September, 1915. 



American Hee Journal 



I 



I 



the alsike is far more dependable for a 

 crop than is white clover. 



As we have said before, the majority 

 of locations in Ontario that are now 

 fair, would be very poor places for e.x- 

 tensive beekeeping if all our alsike 

 should disappear and we had to depend 

 upon white clover alone. White clover 

 is a splendid honey plant, but for Onta- 

 rio at least alsike is still better, and 

 the honey from it is at least as good as 

 white clover honey, and that means 

 that it is good enough for the most 

 fastidious sampler. 



-A THREE-TON LOAD 



tolerated in a hive. 



Crop Conditions 



Ontario has a fair crop of white 

 honey with prospects good for a me- 

 dium crop from buckwheat if we get 

 some fine warm weather soon. There 

 are many acres of buckwheat with too 

 much rain at present. Basswond yielded 

 well in some places and little in others, 

 although the bloom was abundant and 

 weather seemingly perfect. 



In our locality it gave a spurt for 

 three or four days, and we have more 

 basswood honey than we have had for 

 eight years. In the north yard we 

 thought all buds were frozen by late 

 spring frosts, but we found that the 

 tops of the trees were all right, and 

 that on ridges a mile or more from the 

 yard the buds also escaped. As a re- 

 sult, we got a nice flow from that 

 source which helped to round the crop 

 out nicely. 



Sales seem to be fairly good despite 

 war conditions, and many have sold 

 their entire crop at a fair figure. Bees 

 are in good condition at present and 

 should go into winter quarters in fine 

 shape if we get a flow from buckwheat. 



Much Rain Good Prospects 



These notes are being written on 

 Aug. 11. For ten days previous to this 

 date many parts of Ontario, including 

 our own district, have been visited by 

 torrential rains that have done great 

 damage to farming and more or less to 

 beekeeping. Everywhere the ground 

 is soaked like in early spring and 

 streams are at high flood. All this ex- 

 cessive moisture, while doing damage 

 for the present, undoubtedly means 

 lots of clover for next year. 



first named clover, if our locality is to 

 be taken as a criterion for the clover 

 sections in general. He rightly says 

 that alsike probably yields as regularly 

 as any honey plant, but he says noth- 

 ing as to the quality of the honey. In 

 the next paragraph he says that the 

 honey from white clover is generally 

 considered the finest honey that goes 

 to the market, and that it always brings 

 the highest price. If there is any dif- 

 ference in favor of white clover honey 

 as compared with alsike, we have yet 

 to notice it here, and as a general rule 



Sweet Clover for Honey 



With more or less skepticism I note 

 Mr. Pellett says that sweet clover, "be- 

 ing one of the surest plants to yield 

 nectar, the man within its reach will 

 seldom face a failure." Judging by re- 

 cent reports from Kentucky, where 

 there is such a large acreage of sweet 

 clover, it looks as though it quite often 

 fails to yield bountifully. There is 

 something about sweet clover, be it 

 odor or another factor, that makes the 

 plants very attractive to bees, but I 

 maintain that, as a rule, it is a very 

 slow yielder of nectar. 



On the outskirts of Toronto there 

 are hundreds of acres of sweet clover, 

 yet after the white and alsike clovers are 

 gone, although the sweet clover is yet 

 blooming profusely, very little surplus 

 is stored. I have noticed this several 

 years, and have often interrogated bee- 

 keepers in this district. I have yet to 

 hear of much of a yield from sweet 

 clover. Some of them tell me that it 

 keeps the bees out of mischief and is 

 good to encourage late brood-rearing, 

 but as a surplus yielder it has never 

 done much up here. 



Conducted by Wesley Foster. Boulder. Colo. 



Alsil(e and Wliite Clover 



On page 273, Frank C. Pellett in de- 

 scribing the two plants, alsike and 

 white clover, hardly does justice to the 



Indications of a Flow 



The outside indications of a good 

 honey flow are not so easily deter- 

 mined as one might think. C^n one 

 tell a fast flow from a slow one by out- 

 side indications ? By careful watching 

 I think it is possible. The manner in 

 which the home-coming bees alight at 

 the entrance is one of the best crite- 

 rions. The speed with which out- 

 going bees take flight is another one; 

 the outgoing bees seem to be in a 

 hurry to get somewhere. The general 

 flying of the bees in the apiary will in- 

 dicate somewhat of the character of 

 the flow. If the apiary has the fra- 

 grant odor of the alfalfa or sweet 

 clover bloom this has a significance. In 

 a slow flow I have never noticed the 

 odor of the nectar-bearing flowers in 

 the apiary. 



The manner in which the bees work 

 upon the bloom also means something. 

 When sweet clover is very fragrant 

 and the bees are not too thick upon 

 the blossoms, the indications point to a 



good flow. When sweet clover bloom 

 is literally swarming with bees, it in- 

 dicates a shortage ot bloom for the 

 colonies in the district. Alfalfa is 

 never seen swarming with bees, but 

 the presence of bees apparently work- 

 ing leisurely upon the blossoms is a 

 good sign. 



Use of Honey in Cooking Tested by 

 Agricultural Colleges 



The use of honeyin cooking is going 

 to receive a stimulus in Colorado very 

 soon. (Iver a large part of the State 

 honey is now cheaper than sugar, and 

 its superiority for baking and preserv- 

 ing fruit is being found out more and 

 more. It is important that the limita- 

 tions of honey for this purpose should 

 be thoroughly understood so that dis- 

 appointment will not result. 



.^s a general proposition dark strong 

 honey can be used for baking purposes. 

 For preserving fruit the fruit flavor is 

 desired, and a mild flavored honey 



