Plants and Beekeeping - An Account of Those Plants, Wild and Cultivated, of Value to the Hive Bee, and for Honey Production in the British Isles

The number of beekeepers has been doubled or trebled in many localities according to the statistics of Beekeepers' Associations and doubtless the total production of home-produced honey has been stepped up considerably. It is to be hoped this increase in the Nation's annual honey crop will continue, and, what is of even greater importance, that this increase in the nation's bee population will also be maintained, for it has been proved that the main value of the honey bee in the national economy is as a pollinator for fruit, clovers, and other seed and farm crops. Its value in this respect far outweighs its value as a producer of honey. This book will also prove of interest to owners of gardens and flower lovers with no special interest in beekeeping, those who get great pleasure from observing bees industriously at work on flowers and are fond of growing some of those plants which they know will prove a special attraction, even though they may not always be in the front rank as garden plants. Indications are given as to what plants are likely to be most suitable in this connection and special emphasis laid on some of the newer plant introductions.