bushes yields more nectar than a stunted one. The bloom lasts fully as Iong as that of white clover, and bees have been seen gathering nectar from it during the latter part of July. If there is a drought in August, followed by rains and warm weather in September, it sometimes blossoms again and furnishes a second crop of honey. The blossoms are inverted, a provision for protecting the nectar from rain.

Across the Straits of Mackinac in Upper Michigan raspberry is abundant on the cultivated hardwood land, and is second in importance only to alsike cover. In the acid sandy soils north of the Adirondack region in New York the clovers do not thrive, but raspberry is abundant and yields well. Raspberry honey is produced in commercial quantities year after year near Massena Springs. It is the only source of surplus and about 50 pounds of extracted honey per colony are obtained. Considerable of Franklin County is to be included in the raspberry area, as from Malone southward.

Where the raspberry is cultivated on a large scale for market it is also an important honey plant. The largest acreages of bush fruits are located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, in southern New Jersey, and around Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Louis, Missouri; Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; and Salem and Portland, Oregon. The red varieties, especially the Cuthbert, are believed to furnish the most honey. Bees work on the flowers closely, and the honey is excellent in quality. The raspberry blooms between fruit trees and white clover, so that large fields of it are a great acquisition.

RATTAN (Berchemia scandens). — Where abundant, it yields a surplus of dark amber honey used by bakeries. A much branched climbing shrub bearing small greenish flowers, which open in April. It grows in damp soil or swampy land from Virginia to Florida and Texas. This species is abundant in the swamplands of southeastern Texas, where it blooms from April to July; and sometimes if there are summer rains there is a second blooming period. J. D. Yancy, of Bay City, reports the honey as a light lemon yellow with a mild agreeable flavor.

RED-BAY (Persea Borbonia). — Florida mahogany. Tisswood. Laurel tree. A tree reaching a height of 50 feet, with leathery leaves and yellow-green flowers, which open in spring. It is reported as valuable in many localities in the Gulf States, as Tasmania, Florida; Waycross, Georgia, and in eastern Texas. The honey is dark and poor in quality.

REDBUD (Cercis canadensis). — Judas-tree. A rapid-growing, beautiful tree, often cultivated. The pink-purple flowers appear from March to May, and yield both nectar and pollen. Widely distributed in rich soil throughout the states east of the Mississippi River, and westward in the river valleys to Arkansas. The Texas redbud and the California redbud have smaller flowers, which also bloom in early spring, and are valuable for brood-rearing.

RED CLOVER. — See Clover.

RED GUM (Eucalyptus rostrata). — Nectar abundant; a promising species. See Eucalyptus.

RETAMA. — See Horsebean.

RHODODENDRON. — The Rhododendrons are bumblebee-flowers. The following report from a beekeeper at Divide, West Virginia, is noteworthy: “I am reasonably sure that honeybees never visit the Rhododendrons in this locality. Last season tons of nectar dropped from the flowers near my apiary, but I was unable to find a single bee on the bloom. The nectar fell in large drops, was pleasant to the taste, and very sweet. The Rhododendrons cover the land for mile after mile, and when in blossom present a most beautiful appearance.” A number of observers have reported visits to the bloom by several species of the larger bees, but the Rhododendrons are not listed as honey plants in any state. The flame-colored azalea (R. calendulaceum) is exceedingly abundant in the mountains of North Carolina. See Mountain Laurel.