by companies. In the mesquite districts good results are often obtained, but they bear no comparison to those obtained in the irrigated areas.

8. The Pacific Coast Region comprises the sections of Washington, Oregon, and California west of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada Ranges, and the Coast Ranges in southern California. The rainfall in the northern part of this region is very heavy, exceeding 100 inches annually; but on the mountains of southern California, the home of the bush sages, it is hardly sufficient for growing crops, due to the higher temperature and the diminishing winds from the ocean. The Coast, Cascade, and Sierra Nevada Mountains are covered with a magnificent coniferous forest composed of giant trees, but hardwood trees are comparatively rare. This strip of land rose above the waters of the Pacific Ocean near the middle of the Tertiary Period, completing the western border of North America. The land is thus the youngest, geologically, in western North America. This region is clearly separated from every other by its age, geological history, climate, and flora. The honey plants are described in detail in the subsequent pages.

The advantage of dividing the United States into eight regions characterized by different physical features, climates, floras, and geological history is apparent. A comparison of these regions answers many questions in regard to the distribution of the honey plants, which a consideration of the honey floras by states alone would not make clear. There is no difficulty in understanding why white clover reaches its maximum development in the prairies, or why trees are so valuable as sources of honey in the Appalachian region; or why gallberry, gum-trees, and cotton are confined to the Coastal Plain; or why mesquite and agave are restricted to the southwestern states; or why California has so many honey plants. Everywhere rainfall, temperature, soil, and altitude affect the conditions of beekeeping. In the following descriptions of the states each state will be divided into sections according to the natural regions found within its borders; for example, western Oregon belongs to the Pacific Coast region, and is wholly unlike eastern Oregon, which belongs to the desert region; while in North Carolina conditions differ widely in the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, and the mountainous section.

Many letters have been received inquiring as to the average size of the apiaries and the number of pounds of surplus which can be secured in the different regions. Others desire information in regard to the soil, climate, and honey plants. Farmers who have pursued beekeeping as a sideline often desire to move to a state where they can produce a larger amount of honey, or make beekeeping their chief occupation. A very general desire is expressed for information as to the best locations for beekeeping. So many factors must receive consideration that a satisfactory reply is difficult to give. “Beekeeping pays in almost every state in the Union,” writes E. R. Root, “but each section has its own special difficulties. In the North there may be great losses from the long and severe winters. In the South the winters are so mild that bees may fly during nearly every month, with the result that the stores are rapidly consumed and many colonies are likely to perish from starvation. For example, in southern California the queens, from continual brood-rearing, become exhausted, and in the spring are unable to build up strong colonies in time for the honey flow. It is a great mistake for anyone to move from one section of the country to another without first making careful investigation of the locality in which he proposes to make his new home. Before engaging in beekeeping in the South a northern beekeeper would do well to familiarize himself with the unknown conditions he must meet by working a year in a southern apiary.”

But the value of a locality depends on the personal character and methods of the beekeeper as well as on the honey flora and climate. “The poor quality reported for many regions for beekeeping,” says E. F. Phillips, “is probably due to poor bee-