1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTQRE. 



733 



be of inestimable value in holding valuable 

 nitrates in the soil that are otherwise w^ashed 

 out of the bare ground. It furnishes fall, win- 

 ter, and early spring pasture, and enriches and 

 stores up plant-food for next crop. A field of 

 crimson clover in bloom is strikingly beautiful. 

 Its marvelous beauty surpasses any thing ever 

 seen in a field crop, ft is good for hay; will 

 yield from two to three tons per acre, and from 

 six to ten bushels of seed. About eight bushels 

 of seed is an average yield. The plant seems 

 to flourish and do well in all soils, in a heavy 

 clay as well as a light sand. Crimson clover 

 makes a good bee-pasture, and every bee-keep- 

 er will sow a field of crimson clover as soon as 

 he understands its value as a honey-plant. 

 The seed being cheap, I predict that, when 

 farmers see what this clover will do for them, 

 they will scatter the seed on all vacant ground. 

 Ten and twelve quarts of seed are usually sown 

 on an acre. The ground should be prepared by 

 plowing or cultivating shallow. Pulverize the 

 surface, and cover the seed very lightly. 



CRIMSON CLOVER. 



Crimson clover is very hardy, and will suc- 

 ceed where the common red clover or wheat 

 does. I think that, where failures are made 

 with this plant, it is caused mostly by sowing 

 imported seed. Always, if possible, obtain 

 American-grown seed that is acclimated to this 

 country, and a hay and seed crop is assured. 

 No other clover remains green all through the 

 winter; no other plant furnishes winter pasture 

 like crimson clover. Every farmer and bee- 

 keeper, and every lady who loves flowers, 



should sow at least a small bed of crimson 

 clover this fall. 



Grand Rapids, Mich., Sept. 20. 



[The cut below, from the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, gives another view of this truly remarka- 

 ble clover. Thi^, compared with our engraving 

 in our Sept. 1st i>sue. p. (558, will give a good 

 idea of the plant.— Ed. J 



BREEDING FOR CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS. 



SOME OF THE PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES IN 

 THE WAY. 



By Dr. C. C. Miller. 



I have read with a good deal of interest the 

 article by another of the Miller family, on page 

 620. He makes the point that we should watch 

 for the individual peculiarities of colonies, and 

 treat them accordingly. There may be some- 

 thing in that; but it isn't so easy of execution, 

 for it may take us the whole of a season, or the 

 greater part of it, to get acquainted with the pe- 

 culiarities of some colonies ; and then, just as 

 we get them learned, a change of queens brings 

 about a radical change in disposition ; for with 

 each change of queen, half the blood is likely to 

 be changed by the new queen meeting a drone 

 of difl'erent disposicion. 



May we not, however, take advantage of our 

 acquaintance with individual colonies so far as 

 to select for breeding, so as to perpetuate and 

 establish the traits that best suit us? Alas! 

 again there must be much random work, be- 

 cause we have control of only one parent ; and 

 yet by persistent selection something may be 

 accomplished. Here's a colony not as active as 

 others. Instead of letting it requeen itself at 

 swarming, we supply it with a queen from our 

 most active colony. This new queen meets a 

 drone of stock so lazy that there is no percepti- 

 ble improvement. Still, the resulting workers 

 will not be so bad as they would have been if 

 the mother as well the father had been of bad 

 s(ock. By continual effort at weeding out the 

 bad and encouraging the good, even if we nev- 

 er pay the slightest attention to the suppressing 

 of dr ones of bad colonies, in time there will be 

 a change in the character of the drones them- 

 selves. Even if we have no direct control of 

 colonies scattered all around us, in time these 

 will feel the influence of our efl'orts, and we 

 may feel repaid for years of persistent effort at 

 breeding from the best. If we can not give the 

 matter full attention, even occasional efforts 

 will give proportionate rewards. Keep trying, 

 some of the time at least. 



HOW LAKGE IS IT DESIRABLE TO HAVE COLO- 

 NIES IN SPRING? 



A sentence on p. 628 arrests attention: " Too 

 large a swarm in early spring is not desirable, 

 and never does as well when the harvest comes." 

 Now, I wish Mr. Hand would go a little further 

 and tell us what constitutes too large a colony, 

 and why a colony of a certain size in spring will 



