Sweet clover, yellow and white, _Melilotus officinalis_ (Fig. 82), and _Melilotus alba_, are well named. They bloom from the middle of June to the middle of July. Their perfume scents the air for long distances, and the hum of bees that throng their flowers is like music to the apiarist's ear. The honey, too, is just exquisite. These clovers are biennial, not blooming the first season, and dying after they bloom the second season. Another disagreeable fact, they have no value except for honey. They are said to become pernicious weeds if allowed to spread. The other clovers--lucerne, yellow trefoil, scarlet trefoil, and alfalfa--have not proved of any value with us, perhaps owing to locality. Borage, _Borago officinalis_ (Fig. 83), an excellent bee plant, blooms from June till frost, and is visited by bees even in very rainy weather. It seems not to be a favorite, but is eagerly visited when all others fail to yield nectar. [Illustration: Fig. 84.--_Mignonette._] [Illustration: Fig. 85.--_Okra._] Mignonette, _Reseda odorata_ (Fig. 84), blooms from the middle of June till frost, is unparalleled for its sweet odor, furnishes nectar in profusion, and is well worthy cultivation. It does not secrete well in wet weather, but in favorable weather it is hardly equalled. Okra or gumbo, _Hibiscus esculentus_, (Fig. 85), also blooms in June. It is as much sought after by the bees in quest of honey, as by the cook in search of a savory vegetable, or one to give tone to soup. Sage, _Salvia officinalis_, horehound, _Marrubium vulgare_, motherwort, _Leonurus cardiaca_, and catnip, _Nepeta cataria_, which latter does not commence to bloom till July, all furnish nice white honey, remain in bloom a long time, and are very desirable, as they are in bloom in the honey dearth of July and August. They, like many others of the mint family (Fig. 86), are thronged with bees during the season of bloom. [Illustration: Fig. 86.--_Mint._] The first and last are of commercial importance, and all may well be introduced by apiarists, wherever there is any space or waste ground. The silk or milk-weed furnishes abundant nectar from June to frost, as there are several species of the genus Asclepias, which is wide-spread in our country. This is the plant which has large pollen masses which often adhere to the legs of bees (Fig. 87), and sometimes so entrap them as to cause their death. Prof. Riley once very graciously advised planting them to kill bees. I say graciously, as I have watched these very closely, and am sure they do little harm, and are rich in nectar. Seldom a bee gets caught so as to hold it long, and when these awkward masses are carried away with the bee, they are usually left at the door of the hive, where I have often seen them in considerable numbers. The river bank hard by our apiary is lined with these sweet-smelling herbs, and we would like even more. [Illustration: Fig. 87.--_Pollen of Milk-weed._] [Illustration: Fig. 88.--_Black Mustard._]