a78 AUSTRALASIAN 
GHA PTER XVI 
BEE FORAGE. 
THE vegetable origin of both honey and pollen being under- 
stood, and the facts being borne in mind, that bees can only 
collect the substances they require from plants and trees that 
are in blossom, and that the quality, colour, and flavour of the 
honey vary very considerably according to the source from 
which it is obtained, it will be easily seen how necessary it is 
for the bee-keeper to make himself acquainted with the 
resources within his reach; and not only with the names of 
the different plants and trees, but with the character of the 
honey or pollen afforded by each, and with the usual periods 
of their coming into and remaining in blossom. These cireum- 
stances, as well as their bearing upon the practical operations 
of the apiary, vary very importantly in different countries and 
climates. In high latitudes, where the winters are severe, and 
the bees confined to their hives for four or five months 
of the year, it is clear that even if there were plants which 
blossomed in winter, they would be useless to the bees, and 
the bees equally useless to them. In temperate climates, how- 
ever, where the bees can work more or less freely all through 
the winter, though only producing surplus honey in summer, 
it becomes a matter of great importance that there shall be a 
variety of nectar and pollen-bearing plants coming into blossom 
at different periods of the year, even in the depths of winter, 
in order to afford forage at all times, and keep up the health 
and strength of the bees without artificial feeding. And im 
more tropical climates, where the bees can not only work, but 
also breed, swarm, and store surplus honey, more or less, all 
the year round, such a variety in the habits of the plants and 
trees as will afford a succession of bloom at all seasons becomes 
essential to the prosperity of the apiary. An intelligent 
