1S87 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUliE. 



265 



utterance became difficult, and he seemed to be 

 losing' consciousness. My first Ihou^ht was to go 

 to town, three miles away, for the doctor; but my 

 wife said that it would be of no use, for what was 

 done for our child would have to be done before a 

 doctor could be called. At about this point I re- 

 member that I had read in the old A. B. J. that a 

 "wet-sheet pack" was a cure for bee-poisoning:. 

 Our child was soon stripped of his clothiiiH- and 

 quickly wrapped in a cloth from which the water 

 had been wrung, just cixMigh to i)revent dripping-. 

 Outside the wet sheet he was snugly wrapped in 

 dry blankets. He had been in the pack but a few 

 minutes before the natural color began to i-eturn 

 to his face, and the swelling to disappear, and in 

 fifteen or twenty minutes the symptoms of poison- 

 ing had all, or nearly all, disai)peared, and he was 

 taken out cured. 



Several years ago Mrs. Hayhurst, of Kansas 

 City, gave in Gleaninos an account of a similar 

 case and cure that occurred in her family. Our 

 daughter, when small, suffered from a severe 

 scarlet rash after being stuug, like that described 

 by Mr. Ellison. It was quickly relieved by an ap- 

 plication of the wet-sheet pack. I think she was 

 thus treated tor this rash three or four times. Both 

 of these children gradually outgrew their suscepti- 

 bility to bee-poison, and now make little account 

 of bee-stings. 



Dr. Trail, in his " Hydropathic Encyclopedia," 

 recommends the wet-sheet pack in the treatment of 

 poisioning f rom snakebites, as well as from bee- 

 stings, and I see no reason why it should not be as 

 efficacious in the former as in the latter case. This 

 treatment for snake-poisoning has some advan- 

 tages over whisky, in that it is safer and more im- 

 mediately available in the houses of most bee-keep- 

 ers. 



For the benefit of those who may not be ac- 

 quainted with hydropathic appliances, perhaps I 

 ought to tell how to put a person into a pack. Two 

 or three quilts or iilankets are first spread on a 

 bed. Upon these a wet sheet is spread— as wet as 

 may be without dripping. The patient lies on his 

 back on the middle f)f the bed, with his head pro- 

 jecting above the sheet, and his arms raised. The 

 attendant quickly draws one side of the sheet over 

 the patient, drawing it tight and tucking it under, 

 so that the sheet fits snugly. The arms are then 

 dropped b}' his side, and the other half of the sheet 

 is thrown over and drawn tightly and tucked un- 

 der, care being taken to get a good fit about the 

 neck and shoulders. Tlie same process of covering 

 and tucking up is repeated with the blankets until 

 the patient has sufficient covering to keep him 

 warm. Much sweating is not desirable, and twen- 

 ty or thirty minutes is as long as one should re- 

 main in the pack. T. P. Andrews. 



Farina, 111., Feb. 22, 1887. 



Friend Andrews, I can heartily indorse 

 sncli remedies as you mention tor bee-stings. 

 Cold water will go very well with pure air 

 and sunshine as a remedial agent. Another 

 thing, it is not guesswdvk. Whenever any 

 part of the body is inllamed and feverish, 

 relief comes b^ cooling the intijimed part 

 with wet cloths, and 1 do not know that 

 any bad results ever follow. I have, how- 

 ever, many times tried immersing my liand 

 in a pail or water after I had been stung, to 

 see if it would allay the pain, and I have in- 



variably noticed that it had no effect what- 

 ever. If, however, my hand should be swol- 

 len or feverish, from the effects of a sting, 

 or several stings, then the bucket of wa- 

 ter gives relief, and I am satistied it assists 

 without question, to bring about a speedy 

 recovery. Indeed, where a patient is in 

 danger of dying from suffocation on ac- 

 count of bee-stings, a wet pack might be the 

 means of saving a life. 



ALSIKE CLOVER. 



HOW TO (JUOW IT WITH SUCCESS. 



TTp NY land that will produce red clover will 

 91,1^, answer for alsike, or Swedish clover; and 

 ^» any one can grow alsike with success by 

 '"■"*' simply mixing it with red clover and timo- 

 thy, or orchard grass. The chief object in 

 mixing the alsike with red clover is for the shade 

 furnished by the latter in dry seasons. The main 

 use of timothy, or orchard grass, is to hold the al- 

 sike up or away from the ground. The mixing of 

 alsike with red clover is the secret of success in 

 dry seasons, and on diy soils. In wet seasons, and 

 on moist soils where the common red clover does 

 not do well, the alsike will make a fine growth by 

 itself; but even then it is better to mix it with 

 timothy or rod clover, or both. Some prefer or- 

 chard grass to timothy, as they claim it makes 

 earlier hay and pasture, and of better quality. 

 Orchard grass makes a rapid growth after cutting, 

 and is as good as timothy for holding the alsike up. 

 I hope those who intend to seed with alsike this 

 spring will try some orchard grass in place of 

 timothy, and report the result. 



It is not geaerally known, that alsike can be 

 grown with the best of success on land already 

 seeded down to red clover or timothy, or both. 

 By scattering the alsike early in the spring over 

 pastures and meadows, the seed will catch and do 

 well. Eye and wheat lands are perhaps the best to 

 seed down, but I have had a good "catch" 

 with oats and barley. July, August, and Septem- 

 ber are good months for seeding pastures and 

 meadows with alsike. The summer and autumn 

 rains will give the alsike sufficient growth to stand 

 the winter and the freezings and thawings of the 

 following spring. 



When grown by itself, 4 lbs. of alsike is plenty 

 for an acre; and when mixed with red clover or 

 timothy, or both, 2 lbs. will be about right. The 

 seed is as small as that of white clover; and as each 

 seed that grows makes a large stool, a small 

 amount is ample for an acre. It is safe enough to 

 say. that one bushel of alsike will seed down as 

 many acres as throe bushels of the common red. 

 This being the case, a bushel of alsike would be as 

 cheai> and as economical at $15.00 as the common 

 red at $.5.00. But as choice alsike seed can now be 

 had at about #T.O0 per bushel, the reader must see 

 that it is far cheaper than any other clover-seed at 

 the present time. 



The best time to cut alsike for hay is when it is in 

 full bloom— say the latter part of .lune or early in 

 July; but if wanted for honey and seed, the latter 

 part of July in the Northern States will be about 

 right. When uii.\ed with timothy, more or less of 

 the latter will be ripe also; hut this does no harm, 

 as the two should be mixed any way for general 



