through June. There is a little purple sage. This species is central in Ventura County near the mountains, and is more widely distributed than either the black or white sage. In 1920 there was in Riverside County the best flow from black sage in 25 years. Strong colonies averaged over four pounds per day for 15 days. The honey was water-white and very heavy. The purple and white sages also yielded well.

There are several other species of sage which deserve mention. The creeping sage (S. sonomensis), or ramona, covers the ground with a matlike growth, from which arise flowering stems four or five inches tall bearing light violet flowers. This species is rare, but it is widely distributed in the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges and in localities is important. The honey is like that of the other sages. Annual sage (S. Columbariae), or chia, is common in the foothills and mountains of the Coast Ranges, and in some districts yields a surplus. The seeds were formerly used for food, and were also considered of medicinal value in cases of fever. It blooms in April and May. Thistle sage (S. carduacea) likewise yields a white honey of fine flavor. Two or three stems rise from a rosette of root-leaves, and bear from 1 to 4 whorls, or “buttons,” of light blue flowers. The leaves are more or less spiny-toothed, whence the English name common in southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. It blooms in June.

The common garden sage (S. officinalis) is reported to yield a white honey, where it is extensively cultivated as a culinary herb. Lance-leaved sage (S. lanceolata) grows in bare fields and on dry plains from Nebraska and Kansas to Texas and Arizona. It is about a foot tall, with lance-shaped leaves and blue flowers, and yields nectar from early July until frost. It is helpful in maintaining the strength of the colonies. The blue sage (S. azurea) is listed as a honey plant in Texas. In Australia the verbena sage (S. verbenacea), introduced from Europe, yields a little honey during the dry months of the year. But many species of Salvia have a corolla tube so long that they are adapted to bumblebees. Other species, as the crimson sage of California, the cardinal sage of Mexico, and various Brazilian species with scarlet or bright red corollas, are humming-bird-flowers, the nectar being secreted at the bottom of a tube 2 inches long, far beyond the reach of bees.

SALMON-BERRY (Rubus parviflorus). — In Oregon the large white flowers of the salmon-berry bloom about the 10th of March, and yield a thin red honey, which is very sweet. Michigan to Oregon and California. A raspberry.

SAINFOIN (Onobrychis sativa). — Sainfoin has long been extensively grown in England, France, and Belgium for hay. In America it has been successfully cultivated in a few places throughout Ontario and in various parts of the United States. It succeeds best on a limestone soil, or where lime is used as a fertilizer. It is not suited to a semi-arid country; and, as the stems are shorter and smaller than those of alfalfa, it does not produce as many tons of fodder per acre. Like the clovers, alfalfa, and sweet clover, it belongs to the pulse family. The spikes of light pink flowers appear in summer. (Fig. 105.)

Bees gather the nectar very eagerly. The honey is pale yellow, makes a handsome section, and is said to be almost as clear as spring water. It does not granulate readily; the quality is excellent and compares well with that from white clover. Some retailers prefer it to alfalfa honey. A field of sainfoin is pink with bloom for a long time. Also called crocette and esparcette.

“The chief honey plant on the chalky uplands of southeast England,” says Sladen, “is giant sainfoin, a variety of Onobrychis sativa. It is sometimes cut twice in a single season. It blooms first about June 10 and yields a crop of honey, if the weather is not too wet and it is fairly warm. It blooms again in July when the main honey crop is gathered. It often blooms for a third time in middle August; but it yields no nectar, although the fields are pink with the bloom and the conditions are as favorable as in July.”

In the Department of Loiret, south of Paris, France, at Outerville sainfoin occupies about one-third of the land. It remains in bloom for about 28 days before it is cut for hay. A month after the first cutting, it is in bloom again and later in