6 Farmers’ Bulletin 1216. 
RELATION TO OTHER BEEKEEPING REGIONS. 
The buckwheat region lies within the boundaries usually given 
for the clover region, but buckwheat is found most abundant in 
parts of the country where white and alsike clovers are less reliable 
sources of nectar. Beekeeping practices of the region are often 
materially modified by the presence of alsike clover, which grows 
on soils more acid than are suitable for the vigorous growth of red 
clover. The region extends southward into the tulip-tree region, 
although in the southern part of the buckwheat range the area 
devoted to the growth of the plant often lies too high for the best 
development of the tulip-tree. Where buckwheat is grown there is 
usually much waste land, permitting the growth of many species of 
plants which furnish nectar in the fall. These, however, do not 
materially modify the beekeeping practices. Buckwheat chiefly 
covers an area not dominated by any other valuable source of 
honey, and the region is therefore one in which the beekeeper will 
wish to choose those methods of beekeeping that will give the maxi- 
mum amount of honey from this source. 
CHARACTERISTICS OF BUCKWHEAT. 
Buckwheat is a quick-growing annual herbaceous plant growing 
erect to a height of 2 or 3 feet. The root development is vigorous 
and extensive, although the roots have a rather delicate structure. 
They are able to utilize relatively unavailable mineral foodstuffs in 
the soil and in this respect the plant has an advantage over other 
grain crops. The stems vary from one-fourth to five-eighths inch 
in diameter and from green to purplish red in color while fresh. 
Only one stem is produced from each seed and it branches more or 
less freely, permitting the plants to adapt themselves to the thickness 
of planting. The leaves are heart-shaped and alternate on the stems, 
being usually sessile. The flowers are small, white to pink in color, 
and are borne in racemes or panicles on flower stems arising from 
the bases of the leaves. Flowers are produced in two forms in about 
equal numbers: In one form the stamens are long and the style 
short and in the other form the ratio is reversed. This increases 
the probability of cross-pollination by insect visits, and it is usually 
believed that insect pollination is the frequent method. Only one 
kind of flower is produced on an individual plant, but seeds of either 
form give rise to plants of both types. The ratio of these types is 
seemingly not influenced by differences in soil. The blooming period 
depends on the time of planting, the flowers first opening about five 
or six weeks after seeding. After blooming has once begun it 
usually continues until frost or harvest, although, as will be pointed 
