508 
HONEY PLANTS 
cola River and the coast of South Carolina, 
Georgia, and Alabama; manehineel occurs 
in the extreme south of Florida; the black 
mangrove in tide-water marshes in the south¬ 
ern half of the same State; our native aca¬ 
cias belong to Texas, the sages to southern 
California, and scores of other honey plants 
are equally restricted in their distribution. 
But it is not only in individual states that 
they are very variable in their range, but 
in almost every township; for example, 
within less than a mile of each other, yet 
without invading each other’s territory, 
there may be found the salt-marsh golden- 
rod, the field goldenrod, and the wood gold- 
enrod. 
Honey plants are likewise very variable 
in the preference they exhibit for different 
soils. The tupelo and willows grow in wet 
swamps, the tickseed in marsh lands, the 
smooth sumac prefers a rocky soil, the mes- 
quite and cacti are dwellers in the desert; 
the gallberries in Georgia avoid a limestone 
region, while sweet clover will grow no¬ 
where else. The spikeweed and the alkali- 
weed thrive in alkaline soil; the Rocky 
Mountain bee plant in a dry saline soil; 
the salt-marsh goldenrod in a soil and at¬ 
mosphere impregnated with salt, while the 
fireweed springs up in profusion on burnt 
lands, and the production of nectar in wild 
alfalfa is greatly stimulated by a moun¬ 
tain fire. 
Undoubtedly the secretion of nectar is 
often, if not always, correlated with the 
character of the soil, the temperature, and 
water supply. Alfalfa, which, in irrigated 
sections of California, is a large and most 
reliable yielder, is of little value along the 
coast or in the East. A heavy thunder¬ 
shower followed by a sudden fall in the 
temperature mdy bring a successful honey 
flow from buckwheat or basswood to a pre¬ 
mature end. Wild alfalfa may produce 
nectar abundantly on one side of the Coast 
Ranges, and very little on the other side. 
Heavy rains are likely to lessen greatly and 
light rains may either stimulate or retard 
the quantity of nectar secreted by a honey 
plant. The last honey obtained from lima 
beans and alfalfa is darker than the first. 
On a sandy soil the honey obtained from 
alfalfa is lighter in color than on a heavy 
soil, and lime in a soil is also reported to 
render a honey lighter, A prolonged drouth 
is apt to bring loss and disappointment, 
tho it shortens the tubes of the red clover 
so that part of the nectar is available. 
Black sage requires a clear warm season 
preceded by abundant rain. Blue gum and 
red clover are very reliable yielders, and 
are largely independent of the weather. 
Nor must the periodicity of honey plants 
be overlooked. The orange tree and the 
cabbage palmetto in Florida can be de¬ 
pended upon only about one year in three; 
but orange is a fairly reliable source in 
California. Sage does its best one year in 
five, and is a partial failure every other 
year. The rules which govern the bloom¬ 
ing of white clover have not yet been 
formulated. Manehineel does not afford a 
heavy flow every year. The different spe¬ 
cies also vary greatly in the length of time 
they are in bloom. In many cases they 
are in flower for only a few weeks; but 
carpet grass yields from May until frost; 
pepper bush from July to September; pin 
clover in California begins in February 
and continues thru the summer, and al¬ 
falfa from April to October. The different 
kinds of honey vary also in the rapidity 
with which they granulate. After 10 years 
white tupelo is still liquid, while the honey 
from blue curls granulates in the cells be¬ 
fore they are sealed. Usually a honey 
granulates within six months after it is 
extracted. 
A honey containing a large percentage 
of grape sugar (dextrose) crystallizes 
much more readily than one containing a 
small percentage. For example, alfalfa 
honey, which granulates in a few months, 
contains 36.85 per cent of grape sugar 
(dextrose) and 40.24 per cent of fruit 
sugar (levulose); while tupelo honey, 
which never granulates, contains only 24.73 
per cent of grape sugar and 48.61 per cent 
of fruit sugar. The reason for this is that 
grape sugar granulates easily, while fruit 
sugar usually remains a liquid. Frequent 
changes of temperature also hasten granu¬ 
lation. See Granulation of Honey. 
Even where there is a good honey flora 
fair weather is essential, or the bees can 
not bring the nectar into the hive. The 
willows and the gallberries, which bloom in 
the spring when there are much rain and 
foggy weather, are, therefore, not so desir¬ 
able as species which flower later. The sue- 
