October, 1910. 



313 



American Vae Journal 



)>^-sryi^ I 



ferred to. Kvery subject on which 

 there has been new Hglit discovered 

 since the preceding edition, has been 

 re-written, and the new information in- 

 corporated in the proper place. 



This new cop.v contains an appendix 

 on the "Anatomy of the Honey-Bee," 

 by R. E. Snodgrass, of the Bureau of 

 Entomology, Washington, D. C. Mr. 

 Snodgrass is the author of a Govern- 

 ment Bulletin on the same subject, 

 covering about 150 pages, which also 

 is profusely illustrated with many new 

 and original engravings illustrating 

 the anatomy of the honey-bee. This 

 pamphlet can be secured from the De- 

 partment of Agriculture for 30 cents. 

 But Mr. Snodgrass has given sufficient 

 on the subject in 11 pages of "ABC 

 and X Y Z of Bee Culture " to satisfy 

 almost any bee-keeper who is not a 

 scientist or specially interested in the 

 anatomy of the bee. 



What more can we say of this stan- 

 dard bee-book ? It's nearly 600 pages, 

 6>^x9 inches in size, contain practi- 

 cally everything on successful bee- 

 keeping that can be put on the printed 

 page. And all this is furnished bound 

 in cloth for $1.50, postpaid, or we mail 

 the book witli the American Bee Jour- 

 nal one year — both for $2.25. 



It is almost needless to say here that 

 every bee-keeper in the world who de- 

 sires to have the latest book-informa- 

 tion concerning bees and bee-keeping 

 should have a copy of this great work. 

 Send in your order to the office of the 

 American Bee Journal, when it will 

 have our prompt attention. 



Sweet Clover in Pennsylvania 



The following is taken from the 

 Rural New-Yorker, one of the oldest as 

 well as one of the very best farm 

 papers published. Some of these days 



all farmers, as well as bee-keepers, will 

 come to appreciate the truly great 

 value of sweet clover for many pur- 

 poses besides that of being a honey- 

 plant. Here is the item : 



During the month of June, ioob, I purchased 

 10 pounds of white sweet clover (Melilotiis 

 alba) seed and sowed a patch of about an 

 acre, which was infested with Canada this 



loncer rt'iiard it as a weed; and another 

 tiling, sweet clover miKht just as well be 

 erown in waste places and along fence rows 

 as weeds, as it is very valuable for the bees 

 for the honey it yields, so beekeepers take 

 notice. 



In this article I have given my experience 

 with sweet clover; it came to me as a new 

 plant, and I have tried to find the bad quali- 

 ties as well as the good, but they are all 

 good, in my estimation. E. S. Hacker. 



Lancaster Co., Pa. 



White Sweet Clover. 



Yellow Sweet Clover. 



ties; however, it happened a drouth fol- 

 lowed the sowing, hence there was a very 

 thin stand. The seed was simply sprinkled 

 over the sod and thistles, and no cultivating 

 previously. The next year it was mown for 

 hay just before it was in bloom, and the few 

 years following, it was allowed to stand and 

 re-seed itself until now, iqio. it is a thick 

 mass, almost impenetrable, and the average 

 height is s feet 6 inches to 7 feet. And the 

 marvelous thing about it is, the clover grew 

 so fast and so thickly that the Canada this- 

 tles were choked, and at present there are 

 very few to be seen except along the edges 

 of the patch. As sweet clover belongs to 

 the legume family, it has gathered nitrogen 

 from theair and stored it in the numerous 

 nodules, borne on the roots, to be used as an 

 enricher 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 furnished pasture for 

 the bees while in bloom. In raising sweet 

 clover as a forage crop and for hay, prepare 

 the ground as for alfalfa and sow in August 

 quite thickly, possibly about 25 pounds 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 it, but soon get used 

 to it. and afterwards eat it greedily. It 

 should be mowed for hay just before it 

 blooms, as the stalk gets too woody and cat- 

 tle 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 plowing under or cutting the 

 stalk while in bloom. 



Sweet clover compared with alfalfa or 

 other clover, 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 pastured until 

 fall. As a weed eradicator. soil enricher. 

 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 

 aSfect it. I think if the farmers learn to 

 know the value of sweet clover they will no 



Program for the Albany Conven- 

 tion 



While we published the program for 

 the 41st annual convention of the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Association to be 

 held in Albany, N. Y., Oct. 12, and 13, 

 1910, we give it again herewith, so that 

 it may be convenient for all who wish 

 to take this number of the Bee Journal 

 with them to the meeting, although we 

 expect to have copies of it there for all 

 who may desire it. 



The program has a great variety of 

 topics to be considered, and, of course, 

 the question-box will introduce many 

 other important topics for discussion. 

 If any member has a question he would 

 like to have presented, he can mail it 

 either to the President, Secretary 

 Scholl, or General-Manager France, in 

 care of the Kenmore JJotel, Albany, N. 

 Y., unless there is time for such ques- 

 tions to reach the persons mentioned 

 before they start for Albany. 



Also, if any have suggestions to make 

 that they think would be for the im- 

 provement of the National Association, 

 it would be a good thing to send them 

 on, so they may be discussed at the 

 meeting. While, no doubt, all sugges- 

 tions could not be utilized in the in- 

 terest of the Association, still it might 

 be just the thing to help make the Na- 

 tional of more value to its members 

 and to bee-keeping in general through- 

 out the country. 



The Michigan Association is plan- 

 ning to do great things these days for 

 its members, and there is no reason 

 why the National Association should 

 not do a similar work for the bee-keep- 

 ers of the whole country in many ways. 

 These matters need to be considered 

 very carefully, so that the National 

 tnay be put in a position where it can 



