106 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15 



A TEN-ACRE BUCKWHEAT-FIELD IN ENGLAND. 



simple machine, light and easy to handle; adapts 

 itself to eight and ten frame dovetailed hives 

 and equally well to any hive having side hand- 

 holes or cleats. It raises and lowers the hive 

 with such an imperceptible motion as not to 

 alarm the bees, and, with the stop adjustment, 

 will hold the hive suspended while repairs or oth- 

 er work may be done to the stand or bottom- 

 board. As a substitute for lifting hives to and 

 from a platform scales with the jarring incidental 

 thereto, to say nothing of the evil effects this 

 method has upon the spinal column, it has proven 

 a marked success. 

 Hanover, Pa. 



«»»«« 



HONEY-PLA NTS I N ENGLAND. 



BuckAvheat and Bokhara Clover; Grow- 

 ing Buckwheat to take the Place of 

 Fall Feeding. 



BY JOSEPH TINSLEY. 



Although it is not in every bee-keeper's power 

 to assist in planting large areas for the supply of 

 nectar at a time when the ordinary pasturage fails 

 to produce any surplus, yet bee-keepers can, by 

 using tact and ingenuity, persuade local land- 

 owners and farmers to assist, and, at the same 

 time, effect considerable advantages to both. Par- 

 ticularly was this noticeable at Mr. E. H. Tay- 

 lor's bee-farm, Welwyn. While on a visit to 

 the London exhibition I journeyed to this bee- 

 farmer's home, and, after an inspection of the api- 

 ary and the machinery, I was shown his own par- 

 ticular pasturages. Every variety of nectar-pro- 

 ducing plants was here displayed; but the treat of 

 the day was ten acres of buckwheat situated about 

 half a mile from Mr. Taylor's apiary. It was a 

 wonderful sight, and I endeavored to photograph 

 it. Being the last week in July the white clover 

 had long ceased to bloom, and the hum on this 



mammoth field 

 of nectar was 

 delightful. 1 1 

 is needless to 

 say that by this 

 means no au- 

 tumn feeding 

 is necessary, so 

 that one can 

 easily account 

 for these rous- 

 ing colonies in 

 early spring. 



According to 

 A. I. Root this 

 plant is consid- 

 ered one of the 

 most important 

 honey-yieid- 

 ers, and it is ex- 

 tensivelygrown 

 here. In his 

 A B C of Bee 

 Culture he de- 

 votes several 

 pages to this 

 excellent plant 

 which are well 

 worth reading. 

 The honeypro- 

 duced from this source is of a purple tint, and 

 has a particularly good flavor; but notwithstand- 

 ing this the cappings of comb are pearly white in 

 appearance. One peculiar feature, however, is 

 that the bees work on the flower only up to noon. 

 Mr. Taylor had also experimented in another 

 direction with Bokhara clover. This plant also 

 yields an exceptional quality and quantity of hon- 

 ey, and can be recommended to growers on a 

 small scale. It reaches a height of 10 feet, and 

 is most profusive in sending forth blooms, spread- 

 ing its branches in all directions, each particular 

 shoot sending forth blossoms in turn. Waste 

 parts of the apiary can be profitably sown with 

 it, as it flourishes in the most barren places. At 

 the time of writing, Nov. 30, the Bokhara clover 

 is still in bloom, although 16 degrees of frost has 

 been registered. During the very mild weather 

 in October the bees worked on the plant wonder- 

 fully well. When we consider that this particu- 

 lar kind of clover will blossom practically all the 

 year round, the other species of clover are left in 

 the shade, and I think all bee-keepers will do 

 well to give it a trial. 

 Chebbery, Eccleshall, England. 



[We have tried repeatedly to photograph a field 

 of buckwheat; but in our locality, at least, there 

 is almost sure to be, during daylight hours, a 

 light breeze. This sets the heads of the plants to 

 waving, with the result that we see a blurr in the 

 photo as in that here reproduced. It is impos- 

 sible to take an instantaneous photo, and yet have 

 ihe whole of the field in focus. It then becomes 

 necessary to stop down the lens and take what is 

 known as a "time view." Mr. W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son, of the Bee-keepers' /frxwic, succeeded once, 

 and that view has been shown to the bee-keeping 

 public. In the photo above shown it is evident 

 that there was a light breeze at^the time the ex- 

 posure*was made. — Ed.] 



