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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Oct. 15 



velous thins about It is, the clover grew so fast and 

 so thickly that the Canada thistles were choked, 

 and at present there are very few to be seen except 

 along the edges of the patch. As sweet clover be- 

 longs to the legume family, it has gathered nitro- 

 gen from the air and stored it in the numerous nod- 

 ules, borne on the roots, to be used as an enrichtr 

 of the soil. 



To sum up, I have killed two birds with one stone, 

 viz., choked out the thistles and at the same time 

 enriched the land; and last, but not least, it has fur- 

 nished pasture for the bees while in bloom. In rais- 

 ing sweet clover as a forage crop and for hay, pre- 

 pare the ground as for alfalfa, and sow in August 

 quite thickly, possibly about 25 lbs. to the acre. If 

 a good stand is .secured the next spring, the plants 

 will stool: and if it stands thick, as it should for 

 hay, the stems will not be coarse, and the cattle and 

 horses will eat it up clean. However, at first the 

 horses and cows refuse to eat it, but soon get used 

 to it, and afterward eat it greedily. It should be 

 mowed for hay just before it blooms, as the stalk 

 gets too woody, and cattle will not eat it. It is a 

 great plant for green manuring, and when turned 

 under produces great crops of potatoes and corn. 

 As a weed I do not think it is any worse than the 

 other clovers, for it can easily be got rid of by plow- 

 ing under or cutting the stalk while In bloom. 



Sweet clover compared with alfalfa or other clo- 

 ver, I think, stands second to alfalfa and above the 

 other clovers entirely. If mown for hay before the 

 blossoms open, it will sprout, and stock can be pas 

 tured until fall. As a weed-eradicator, soil-enrich- 

 er, honey-plant, and forage-plant, I think it has 

 very few equals when rightly handled. Almost any 

 soil will grow sweet clover. The hardest clay and 

 the most barren-looking soil may grow It, and 

 drouth will seldom aflfect it. I think if the farmers 

 learn to know the value of sweet clover they will no 

 longer regard it as a weed: and another thing, sweet 

 clover might just as well be grown in waste places 

 and along fence rows as weeds, as it is very valuable 

 for the bees for the honey it yields, so bee-keepers 

 take notice. In this article I have given my experi- 

 ence with sweet clover. It came to me as a new 

 plant, and I have tried to find the bad qualities as 

 well as the good, but they are all good in my esti- 

 mation, 



Lancaster Co.. Pa. E. S. Hacker. 



I confess that the above is a surprise; but 

 come to think of it I can readily understand 

 that in poor soil where C'an;>da thistles 

 would not make a very luxuriant growth, 

 sweet clover, sending its roots down and its 

 tops away up, might choke even the Cana- 

 da thistles; and it seems to me friend Hacker 

 has not only succeeded in killing two birds 

 with one stone but that he has killed several 

 birds. 



SELLING SWEET-CLOVER SEED TO HIS NEIGH- 

 BORS, ETC. 



Those who have read our sweet-clover book 

 will recall that Frank Coverdale is growing 

 sweet-clover seed on a scale perhaps as ex- 

 tensive as almost anybody else; and the fol- 

 lowing letters tell of his success: 



We have just bound with a binder :M acres of white 

 sweet clover which is the right kind for farmers to 

 sow. We have four big stacks, and it is full of seed. 

 It Is fine business harvesting this seed, as it handles 

 so nicely. I wish I could toss you a bundle In 

 three weeks or so we will hull it out clean. This 

 clover certainly makes the very best hog pasture 

 of any of the clovers. I have tried alfalfa, alsike, 

 and red clover, but alba is by far the best of all. 

 What a money-maker the clover would be if farm- 

 ers could be taught how to sow and use for hog pas- 

 ture! I have run over 100 head on my fields, and 

 every one who sees them is enthused with results: 

 but it is hard for nearly all to get over the idea that 

 it is not a weed. S(nie are ordering seed. r)ne field 

 where hogs ate it down to the ground, the hogs were 

 taken off Aug. 15. and it stands now 10 inches high. 

 This I will cut for hay in October. It is a fine field. 



MelilotuH offlrhu'iis begins to bloom May 25, and 

 makes a very strong growth during May. This is 



the seed that I am so anxious to get and sow in corn 

 at the last plowing.'to be plowed under the follow- 

 ing May. The white is n(it good for this purpn.se: 

 but in a small way this large yellow has shown very 

 flattering results. This variety doesn't bloom until 

 the second year. 



Delmar, Iowa, Sept. 3. Frank Coverdale. 



We thrashed tho.se stacks to-day. and the seed is 

 selling rapidly to my neighbors, they taking from 

 two to three bushels each. What do yovi think of 

 that? and it is over half gone at 810.00 a bushel. 

 There is going to be a liberal market for MelilotuH 

 alba the coming winter, especially if I write for a 

 few of the leading agricultural papers, as the editors 

 are asking me to do. 



Delmar, Iowa, Sept. 13. Frank Coverdale. 



Friend C. refers in the second letter to his 

 writings for the agricultural papers. These 

 writings, no doubt, do advertise the seed; 

 but in a matter of so much importance to 

 the general farming community all over 

 our land, we can readily excuse him, and 

 the journals that accept his articles for such 

 "free advertising." 



SEED CORN — IF NOT GATHERED, GET ABOUT 

 IT AT ONCE. 



Farmers' Bulletin, No. 415, on seed corn, 

 is a most valuable pamphlet of 12 pages, 

 just out. You can get it by applying to the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. 

 C. There are also ten other bulletins on 

 growing corn, any or all of which will be 

 sent free of charge. This bulletin states 

 that the farmer could well afford to pay 

 even five dollars a bushel for good seed 

 corn instead of planting the kind of seed he 

 ordinarily uses. But a better way, rather 

 than to buy seed, is to grow your own. 

 This is true, because the corn that succeeds 

 best in one locality may not succeed at all 

 in another. Use seed corn grown on your 

 own farm, or, at least, in your own neigh- 

 borhood. The wisdom of this has been 

 proved over and over. Make your selection 

 before the corn is cut; then put the ears in 

 a dry place without their touching each 

 other. Keep your corn in a dry i)lace until 

 planting -time. Millions of dollars are 

 wasted and thrown away, in money and 

 labor, by the folly of planting poor or in- 

 different seed. And be sure to save enough 

 so that you can plant over if necessary. By 

 all means get these bulletins and study 

 them; but, most important of all, select 

 your own seed corn, if it is not already done, 

 this very miiaute, and put it in a dry place. 

 You will make bigger wages in looking aft- 

 er your seed corn right now than in any 

 thing else you can do. 



SWEET CLOVER RECLATMING LAND GIVEN UP TO 

 THE DOMINATION OF CANADA THISTLE. 



The two articles in this number in regard to 

 sweet clover and Canada thistles open up an entire- 

 ly new field, not only to the bee-keeper but to the 

 general farmer. 1 am told there are vast tracts of 

 land in Canada deemed almost u.sele.ss because of 

 the Canada thistle. Now, if sweet clover will 

 crowd out these thistles and at the same time fur- 

 nish more fertility, and better fertility than any 

 other legume, it is going to be a boon to the whole 

 of America (if not to other parts of the world) that 

 nobody yet dreams of. Will our different experi- 

 ment stations take hold of this and demonstrate 

 how much is really possible along this line? 



