58 MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 
In the middle section of our country, from Maryland, Virginia, and 
North Carolina westward, most of the sources named above are present, 
_although the maples (particularly hard maple) furnish less, and fruit 
bloom, the clovers, linden, and buckwheat are not as great yielders as in 
the North. Sourwood or sorrel tree, mountain laurels, sour gum or 
tupelo, huckleberry, cowpea, magnolia, and persimmon make up in part 
for these, the sourwood being especially important, while in some locali- 
ties certain species of asters yield very abundantly. The tulip tree 
(known commonly as poplar) is a greater yielder than in the North, 
while in the western portion of the middle section the Rocky Mountain 
bee plant or cleome and more extensive areas of alfalfa and melilot are 
very important sources. 
In the more southern States fruit bloom is far from being as great a 
source of honey as in the North, though with the extension of orange 
groves in Florida and Louisiana an increased production of very fine 
honey may be looked for in those States. The titi, magnolia, palmetto, 
and black mangrove yield well in some parts, and sour gum (tupelo or 
pepperidge), cotton, and pennyroyal are sources not to be overlooked. 
In Texas horsemint and mesquite, the latter also extending farther 
West, furnish fine yields, while many mountain localities of southern 
California are clothed with white and black sages—wonderful honey 
producers. In certain localities there the orange and other fruit 
orchards, and also wild buckwheat, give the bees excellent pasturage 
for a portion of the year. 
Certain small homopterous insects, such as plant-lice, bark-lice, mealy- 
wings, and some leaf-hoppers, which congregate on the leaves or bark of 
various plants and trees, notably pines, oaks, and beeches, and suck 
their juices, secrete a sweet liquid, which is often taken up by bees as it 
falls on the surrounding vegetation. This secretion, commonly known 
as honeydew, or plant-louse boney, is usually of an inferior quality, 
though that from pine-tree aphides is sometimes fairly good. Most of 
it granulates very soon after having been gathered, sometimes even 
before the cells have been sealed. 
Under peculiar conditions of the atmosphere sweet exudations, also 
known as honeydew, drop from the leaves of certain plants and are 
eagerly taken up by the bees. This substance is sometimes very 
abundant and of excellent quality. It should not, however, be con- 
founded with the secretions of extra-floral glands such as are possessed 
by the cowpea, horse bean, partridge pea, and vetches. These seem 
to be natural productions for the purpose of attracting insects to the 
plants, while the former is apparently an accidental exudation through 
the plant pores, brought about very likely by some sudden change of 
temperature. Both are, however, merely the saccharine juices of the 
plant, and when refined by the bees may become excellent honey. 
