AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 227 



Since practically all sage honey that goes to market in America is 

 from California, the sages from that State are of first importance. Sage 

 is known to occur in other Western States and the question is sometimes 

 asked whether any honey is secured from this source elsewhere. In 

 answer to this question Mr. J. E. Miller, of Caldwell, Idaho, writes, in 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture (September 15, 1908, as follows: 



"My neighbor, Mr. Garfield, experimented with one colony of bees 

 by taking it eight or nine miles away from alfalfa or other cultivated 

 fields, and setting it among the white sage. He went out to look after 

 it every week and took fresh water. We do not know the exact 

 amount of honey the bees gathered, but they did fully as well as those 

 left at home near the alfalfa. The honey was of that water-white 

 color peculiar to California sage honey. Mr. Garfield sent sainples to 

 California and it was pronounced A-1 white sage; so we are convinced 

 that the white sage of Idaho does yield just as much and just as good 

 honey as that of any other State." 



It is probable that one or more species of sage occur in nearly every 

 State, but they increase in abundance westward. In the arid country west 

 of the Missouri River they become sufficiently common so that an appre- 

 ciable amount of honey might be expected in many localities. It is quite 

 likely that sage honey in small amounts is mixed with honey from other 

 sources, and so not detected, in many many localities outside of California. 

 The fact remains, nevertheless, that sage, as an important source of sur- 

 plus, is not reported outside of that State. 



The quality of sage honey is of the best, being water-white in color, of 

 ? heavy body and delightful flavor. Since it does not granulate, it is much 

 sought for by bottlers in the east, who blend it with clover or alfalfa. There 

 are many who regard sage honey as the finest in the market. In this con- 

 nection A. I. Root, in an early edition of his A B C of Bee Culture, wrote: 

 "I well remember the first taste I had of the mountain sage honey. 

 Mr. Langstroth was visiting me at the time, and his exclamations were 

 much like my own, only that he declared that it was almost identical in 

 flavor with the famed honey of Hymettus, of which he had received 

 a sample some years ago. Well, this honey of Hymettus, which has 

 been celebrated both in prose and poetry for ages past, was gathered 

 from the mountain thyme, and the botany tells us that thyme and 

 sage are closely related." 



Although there are several species of sage which yield honey in Cali- 

 fornia, the quality does not differ materially, as far as can be ascertained 

 from printed reports. It is all described as "water-white, unexcelled flavor, 

 of heavy body and does not granulate." 



Prof. A. J. Cook wrote to the American Bee Journal (June 21, 1906) 

 concerning the sage as follows : 



"Chief among the honey-bearing mints are the incomparable sages 

 of California. These are "not excelled even by the clovers or linden. 

 The honey is white, delicate of flavor, and must ever rank among the 

 best in appearance and quality. Not only this, but the quantity is often 

 phenomenal. This comes from the fact that flowers are borne in long 

 racemes of compact heads, and as the separated flowerets do not bloom 

 all at once, but in succession, the plants are in bloom for weeks. The 

 sages, then, are marvelous honey producers, first, because of the gen- 



