1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



87 



ever, this first year of bloom of a clover-plant is 

 the best year for honey, as the blossoming period 

 lasts longer. The old plants seem to mature 

 their bloom in a shorter period, therefore short- 

 ening the honey-flow in proportion. 



One thing I have not mentioned is that the 

 growth made by a white-clover plant this year 

 blossoms next year and then dies out. That is, 

 if a plant covers a space a foot in diameter the 

 first year, this growth blossoms the second year, 

 and by July 1, in my locality, stops blooming 

 and starts a new growth of runners and roots that 

 will produce blossoms the third year. Now, if 

 there is no rain after July 1 of the second year, 

 there will be no blossoms for the season follow- 

 ing, and the part of the plant that produced the 

 bloom during that second year will die out the 

 winter following, just as the stalk of a raspberry- 

 plant that bears the fruit this season is dead by 

 the next spring and a new one takes its place. 

 This new growth, under normal conditions, will 

 keep spreading until, as Dr. Miller says, it might 

 cover a whole acre; but as soon as the first dry 

 year comes it dies out the winter following. 

 This is one instance when clover winter-kills. 



Another instance of winter-killing is when it 

 rains for several years in succession and the 

 ground becomes so thickly set in clover that it 

 starves itself out, just as corn planted too thickly 

 literally starves, so that the crop is destroyed. 



Where the ground is covered with this growth 

 of old clover there will be very few new plants 

 started, as the old clover starves the young plants 

 to death. That is just what happened last sea- 

 son. The old clover covered the ground so thor- 

 oughly that there was no place for new plants, 

 and, besides, there was no rain to enable the old 

 plants to make a new growth for this coming sea- 

 son. There has been some rain lately, and there 

 will be a few blossoms here and there, and some 

 of these old plants will hold enough life through 

 the winter to begin to grow next spring; and, 

 aided by the millions of young plants that start 

 next spring, will make a large growth this next 

 season provided the rains come, and in 1910 the 

 fields will be white again. 



THE EFFECT OS HONEY CROPS. 



These drouths are a blessing in disguise. 

 First, they keep down increase, as bees winter 

 badly after one of these dry years, thereby keep- 

 ing the country from becoming overstocked. 

 Second, our bumper crops come from the first 

 year's bloom of plants started from the seed the 

 year before. The year 1901 in the North Cen- 

 tral States was very dry, while 1902 was very 

 wet. The year 1903 gave the largest crop from 

 white clover on record. Take another instance: 

 The year 1406 was dry at Dr. Millers, in North- 

 em lUinois; 1907 normal, and 190S gave the doc- 

 a bumper crop. Here at home, the year 1900 

 was dry; 1901 wet, and in 1902 the yield was 100 

 lbs. per colony; 1902 was wet again, and the 

 yield in 1903 was 100 lbs. per colony. The fall 

 of 1903 was very dry, and there was no honey 

 in 1904; 1904 was dry again, therefore no honey 

 in 1905; 1905 was normal, and we had a good 

 crop in 1906; 1906 was normal, and there was a 

 good crop in 1907. The fall of 1908 was the 

 driest in 37 years, the rainfall from June 10th to 

 Nov. 1st being less than 6 inches. On this ac- 

 count I am looking for no honev from white clo- 



ver during 1909. To prove my faith in what I 

 say, I will take, as my share, 10 lbs. per colony 

 of white-clover honey gathered by my bees in 

 1909 to any man who wants to run them on 

 shares. 



PROSPECTS FOR NEXT YEAR. 



This white-clover question is the most impor- 

 tant theme for discussion in the whole white-clo- 

 ver belt. I know positively that there will be no 

 honey from white clover this year, so I need no 

 supplies, and I do not need to rush my bees in 

 the spring to prepare for a flow that will not 

 come. I shall ship them off to the mountains, 

 where there is a chance for a light flow at least. 

 In case the rainfall is normal next spring, and a 

 good crop of white clover starts, instead of hav- 

 ing the blues and letting my bees die out I shall 

 increase them and prepare for 1910. Or during 

 1909, if the rainfall is normal until the 1st of 

 July, we can stand a dry spell, as the clover has 

 made a new growth that has never bloomed, and 

 will produce a honey-flow in 1910. Again, it 

 may be dry until the 1st of July, and the clover- 

 flow for 1910 will still be assured if there is a 

 large amount of rain from July 1 to Nov. 2 I 

 am talking from actual experience, and I have no 

 theories to advance. That farmer who wants 

 more bees this year has something yet to learn 

 about clover. 



White clover in a normal condition Dec. 1 is, 

 nine times out of ten, still in a normal condition 

 April 1st; whether the winter is wet or dry, or a 

 hot or cold one, the result is just about the same. 

 It is almost impossible to kill clover in winter 

 when it is in a normal condition. In wet soils 

 that heave things out of the ground by freezing 

 and thawing, white clover will manage to have 

 enough roots sticking in the ground to maintain 

 life. Tramping clover while frozen will kill it. 

 A dry fall will not ruin )ou?tg white-clover plants; 

 but it is death to the oU ones. There will be a 

 bitter wail from bee-keepers in the white-clover 

 belt next spring, as 90 per cent of the clover is 

 already dead that would produce honey in 1909. 



Valley View, Ky., Jan. 5, 1909. 



BEE-KEEPING IN NEW ZEALAND. 



Some Questions for Dr Miller on Queen- 

 rearing. 



BY H. B.ARTLETT-MILLER. 



1. In Dr. Miller's description of queen-raising 

 in his " Forty Years Among the Bees," would it 

 not do to brush the bees simply from the comb 

 of the queenright hive into the cell-building hive 

 instead of doing that, and changing the hives as 

 well.' What is the object of changing over the 

 hives: Dr. Miller does not explain that, and for 

 women it is heavy work. 



2. Will you ascertain from him whether or not 

 the good results of the foundation plan, that 

 proved an exception during 1902, was repeated 

 in succeeding years, as Dr. M. himself expressed it.- 



3. Regarding hustlers capping honey greasy or 

 watery, would you call this queen good enough 

 to breed from, for Italianizing my apiary? Dec. 

 5, 1907, being then in her second year, she 

 swarmed, with bees to cover only four Jumbo 

 frames The honey season had just then com- 



