young and to be available to the colony during seasons of adverse weather conditions and no source of nectar. The instinct of the honeybee is to hoard, that is, to gather many times as much nectar from the flowers than the colony actually needs at one time. Because of this hoarding instinct the beekeeper can secure a surplus from his bees and realizes a profit from the investment and labor that he expends in their care. In other words the surplus honey is merely a by-product or an over-production due to the prodigality of Nature. Unless this nectar is immediately gathered by the bees as it is secreted by the flowers, a large part of it would simply dry up. Consequently honey-production is a conservation of a natural resource.

Variations in nectar. Nearly all species of plants show a marked difference in the flavor, color, and water content of the nectar secreted by them. Most plants vary in many characteristics, such as the color of the flowers, shape of the flowers, and leaves. The flowers of various species of plants secrete nectar of different color, and in so doing are classed by the beekeeper as the most desirable honey plants, or those of little value, depending upon the kind of honey his market demands. The color and amount of honey is not always dependent entirely upon the plant itself, but the nectar of any one species may vary considerably according to the soil, climatic, and environmental conditions influencing the growth of the plant. For example, the clover honey that is produced from white-clover growing in the limestone regions of Wisconsin, is usually considered to be very light in color; whereas, in other portions of the State it is more amber in color.

Variation in secretion. In a sense the nectar-secretion of a species of plant may be taken as an indication as to the advisability of cultivating such a plant in a particular region. For example, alsike and white-clover produce a superb honey in Wisconsin. The honey flows from these two plants are sometimes phenomenal, but farther south they become