212 
Beekeeping 
of amber honey in the autumn in swamps. Among the best- 
known regions in which these plants are of value may be 
mentioned the lower Delaware River and Illinois River 
valleys and the Kankakee swamp. 
(4) Willowherb. — Important in northern Michigan in 
burned over forest areas. 
(5) Sweet clover. — In some sections, especially in lime¬ 
stone regions, this plant is exceptionally abundant and is the 
source of large crops of honey of a slightly greenish color. 
It is especially valuable in northern Kentucky and southern 
Indiana. 
(6) Blue thistle. — Important in the Shenandoah valley. 
(7) Raspberry. — Northern Michigan where the forests 
have been burned over and in parts of New York. 
(8) Beans. — In southern California, where beans of 
various kinds are grown in great quantity, beekeepers find 
it profitable to move their apiaries to the bean fields after 
the sage honey-flow. The honey is white, of excellent flavor 
and granulates quickly. 
(9) Heartsease. — Mississippi valley. A heavy yielder 
of nectar in late summer. 
Variation within a region. 
It must not be understood that the territory within either 
a general or a restricted region as here defined is equally 
good throughout. The cutting of forests, the extensive 
cultivation of some plant which restricts the growth of 
honey plants, local differences in soil or drainage, the pres¬ 
ence of large towns and a multitude of other factors may so 
reduce the number of individual honey plants where they 
would normally grow as to make extensive beekeeping un¬ 
profitable. On the other hand, the cutting of forests may 
make a region better by allowing a honey plant to spread 
( e.g. willowherb) or the planting of some nectar-yielding 
species, either under cultivation {e.g. alsike clover, alfalfa) 
or in waste places {e.g. sweet clover), may greatly increase 
the value of a region to the beekeeper. In fact, the entire 
