48 BULLETIN 685^ U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



SOURCES OF POLLEN AND NECTAR. 



The honeybee derives its suppUes from the successive 

 bloom of a great variety of trees, shrubs, and cultivated and 

 wild plants and flowers, of which the family of the Legumi- 

 nosse is by far the most important. Many plants that are 

 not sources of surplus honey are of great importance in the 

 economy of the hives, furnishing the necessary supplies of 

 pollen and nectar to enable the colony to increase the num- 

 ber of bees and thus build up its strength in the spring and 

 to carry it through the winter or through periods of Ught 

 honey flow during the summer. The average dates of bloom 

 of the most important plants in the different States are 

 shown in Table XIV. The dates given are only rough 

 approximations, being merely the averages of the dates 

 reported from the different States, and the bloom may be 

 earlier or later in portions of paiticular States, especially 

 those of large area or great diversity of climate. 



Table XV. — Sources of surplus honey. 





Clovers. 



Trees. 

















? 



o 



0^ 





t 



15 



State. 







^ 

 i 





a 

 § 



•6 







i 



-2 

















o 







a 



2 



©■^ 







s 





1 



® 



1 



t 



"3 



M 



3 



ft" 





< 



< 



M 



^ 



(in 



fp 



W 



PP 



^ 



M 



B 





P.ct. 



P.ct. 



P.ct. 



P.ct. 



P.ct. 



p.ct. 



P.ct. 



P.ct. 



P.ct. 



P.ct. 



P.ct. 



Maine 





6.0 



1.0 



53.3 

 32.0 



0.2 

 4.3 



8.0 





2.1 









Npw Ha,rnp,<?Tiirfi 











Vermont 









40.8 

 25.5. 

 10.0 



12.3 



8.5 

 1.6 













Massachusetts 





.5 



2.1 













Rhode Island 















r,onnp.r>tir>iit . 





1.2 

 1.6 

 11.2 



2.1 

 1.5 



20.3 

 30.2 

 17.3 



4.4 

 .6 



3.6 

 9.9 





1.2 

 .2 

 .8 









New York 











New Jersey . 









1.5 







2.1 





13.1 



.8 



6.7 













Delaware 









48.0 

 26.0 



2.0 



.8 



2.0 



2.0 





2.0 



4.2 







5.0 



Maryland 





3.1 



1.9 







15.6 



Virginia 









26.7 



1.2 



3.0 





3.4 



1.4 



12.2 



7.8 



West Virginia . . . 









26.8 



1.1 



10.7 





.7 





3.5 



10.3 











6.0 

 2.0 



1.0 



5.0 



6.0 

 3.0 



2.0 

 1.0 



1.2 

 3.0 



10.0 

 3.0 



8.5 



South Carolina 









20.0 



1 Including red and crimson clover. 



