all bloom at the same time. Some are more favorably situated than others and so will bloom sooner. By the time that one field has been visited by the bees, another will be secreting nectar, so that the bees will perform a valuable service as long as there is any alsike-clover within flying range of the apiary.

A honeybee can carry half its weight in nectar, but generally speaking, one-fourth its weight is more nearly correct. It has been estimated that it requires from 10,000 to 20,000 honeybees to carry a pound of nectar. When bees are working on alsike-clover the gathering of four to five pounds of nectar in a single day is considered a big day's work, but a single colony has often been known to bring in over ten pounds in a single day. From this it can be ascertained that bees must make a large number of trips in a single day, and the number of flowers visited to secure a single load is usually greater than the figures given. The bees in passing from flower to flower act as unconscious agents of cross-fertilization, and it is through their unselfish mission that we can harvest the large crops of alsike-clover seed that we do in Wisconsin; and when we think of those people who earn their bread by producing honey to spread upon the bread of others, we should stop to think of the wonderful indirect work that their labors and those that labor for them, is doing for the present and future agriculture of Wisconsin.