170 MELILOT. 



as possible. It is well known that certain flowers yield honey all day 

 and others, only in the morning. Some secrete it only in moist, warm 

 weather, and others, in cool weather. 



Fruit trees fail sometimes to yield honey in cold, cloudy weather. 

 Buckwheat yields none of consequence in very hot and dry, or in very 

 wet weather. Many have noticed that in two fields, side by side, which 

 have been managed differently, bees will be found thick on the 

 blossoms in one, whilst not a bee is seen on the same kind of blossoms 

 in the other. And besides, many have noticed that one season bees 

 work greedily on a plant, which they will not touch another year. The 

 reason may be either, 



First. Because for some cause affected by climate or soil, there is no 

 secretion of honey one year; or, 



Second. Because some other blossoms at the time yields more honey 

 which the bees prefer. 



Extremes of cold or heat, wet or dry weather are apt to seriously af- 

 fect th9 flow of honey, and besides flowers grown in hard poor soil 

 oflimes yield much less honey than others of the same kind near by in 

 soil which is in good cultivation, moist, and fertile. So many different 

 things, climatic and otherwise affect the honey flow, that we should not 

 too suddenly conclude that any given plant does not yield honey because 

 in one particular locality, under one management, and in any particular 

 year it failed to produce honey as we expected. This whole field is a 

 comparatively new one, and one which may well claim careful study by 

 apiarians in the future . 



Melilot is a handsome plant ; but it is uselesss, except for ornament 



