At 12:59 PM 3/26/98 +1100, you wrote:
>I noted during a recent visit to the US that the most common honey on the
>shelves was called 'clover'. I wonder if this marks a difference in the way
>bees are distributed, or simply a difference of naming convention between
>the two counties.
 
>Does 'clover' refer to a specific bee realm, or is it a generic term, like
>'ground flora'?
 
Clover honey in the US can be any honey that is light in color and mild in
flavor. Much alfalfa honey is sold as clover. Little pure white clover
honey is produced today as it once was.
 
The real thing means different things to different folks. From my
experience real White Sweet Clover honey as I produced it once in the
higher elevations of the western slopes of the Rocky mountains in Colorado
had a real cinnamon flavor, was colorless,  could not be pored out of a
five gallon can when liquid without heating, and could be stored in the
basement of the honey house from one season to the next and remain liquid
but would turn creamy between my honey house and the honey packing plant a
day's travel away.
 
I have also seen clover honey from Nevada that came in by rail that could
not be pored out of the five gallon cans without heating. This one car had
damage and the bottom cans were stuck to the floor by the broken cans that
did manage to leak out and the bottom tier of cans cold not be removed by
lifting on the bails with out ripping them off the can. We had to get hot
water to brake the honey seal to get the cans out of the car. We also found
out why in the olden days cans were cased two to a wooden case for shipment
by rail.
 
ttul, the Old Drone
check my web site for pic's
of todays beekeeping today
latest pic's were take last week
http://209.76.50.54
 
 
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