Texas Beekeeping. 115 



honey-yielders than is presented here and in various places in the 

 foregoing chapters. 



PLANTING FOR HONEY. 



This subject has been discussed for many years, not only among bee- 

 keepers, but others. Almost every beekeeper has heard some person 

 ask: "What do you plant for your bees?" Here in Texas, practi- 

 cally the entire dependence is upon indigenous flora, or cultivated 

 honey-yielding plants raised for other purposes. It has been deter- 

 mined that it will not pay to grow crops for honey alone, but that it 

 is profitable to produce them if they can be used for other purposes as 

 well as honey-yield, for instance, sweet clover and alfalfa in regions 

 where they do well. There are few valuable trees that may be 

 planted to aid in the honey yield, which would do well under Texas 

 conditions ' when planted for shade or ornamental purposes. Seeds 

 from some valuable honey producing plants and shrubs may be scat- 

 tered in waste places in some instances, but growing plants on valua- 

 ble land for their honey-yield alone will not be found to pay. Forage 

 crops that produce nectar may be planted and grown to advantage. 



BEES AND ALFALFA. 



Since alfalfa, gr'own in some western States so extensively, yields 

 nectar to such an extent that hundreds of carloads of alfalfa honey 

 are annually produced, and since the western part of Texas is in 

 such close proximity to these States and has very similar climatic con- 

 ditions, it would appear that as this part of the State is developed 

 and put under irrigation large areas will be devoted to alfalfa fields, 

 and apiaries be established to utilize the nectar. A study of the sub- 

 ject developed, that, while alfalfa does yield nectar abimdantly in 

 certain locations at times, it fails to yield altogether during some 

 seasons without any apparent reason. Some years the most produc- 

 tive alfalfa fields with a profusion of bloom are not visited by the 

 bees, which indicates that no nectar is yielded. This observation does 

 not refer to the western part of the State alone, but to other parts 

 as well. Bees have been found abundantly upon alfalfa blossoms on 

 land of various conditions in northern, central and southern parts of 

 the State, and on. high, dryer land alfalfa farms, as well as those of 

 rich alluvial river bottom soils and, after several years of observation, 

 it was found that during the majority of the blooming seasons the 

 fields were not visited. There are some locations in western Texas 

 where alfalfa honey is produced almost every year, but to what ex- 

 tent is not positively known. It is a subject that should be given 

 further attention in the way of thorough investigation, since it is an 

 important one. If, with the advent of large areas put under irriga- 

 tion and the planting of alfalfa the production of alfalfa honey fol- 

 lows, it would mean a great deal to the honey producing industry of 

 the State. 



BUCKWHEAT AS A HONEY PLANT. 



It is generally supposed that buckwheat honey is "something fine." 

 This is probably due to every one having heard the old saying, "buck- 



