areas of outwash sand plains, which were laid down by the water escaping from beneath the glacier. On a portion of these plains the honey flora is so poor that they are of little value to the beekeeper. They are often covered by a pine forest. The moraines and sand plains cover about 42 per cent, of the Northern Peninsula. Lake clay soils are found at the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula in Chippewa County, in the central portion in Delta County, and at the western end in Baraga, Houghton, Ontonagon, and Gogebic counties. These areas are generally level and the soils very fertile. They are well adapted to the growth of alsike clover and white clover, and the possibilities of extensive beekeeping in these counties are very great. They occupy about 3 per cent, of the Upper Peninsula. The limestone soil covering the tract of limestone along Lake Huron and Lake Michigan is one of the best soils in the state. It is filled with fragments of limestone and fine calcareous material produced by the grinding of the ice upon the underlying rocks. Alsike clover and white clover are very abundant in a part of this area, the soil of which is also well adapted to growing sweet clover.
While there are not a great number of honey plants in the Upper Peninsula, there are a small number which are very common, and yield a great amount of nectar. The long, clear days and cool nights are very favorable to a profuse secretion of nectar. Maples, which are especially abundant in the hardwood sections of the western half of the Peninsula, are helpful in building up the colonies in early spring. Following maple comes dandelion bloom with its ample supply of pollen. Wild red raspberry abounds on the uncultivated hardwood land. It occurs in nearly all parts of the Peninsula, and almost every good location for beekeeping is within range of large areas of this shrub. It is a dependable source of nectar and is second in importance only to alsike clover. White clover and alsike clover grow with the greatest luxuriance on the lake clay soils and on the limestone soils. In Ontonagon and Chippewa counties the flow from alsike clover is described as remarkable both for its length and abundance. It has been widely scattered through the hauling of hay, and is by far the most valuable source of nectar in Upper Michigan. After a forest fire willow-herb, or fireweed, springs up and is an important honey plant for several years, until it is driven out by raspberry and other hardier plants. It blooms from July until frost and yields well at a low temperature. Basswood was formerly much more common than it is to-day; but there are a few locations in which occasionally it is the source of a heavy flow of nectar. Goldenrod is found chiefly on the heavy soils and often gives a good late flow. The main honey flow, beginning with the opening of raspberry bloom, lasts for about six weeks.
In most of the counties of the Upper Peninsula the number of colonies of bees is small; but in Chippewa County, where there is a luxuriant growth of the clovers on the lake clay soils, there are about 1200 colonies, and a surplus of honey for exportation is obtained; but in some years several hundred colonies are moved in from localities where the season is not satisfactory. Extracted honey is chiefly produced, as the cool nights are unfavorable for the production of comb honey. Most colonies of bees are packed and wintered outdoors. Snow comes early and the hives are soon deeply buried beneath it and well protected from wind and snow. In 1924 colonies were wintered in a cellar with better results. Occasionally there comes an open winter; and, when the temperature falls to 35 degrees below zero, many colonies perish. The honey is white or very light colored and of the best quality. The average surplus per colony is high. There are a great number of excellent unoccupied locations. The many small cities and towns afford good social and educational advantages, and are yet near large areas of good beekeeping territory. The main roads between the cities are paved, or hard and well graveled, making transportation from one end of the Peninsula to the other very easy. Of the ten and a half