter and would like
your opinion?
The sources of honey are Of wide
distribution due to the fact that such
large number of plants are inn
portant yielders of honey, or pollen,
or both. Those plants which yield
pollen very early in the season are
second only in Importance to the
best honey sources. This is due to
the fact that early in the spring an
abundance of pollen is very Va1ua-
BILE for brood rearing. Honey dew
is a secretion from small insects
known as aphids. One who has ex
amined these insects will readily see
drops Of this material adhering to
the posterior parts of their bodies.
The fact that drops of honey dew
are found on the leaves of trees
when no aphids are present is cas-
lily explained. These insects secret
honey dew so generously that it
drops from higher points to lower
points. Some plants, of course. ex
ude sweet substance which bees
occasionally gather, but it is diff
ferent material from honey dew. In
seasons when nectar is very scarce,
bees will feed upon all sweet ma
terial, such as decaying fruit. Plant
lice sometimes attack fruit trees, as
you doubtless know and because
the leaves to curl. They are often
on forest trees, such as the elm,
hickory and oak. 1t. is from such
sources as these that honey dew
may occasionally be gathered in suf-
ficient quantity to be apparent i'll
hives. There is a good deal of Varia
ton in the quality of honey dew
honey, but at best it is not satisfac.
tory as it impairs the quality Of the
honey and does not furnish q sat.
isfactory food for the bees during
the winter season. Pollen is, of
course, gathered from spring flow
ers, though the most important
source are the forest trees such as
the elm, the maple and the willows,
and other trees peculiar to The south.
The dandelion supplies both pollen
and nectar in large quantities. While
the secretion of nectar varies a good
honey from this source. Fruit
blooms are valuable to the honey
producer Pear trees secret 'necta2
freely. and the peach is also of
some value for this purpose. The
wild fruits, such as the hawthorne
and wild crab, are valuable as
sources of nectar
According to the best information
at our command, therefore, honey
may be gathered from variety OF
sources. A great deal depends on
the section Of the country, the sea-
son of the year, the type of agricul-
ture practiced, the native trees and
fruit available or cultivated and sea.
sonaE conditions.
Bones AS Fertilizers Suited to Fruit
Trees
L. A, Atlanta, Ca, writes:
eve wish your advice in the
use of raw and steamed bone
meal for fruit trees. Do you
think it would be profitable to
use these materials?"
Raw bone meal includes any bones
that have been ground in their
natural condition without previous
treatment. The bones naturally con-
tain the fat normally present in ma
terials Of this character. 1t is there
fore difficult to grind the bone fine
enough to use as q fertilizer. The
fat also protects the bone from bac.
terial action and makes decompo-
sition slow on that account. The
decomposition products of fat are
not considered beneficial to growing
plants, while the fat, of course, has
no food value for trees. Steamed
bone has the fat removed by boiling