not nearly as great in most oases as was expected at the beginning of the honey-flow. In certain localities where it rained at the opportune time record crops of honey were secured, whereas only a few miles away, with otherwise Just as good a territory, only an average crop was realized. This condition goes to show the need of rain at the opportune time. Hot, sultry weather with rains at night during the blooming period of white and alsike-clover bring the heaviest honey-flows.

Tree sources are usually less affected by adverse weather conditions than the smaller plants. Basswood seems to be an exception, however. The best yields are obtained from basswood when conditions are about the same as those ideal for the secretion of nectar from white and alsike-clover, although less rain while at the height of the blooming period would be still more highly desirable. The yields of honey from basswood are not as regular as those from white-clover, but some seasons are phenomenal. Cases are on record where a single colony of bees stored from 40 to 60 pounds of honey from this source in three days, whereas the storing of 20 to 25 pounds in the same length of time from white-clover must be considered extraordinary.

Gathering of pollen. In gathering pollen a honeybee is less uniformly beneficial to plants than when gathering nectar. While they are cross-pollinating the flowers so visited, they are at the same time appropriating a part of the pollen upon which fertilization depends. However, the great amount of good that the honeybee does in the gathering of pollen more than offsets this. The amount of pollen gathered by a single colony in a single season is considerable. The components of pollen form a complete food, consisting of proteids, substances rich in nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus; also carbohydrates, oil, and sugars. Pollen is a very important food, because bees cannot rear brood without it, unless some substitute for pollen is provided. In the spring especially during a wet season, beekeepers are