AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 219 



At the 1917 Convention of the Illinois Beekeepers, Mr. Frank Bishop, 

 of Virden, reported that one season he secured an average of 100 pounds 

 per colony from red clover. According to his statement, there v^^as no 

 other bloom within reach at that time. He further stated that he visited 

 the red clover fields, investigated the matter carefully, and was fully satis- 

 fied that red clover was the source of the honey. 



Fig. 119. Red clover blossoms. 



So many reports from well-known beekeepers are to be lound in our 

 literature, that it seems worth while to quote several of them, together 

 with the place where the reference is to be found. Mr. Wm. McEvoy, of 

 "Woodburn, Ontario, wrote to Gleanings in Bee Culture, page 468, 1907, as 

 follows : 



"In September, 1905, I extracted over 3,000 pounds of pure red 

 clover honey, after giving the bees plenty to winter on. This honey 

 was a light amber color, and good in flavor, and sold for the same price 

 as honey gathered from white clover. My bees being Italians, worked 

 well on the second crop of red clover, which was not injured by the 

 midge in my locality, in 1905, on account of the first crop being cut 

 early." 



Adrian Getaz, of Knoxville, Tenn., makes the following contribution to 

 the subject in Gleanings, page 660, 1909: 



"In regard to bees gathering nectar from red clover, several opin- 

 ions have been advanced. Generally, it is supposed, that, owing to 

 dryer weather, the second crop has blossoms with shorter corollas, and 

 that the bees can reach the nectar on that account. Another theory is 

 that the nectar is more abundant, and fills up the corollas better, and 

 thus comes within reach of the bees. A German apiarist a few years 

 ago undertook to settle the matter, and spent a part of the summer 

 lying down in the clover fields to see how it was. He reported that 

 very few insects take the nectar through the corollas; but some kinds 



