1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



247 



TRUN/K 



ON UNDER SIDE 



or Hive CI £ ATS 



the land once. 

 If the buck ' heat 

 comes otf too 

 late for wheat, 

 sow the field to 

 rye. 



In this sec- 

 tion rye Is the 

 surest crop that 

 can be raised. 

 Never sow rye 

 before the mid- 

 dle of October; 

 and if you get 



ihe crop in by the first or even the 10th of No- 

 vember you run no great risk. Rye ground fine 

 is the cheapest feed that we ever fatted hogs with. 

 Small potatoes cooked and mixed in were used. 

 It is still better to let the rye meal soak in water 

 at least two days before feeding. 



Now to bee-keepers who want the crop for 

 honey. Plant the crop at three different times to 

 prolong the honey-flow, and you will be sure .o 

 hit the lucky time for a good field of grain. 

 Buckwheat, on an average, will occupy the land 

 about sixty days. It will commence to yield 

 honey in fifteen or twenty days from the time it 

 is planted, and take about ten days to mature 

 after the honey-flow ceases 



Sow the first crop on the 20th of June; the sec- 

 cond crop on the 4th of July, and the third on 

 the 18ih of July. We pick the 18th because the 

 best crop we ever raised was sown on that day. 



Now, what is the grain worth.? The best 

 home-grown feed for dairy cows that we ever 

 tried, and we have fed lots of this, is one-third 

 buckwheat, one-third corn, and one-third oats. 

 Rye is a good substitute for the corn in this mix- 

 ture. Thirty-two bushels of buckwheat is equal 

 in value to fifty bushels of oats, and it is just as 

 good feed for a horse as it is for a cow. 



Buckwheat is the greatest weed exterminator 

 that a farmer can use. Plow in June and till 

 well, and two crops will exterminate and clear 

 any field of Canada thistles. 



Now one word to potato-raisers. Plow under 

 your best crop of clover about the first of July. 

 Sow the land to buckwheat and to rye in the fall. 

 The following June turn under the rye and y u 

 have the best conditions for potatoes that we ever 

 tried. 



Buckwheat will thrive on any kind of land, 

 and pays well for the good phosphate that may 

 be used. Don't be afraid to use a roller on the 

 newly plowed land. Make a fine se- d-bed. On 



fORMEft LOCATIOIS 



or M/\/e. 



heavy clay soil sow three or four days before a 

 rain if you can. If a heavy rain crusts the soil 

 before the plaint conies up, it is apt t) weaken it. 

 Medina, Ohio. 



IMPROVEMENTS ON THE BOARD- 

 . MAN WHEEL-CART. 



A Simple and Serviceable Hive-lifter. 



BV H. R. BOARDMAN. 



I have added a very simple arrangement to my 

 wheel-cart that I use for moving hives, rraking it 

 a practical hive-lifter. The illustrations show 

 the idea. A weight is placed between the han- 

 dles of the cart in such a way that it may he 

 easily removed to and from the axle. The ob- 

 ject of this weight is to counterbalance the weight 

 of the hi\e. When lifting a hive I slide the ends 



uncovereo for inspection 



boardman's hive-lifting wheel-cart 



Mr. Boardman recently improved this by adding a sliding weight to counterbalance the hive- 

 liiler. By marking the framework, the weight of a colony can be quite accurately determined 

 by noting the position of the weight-box when a good balance is secured. 



of the framework under the hive cleats in the 

 usual way and then move the weight back far 

 enough so that it will hold the hive suspended. 

 In this way the upper stories can be removed and 

 held to one side while the frames in the lower 

 story are examined; or the lower story may be 

 removed entirely, if necessary, or replaced by 

 another one. 



For a weight I use an ordinary hive-body in 



which I put whatever heavy material I desire. 



The illustration shows the trunk-rollers on the 



under side of the cleats, so that the weight may 



be slid back and forth 



without much exertion. 



With this arrangement 

 I can weigh hives as well 

 as move them. With my 

 regular scales I weighed 

 different hives and marked 

 the position of the weight 

 on the framework when a 

 good balance was secured. 

 In this way I can get the 

 weights of different hives 

 accurately enough for gen- 

 eral purposes. 

 Collins, Ohio. 

 [The ground on which 



