Regional Differences within the United States 209 



pends on the number of crops of alfalfa that are harvested 

 in a season. This region is steadily increasing in importance, 

 and a market is rapidly being built up for alfalfa honey. 

 In this region, honey-production is conducted chiefly by 

 extensive beekeepers. 



(3) The south-eastern region, which varies greatly in the 

 sources of honey throughout its extent, and which is an 

 area of abundant rainfall, lies south of the white clover 

 region and extends west to eastern Texas. The various 

 rather distinct subdivisions of this territory might well be 

 placed among the restricted honey regions, except that 

 certain things in common in the honey-flows make the same 

 type of manipulations necessary. Among the important 

 plants of this district are sourwood, cotton, tulip poplar, 

 tupelo, manchineel, mangrove, titi, palmettos, citrus trees, 

 gallberry and partridge pea, with nectar from clovers in 

 some sections in favorable seasons. Sweet clover is valu- 

 able in some localities. Most of the honeys are amber, 

 and the chief characteristic of this region is a succession of 

 honey-flows, often intergrading. The honey-flows are usually 

 not rapid. This region is therefore best adapted to extracted- 

 honey production. Swarming is much less troublesome 

 than in the North. Beekeeping is developing in this region, 

 but there is opportunity for many more beekeepers, there 

 being now relatively few who rank as professionals. Colonies 

 of bees may usually be bought at low prices in box-hives. 

 This region is perhaps the best in the United States for 

 commercial queen-rearing, except in parts of Florida where 

 dragon flies are troublesome. 



The diversity of conditions in this region is well shown 

 in the accompanying map (Fig. 95), which was prepared by 

 E. G. Baldwin, De Land, Florida, who has studied the bee- 

 keeping possibilities of his State quite thoroughly. It 

 will be seen that the sources of nectar are quite distinct 

 geographically. The geographical position of this State 

 and the diversity of soil and climatic conditions strongly 

 influence the growth of the honey plants. In this State 



