August, 191S. 



273 



American liee Journal 



what they were writing about. 



After a bill has passed both branches 

 of the legislature, then "fire in " your 

 letters and interviews to the Governor, 

 if you have reason to think that he 

 might veto the bill or bills. In the in- 

 stance referred to in this article, I may 

 say that the Governor was seen and 

 was argued with, but to no purpose. He 

 was determined to veto the beekeepers' 

 bill, and did so. He claimed he did it 

 in the interest of economy, but it surely 

 was poor economy, and he will doubt- 

 less see his error when it is too late to 

 repair the damage done. He was sin- 

 cere in his action, but he was sincerely 

 wrong, in this case, at least. 



Those interested in the success and 

 progress of things agricultural should 

 see to it that more men (or women) 

 are sent to the State legislatures who 

 really know something about the needs 

 of those who till the soil, and who 

 make their living through rural indus- 

 tries. One or two good lawyers are 

 quite ennugh in any session of any 

 State legislature. More practical busi- 

 ness men and successful farmers are 

 needed there, and less of those who 

 are theorists, or who have never known 

 what it is to labor with their hands, or 

 to make a living from the land. 



Experience is a great teacher. One 

 gets a lot of most valuable ideas even 

 in one session of a State legislature. 

 I did. 



Sandpoint, Idaho. 



No. 8.— The Honey-Producing 

 Plants 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT. 

 [Photosyiit>hs bv the author.) 



We come now to that splendid fam- 

 ily of plants to whicli our most staple 

 honey producers belong; the clovers. 

 This is one of the most valuable fam- 

 ilies of plants for it furnishes our 

 best forage crops as well as our larg- 

 est crops of honey. The clovers, al- 

 falfas and sweet clovers are all close- 

 ly related, and without them, there 

 are few localities where honey produce 

 tion would be profitable. They are 

 so well known as hardly to need de- 

 scription, yet a series of this kind 

 would not be complete without them. 



RED CLOVER. 



The red clover, trifolium pratense, 

 is a widely grown forage plant which 

 came originally from Europe. It se- 

 cretes large quantities of nectar, 

 which is usually beyond the reach 

 of the honey bee. There is a differ- 

 ence of opinion as to whether the 

 honey bees really get nectar from 

 red clover. While they work on it 

 freely at times, some venture the 

 opinion that they get only pollen. The 

 opinion has been advanced that in 

 dry seasons, the corollas are shorter, 

 thus enabling the bees to reach the 

 nectar. Dr. L. H. Panimel of the 

 Iowa College of Agriculture, at Ames, 

 has measured a large number of these 

 tubes in an effort to ascertain the 

 facts. As yet he still very much 

 doubts the possibility of the difference 

 in length being sufficient for this 

 purpose. Dr. Pammel will appre- 



ciate samples of clover from fields, 

 and, especially, the identical plants 

 on which bees are seen to work, for 

 further test. 



So many rei)orts of crops' of honey 

 from red clover in dry seasons are 

 heard, that the writer can hardly 

 question the fact that bees do some- 

 times get honey from rod clover. It 

 is well known that the honey bee of- 

 ten reaches the nectar of other plants 

 through the perforations of the co- 

 rollas made by other insects, and 

 there is a possibility of such a condi- 

 tion with red clover. The insect caus- 

 ing the perforation would necessarily 

 be very abundant, to perforate a suf- 

 ficient number of blossoms to enable 

 the bees to store surplus from this 

 source. Dr. Pammel proposes to in- 

 vestigate the matter fully and his 

 conclusions are awaited with interest. 



ALSIKE CLOVER. 



Alsike or Swedish clover, trifolium 

 hybridum, is also native to Europe, 

 but is very generally grown in the 

 northern states and Canada. The blos- 

 som resembles white clover but is 

 somewhat larger and has more color, 

 many of the blossoms being rather 

 pink. Instead of a single blossom at 

 the top of a flower stalk, as in white 

 clover, several blossoms occur on a 

 single stem in a manner somewhat 

 similar to red clover. Fig. 38 shows 

 the blossom and leaf of alsike. This 

 plant probably yields as regularly as 

 any honey-producing plant and the 

 beekeeper who is near a large acre- 

 age of alsike is fortunate indeed . 

 Where alsike is nilxed with red clover 

 in meadows, the yield of hay is con 

 siderably larger than is produced by 

 either alone. The seeds are so much 



smaller than red clover seed, that it 

 is generally considered that a peck of 

 alsike seed will produce as many 

 plants as a half bushel of red clover 

 seed. Where the usual timothy and 

 clover mixture is grown for meadows, 

 this is about the proportion of seed 

 to use to get an equal stand of the 

 two kinds of clover. 



WHITE OR DUTCH CLOVER. 



White clover, trifolium repens, like 

 alsike, is perennial and, once estab- 

 lished, will persist for many years un- 

 less killed by severe drouth or other 

 unfavorable condition. The creeping 

 habit of the plant prevents its being 

 grown for hay, although it is a very 

 desirable pasture plant. The stems 

 lying flat on the ground take root at 

 the nodes or joints, thus making a 

 solid mat. The blossoms appear at 

 the top of stalks which may be from 

 three to twelve inches tall depending 

 upon the soil, moisture, etc. Fig. 39 

 shows the blossoms of white clover at 

 different stages. This plant is more 

 generally depended upon for surplus, 

 than any other single source, although 

 sweet clover is rapidly crowding to 

 the front. What alfalfa is to the ir- 

 rigated regions, white clover is to the 

 beekeepers of the humid sections. 

 White clover honey is light in color, 

 with a heavy body and the finest 

 flavor. It is generally considered the 

 finest honey that goes to market in 

 quantity and always brings the high- 

 est price. 



There are several other varieties of 

 clover grown to some extent and some 

 wild species. Crimson clover is grown 

 in some parts of the south, but is not 

 hardy in the north. In general, all 

 the clovers may be said to be good 



FIG. 38.-ALSIKE CLOVER 



