304 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Now the condition of things so far as they affected the bee in¬ 
terests in the years above cited were unusual, extraordinary, if 
not abnormal. Such atmospheric conditions as were witnessed 
in the early drouth of 1868 may have been for a few times wit¬ 
nessed in our state before. But such a series of heavy rains 
as were realized in 1869 was perhaps never known since the 
settlement of Wisconsin. 
We are of the opinion, therefore, that the climate of Wis¬ 
consin is generally very favorable to the interests of the bee¬ 
keeper. There are probably more days from April 1st to Oc¬ 
tober 1st, so clear and warm and still that bees will fly, than 
in the Atlantic states in the same latitude. Our climate is not 
as humid as that on the Atlantic coast, where bees have done 
well for centuries. It is not, on the other hand, excessively 
dry. Our annual rain-fall is about twenty-four inches, or about 
one half that of New York or New England. Few years pass 
in which we have an excess, or a deficiency of rain. We think 
on the whole, then, that the climatic conditions are eminently 
favorable for extensive and profitable bee-culture. 
The only other question we need to discuss in order to de¬ 
cide whether bee-keeping can be made profitable in Wisconsin, 
is whether we have sufficient variety and extent of forage for 
the bee to gather his stores from. How is this? We have 
the willow, the poplar, the maple and the bass, which grow 
wild, in our forests and by the side of our streams and swamps, 
from which large amounts of honey and pollen are annually 
gathered. We have also in every part of our state plants of 
indigenous growth, such as the white and red clover, buck¬ 
wheat, dandelion, mustard, and many other varieties ; while of 
exotics we have the celebrated alsike, or Swedish clover, and 
numerous species of cultivated flowers. But the staple flowers 
from which the bee must derive the bulk of his nectar are the 
basswood, the white and red clover, and the alsike. This last 
flourishes luxuriantly in every part of the state, especially on 
clay soils. In order to induce farmers to bestow more atten¬ 
tion to this profitable exotic, I will here insert a quotation 
from a Michigan correspondent of the Western Rural: 
