226 THE LORE OF THE HONEY-BEE 



lutely from a single source. But here on the hills 

 the bees are not tempted by glowing gardens with 

 their feeble, washy sweets ; nor are they led aside 

 by the coarse- natured privet, or horse-chestnut, 

 or sunflower. There is only one trencher to their 

 banquet, but this is a vast, illimitable one. They 

 have nothing to do but to wend out and home all 

 day long between their hives and a single field. 



It is difficult to guage with anything like 

 approximate truth the amount of honey that one 

 flowering crop will yield. But probably, when all 

 conditions are most favourable, every acre of 

 Dutch clover will produce about five pounds of 

 pure honey for each day it is left standing in full 

 bloom. The nectar is obviously secreted by the 

 flower as an attraction to the bee, who, blundering 

 into it with her pollen-smothered body, uncon- 

 sciously effects its fertilisation. Directly this 

 object is gained, the flow of nectar in each particular 

 floret appears to cease, and the bee passes it by. 



The student of old books on apiculture is often 

 surprised to read so much in praise of honeydew, 

 while in the modern bee-garden he hears of it 

 nothing but hearty condemnation. He is told 

 that directly the bees begin to gather honeydew 

 the store-racks must be removed from the hives, 

 or the good honey will be ruined both in colour 

 and flavour. He is shown some dark, ill-looking, 

 watery stuff carefully sealed up by the bees, and 

 is informed that it is nearly all honeydew. But, 



