SKI'TKMBER 1, 1915 



715 



not take to (encliing 

 school during- tlie win- 

 ter months. Teaching 

 w o u 1 d give them 

 ])leasant and profit- 

 able employment for 

 I lie part of the year 

 that is not so much 

 taken up with the 

 work of the apiary, 

 and wouUl still leave 

 them their Saturdays 

 to look after the needs 

 and condition of their 

 hee.s. It would give 

 them a salary as a 

 means of support in- 

 stead of having to rely 

 on the income from 

 the bees, and therefore 

 hindering and reta idl- 

 ing their progress 



along their chosen line. It gives the young 

 man a i>roniinence and an established 

 standing in the coJiimunity that is a valu- 

 able asset. Teaching broadens the mind, 

 a!!d is conducive to the cultivation of the 

 liner qualities that make u)i a good clean 

 character. 



John "W. Love's article in the May 15tli 

 Gleanings emphasizes a very important 

 and much neglected pnnciple. It is fre- 

 (luently said that if the farmer would keep 

 books and count the cost and returns on 

 the various enterprises that, taken collect- 

 ively, make np the business of farming, 

 many a farmer would in five years find that 

 his net income had doubled because he had 

 eliminated those thincs that were losing 

 money for him. Again it is asserted, and 

 not entirely without I'eason, that if the 

 average business man would run his busi- 

 ness in the wav the average farmer runs 



But what can the poor inspector do? 



his, he Avould be in the bankruptcy court 

 inside of two years. How many beekeep- 

 ers knoiv that they are making a cent per 

 pound more out of their honey than they 

 are investing in supplies, labor, interest on 

 the in\cstment, depreciation, etc. f If a 

 business appears profitable when conducted 

 in a slipshod manner, what might it be if a 

 little gray matter were added? 



The dearth of honey last summer, follow- 

 ed by the filling of the brood-chambers witli 

 aster honey last fall, was the fii'st indication 

 of inevitable trouble. The large number of 

 dysentery-spotted frames and weak and 

 dead colonics loudly testify to the effect of 

 loo mucli aster. It seems to be pretty well 

 established that aster is detrimental in most 

 localities, and a practical means of circum- 

 venting it is now in order. Suppose that 

 some of the would-be hive-in\ enters turn 

 theii' 2uns in that direction. 



A FIELD OF BUCKWHEAT IN EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS 



BY :MF;S. SUSAN E. HOWARD 



Buckwheat is not planted to any extent 

 in eastern Massachusetts. Indeed, it is the 

 f^.xception to see a field of it. My object in 

 planting wa.'J for a cover or fertilizing crop 

 to he plowed under. 



The second sowing after the first had 

 been plowed in was allowed to mature, and 

 straw was used to cover strawberry-beds. 

 It made an ideal winter protection with the 

 addition of meadow crrass. This second 

 sowing was uiade forty days befoie the 

 date of the annual field meeting of the 



Massaclius'Hts Society of Beekeepers whicli 

 was held at my apiary. As it takes about 

 lhirty-fi\e days from sowing to blossom, it 

 was at its best, and was a beautiful sight 

 as it was in full bloom. 



The bees work it well from early morning 

 until about 10 a. m., and then again from 

 4 to 8 p. M. The morning flow was most 

 pronounced, and the field was alive with 

 l)ees. 



Whether tliere is a cessation of nectar 

 from the buckwheat during the rest of the 



