GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



He says, "And this brood which would 

 easily go into one hive was scattered all 

 through the combs of the two." Now, my 

 queens never lay that way. I never knew 

 of a case. The following is what I can ex- 

 pect from a colony in early spring: As soon 

 as the bees have as many as four combs 

 with brood, the shape of that brood-nest 

 will be in the form of a sphere; and with a 

 good queen, and plenty of pollen and honey 

 coming in, that ball of brood keeps increas- 

 ing in size until it reaches the outside combs. 



We then put on another story of empty 

 combs, and the queen will soon occupy this 

 second story. And this is the way a queen 

 will start in the upper story: First she will 

 lay in the bottom part of the combs in this 

 secondstory — in several of thecentral combs. 

 The circle of egg-laying will be maintained, 

 so that the center upper comb will have eggs 

 extend higher than the combs on either 

 side. After a few days this circle of brood 

 will be higher in the second story, but slop- 

 ing down as it goes toward the outside combs, 

 preserving the spherical shape. I have nev- 

 er seen an exception to this. 



About this time clover begins to yield. 

 Another story is added, if needed; but the 

 queen will never go into that unless she is a 

 very exceptional layer. Of course this body 

 is placed on top of the second story that the 

 queen is partly occupying. A queen rarely 

 needs more room than the two lower stories 

 supply. (If this new story were put between 

 the two stories which constitute the brood- 

 nest it would make a bad mess, as then the 

 queen and colony would be thrown com- 

 pletely out of balance, and abnormal conse- 

 quences would almost surely follow, which 

 would be decidedly unsatisfactory.) 



By placing the body containing the empty 

 combs on top it forms the third story. The 

 honey which is coming in at a fair rate is 

 placed first at the top and side of the circle 

 of brood. After this space is occupied the 

 bees will reach up into the third story with 

 honey. 



Where do the bees put this first honey in 

 the third story? Never in the upper part of 

 the combs, but in the bottom part first, and 

 then gradually extended upward. (An ex- 

 ception to this, and it also applies to brood, 

 is that, if there is a black comb in the cen- 

 ter of the third story, and the rest of the 

 combs are white, never having had brood in 

 them, the black comb will be filled first.) 



At this stage the queen and workers will 

 ease up on brood expansion, and contraction 

 will take place. The circle will gradually 

 work down out of the second story into the 

 first; so by the time the harvest is past there 

 will be only a small amount in the second- 

 story combs, and the bees will have filled 

 the cells with honey as the brood has reced- 

 ed. 



In view of the above I can not see how 

 a queen could have brood "scattered all 

 through the combs of the two" stories. 

 Normally, bees do not scatter their brood or 

 honey. It is always in a compact shape. 

 At no time between spring and the end of 



the basswood flow have I ever known a 

 queen to desert the lower stories to go into 

 the third when it was added. Later they 

 will go up into the second or third story, 

 however, and that time is toward the last of 

 the buckwheat harvest. 



If Mr. Doolittle had been talking about 

 the flow from buckwheat I should have 

 agreed, for at this time nine out of ten two- 

 story colonies will have the brood-nest in 

 the top story. If they have no excluder be- 

 tween, I suppose it is because it's warmer, 

 at a time when the nights are cool. 



This whole question, however, may be 

 one of location; but my bees, w'hen they 

 have the maximum brood-nest, have it ex- 

 tend to the entrance. I have a pile of ex- 

 cluders in the shop, but I have not used 

 them for several years. I like the present 

 way much better; but one must manage 

 rightly if he wants the best results. 



Randolph, N. Y. 



SWEET CLOVER IN CENTRAL ALABAMA 



BY A. B. BROWN 



I am prompted to say a few words in be- 

 half of melilotus, or sweet clover, in view, 

 if possible, of correcting some of the wrong 

 impressions in regard to the plant. I wish 

 to speak of it only as it is looked upon by 

 the planter, the cattleman, and the bee- 

 keeper in this part of Alabama, where it 

 grows luxuriantly on the lime soil. 



The planter has used sweet clover for 

 years as a land-redeemer, and to keep land 

 (not in cultivation) from washing. Land 

 that is practically- worn out, after being 

 seeded to sweet clover for three years, will 

 produce good cotton again. Then, too, 

 when land is poor and washed full of small 

 ditches and gullies, if sweet clover is sown 

 it will hold firm the washing banks, catch- 

 ing the wash of the soil, thereby filling up 

 numerous depressions. 



In this section nothing but unhulled seed 

 is used. It is cheaper, and easier to get. 

 For the best results the land is plowed 

 and about two to three pecks of unhulled 

 seed to the acre, sown broadcast. It is not 

 necessary to harrow it in. The rain will 

 wash sulTicient soil over the seed. Some- 

 times a brush is run over the soil for the 

 purpose of covering the seed slightly. 



It is a peculiar fact that cattle not raised 

 in the sweet-clover districts do not care for 

 it at first; but they soon learn to like it, and 

 afterward prefer the sweet tender bunches 

 to the other vegetation of the pasture. 



The sweet-clover soil (lime soil) of the 

 South is not very extensive, consisting of a 

 narrow strip across Mississippi and Ala- 

 bama, with some sandy land mixed in, 

 which has no sweet clover. In this section 

 we find that it is a land-builder; excellent 

 to sow in order to keep the soil from wash- 

 ing; fine for the pasture, besides a very 

 good honey-producer, which in its favor 

 have made it a friend and a benefactor. 



Hayneville, Ala. 



