28 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1 



A FILLED JAR OF CUT HONEY. 



for the purpose; press the cutter through the 

 comb, then pull it out again, when it will be 

 found that the cake of honey is retained in the 

 cutter. By pushing on the handle the cake of 

 honey may be quickly placed inside the can or 

 jar, which should be Ys to X '"ch larger in di- 

 ameter than the cutter. The jars shown in the 

 illustrations are 2^ inches inside diameter, 5)4 

 inches in height, and they will hold from four to 

 five cakes cut from combs of ordinary thickness. 

 The weight of the comb honey runs from 15 to 

 17 ounces; and after pouring in sufficient liquid 

 honey to fill the jar the entire weight is found to 

 be about 23 or 24 ounces. The comb shows 

 plainly through the glass and honey, and, when 

 held before thelight, is beautiful beyond descrip- 

 tion. 



Tin cans may be used and covered with a suit- 

 able label, although glass jars provide a more 

 handsome package. There is a little difficulty in 

 getting jars and cans with large openings that 

 will not leak, but I think this objection can be 



very easily overcome. It is impor- 

 tant that the opening into the jar 

 should be as large in diameter as the 

 jar itself. 



Arecibo, P. R. 



[This is on the principle of a 

 cooky-cutter. We have no doubt 

 that it works very nicely, for we 

 have tried something similar. It 

 should be immersed in hot water 

 just before cutting, to get the best 

 results. In localities where chunk 

 or bulk comb honey is in demand, 

 as in Texas, something of this kind 

 could be used to very good advan- 

 tage. — Ed.] 



■ ■ ■ « •#•»»••■ ■ » ■ 



ALFALFA-GROWING. 



Some Experiments to Show 



the Proper Time to Sow; 



Buckwheat a Valuable 



Crop. 



BY CHAS. W. WINKLER. 



After experimenting with the 

 growing of alfalfa, sowing it both in 

 spring and fall, we find that the lat- 

 ter gives us the better results. We 

 do not lose the use of the ground 

 for a season, and we are not troubled 

 with weeds, which sometimes choke 

 out the young spring-sown alfalfa 

 plants, nectssitating mowing several 

 times. To ascertain the best time 

 for fall sowing we sowed several 

 pieces as follows: One field of ten 

 acres, July 25; one field of ten 

 acres, August 1; one field of ten 

 acres, August 10; one field of twen- 

 ty acres, August 12; one field of ten 

 acres, September 1. All of these 

 fields yielded well. The weeds made 

 quite a growth on that sown July 

 25, the alfalfa being up a foot. 

 That sown August 1 was freer of 

 weeds. The fields sown August 10, 

 August 12, and September 1, were entirely free 

 from weeds. In the fields sown August 1 to 12 

 the alfalfa was up eight inches, and the young 

 plants were well established. In that sown Sep- 

 tember 1, the plants, while thrifty, were quite 

 small, and apparently not well enough established 

 to withstand our winters. We therefore prefer 

 sowing from August 1 to 12. 



We use ground that has previously grown win- 

 ter wheat or oats. We remove the crop, plow 

 the ground and harrow it, and with a Cahoon 

 seeder we sow broadcast 15 pounds of native al- 

 falfa seed per acre, harrowing once to cover the 

 seed nicely. We grow our own seed. One 

 should obtain good native seed, free from dodder 

 and thistle. This is very important. I know of 

 a forty-acre tract that was a total loss just because 

 there was a saving (.') of 50 cts. per bushel for seed. 

 The seed was sown (25 lbs. per acre), and yet 

 there was only half a stand; the rest winter-killed. 

 Five pounds per acre of good seed, evenly dis- 

 tributed, would be ample, with perfect conditions, 



