48 THE BLESSED BEES. 



along the fences and the roadsides, and in every 

 neglected corner the white-clover grew in profusion. 

 In its season there was enough of it to afford pas- 

 turage to ten thousand swarms of bees. Nearly 

 every farm had its patch of buckwheat in the fall. 

 In every direction were occasional swamps where 

 boneset, asters, golden-rod, and coreopsis gave a 

 wealth of fall blossoms. And hearts-ease, often 

 called smart-weed which in looks it closely resem- 

 bles, was sure to over-run nearly every cultivated 

 field which was somewhat neglected. I could thus 

 count on good pasturage for bees from willows, 

 maples, apple-blossoms, and raspberries in the early 

 part of the season, from white-clover and linn a few 

 weeks later, from buckwheat, hearts-ease, and the 

 profusion of swamp flowers in the fall. In these 

 respects no location could have been better for my 

 business. Though the location was thus desirable* 

 perhaps as good as any in the northern states, there 

 were, so far as I could learn, three periods of some 

 days, or possibly of two or three weeks each, during 

 which there would be little that the bees could do. 

 After sugar-maple and fruit-blossoms until the be- 

 ginning of white-clover the pasturage would be very 

 meagre. Then from the end of the linn and white- 

 clover bloom until buckwheat and other fall flowers 

 began to open, would come another period of idle- 

 ness. Finally after the first frosts had cut off the 



