II Nov., 1912.] Lnccnic and Ensilage. 65 



DO 



days the young queen will be laying and, under normal concJilions, the 

 combs in the hive containing the swarm will have been built down to the 

 bottom bar of the frames. In the meantime the parent hive has been 

 gradually turned round till it stands close alongside to the swarm, with the 

 entrance facing the same way, and the two stocks may be united into one 

 hive, the old queen (that with the swarm) being removed, the young queen 

 taking her place on the new combs, with the old combs over a queen-excluder 

 in the super to be extracted when full, or replaced by frames with full 

 sheets of foundation, if unsuitable for further use. 



As previously stated, uniting should be done towards evening, first 

 blowing smoke between the combs of both colonies, and then alternating 

 the frames of the two colonies, thus thoroughly mixing the bees. They will 

 have settled down by next morning, and will work peaceably together; the 

 combs intended for the brood nest and the queen are then put in the lower 

 chamber, the other combs in the super above a queen-excluder. 



The old queen may be removed the day before uniting, which should not 

 be attempted till the young queen has been laying for some days, as much 

 stinging and balling of the queen may take place if uniting is done before 

 or too soon after the young queen commenced laying. 



The united stock is in the best condition for storing surplus honey, the 

 brood combs ha\e been renewed, and the queen being of the same season's 

 raising, there will be no further swarming. 



{To be continued.) 



LUCERNE AXD ENSILAGE. 



By John W . Paierson, B.Sc., Ph.D., Experimentalist ; and P. R. Scott, 

 Chemist for Agriculture. 



In order to determine the changes or losses which may occur in locally 

 grown forage during the process of ensilage, a preliminary .series of experi- 

 ments was carried out at Geelcng during the past summer. The silo was 

 of the reinforced concrete type, and in filling it the material was chaffed 

 and elevated in the ordinary way.. Second-cut lucerne was the crop 

 employed. 



The method of working was simple. About 50 lbs. of the material 

 as it came from the cutter was well mixed on a clean floor. From this 

 30 lbs. was sewed up in a clean Hessian bag and dropped in the centre of 

 the silo where it was soon buried in the ordinary course of work. At the 

 same time 10 lbs. was weighed frcm the same heap and set out to dry as 

 a thin layer in a lock-up room. When dry this 10 lbs. was carefully col- 

 lected and preserved for analysis. 



The bag was placed in the silo on 27th December. Chaffing went on 

 from that time until the silage was from 10 to 12 feet deep over the bag at 

 the end of three days. The material was then fed to cows straight away, 

 a quantity being taken from the silo daily. On 27th February the bag 

 was reached and it was then taken out and weighed. It had been buried 

 in the silo 62 davs. 



The silage when taken out weighed 2^ lbs. 9 oz. It was forwarded the 

 same day in a sealed milk can for analysis. At the same time the air- 

 dried chaff from 10 lbs. of the original material was sent on as a separate 



