86 A Modern Bee-Farm 
hood, and it will in any case always be safer to keep 
well within the range of possibility, rather than extend 
our desires towards improbabilities. To sum up, therefore, 
it is not wise to exceed 50 stocks where honey alone is 
to be worked for, unless the apiarist is certain he has an 
exceptional locality, or has the land and ability that will 
enable him to supplement his local resources. 
It should be remembered that the honey is obtained at 
no expense to the crop of hay, unless the same be allowed 
to stand too long before being mown. Even for the sake 
of the bees, most crops should not stand until the greater 
part of the heads die off, as such ripening process destroys 
the chance of a second crop. Asa rule, those 
Plants should be Grown that are Useful for Hay 
after the bees have had their gathering. There is only one 
kind that I can recommend for bees which is unsuitable 
for cattle, and that is Borage. There may be many others 
that give much honey, but there is this about them—they 
require constant care and attention to keep the ground 
clean, therefore for honey alone such plants are quite out 
of the question. Borage, however, can take care of 
itself ; outgrows everything else, yields the best of honey, 
and requires only that the ground be turned or ploughed, 
in the case of Borage every winter. This plant comes best 
with the ground turned up roughly and needs no further 
care; Melilot (Melzlotus alba) is a most valuable honey 
plant, and when seeding down requires that the earth be 
harrowed and then rolled as often as possible whenever 
the surface is dry. Do not neglect to roll again the second 
year, both before and after the leaf begins to show. The 
omission of this very important matter is why the crop 
fails with many. 
