CHAPTER XIII. 
SOURCES OF HONEY. 
ae HE sources from which bees collect honey are 
various and almost innumerable. Almost every 
flower, tree, plant, shrub and vine, in field, forest, pasture 
and garden yield honey to some extent. White clover 
is, perhaps, the greatest source of honey in the New 
England and Middle States, it being found in a greater 
or less extent in almost every field and pasture. South 
and West there is, in many localities, a profusion of wild 
flowers, producing considerable quantities of honey. In 
some sections buckwheat affords a rich harvest. Bass- 
wood yields a very nice quality of honey, and in sections 
where it abounds, great quantities are collected from 
it. Fruit blossoms—apple, pear, peach and all the dif 
ferent varieties of plums, cherries, etc., are very impor- 
tant sources of honey. 
Pollen is the first material gathered by the bees in 
early spring. Several varieties of alder, willow, red 
maple, etc., produce pollen in great abundance. Rasp- 
berry, blackberry, catnip, dandelion, etc., all contribute 
largely of honey in their season. Corn and most kinds 
of grain furnish pollen in abundance late in the season. 
Mustard and sweet clover are great favorites with the 
