1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



659 



for dry hay, as it is inclined to be rather dry 

 and woody. Like all other crops it does best 

 on good land, although I think it will do a 

 great deal better than common red clover on 

 poor soil. 



Reports are rather encouraging this year 

 throughout the State, my bees giving me about 

 35 or 40 lbs. of comb honey per colony. 



Richmond, Va., Aug. 10. F. H. Jewhurst. 



CRIMSON clover; how introduced in this 

 country; its great beauty, etc. 



Crimson clover was introdud'd in this country 

 several years ago b'y the late Dr. Haralline. 

 Being a great lover of flowers, he was attracted 

 to the plant by its great beauty, which is hardly 

 exceeded by the finest flower that adorns yard 

 or garden. The beautiful deep green, which 

 may be seen all through the winter, when not 

 entirely covered with snow, grows deeper and 

 brighter as spring advances, until early in 

 May, when the flowers appear, and the field 

 changes from a deep green to a brilliant crim- 

 son, making a sight to behold; and, remember, 

 at first its value as a forage-plant was not 

 understood, and as a soil-restorative it was un- 

 known; and the progress of the plant at first 

 was rather slow. Every one admired its 

 beauty, and numerous plots were sown for 

 ornamental purposes; but years elapsed before 

 farmers awoke to its value as a regular rotation 

 crop. 



Crimson clover has now been successfully 

 grown in all parts of the Union, and is no 

 longer an experimental crop. It is good for 

 hay, and will yield two to three tons per acre 

 of the finest quality. It is valuable for seed, 

 which it produces in large quantity; is good 

 for fall and early spring pasture; it is also an 

 excellent honey-plant, and makes a good bee- 

 pasture; but its greatest value is in its ability 

 to store up plant-food, and at the same time 

 send down deep feeding-roots in the subsoil, 

 and bring to the surface elements of fertility 

 that would otherwise be lost. 



Crimson clover is an annual, and must be 

 sown in its proper season. This extends from 

 the first of August until the last of October. 

 About 10 quarts of seed are required to sow an 

 acre. If any of the readers of Gleanings 

 would like to test a sample of crimson clover I 

 will send a small sample by mall for a couple 

 of stamps for postage. L. Staples. 



Grand Rapids, Mich. 



[All right, friend S. ; but you may be swamp- 

 ed with orders; so, look out. — Ed.1 



A fine growth of CRIMS()^' CLOVER ; three 

 WEEKS ahead of rkd; worth to 



THE SOIL more THAN 30 

 loads of MANURE. 



I sowed one-third acre of crimson clover on 

 good onion ground Aug. 20, 1894, and it made a 



fine growth, and kept green until February, 

 although the cold had been to 20° below zero. 

 In February the top died down, but began to 

 grow nicely in March, and was three weeks 

 ahead of red clover on the same kind of ground. 

 May 1st I had it plowed under, when it was 20 

 inches high, and there was such a heavy 

 growth they had to use a chain to turn it un- 

 der. I planted the ground to muskmelons, and 

 the ground kept moist except about two inches 

 on top, through the long drouth of six weeks in 

 May and June. I think it was worth more 

 than 30 loads of manure. I also sowed my 

 half acre vineyard, and it bloomed in May. and 

 the bees worked on it lively — more than on 

 white clover; but I can't say as to amount or 

 quality of honey. It made fine pasture for 

 chickens. 1 consider it the greatest plant ever 

 introduced, if used between other crops to im- 

 prove land by retaining its fertility and adding 

 nitrogen. John C. Gilliland. 



Bloomfield, Ind., Aug. 13. 



RAMBLE NO. 139. 



in selma. 



Although we left Murphy suddenly we did 

 not forget to bid adieu to our good friends the 

 Schaefrtes. They all, from the head to the 

 foot of the family, made our sojourn enjoyable, 

 and we had reason to remember them in a sub- 

 stantial manner for many days. A pail of that 

 blue tarweed honey, a bag of apples, and one of 

 Mrs. Schaetifle's excellent pies, were all tucked 

 into our lunch department. May the shadows 

 of the Schaeffles never grow less. 



Calaveras Co. is so full of interesting natnral 

 features that Mr. Wilder and I felt that we 

 could have spent many more days there with 

 profit; but southward was now our watchword. 

 Storm-clouds began to gather in the northern 

 horizon, and we longed for the balmy skies of 

 our southland. 



The Golden Nugget apiary, as mentioned in 

 the last ramble, is owned and operated by Mr. 

 Aliska. Here we find 200 colonies, the greater 

 portion of them in a shallow hive. Before vis- 

 iting this apiary I bad learned that the brood- 

 chamber and the super were both filled with 

 43^x4^ sections; but upon examining a few of 

 them I found the sections in the super in wide 

 frames, and the brood-combs were built from 

 these same brood-frames down into the brood- 

 chamber; and the brood-comb was removed 

 every time a wide frame was removed with its 

 sections. Mr. Aliska was not there to explain 

 matters; for in the early morning his partner 

 and himself and Ah Hin, the Chinaman, went 

 to work with wheelbarrow, shovels, and picks, 

 in their gold-mines, where the greater portion 

 of their time was spent. Mr. Aliska, during 

 the honey season, left the gold-mine and secured 

 gold through the medium of his hives. Comb 



