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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Sept. 26, 1901. 



tion to distribute the seed of one of tliem, but 

 at the present day little is heard of them, and 

 it is not likely that any one considers it advis- 

 able to make a plantation of either of them. 



It seems pretty well settled that to make it 

 profitable to occupy tillable land with any 

 honey-plant, that plant must have a value 

 aside from its honey-yielding properties. 

 Hopeless as the case may be considered with 

 regard to any plant for honey alone, there is 

 always a possibility of the discovery of some 

 plant of value for other purposes which has 

 the additional value of being a honey-yielder. 

 Even the remote possibility of such a thing 

 makes it worth while to experiment with a 

 large number in the hope that out of the 

 many there may be found one that will be 

 profitable. 



In the National Stockman and Farmer, the 

 winter or hairy vetch receives high praise as 

 a plant for feeding and other purposes, but no 

 mention is made of its honey-yielding quali- 

 ties. In a late number of that excellent farm 

 journal J. A. Macdonald speaks upon that 

 point after this wise : 



Some months ago I made mention of the 

 winter or hairy vetch in ati article in the 

 National Stockman and Farmer, but in men- 

 tioning many of its various points of value, 

 as a soiling" plant, pasture plant, manurial 

 value, etc., I did not observe that this vetch 

 was a' splendid honey-plant, and that clover 

 does not begin to compare with it in this 

 regard, for the reason that the time of bloom 

 of clover is comparatively short beside hairy 

 vetch. I wonder if any of your readers have 

 noticed this new value of this vetch; if they 

 have, they have taken very good care to keep 

 the inforniation to themselves. Your valued 

 correspondent, Mr. Lighty, and a bee-man, 

 too, has spoken, in your columns, of the 

 many valuable attributes of the hairy vetch, 

 but I, at least, have failed to see any mention 

 by him of the honey-yielding qualities of the 

 plant, and I would now ask him to say if he 

 ever noticed this point of value. 



First, let me say that there is no more beau- 

 tiful sight than to look upon a field of hairy 

 vetch in its full purple bloom, and this view 

 presents itself for a very long time, and this 

 is why such a remarkably fine honey-plant, 

 supplving nectar to the bees for weeks. You 

 see this vetch, when sown in spring, is very 

 tardy m maturing seed, but continues to put 

 forth new bloom from week to week, and a 

 bloom which the bees are exceedingly fond 

 of. (In a patch of this vetch sown May 10, I 

 notice bloom about the first week in July, but 

 it was not until three weeks later, or the last 

 week in .July, that it appeared in full bloom, 

 and still at this date (Aug. 9) it is showing a 

 brilliant bloom, though pods are maturing on 

 the lower portions of the plants. For the 

 last ten days the plants are literally covered 

 with bees. A few days ago I tried to esti- 

 mate the number of bees flitting from bloom 

 to bloom, and as far as I could reckon there 

 was an average of ten bees to the square 

 yard, that is, in the immediate vicinity of the 

 particular spot where I was standing. Some 

 say there are no more than four or five bees 

 working to the .square yard, but no matter 

 what time of the day I go into that vetch 

 patch (which, by the way, we are cutting for 

 partial soiling of cows and pigs), there are 

 lots of bees working industriously. 



Hairy vetch is a wonderful plant indeed, so 

 manv points of value has it. As a soiling 

 plant mixed with a little oats it's a wonder, 

 and ahead of anything I ever saw. Peas don't 

 begin to compare with it at all. As a pasture 

 for swine it is fine, and though I never cured 

 any of it for liay, I can not but believe it 

 must be gooil for this purpose, too. As a 

 spring crop with melt is ahead of aiwinter 

 crop, and produces about seven tons of green 

 forage per acre, and lastly comes its wonderful 

 value as a honey-plant. I wish bee-men 

 every where would give the plant a trial for 

 its "honey-giving qualities; and I would 

 greatly wish to hear from those who have the 



hairy vetch growing to report its value in 

 this regard. 



Now in the hands of others this plant may 

 or may not be found of value. .Jhe proba- 

 bility is that in some localities it will deserve 

 the kind words with which Mr. Macdonald 

 speaks of it, while in others it will be of little 

 value. But the possibilities in the case war- 

 rant a thorough trial on a small scale. Its 

 long period of bloom, and its continuance in 

 bloom after white clover is done are special 

 points in its favor wherever it is found to be 

 a success. 



Has any one of our readers had any experi- 

 ence with the plant >. Has any one any 

 further knowledge of it ? It so, let us have 

 all the light possible about it. 



I Weekly Budget. I 



President William McKinlet— the most 

 widely respected and honored president of 

 the United States in two decades — was shot 

 down by an anarchistic demon in human 

 form, while he was holding a reception at the 

 Pan-American Kxposition at Buffalo, Sept. 

 6. The terrible wounds resulted in his death 

 early Saturday morning, Sept. 14. 



Of course, this is no news to the most of 

 our readers, as the daily press has been 

 crowded for almost two weeks with columns 

 upon columns of matter bearing on this awful 

 event. It is almost too sad and terrible to 

 write about. There should be no room for a 

 single anarchist in this " land of the free and 

 home of the brave." We strongly favor the 

 suggestion that all the anarchists in this 

 country be exiled to two high-walled islands 

 of the sea, the men to be assigned to one 

 island, and the women to the other. Give 

 them sufficient to eat as long as they live. 

 After that the " breed " would beat an end. 



We have not the slightest sympathy for 

 those who would shoot down any one placed 

 in othcial position, and the sooner such das- 

 tardly cowards are humanely and effectually 

 disposed of the better for all concerned. 



(iETTiN'G Late i-dk Quees-Okdehs.— On 

 account of the season getting late— cool 

 weather, etc. — we wish to announce that we 

 will be unable to accept any more queen- 

 orders to be filled this season. We appreciate 

 very much the queen-patronage that has been 

 extended to us this year, and trust that it may 

 continue next season. We also hope that all 

 the queens received through us may prove 

 entirely satisfactory, as we believe they will. 



Hon. J. M. Hamhaugh, writing us from 

 San Diego Co., Calif., Aug. 31, had this to 

 say : 



Fkiend York:— The reliable, old American 

 Bee .Journal, boon companion to the wide- 

 awake bee-keeper, cometh regularly, and is 

 always welcome here in this far-away land of 

 the Sunny Pacific Slope. I am afraid there 

 are very few bee-keepers that can fully appre- 

 ciate the energy and grit of the Editor who so 

 faithfully compiles and prepares a weekly 

 intellectual feast for its patrons upon topics 

 relating almost exclusively to the honey-bee. 

 Long may the old. faithful American Bee 

 Journal live and prosper under the guidance 



of our -'auld lang syne" friend, George W. 

 York, is our sincere wish. 



It seems that fate has placed me at the ex- 

 treme western limit of Uncle Sam's domain, 

 where I am isolated from the haunts of my 

 early life. Yet I can truthfully say I have no 

 regrets, and have many reasons to be thank- 

 ful, chief among which is an added lease upon 

 life. Myself and family have enjoyed much 

 better health here than we did in the East. 

 The daily visitations of the cool, invigorating 

 salt-bree"ze atmosphere is a panacea for 

 almost every human ill, and hundreds and 

 thousands at this season of the year hie away 

 to the banks of the ever-rolling, restless 

 ocean, to bathe in its cooling serf, and rest 

 from the business cares of life. I imagine 

 that could you but be suddenly transferred 

 from your murky, blistering Chicago furnace 

 to the banks of our Pacific clime, you would 

 be suddenly impressed with the wide con- 

 trast, and would only wish to tarry here the 

 balance of your mortal career. 



Respectfully yours, J. M. Hambai'gh. 



Thank you, Mr. Hambaugh, for such ex- 

 pressions of kindly feeling and appreciation. 

 Such go far toward resting the tired head and 

 hand that often become so through the inces- 

 sant efforts necessary to be put forth in order 

 to send out the old American Bee Journal 

 every week in the year. But, after all, it is 

 a pleasant work. And one can keep on doing 

 it with an honest feeling that he is really and 

 truly helping some one— yes, helping many, 

 who want and need just such aid as this jour- 

 nal gives. 



To all our increasing thousands of readers 

 we pledge continued effort and devotion, 

 health and strength permitting. 



Home and Apiary of J. W. Adams. — On 

 page 615 will be found a picture of " Oak 

 Grove Apiary," belonging to Mr. J. W. 

 Adams, of Montague Co., Tex. He took his 

 first lessons in bee-keeping from his grand- 

 father when he was a mere boy, but never 

 kept bees until after he was married. He 

 moved to Texas in 1S84, and seeing so many 

 bees there the old desire to keep them wag 

 revived, and so he bought some black ones in 

 box-hives ; these he transferred to Langstroth 

 hives, and by making a study of the bees, and 

 reading all the books he could secure, he has 

 made a success of the business. He is also a 

 farmer and stock-raiser. 



Mr. Adams secured about 100 pounds of 

 comb honey per colony last season (1900), 

 which he sold at 12>.< cents per pound; he 

 gets 9 and 10 cents per pound for extracted 

 honey, and has no trouble in selling all the 

 honey he can produce, at these prices, and 

 the middle of June he was behind 1000 pounds 

 on his orders. He is the only practical bee- 

 keeper in that locality, but through his efforts 

 some have become interested in bees, and 

 others have begun to improve their stock, and 

 adopt the standard hives. 



In the picture, the little girlsto the left are 

 Mr. Adams' daughters, the little one in the 

 buggy is the baby, and the young man in the 

 background is his eldest son, who has charge 

 of his queen-business. 



Mil. A. N. Tyler, of Tyler Bros., located 

 in Sutter Co., Calif., called on us last week. 

 This firm of bee-keepers have ISOO colonies 

 of bees, and their crop this year was about 20 

 tons — only about a iiuarter of a crop, so Mr. 

 Tyler says. He thought the total amount of 

 honey in California this year would be about 

 250 car-loads. This is perhaps half of a full 

 yield. Quite a lot of sweetness, however, 

 and will likely have noticeable influence on 

 the honey market of the country. 



