360 
Beekeeping 
Difficulties of identification. 
At times this work calls for considerable knowledge of 
botany, which most beekeepers cannot be expected to possess. 
Because of errors in identification and failure to keep in 
touch with recent advances in the science of botany, the 
scientific names of the honey-plants in the books and journals 
on beekeeping often do not agree with those of the leading 
botanical works. 
Study of neighboring locations. 
It frequently happens that a beekeeper maintains his 
apiary for years in one locality, sometimes experiencing a 
total failure of his crop, when within a few miles of him 
there are nectar resources on which he might draw, but of 
which he is in ignorance. Many beekeepers have come to 
see this only after they have established out-apiaries. A 
beekeeper who is depending on his bees for a considerable 
amount of his income should make a study of the regions 
about him, perhaps for a distance of several miles, and when 
he finds a locality which looks promising, but concerning 
which he can get no definite information, it will pay to place 
one or two colonies there and to inspect them at intervals 
during the season. In this way, it is possible at times to 
find locations favorable for migratory beekeeping. Any 
swamps within moving distance should be investigated, 
as these regions are more dependable than drier locations. 
In view of the fact that many beekeepers by staying at 
home are losing nectar that is abundant only a few miles 
away, it is evident that scouting should be more generally 
practiced. The increasing use of automobile trucks by 
beekeepers will probably lead to more migratory beekeeping 
than has existed in the past. 
Function of nectar. 
The nectar which is secreted in the flowers of numerous 
species of plants is not a mere by-product of plant activity 
