Apr. 1-J. 1912 



bloom, the thermometer ranging from 107 

 to 110 degrees in the sun, the hum of the 

 bees when working on sweet clover sounds 

 like an electric motor. Its roots will jiene- 

 trate the ground to a depth of between 8 

 and -i feet. Indeed, it is known to have 

 cast its shaft S feet in order to get water. 



SWEET (.LONER AN IMPORTED PLANT. 



F'ifty years ago i)rogressive beekeepers of 

 this city imported the seed from FAirojJe, 

 ami sowed it on what was later known as 

 IJrown Street Hill. From here it spread 

 over the entire Mill Creek Valley; thence 

 (o l\entucky and Indiana, and now we 

 meet it wherever it has an opportunity to 

 gain a foothold. Along country roads it 

 grows close up to the wagon-tracks. It even 

 seems to thrive on the dust stirred uj) by 

 the travel on the highway. Along fences 

 where the soil has never been touched by 

 the plow or cultivator it forms a veritable 

 hedge of snow-white flowers during full 

 bloom. Who cultivated all this vast region? 

 < )nly the hand of nature. 



AS AN AGENCY IN SOIL FERTILIZATION. 



If sown on cultivated land for a few years, 

 and i)lowed under, it furnishes sufTicient 

 fertilization for other crops. The proof of 

 this is seen on our hillsides, the soil being 

 black from 15 to IS inches. Wherever 

 .sweet clover has been abundant, this soil in 

 most i)laces is only the cover of some stone- 

 • juarry. Our farniers should try it in order 

 to convince themselves. 



AS FOOD FOR CATTLE. 



When young it furnishes excellent food 

 for cattle to browse on. No matter how 

 often cut short before bloom, when the time 

 comes it blooms just the same. This we 

 observed along railroad lines, the men 

 mowing it short in order to prevent its 

 hanging over the tracks. It seems that 

 sweet clover has not been ai)preciated as 

 much as it should be, especially by our 

 farmers; but the day will come when it 

 will be recognized. 



Cincinnati, (). 



[From the way the various experiment sta- 

 tions are becoming interested, we believe the 

 value of sweet clover is already recognized. 



—Ed.] 



•-•--•^ 



HANDS SWITCH BOTTOM -BOARD IN THE 

 TREATMENT OF FOUL BROOD 



BY J. B. HOLSINGER 



I have been interested in bees from boy- 

 hood, and have kept a few colonies as a side 

 line since 1875, partly as a means of obtain- 

 ing outdoor exercise, having worked at a 

 watch-maker's bench for over thirty years. 

 In the fall of 1009 1 discovered signs of Amer- 

 ican foul brood in some of the colonies. The 

 following .June I found three colonies that 

 were affected. One was successfully treated 

 by the Baldridge method, and the other two 

 I shook on starters of foundation, and four 

 days later gave full sheets, but the disease 



Sweet clover In the valleys runnine into the Ohio Kiver ne.ar Ciiu-iiuiaii. 



