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supply. Briefly said, therefore, our chief source of supply is 
from the various species of eucalyptus trees. Lacking these, the 
supply is of small amount, unless we name white clover, which, 
in some cool and moist localities, yields a crop of excellent 
honey. In fact, white clover honey may be classified as the best 
of honey—finest in flavour procurable the world over. 
The various species of eucalyptus trees are all honey producers, 
but bearing a rather intermittent supply. So far as bee-keepers 
have investigated this matter, they have been unable to supply 
exact data of the blossoming of the different species. A rule-of- 
thumb way of stating the case has been adopted in the past, 
which gives alternate years as good and bad, so far as the honey 
supply is concerned—that is one year giving a fair toa good 
supply, and the following year a poor supply, or none at all. 
This method of computation is anything but reliable; but still 
there is a foundation of fact in it, not discoverable in Vic- 
toria only, but in other parts of the world as well. A good 
season is usually followed by a poor one, while a poor one is 
usually regarded as a guarantee for a better one to follow. This 
may, however, not be borne out; there are many intermediate 
results between poor and good. So far as I know, no one has 
been able to more than guess at the conditions which produce a 
good supply of honey, whether past or present rainfall, or present 
conditions of atmosphere and weather. Abundant blossoms by no 
means guarantee abundant honey. Certain conditions of weather 
increase or decrease the yield. A warm moist atmosphere, 
such as is experienced prior to a thunderstorm, usually guarantees 
a good flow of honey. Speaking in general terms, the eucalyptus 
blooms bi-annually. The tree which blooms this year will not 
probably bloom next year, but will during the second year develop 
its seed pods. However, one tree may blossom this year and its 
neighbour the next, and we frequently find that one part of a 
tree will blossom one year and the other portion the following, 
and at times we find the disparity separated by a few months 
only. It will be seen that to a large extent the prospective 
honey crop is an unknown quantity ; but yet the careful and 
investigating bee-keeper may gather information ahead by care- 
fully noting the forming and advancing blossom buds of the trees 
around, And given an abundance of flowers, the probability is 
that during their continuance of bloom the weather will be favor- 
able to the secretion of nectar. There is still another point 
of variation to be noted in the eucalypt. Most forest trees are 
regular in their time of blooming, but not so the eucalyptus family. 
The bass-wood of America, which produces the largest crop of 
forest honey, opens its flowers at a regular month and day, and the 
flow of honey from it ranges from three days to twenty or more, 
so that the bee-keeper knows his preparations must be complete to 
