IMPORTANCE OF HONEY 
PLANTS 
Honey plants are the first essential to bee-keeping. 
For bees to store surplus honey there must be an abun- 
dance of nectar from one or more sources at one or sev- 
eral periods during the season. In order for bees to 
prosper, there must also be the so-called minor sources 
early and late and between the major flows, to keep the 
bees in shape and to build them up to make the most of 
the major honey flows. 
Since honeybees, for their pollination services, are be- 
coming recognized as very essential to our agriculture 
and national well-being, likewise honey plants which 
will furnish either minor or major sources must be 
looked upon as of major importance in the scheme of 
things. It is of a law of nature that the greater the 
succession of nectar plants present throughout the sea- 
son, the more bees there will be to perform the essen- 
tial service of pollination of the fruits and flowers, gar- 
dens and fields of your neighborhood. 
WE ARE HERE TO SERVE YOU 
Some twelve years ago we began gathering a little 
seed of several promising honey plants and put up a 
few packets of seed in order to have it available for 
those who might want it. We were induced to take on 
this little sideline since we are in close contact with 
my father, Frank C. Pellett, and his work in the Amer- 
ican Bee Journal Honey Plant Test Gardens. Once we 
started on this little venture there seemed to be no stop- 
ping place; the demand was increasing for the seeds 
we offered and we kept adding other items of promis- 
ing nectar plants to the list. This very modest begin- 
ning proved to be the start of a business which we later 
came to look upon as no longer a sideline. We immense- 
ly enjoyed this work and found it an interesting project 
in bringing together worthwhile plants which attract 
the bees freely and in extending their use to others. 
Our listings came to include plants of proven agricul- 
tural value and others of sufficient promise to be in de- 
mand for trial under widely varied climatic conditions; 
some novelties and attractive garden flowers which at- 
tract the bees in large numbers; some desirable plants 
to naturalize on unused land for the purpose of provid- 
ing additional bee pasture. 
Since honey plants are as yet a largely unexplored 
field, the offering of seed in trial amounts, so that you 
may learn by trial and error which are of most value 
for your locality and to suit your purpose, remains im- 
portant to us. 
To make available a desirable selection of nectar 
plants and to do the best we can in describing them to 
you, is our intention in issuing this catalogue. 
Hoping to be of greater service to you, 
MELVIN A. PELLETT. 
