178 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



ably safe to say that there were no wild bees in the vicin- 

 ity. An examination of the seed pods from each of the 

 two localities was made and the number of seeds counted. 

 In the field near the apiary the average number of seeds 

 in a pod was found to be 5.58. The seeds were plump and 

 the pods were numerous upon a cluster. The pods them- 

 selves had several spirals. In the other field, the one 

 remote from a known colony of bees, the average number 

 of seeds in a pod was 3.35. The seeds in at least one- 

 third of the pods were small and shriveled. The pods 

 were few in the cluster, short, and with but few spirals. 

 The seed crop of the first field could be estimated on this 

 basis at two-thirds greater than that of the second field. 

 *Tt is a well-known fact that the seed yield per acre for 

 Red clover is comparatively small. Red clover belongs 

 to the same family of plants as alfalfa and it, too, is 

 dependent upon insects for fertilization of its flowers. 

 The work, however, is restricted largely to the bumble 

 bee, since but few other insects have tongues long enough 

 to reach down to the nectar of the clover blossom and 

 consequently do not visit the clover blossom and bring 

 about proper formation of seed. So in proportion as 

 the bumble bees thrive, the clover flourishes. Alfalfa, 

 however, is not so limited in its number of insect assist- 

 ants, since the flower itself is shorter and the nectar 

 Accordingly accessible to a greater number of insects." 



THE HONEY PRODUCT 



Alfalfa raisers find it to their advantage to have a few 

 Stands of bees. As the original cost is slight and the bees 

 provide their own food, go after the raw material for 



