ATJSTEALIAJSr HONEY PLANTS 273 



into many tons. Latterly these apiarists have succeeded 

 in placing their honey on the London market. 



The honey is similar in some respects to the Clover 

 honey of Great Britain, and the British people take to it 

 readily enough. Lucerne honey, like Clover honey, has 

 a very delicate flavour, quite unlike nectar from the 

 Eucalypts. To an Australian, Lucerne honey is almost 

 flavourless. To the Englishman the Eucalyptus honey 

 has a peculiar ' ' twang. " It is a matter of taste ; English- 

 men and Americans accustomed to honey from the 

 Eucalypts raise no objection to its special flavour. Prob- 

 ably as greater areas are developed by irrigation more 

 crops of Lucernes will be grown for seed, and the 

 increased production of Lucerne honey will enable Aus- 

 tralians to compete successfully with the Californians 

 for the world's markets. 



The honey from Lucerne is very pale in colour, and 

 candies quickly with a fine grain. Of course, Lucerne is 

 a long way behind the Eucalypts as a producer, and the 

 thing to determine is whether the lesser quantity of 

 exportable honey at 9d. per lb. will pay as well as bumper 

 crops from the indigenous flora at 3V2d. per lb. The 

 author decides in favour of the Eucalypts and local con- 

 sumption. At Christmas time about Blsmore and 

 Inverell, New South Wales, considerable Lucerne honey 

 is stored by the bees. 



Mangrove (Australian White), [Avicennia officinalis). 

 Frequents the coastline of tropical seas, and is found on 

 the Australian coast from Port Darwin in the North to 

 Wilson's Promontory in the far South. This tree is 

 designed by Nature to reclaim land and build up the coast 

 line. Americans regard it as a bonanza honey tree, but 

 the Australian locations do not appear to have been 

 tested. 



Maize, {Zea mays). This is a crop that yields large 

 quantities of pale yellow pollen in midsummer, which is 

 a critical time for Australian apiarists, so its value can 

 hardly be computed. The honey is of limpid clearness. 

 (See Pollen Shortage, page 125). 



