450 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



July 15 



trap nest, and the whole thing can be man- 

 ufactured in quantities for five or ten cents. 

 I will try to give a picture of it, in our next 

 issue. If any of you get in a hurry to see 

 my "new invention," just tell me so on a 

 postal and I will give you an advance proof 

 of the device. 



HOW TO TELL WHETHER THE EGGS ARE GOING 

 TO HATCH. 



In case of delayed incubation, either by 

 hens or incubator, it would often be exceeci- 

 incrlv convenient to tell whether or not there 

 isTiie in the eggs without breaking them. 

 This can be done very easily with our egg- 

 tester described on page 384, June 15. To- 

 day, July 12, I had two duck eggs that had 

 been under different hens for 29 days; but 

 as the egg-tester showed me both ducks 

 kicking about quite lively I took courage. 

 The delayed hatching was caused by hens 

 that neglected their business.-* 



HIGH-PRESSURE 

 GARDENING 



By A. I. Root 



BUCKWHEAT FOR BEE-KEEPERS — A NEW 

 WRINKLE. 

 We clip the following article from the 

 Michigan Farmer for June 26: 



GROWING BUCKWHEAT FOR HONEY. 



In most clover and basswood sections there is little 

 for the bees to gather after these cease to yield. Where 

 asters, goldenrods, and " stick-tiphts " abound, the 

 flow from them commences along the latter part of 

 August. There are many locations where there is 

 practically nothing to gather, unless it is honey-dew, 

 and I don't hanker after that kind of honey after the 

 cessation of the white-clover and basswood flow. If 

 this long honey dearth can, in a measure, be reduced 

 it is a great thing for the bees and their keeper. Enough 

 to live on may be gathered, or even sufficient for win- 

 ter stores. 



It has not yet been found to pay to provide artificial 

 bee pasturage unless it yields other profits. Plants 

 that will do this are clover, buckwheat, alfalfa, and 

 others. 



The one of these best suited to fill the honey dearth 

 after basswood is buckwheat. It is a profitable crop to 

 grow, even if its honey-yielding qualities are not con- 

 sidered, as its cultivation by non-bee-keeping farmers 

 testifies. 



As shown by statistics, buckwheat is one of the crops 

 the area of which is decreasing. But the price per 

 bushel remains very steady. In tl'.is State, as well as 

 in Michigan, considerable light sandy land is being 

 farmed. Here rye is one of the main crops for such 

 soil. Buckwheat grows about as well, and the yields 

 per acre are larger, and, I think, for a series of years, 

 the price per bushel is as high if not higher. And I 

 find that buckwheat is better fitted to practice green 

 manuring with. 



I have given some reasons for having buckwheat in 

 the crop rotation, and will say something of its culti- 

 vation. It works nicely in rotation with rye. Let us 

 say a rye crop has been taken from a certain field. If 

 the soil is light 'the kind that is used for buckwheat- 

 growing here I, I sow right among the stubble without 

 plowing. If the rye is sown early enough, some rape 

 and turnip seed can be mixed with it. The reason for 

 this will be explained later. I like to sow as soon after 

 the field is as clear as possible. The rye will grow 

 more, and furnish more fall pasturage. Yes, I pasture 

 stock on it during October. It helps the milk-flow and 

 saves hay. To increase the amount of green feed is 

 one reason why some rape seed is mixed with the rye. 



The following spring sheep can be pastured on the 



*Mrs. Root suggested, when I was telling the family 

 about it, that I had actually succeeded in discovering 

 a way of "counting my chickens before they were 

 hatched." 'The two ducks are now, July 13, hatched. ' 



rye, but don't overdo the matter. Wlien the rye com- 

 mences to head out is the right time to plow it under. 

 Don't wait until time to sow the buckwheat before 

 plowing. Buckwheat does better on a settled seed-bed. 

 If the rye is turned under at least two weeks before 

 ready to sow the buckwheat, the soil will compact nice- 

 ly if worked. Three pecks per acre is used broadcast; 

 a little less if drilled. I rather think drilling is prefer- 

 able. 



Now I will tell why some rape and turnip seed is to. 

 be mixed with the rye. Both plants, when in bloom, 

 are eagerly visited by the bees. They come into bloom 

 the last of May or the first of June, according to the 

 season. At this time the fruit-tree bloom is about over, 

 and there are few other flowers for the bees to work 

 on until white clover opens. 



The buckwheat can be cut with a self-binder. The 

 soil will be in a loose pliable condition, and I don't 

 think any thing can be gained by plowing it. If you 

 have a disc harrow, work over the buckwheat stubble. 

 Then broadcast or drill in rye. The rye is to be har- 

 vested the following season. It can, of course, be 

 turned under and buckwheat grown again. 



In from six to eight weeks after sowing, the buck- 

 wheat will commence to bloom. As the honey is dark- 

 colored, the crop must be sown late enough so the 

 white honey may not be discolored. Any way, as soon 

 as bees begin to work on backwheat all white honey 

 should be removed to prevent its discoloration. 



If any buckwheat honey is stored in the sections, try 

 to sell it direct to consumers. Owing to the belief that 

 all dark-colored honeys are inferior in quality, it does 

 not sell well to retailers. Good well-ripened buckwheat 

 honey, however, has a smack of its own, and a taste is 

 easily acquired for it. 



Seedsmen have lauded to the skies the New Japanese 

 buckwheat. This variety is really inferior to the Sil- 

 verhull, both as to yield of grain and honey. It is now 

 less grown than formerly. SilverhuU is the variety to 

 grow. Millers, too. prefer it to the Japanese, as it is 

 said to make more flour per given quantity of kernels. 



Buckwheat is sometimes sown in corn at the last 

 cultivation. This gives the bees something to work 

 on. I don't like it, though, for, as some of the seed ri- 

 pens, a volunteer crop will come up among the spring- 

 sown grain. Such plants bloom while the bees are 

 working on white clover: and if this buckwheat also is 

 visited the honey will have an a.mber tinge. It does 

 not sell so readily then. F. A. STROHSCHEiN. 



If I understand the writer of the above 

 article he has struck on a plan by which the 

 bee-keeper can get two valuable crops for 

 honey; and not only that, he can keep on 

 growing buckwheat continuously year after 

 year — at least for a time. We have been in 

 the habit for years of sowing rye after dig- 

 ging our potatoes, or taking off some other 

 crop, and turning the rye under the follow- 

 ing spring just before it begins to head out; 

 but it never occurred to me before that I 

 could get two honey crops by sowing turnip 

 and rape seed with the rye. I know they 

 will both winter over in our locality, and 

 furnish valuable blossoms for the bees, be- 

 cause I have done so repeatedly, but never 

 in connection with rye. The Rural New- 

 Yorker has for years past recommended 

 cowhorn turnips just to get a valuable crop 

 to turn under in the spring, but the bee- 

 keeper not only has the rape and turnip to 

 turn under, but he can get quite a yield of 

 honey when there is but little else for the 

 bees to work on. Turnips and rape are also 

 valuable for feed; but if we run for feed we 

 can not well have honev. I hope a number 

 of our bee-keepers will test this idea, and 

 report. If the frost holds off in the fall, 

 good crops of buckwheat can be secured, 

 even if sown as late as Aug. 1 or later; and 

 if the frost should ruin your chance of get- 

 ting seed, the valuable blossoms for honey, 

 and the buckwheat to turn under for suc- 

 ceeding crops, will be worth all it costs. 



