SOURCES OF NECTAR 47 



very freely in some seasons, while in others with a large amount 

 of bloom the bees will starve, or fare very poorly at best. Con- 

 ditions that are favorable to the secretion of nectar with one 

 plant seem to have the opposite effect on another. When white 

 clover produces the heaviest flow in the Mississippi valley, alfalfa 

 in adjoining fields will produce no nectar. Scientists are now 

 studying the problems connected with nectar secretion, and it is 

 hoped that the reasons for the great variation may shortly be 

 better understood. 



It accordingly becomes necessary for the bee-keeper not only 

 to know the plants that furnish the raw material for honey pro- 

 duction, but to be familiar with their behavior under the par- 

 ticular conditions with which he has to deal. Some years the 

 honey crop will be good or bad over a large scope of country, 

 while in others not more than five or six miles will be necessary 

 to pass from a neighborhood where no honey is being stored to 

 one where a profitable crop is gathered. The wide-awake bee- 

 keeper can thus frequently, by moving his bees but a short dis- 

 tance, convert failure into success, and instead of having to feed 

 his bees to get them safely through the winter, market a crop 

 of honey. 



One of the most successful bee-keepers of the Middle West 

 has a location in the hills overlooking the Missouri River. His 

 location is very desirable, for he has practically all important 

 honey plants of that region within reach of some of his yards. 

 His home yard is within easy reach of a large linden grove which 

 furnishes some honey about two years in five. White clover in 

 nearby pastures furnishes something about four years in five, 

 and a good yield two or three seasons in five. Sweet clover, which 

 is one of the surest honey plants, is also present in large quantity, 

 and the bees also have a large area of Missouri River bottom 

 land within reach. In this latter area they have access to large 

 quantities of heartsease, wild sunflower, and other fall flowers. 

 In such a location the chances of failure are reduced to the 

 minimum, and seldom is there a year in which he does not get a 



