PASTURE FOR BEES 73 



Pasturage Early in the Season Neces- 

 sary. — No single crop will make a satisfactory 

 dependence for the honey producer, although 

 sweet clover wiU. come as near doing it as any- 

 thing. If the beekeeper wants to make honey 

 production an exclusive business he should seek 

 a location where there is a great variety of 

 honey-producing plants through a long sea- 

 son. Some of the sources that produce the 

 largest yields are uncertain, yielding profitably 

 only once in two to five years. Such a source 

 is basswood. A\Tien there is a large acreage of 

 basswood forest within reach the beekeeper 

 should get a splendid crop from it now and 

 then. But if this is his main dependence profit- 

 able crops are likely to be several years apart. 



Some plant that yields nectar and pollen 

 early in the season, to stimulate brood rearing 

 in advance of the main flow, is of great import- 

 ance. For this purpose fruit bloom and dande- 

 lions are much sought for in the Northern 



