OR, MANtTAI, OF THS APIARY. 



417 



just as it commences to bloom, it may be made to come into 

 blossom the second time, so as just to fill the vacant space in 

 August. This is a very important fact, and may well be 

 acted upon. I have known Alsike clover to give a good harvest 

 of nectar during a dry year, when white clover utterly failed. 

 Red clover (Trifolium pretense), especially mammoth (Fig. 

 216), is a wondrous honey-plant, but its long flower-tubes 

 place the nectar beyond the reach of black bees, and of most 



Fig. 218. 



Melilot Clover. — Original. 



Italians. Can we breed longer tongues in our bees, or shorter 

 tubes in the clover ? I see no reason why we may not do both. 

 Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum), (Fig. 217), is popular 

 in some sections. It is a failure in Southern California. The 

 blossoms are large and fine, and they are visited freely by the 

 bees. It is used in the East and South for green manuring. I 

 do not think it will compare with white or Alsike clover as a 

 honey-plant. 



Sweet clover, yellow and white (Melilotus officinalis and 

 Melilotus alba), (Fig. 218), are well named. They bloom from 

 the middle of June to the first of October. Their perfume 



