HONEY. 93 



until the clover blooms, during which time little or 

 no honey is obtained, either to store or for the cur- 

 rent use of the colony ; and another interval occurs 

 between the clover and buckwheat. Unless bees are 

 fed during these intervals, as is directed on another 

 page, the colony will not be in a fit condition to store 

 large quantities of honey when it becomes plenty, 

 and consequently the amount of surplus honey ob- 

 tained is generally much less than it might otherwise 

 be. This will be more fully discussed in another 

 place. 



DIFFERENT QUALITIES OF HONEY. 



Honey is varied by the different kinds of flowers 

 from which it is gathered, each having some property 

 peculiar to itself. That gathered from the white 

 clover, in this region, is much the whitest and most 

 beautiful, sometimes almost rivaling the driven snow ; 

 at other times it is not so fair, much depending upon 

 the season. Its flavor is excellent, and it is a general 

 favorite in the market. The season for clover honey 

 is from about the fifth of June until about the middle 

 of July, varied by the season and latitude. The 

 yield from clover is usually pretty large where it- 

 abounds. 



Buckwheat is largely cultivated as a field crop in 

 many places ; it yields a very large quantity of honey, 

 and is the second in importance as a honey harvest. 

 In most, if not all the Middle States, buckwheat 

 honey is of a rich coppery color, having a reddish 

 cast, and generally thick and fine, possessing a pecu- 

 liarity of taste and smell not to be found elsewhere, 



