570 
LOCALITY 
other shrubs yield nectar so copiously that 
in a favorable season it is almost impossi¬ 
ble to overstock this region with bees. On 
the Black Prairie, which extends from San 
Antonio to the north border line, cotton is 
a reliable honey plant, and seldom fails to 
yield a large surplus. West of the Pecos 
River agriculture is dependent upon irriga¬ 
tion, and alfalfa is the main dependence 
of several large honey producers. 
In most of the southern States the honey 
yields are lighter than in the North. As 
in California the queens from continual 
breeding wear out, leaving colonies weak 
when they should be strong. 
In no part of the United States are the 
soils and weather conditions better adapted 
for the growth of white clover than in 
northwestern Ohio, eastern Indiana, south¬ 
ern Michigan, southern Wisconsin, south¬ 
ern Minnesota, and in Louisiana along the 
rivers. In the Upper Peninsula of Michi¬ 
gan alsike clover is very abundant and 
thousands of acres of unoccupied territory 
invite the beekeeper. In southwestern In¬ 
diana large crops of honey are stored from 
climbing milkweed, and in the northwestern 
corner Spanish needles and boneset in the 
Kankakee swamps are valuable in the fall. 
White clover, sweet clover, and heartsease 
are so common in Stephenson County that 
no other portion of northwestern Illinois 
produces so large a surplus of honey. On 
the Mississippi River, where there is a wide 
valley, Spanish needles, heartsease, and 
boneset assure a dependable fall flow. 
Northern Wisconsin is at present only par¬ 
tially developed, but the pioneer beekeeper 
will find it one of the most promising sec¬ 
tions in the United States. Also in the 
cut-over region of northern Minnesota 
there is little competition and a profitable 
crop of honey may be expected annually. 
In Iowa there are two swept clover re¬ 
gions, one in the eastern part of the State, 
especially in Jackson County; and the 
other in the western part of the State 
along the Missouri River extending south¬ 
ward from Sioux City. Good results may 
be expected in almost every county in this 
State. The majority of successful bee¬ 
keepers in Missouri are located near the 
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and their 
tributaries, but there are not many com¬ 
mercial beekeepers in this State. When 
white clover fails on the uplands, a crop 
may be obtained from the fall flowers 
along the rivers. 
Thruout the western States semiarid con¬ 
ditions prevail, except in the rain belt west 
of the Cascade Range, and commercial bee¬ 
keeping is dependent almost entirely on ir¬ 
rigated alfalfa and sweet clover. The bee 
pasturage of North Dakota is promising; 
but in South Dakota there is a large area 
of sweet clover in the southeastern coun¬ 
ties, and in the Black Hills there are thou¬ 
sands of acres of irrigated alfalfa. The 
Belle Fourche Valley is an ideal farming 
region. Where alfalfa is grown without 
irrigation in Nebraska the yield varies 
greatly in different sections and in different 
years. It is most reliable in the valley of 
the Platte River, which crosses the State 
from west to east.. In Kansas likewise al¬ 
falfa in many portions of the State is an 
uncertain honey plant, but it is most de¬ 
pendable on all streams west of Topeka. 
Good locations in Oklahoma' are found 
along the larger streams, as the Canadian 
and Washita Rivers. In Nebraska, Kan¬ 
sas, and Oklahoma the future of beekeep¬ 
ing will depend largely on the increase of 
the sweet clover acreage, which is now com¬ 
ing on very rapidly. 
The largest surplus of honey in Montana 
comes from the irrigated lands along the 
Yellowstone River and from Ravalli Coun¬ 
ty in the Rocky Mountains. Probably in 
no State in the Union are larger crops of 
honey produced than in northern and 
southeastern Wyoming. In the Great 
Plains of Colorado bee culture is profitable 
only in the valleys of the South Platte and 
Arkansas Rivers. There are few bees in 
the Rocky Mountains, but on the Western 
Slope irrigated alfalfa and sweet clover 
along the irrigating ditches seldom fail to 
yield a bountiful harvest. Bee culture in 
New Mexico is restricted mainly to the val¬ 
leys of the Rio Grande, Pecos, and San 
Juan Rivers. 
At Sandpoint in northern Idaho white 
clover, buckbush, and fireweed are excellent 
sources of honey. In southern Idaho the 
best locations are the irrigated alfalfa 
fields in the Boise Valley and in the vicin¬ 
ity of Twin Falls. Most of the beekeepers 
of Utah are found in the Uinta Basin and 
the mountainous tract extending thru the 
