6 Kansas State Horticultural Society. 



clovers, the yellow sweet clover blooms about three weeks earlier than the 

 white sweet clover, and in a great many parts of the state there is a dearth of 

 bloom between the time of the appearing of the fruit bloorn and the white 

 sweet-clover bloom. Those sections, however, where the yellow sweet clover is 

 found do not suffer from this dearth. Consequently, beekeepers should urge 

 and assist in seeing that all the waste places in their neighborhood are sowed 

 to yellow sweet clover seed. It is possible to purchase this seed individually, 

 or, better still, to secure the seed through your local beekeepers' association; 

 then at the meeting of the association plans can be made for sowing different 

 portions of the country, that the seed may be wisely distributed. The white 

 sweet clover which is found so plentiful along the roadsides and waste places 

 throughout the state is valuable, if not the most valuable honey plant that we 

 have. As white sweet clover has proved to be a valuable forage plant, every- 

 thing possible should be done to encourage its wider and more abundant dis- 

 tribution. Alfalfa does not produce honey everywhere that it is grDwn. In 

 the drier sections of the country, and especially irrigated portions, it is an 

 abundant producer of nectar. However, in the more humid sections it does 

 not yield any nectar. Wherever alfalfa will not yield nectar, alsike clover 

 should be grown and will be found valuable both as a forage plant and as a 

 nectar-producing plaiit. Com, although it probably does not produce any nec- 

 tar, is very valuable as a pollen-producing plant. 



The foregoing plants are the ones from which our chief source of light 

 honey is produced. In the fall of the year heartsease, asters and other fall- 

 blooming plants usually produce an abundance of nectar. The amount that 

 will be secured from a fall flow^ cannot be securely counted on because of the 

 danger of an early frost. The heartsease honey varies in color in various parts 

 of the country. In some places it is light, while in other places it is very dark. 

 Heartsease does not need to be planted, neither do asters, as they will appear 

 themselves in sufficiently large quantities to be of use if the season is at all 

 favorable. 



It has been estimated that in order to produce one pound of honey it is 

 necessary for a bee to make sever^rl hundred thousand trips to the field. This, 

 of course, means that a large number of plants must be visited in order to bring 

 in a single pound of honey, and it will be seen that it would not be profitable 

 to sow crops solely for the nectar which they would produce. However, as 

 stated above, if the nectar-producing plants can also be used as forage crops, 

 then they will be useful to both the stockman and the beekeeper. 



MAKING MILK OUT OF HONEY. 



What would be thought of a cow that could be bought for $40 which 

 would provide two quarts of milk daily and two quarts extra for every Sun- 

 day in the year? In addition to providing this milk, it must be put into 

 glass jars and delivered at the door. I do not own such a cow, nor do I 

 believe anyone else does. However, I do own four colonies of bees valued at 

 $40, which produced enough honey to purchase the amount of milk above 

 named. The comparison might be carried still further and mention made of 

 the fact that the bees went to pasture and returned unattended; there was 

 no pasture rent to pay for them, and instead of it being necessary to pur- 

 chase expensive grain for their winter feed, they brought home and put away 



