238 AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



American Bee Journal that she had never known it to fail. An average 

 of as high as 75 pounds per colony from sourwood has been reported and 

 the local demand usually takes it all at prices above the open market. 



SOUTH CAROLINA— Honey Sources of. 



Willows, fruit blossoms, including such wild fruits as hawthorne, huck- 

 leberry and blackberry, furnish abundant nectar for early spring. Tulip- 

 tree, sourwood and clover, persimmon, black-gum and holly are all good 

 sources of nectar. Cotton may be expected to yield also on suitable soils. 

 (See also North Carolina and Georgia for a longer list of plants likely to 

 be of value in this State. J 



SOUTH DAKOTA— Honey Sources of. 



TJie best Ijeekeeping territory in South Dakota is in the sweet clover 

 districts in the southeastern part of the State. In this region large crops 

 of fine honey are secured. 



Maples and willows, dandelions and fruit blossoms start the bees off 

 in the spring. White clover and alsike both yield well in the eastern part 

 of the State. Sweet clover is important wherever grown and alfalfa is 

 valuable in some localities. Heartsease is the principal source of honey in 

 late fall. There are also many minor sources, such as are common to 

 the Middle West. 



SOUTHERN BUCKTHORN, see Coma. 

 SOUTHERN CRAB APPLE, see Crab Apple. 



SOW THISTLE (Sonchus). 



The sow thistles are weeds which are widely distributed from eastern 

 Canada to Florida and from British Columbia to California. They are re- 

 ported as valuable in east Texas, and Richter lists two species as yielding 

 nectar in California. Probably seldom important. 



SPANISH BAYONET, see Yucca. 

 SPANISH DAGGER, see Yucca. 



SPANISH NEEDLE (Bidens). 



The Spanish needles, also known as bootjacks, beggar ticks, stick 

 tights and marigolds, are very widely distributed plants, and are of in- 

 terest to the beekeepers from Nova Scotia to California. Most of the spe- 

 cies are weeds growing commonly on low and swampy lands. Not all of 

 them produce honey in appreciable quantity, and possibly some of them are 

 not sought by the bees at all. Figure 128 shows Bidens aristosa, which has 

 an attractive yellow flower and is most frequently mentioned as a source 

 of honey. This is particularly valuable on the lowlands along the Mis- 

 sissippi and Missouri Rivers. During the seasons of 1915 and 1919 much 

 honey was gathered from it. 



Two species are reported among the honey plants of California by 

 P.ichter, B. frondosa and B. pilosa. The former is one of the most widely- 



