18 AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



Field Culture 



Alfalfa is a long-lived plant and very deep-rooted. The long tap root 

 penetrates deep into the soil, thus securing all available moisture and 

 making the plant drought-resistant when once well established. The plant 

 is very tender when young, and great care is necessary in the preparation 

 of the soil when starting a new planting of this crop. The seed bed should 

 be thoroughly stirred, all lumps fully pulverized, and the surface soil as 

 smooth as an onion bed. It is important that the ground be prepared 

 some time in advance of seeding and frequently stirred to start any weed 

 seeds that may be present, and destroy them before the alfalfa is sowed. 

 On old land it is advisable to prepare the seed bed in the spring and stir 

 it at frequent intervals until August before sowing the alfalfa seed. 



Alfalfa does not do well on sour land, or land that is wet or weed- 

 infested. It does best on rich, well drained soil, well supplied with lime. 

 Lime is essential, and if the soil is lacking in lime it must be supplied. 



In many localities it is the practice to grow a crop of sweet clover in 

 advance of seeding to alfalfa. 



From seven to twenty pounds of seed are required per acre. If good 

 seed is used and put in with a drill, ten to fifteen pounds should be ample. 



In cutting alfalfa it is important that some care be used to select the 

 proper time. When the new shoots are well started is usually regarded 

 as the safest time, if the plant is cut for hay. The leaves constitute the 

 greatest portion of the feeding value, and much care is necessary in 

 handling the crop to avoid shattering. 



In localities where the plant is grown for seed, a much longer bloom- 

 ing period results and the beekeeper profits accordingly. Where cut for 

 hay, alfalfa loses much of its possible value through the cutting just when 

 it is reaching its period of greatest nectar secretion. 



Harry K. Hill, of Willows, California, states that he z^ts three dis- 

 i tinct shades of pure alfalfa honey in the same year. The honey from 

 first extracting is much darker than later extractings.— Western Honey- 

 bee, April, 1913. 



ALFILARIA, see Pin Clover. 

 ALGAROBA, see Mesquite. 

 ALLIGATOR PEAR, see Red Bay. 

 ALLIUM, see Onion 



ALMOND (Prunus amygdalus). 



'The cultivated almond is closely related to the peach and is native to 

 Southern Europe, where it has been grown for centuries for its nuts. 



The tree is extremely early in its blooming period and more tender 

 than the peach. It is grown in large orchards in parts of California, and 

 to some extent in Arizona. It grows on higher and dryer lands than any 

 other fruit trees in California. The tree will not thrive on wet lands. 



Bees gather both honey and pollen from the flowers and in the almond 

 belt of California it is of great value for early brood-rearing. There it 



