1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



•565 



business they killed her. The only thing to do with 

 such colonies is to brimstone them, or better, per- 

 haps, do as you did — scatter the bees among a doz- 

 en other colonies. But even this would be ques- 

 tionable policy, as a few of the adopted bees might 

 kill a valuable queen. — Ed.] 



Bees Used for Fertilizing Alfalfa in Wyoming, 



The readers of your paper who have been reading 

 my advertisement for some time regarding the Big 

 Horn Basin of Wyoming will be interested in learn- 

 ing a new use that has been found for the busy bee 

 out in this new valley where so much alfalfa is be- 

 ing grown. Farmers in that locality found, some 

 few years ago, that alfalfa grown for seed did not do 

 well, and the authorities of the State University 

 accounted for it by the fact of there being a lack of 

 wind to mix the pollen properly, and suggested 

 that bees be used for this purpose as well as for 

 making honey. 



The Big Horn Basin Valley, which is larger than 

 the State of Massachusetts, being at an altitude of 

 from 3600 to 4500 feet above sea-level, and surround- 

 ed by mountains from 7000 to 13,000 feet high. Is so 

 located that the wind does not blow very much at 

 any time of the year, and this is especially true dur- 

 ing the growing .season. Farmers in that locality 

 became interested in bees, and at this time there 

 are thousands of hives that send out their busy 

 workers every day that not only are used to gather 

 honey, but are also used to mix the pollen of the al- 

 falfa, and thereby greatly improve the quantity and 

 quality of the alfalfa seed. 



Omaha, Neb., Aug. 11. D. Clem Deaver. 



Sweet Clover, etc. 



On page 496 I note what Bro. Ed Van Sickle has to 

 say about sweet clover, and what he seems to call 

 a pest, as many others have done, who, like him, 

 have not studied it, but have taken up the pest cry 

 to respond to some one else; but I am glad that our 

 farmers are getting awake to the value of sweet 

 clover as a fertilizer: and now in this section we do 

 not have to fight for it as we once did. 



I have talked sweet clover to our farmers at their 

 institutes when it was alinost worth a man's repu- 

 tation to mention the svibject publicly: and I want 

 some more of the booklets on sweet clover. 



I also note the story, as he gives it, of the old 

 Methodist preacher. Well, it chanced to be my 

 good fortune to know Father Salisbury: and while 

 he was one of the pioneer men to spread the gospel 

 of Christ, he was also a pioneer in spreading beeol- 

 ogy. I have known him to have as many as 200 

 colonies when this was a country for commercial 

 bee-keeping. I have known him to have several 

 acres of sweet clover for his bees. He was also the 

 first man in our section to import a queen from It- 

 aly, paying 810.00 for her, and getting her safely 

 through her long journey. He was successful In In- 

 troducing her to get a start of Italians. F'ather 

 Salisbury has long since passed to his reward, and 

 sweet clover still prospers, whether he was the cul- 

 prit, so termed, or not. 



In this locality, twenty miles from his old home, 

 a good " Brother Everitt " was the one earlier to re- 

 ceive all the censure for sowing sweet clover; and 

 as my wife and I are on our pilgrimages to and fro 

 over the land, and see sweet clover growing, I often 

 say to her, "Brother Everitt has been here." I 

 trust the time is not far distant when all our people 

 will wake up to the value of the plant; then we 

 shall have better forage for our bees. 



The honey crop Is good here this season, and 

 stocks have increased well. Grain farming has 

 turned us away from being a con^merclal bee-keep- 

 ing section as in earlier years. 



Philo, 111., Aug. 3. M. L. Brewer. 



[But, friend B., we did not infer that Mr. ^'an 

 Sickle meant to speak of sweet cloverno'c as a pest. 

 He simply referred to the time when he labored un- 

 der that impression. He speaks as a new convert 

 to a new piece of information. Opposition to sweet 

 clover has now practically ceased, and It Is fast 

 coming to be recognized as one of the greatest 

 blessings that have come to the farmer for many a 

 year. — Ed.] 



Yellow Sweet Clover. 



I have been experimenting with yellow sweet clo- 

 ver for the last two years, and find It -second only to 

 alfalfa. Stock of all kinds like it — hogs, chickens. 



and cows. My sweet clover In ray yoving orchard 

 commenced to bloom the last week in April, and 

 bloomed till the 10th of .luly. It was just in front of 

 my apiary, and It was covered with bees all day 

 long. I think I have 1000 lbs. of sweet clover from 

 25 hives. It is as white as white-clover honey, and 

 I get 20 ct.s. per lb. for it in Concordia. I had a 

 swarm that came off the 17th of May. The hive 

 weighed 40 lbs. when I out them in, and now it 

 weighs 95. I think that does pretty well for a new 

 swarm. 



I cut my sweet clover for seed the last of July, and 

 will thrash it with a clover-huller before long. I 

 intend sowing several acres for pasture this fall. 1 

 think the yellow variety Is better than the white, as 

 It does not grow so rank, and stock like it better. 

 There is no danger of bloat when mixed with alfal- 

 fa. For pasture it is easier to grow than alfalfa. 

 In missed i>laces in my alfalfa I sowed sweet clover, 

 and It did finely. It has to be sown In the fall if we 

 expect it to bloom the following season. 



Concordia, Kan., Aug. 8. J. W. Wilson. 



Sweet Clover Finally Appreciated by Agricul- 

 tural Men. 

 I inclose a clipping taken from The American 

 Sheep-breeder and Wool-grower for June, 1910, which 

 I understand has a large circulation among sheep- 

 men. Its interest to bee-men lies in the fact that it 

 shows how other industries are waking up to the 

 value of sweet clover. 

 Lovelock, Nev., July 14. C. C. Larson, 



Sweet cloTtr, that traditional pest of field and roadside. Is 

 finding friends at court. As a fertilizer, inooutator of soils, 

 aid in tlie culture of alfalfa, a proven forage for stocli. and an 

 excelltnt and profitable hay crop when properly cured, the 

 old. tough, one-time valueless sweet clover is being sown and 

 cultivattd with great care in all parts of the country. 



An Above-ground Building v. a Cellar. 



IS a good tight building all right for bees in win- 

 ter, or Is a cellar better? Which Is preferable to use 

 lor a cellar — cement or rock? 



Harper's Ferry, la. E. M. Phipps. 



[A building above ground is usually not a good 

 place for confined bees in the winter, for the reason 

 that it is difficult to control the temperature of 

 such a building. As you probably know, the tem- 

 perature should be as uniform as possible, not va- 

 rying much from 45" Fahr. An above-ground cel- 

 lar is hardly to be recommended, then, on this 

 account. 



For an underground cellar we do not know that 

 there would be any choice between rock and con- 

 crete. We would u.se whichever Is the cheaper. If 

 there is stone right there, you might find it cheap- 

 er to use that material; but if not, you would very 

 likely find that the concrete would be cheaper.— 

 Ed.] 



Moths do Not Molest Strong Black Colonies. 



Since the merits of the common or black bees are 

 being discussed I wish to say a few words in their 

 defense. I have bought Italian queens from the 

 most noted queen-breeders In America, but have 

 never found them equal to ray blacks. My blacks 

 winter well, build up quickly in the spring, and 

 store far more honey than any Italians 1 have ever 

 had. They seldom swarm; but when they do, such 

 swarms! I have not lost a colony from raoths for 

 seven years; In fact, I never lo^t any from such 

 cause except neglected iiueenless colonies. I have 

 not had a winter loss now f<jr two years. My bees 

 get the nectar when there is any to get. 1 am sor- 

 ry that I ever Introduced Italians into my apiary, 

 and do not expect to buy any more. Diseases of 

 any kind are unknown among ray bees. 



W. \'a., July 25. J. D. Thomas. 



Another Way to Fill Empty Combs with Syrup. 



Allow me to add .something to Mr. G. M. Doollt- 

 tle's article on feeding bees by filling empty combs, 

 p. 341, June 1. I wonder If he ever tried standing 

 the combs on a slant in the tub or boiler and pour- 

 ing the syrup from a sprinkler on to the comb. I 

 have tried this method with abundant success. 

 The .syrup, as it runs down the comb, does not .so 

 completely cover the cells, thus preventing the es- 

 cape of the air, as when the combs are laid flat, I 

 have also had very good success in churning the 

 combs up and down in the syrup a few times, thus 

 filling both sides at once. 



Batavia, 111,, June 3. Wm. M. Whitney. 



