116 Texas Department op Agriculture. 



wheat cakes and honey." Such cakes with good honey do, indeed, 

 make one's mouth water; but not when "buckwheat honey" is em- 

 ployed. Buckwheat honey is dark and strong and has a peculiar 

 twang. These peculiarities prevent its having a place on our Texas 

 markets. Few people like it, though some are said to acquire a taste 

 for it by continued use. Furthermore, generally speaking, buckwheat 

 does not do well in Texas. Planting it is not advised. 



In some parts of the State where the seasons are more favorable it 

 may be utilized to tide the bees over a dearth of nectar from natural 

 sources, by making successive plantings, one month apart, to obtain 

 a succession of bloom for several months in early summer before the 

 dry season, which is detrimental to its development. The seeds are 

 planted best drilled in rows just as cotton is planted, and should be 

 cultivated to produce a better growth of the plants. Sown broad-cast, 

 it does not grow so luxuriantly and soon seeds and dies down. 



WHITE AND YELLOW SWEET CLOVER. 



As a general rule none of the clovers thrive well in this State ex- 

 cept the sweet clovers — white clover {Melilotus alha) and yellow sweet 

 clover (M. officinalis). Seasons over most of the State are too dry for 

 the white clover, from which the greater part of the honey of the 

 Northeast is produced. There are a few localities in the South Texas 

 coast country, however, where this grows well. 



In many places in Texas there are periods during which there is 

 no bloom from which the bees can obtain even enough honey for 

 thie sustenance of their colonies. These dearths between honey flows 

 from natural sources, are sometimes very long ones. In some locali- 

 ties they occur between the spring and fall flows, and are very serious, 

 as the bees sometimes starve during their continuance, unless fed. 

 Feeding bees at these times is objectionable, because it incites rob- 

 bing and stimulates the bees to unnecessary brood rearing, besides 

 using up a large quantity of food. In such cases planting of sweet 

 clover beforehand to tide the bees over might bring good results, as 

 the clover, if it thrives, will come into bloom and yield nectar dur- 

 ing the time. There is great variation in the length of these dearths 

 in various localities, beginning and ending soon in some and late in 

 others. In many places the gaps may be filled in entirely by the 

 blooming period of sweet clover, which begins about June 1st in most 

 localities and a little earlier in other and more protected situations, 

 and depending, also, upon weather conditions. The yellow variety be- 

 gins to bloom several weeks earlier than the white sweet clover and 

 should be chosen for localities where the dearth begins earlier in the 

 season. Either variety, however, would cover the period of the av- 

 erage dearth, as the melilotus blooms very well in favorable seasons, 

 when planted in localities favorable to its growth. In situations not so 

 favorable, and during dry seasons, the blooming period is shortened 

 considerably. However, it generally extends through June, July and 

 August. 



Sweet clover grows well after it is started, and waste places, found 

 in the poorest soils, can be planted with this forage crop for the bees. 

 There are thousands of acres of such waste land that could be made 



