Virginia, they are important sources of nectar, and only rarely does the beekeeper fail to obtain a surplus. In the southeastern swamps of the Costal Plain of North Carolina the tupelos are very abundant, while gallberry covers much of the higher land. A large number of colonies of bees are successfully operated in this section, but much of the region is still unoccupied by beekeepers. In the river swamps of South Carolina both white and black tupelo are again common and yield a large portion of the crop of honey. All five species of tupelo native to the United States occur in southwestern Georgia. It is in this section of the state that the largest and most advanced beekeepers are located, who operate thousands of colonies of bees.

The most famous section of Florida for beekeeping is the northwestern part of the state along the Apalachicola and Ocklocknee rivers, where white tupelo, black tupelo, and spring titi are abundant. From this section comes about one-third of the honey crop of the entire state. About 50 miles from the point where the Apalachicola River enters the Gulf of Mexico the river has low banks, the main channel breaking up into small streams which wind through the marshland. This strip of bottom-land is about 10 miles wide and is covered by a luxuriant growth of tupelo trees. As it is overflowed in the rainy season, it is necessary to place the hives on platforms, 6 to 10 feet high. The season opens with the blooming in March of black titi, and a little later in April and May the flowers of the tupelos open. So copious is the flow that an average of 70 pounds per colony is extracted each year, and in some seasons 100 or 150 pounds; 250 barrels of extracted honey have been secured in 26 days. Vast quantities of nectar go to waste, and it is doubtful if this region will ever be fully stocked with bees. A full crop is obtained three years in five, and there is never less than a quarter of a crop. But many do not care to live in a desolate, unwholesome swamp, where malaria and mosquitoes are prevalent, roads are absent, and the only signs of civilization are sawmills. Other objections are the shortage of pollen and the absence of late-blooming plants to maintain the strength of the colonies in the fall.

In the southeastern corner of Alabama the surplus honey plants in spring are titi, the tupelos, and gallberry. The yards, which are usually small in size, in a favorable season average 60 pounds of surplus per colony. Although there are a large number of colonies in this region, it is considered better adapted to queen-rearing than honey production. At Mount Pleasant on the Alabama River the main crop comes from the tupelos, holly, blackberry, and velvet bean. This is one of the best locations in the pine barrens. Beyond Alabama the black tupelo (N. biflora) ceases to be an important source of honey, although it has been reported as far west as Louisiana; but the white tupelo (M. aquatica) and the sour gum or pepperidge (N. sylvatica) have a much wider distribution. In the Yazoo Delta, Mississippi, the white tupelo does not appear to be one of the surplus-making plants, since none of the beekeepers secure a surplus before June, and the white tupelo blooms much earlier. In the flood plains of Louisiana white tupelo yields a veritable flood of nectar, and the bees are busy on the bloom from early dawn until sunset; but the flow is of short duration. The river swamps of eastern Texas mark the western limit of the white tupelo. The banks of the Nueces River are lined with white tupelo and sour gum (N. sylvatica), the belt of timber being from one to two miles wide. In southern Arkansas white tupelo is valuable, and sour gum has also a wide distribution. White tupelo is also listed as a honey plant in western Tennessee and western Kentucky.

TURPENTINE WEED. — See Blue Curls.

TURKEY MULLEIN (Eremocarpus setigerus). — Also called Yerba del Pes-cado in California, because the Indians in that state used the strong-scented foliage to stupefy fish in small streams, in order that they might catch them by hand. In Orange County, California, it is known as “woolly white drought weed,” since it is covered with a grayish-white pubescence. It springs up in dry grain fields after the grain has been harvested and gives a silvery appearance to this stubble land. According to Jepson it is very abundant in the interior of California and in the