1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



495 



bushes, Alfaretta sprang to her feet and gave 

 Fred an effusive greeting, placing the wreath 

 over his shoulder, and dancing around him in 

 an ecstacy of joy. The fragrance of roses and 

 the antics of crazy loveliness were almost over- 

 whelming to Fred, and he was pleased to see 

 Mr. Buell approach. 



"Ha, ha I papa, our Fred has returned from 

 heaven. I am rejoicing." 



"There, Alfaretta, dear, be quiet," said Mr. 

 Buell; "we all are pleased to see Mr. Ander- 

 son." Then addressing Fred he told him that, 

 when Alfaretta saw him upon the side of the 

 cliff among the bees, she became greatly excit- 

 ed, and imagined that he was securing the bees' 

 wings with which to fly away, angel like, to 

 heaven. Such are the vagaries that have pos- 

 session of her brain. But lunch is ready, Mr. 

 Anderson. You must eat with us, and tell us 

 about your bees;" and Mr. Buell led the way 

 to the house. 



Fred again found himself a lecturer upon the 

 management of the busy bee, and his small 

 audience were attentive listeners. 



"There, Sarah," said Mr. Buell to his wife; 

 "see how we may study all our lives, and then 

 find in one of our every-day surroundings won- 

 ders about, which we know so little. Mr. An- 

 derson, you must fit me out with a colony of 

 bees. I wish to study the habits of the little 

 insect." 



DMr. Buell could give Fred but little informa- 

 tion in relation to the deserted ranch; but he 

 told him to see Mr. Dawson; "and in any 

 transaction you have with him," said he, "you 

 must get it down in writing, for he Is a reputed 

 hard character." 



With these kindly precautions, with his fra- 

 grant wreath of roses, and a waving farewell 

 from Alfaretta, Fred floated on down the river 

 to a new experience with old D.iwson. 



t,/i.is. ><^ 





FOUNDATION STICKING TO SECTIONS. 



CRIMSON CLOVER ; BASSWOOD ; SUMAC ; GOOD 

 PROSPECTS IN SOUTUEASTERN OHIO. 



By J. A. Gulden. 



B. Taylor's experience in putting in founda- 

 tion with the heated plate, page 418, surely does 

 not correspond with that of the mass of bee- 

 keepers; at least, it does not with mine, as I use 



my "walk-over machine," which is about the 

 same as the Daisy. Having over 500 full-sheet- 

 ed sections left over from last year, not half a 

 dozen sections were found to have foundation 

 loosened by the freezing; and it is impossible to 

 remove either full sheets or starters from the 

 sections without tearing them to pieces. We 

 use a plate quite hot, as the editor suggests in a 

 footnote. I have put full sheets in sections with 

 the walk-over machine; and after the melted 

 wax has set I have tossed them across the room 

 and burst open the section, and have never yet 

 loosened the foundation from the section. 



Last September I sowed a small plot of ground 

 fronting the main street of our village. The 

 soil was fairly good, of course, and the clover 

 came up and was green all winter, and was very 

 attractive to every passer-by. A large board 

 was nailed to a stake, and occupied a place in 

 the center of the plot, with this inscription in 

 large letters printed thereon: "primson clover, 

 sown Sept. 15, 1895. One of the best fertilizers 

 known." About the 1st of May the clover had 

 grown from two to three feet high, and people 

 came from quite a distance to see it; and during 

 April I had presented a great many with a lit- 

 tle bunch to carry home and set out in their 

 gardens. About the 13th of May the crimson 

 blossoms began to appear; then soon the plot 

 was a grand sight to look upon, right in the 

 center of our beautiful village, and was visited 

 by scores of people who plucked a fragrant 

 blossom; yes, and many were afraid to pluck a 

 blossom for fear of getting stung; for it seemed 

 as if a swarm of bees had clustered on the plot 

 during its blooming. However, we fear its time 

 of blooming is too short for bee-keepers to tie to 

 as a honey-plant alone; however, many farmers 

 say they will sow this season, and we will now 

 encourage the growing of alsike, believing it 

 will be a more permanent source both of hay 

 and nectar. 



The long drouth last year killed out about all 

 the white clover in this locality; but during 

 this most favorable season we see it is making 

 its appearance, and doubtless next year there 

 will be an old-time white-clover honey-flow. 



Basswood and sumac will be in full bloom by 

 the 15th of June. Bees are quite busy storing 

 surplus ; and while other bees are swarming, 

 mine seem to be non-swarmers, and seem to get 

 there in surplus, at this time of writing. 



Reinersville, O., .Tune 6. 



[Friend G., T'am delighted to know that 

 crimson clover has succeeded in Ohio when 

 sown as late as Sept. 15, even though it was on 

 only a small patch of good ground. Our peop e 

 at the experiment station have made a com- 

 plete failure of crimson clover; and the reports 

 in our agricultural papers are, so many ot 

 them, of failures, that a good many think ic 

 will never be practicable. So far as I know, 

 however, where it has been sown with buck- 

 wheat it has been a success. You get a crop 

 of honey and a crop of buckwheat in the fall, 

 and you get a^crop of honey and a crop of clover 



