1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



243 



ing it for seed, or for hay and seed. For some time I have cut 

 a portion for hay, and used the second crop for seed. This 

 answers well, because the second crop is finer in the straw, 

 producing as much seed as the first crop, and is easier man- 

 aged, which, I think, answers the best from an agricultural 

 point of view. The second growth is much finer, and after 

 threshing it, it can be used to good advantage for litter, pro- 

 ducing as much seed as the first crop, with this advantage, it 

 can be handled much easier, being from two to three feet in 

 height, while the first crop will sometimes reach from three 

 feettollJ-4 — I have a sample that height in my possession, 

 this being the exception, not the rule. It was grown in a very 

 favorable locality. 



My advice to the farmer who grows sweet clover for its 

 food value is this : Cut in June, or at all events before it 

 blooms, or you will have a job on your hands, and you will 

 sweat for it, and deserve to. Mr. Stolley is right in saying so. 

 It is very succulent, and care has to be exercised in curing it. 

 Don't cure it too much — just have it nicely killed. If over- 

 done, the leaves will drop off, which would be a great loss. 

 When putting it in the mow use plenty of salt. 



The acreage grown here is pretty extensive, and the seed 

 procured is from the first crop, which is generally ripe in Au- 

 gust, and should be cut before the second blossom appears, 

 which is sure to be the case if we have much rain in the latter 

 part of July, or the beginning of August. If the atmosphere 

 is sultry and showery, nectar will be collected liberally from 

 the second blossom. 



I employ two or three men for a month, at$1.25 per day, 

 and accompany them to the field of operation. Each is equip- 

 ped with a scythe, a sickle, and whetstone. We have a sling 

 made from the top of an old boot, with a cord attached ; this 

 is put around our waist. The sling, or pouch, hangs from 

 the middle of the back downwards, and contains the whetstone 

 and sickle. It is out of the way, and always at hand when 

 required. When reaping, we often find places the scythe can- 

 not be worked to advantage, when the sickle is at hand and 

 applied. The ordinary scythe is too light for the first crop, 

 requiring what we term here the " bull-dog," a short, strong 

 blade, generally used in cutting down weeds. The sickle, I 

 believe, is the more profitable implement of the two. The 

 cutting is more gently done. The clover is laid down in bun- 

 dles, can be picked up gently and quickly, which means a 

 great saving of seed. The scythe strikes hard, and out flies 

 the seed, and, in gathering, it is a tangled mass in the swath, 

 and much seed is lost in unravelling it. 



The first few days we cut without interruption ; as the 

 seed becomes riper we cut only in the mornings, devoting the 

 heat of the day for threshing, which is done as follows : 



About 9 or 10 o'clock we select a level piece of ground 

 with as few stubbles as possible, which are cut close to the 

 ground, throwing on some mould to level up and make it 

 smooth. We then spread out an old sail or canvas about 20 

 feet square, and gather up all clover around the threshing 

 floor, piling it up several feet high with the heads to the cen- 

 ter. Two then get on top with flails, or dung-forks or pitch- 

 forks, striking with all the might. In the heat of the day the 

 seed will fairly rush out. Towards evening you will find it 

 more difiicult to get it off the straw, showing how easily it be- 

 comes affected by moisture. 



When fairly in the swing of the work, you will find it 

 necessary to make a second threshing-floor, because of the 

 long distance to carry. Proceed as at first, leaving the two 

 threshers to clean up the first floor. By shaking off the straw, 

 the bottom will be found a mat of seed and pens, and will 

 make you sweat to shake it out. When as clean as the hands 

 will make it, put it through a riddle, % mesh. If you want it 

 cleaner, put it through another a little finer. Bag it up, and 

 store it away in dry, comfortable quarters. If it should be the 

 least damp, spread it out on a floor and turn it occasionally. 

 Should it become heated the seed is spoiled. This is one rea- 

 son why we find so much poor seed. 



With two carrying, and two threshing, a great amount 

 can soon be got out of the way. The straw can be used in 

 some cases if not too strong, for bedding. Last season I 

 burned all except a few loads of the flue. 



Don't carry it a long distance ; handle carefully, and 

 handle only once. It must be threshed on the ground. By 

 the time you would get it into the mow, there would be no 

 seed upon it. I have tried the reaper, and unless cut in a 

 damp condition, or in a green state, the loss of seed is too 

 great to warrant its application. 



Select a very dry or freezing time to hull. If prepared in 

 the above manner, the clover-huller will hull a hundred bush- 

 els in a day. 



The above is the manner of procedure with the writer. Of 

 course, we are a slow people here, in most things, and would 



be glad to hear of a less expensive method of procuring the 

 seed. By the price offered for the seed by some firms, we are 

 inclined to think there must be a less expensive method, or else 

 men work gratis. Ontario, Canada. 



[In order that all our readers may have a chance to try 

 sweet clover, we will send 2 pounds, postpaid, for 50 cents; 

 or 5 pounds, by express, for 75 cents (one-cent stamps taken). 

 Send your order at once to the Bee Journal office, and get the 

 seed by return mail or express. — Editor.] 



Reasons for Favoring Uupainted Hives. 



BY C. THEILMANN. 



On page 746 (1895) Mr. Thomas gives us some very 

 valuable hints on painting, on which Dr. Miller remarks 

 (page 774) that some of us believe that bees are better off in 

 unpainted hives, but covers should be painted, etc. To this 

 Mr. Thomas, on page 114, gives us more explanations on the 

 wood of which most bee-hives are made, and their lasting 

 qualities, and says : " White pine, however, does not stand 

 exposure to the weather unless thoroughly protected by 

 paint." Now, I wonder if Mr. Thomas has really knowledge 

 of this by actual experiments, or is it only his theory, because 

 white pine is very soft wood. If he be correct, then there 

 must be a big difference, in some way, between Minnesota and 

 North Carolina concerning bee-hives made of white pine. 



I am not able to tell how long my unpainted white pine 

 bee-hives will last hereafter, but some of them have been in 

 constant use for 25 years, and they are still in good condition ; 

 not one of them, so far, is injured enough by the weather to 

 render it useless. 



Twenty-four years ago I had 12 hives made and painted 

 with linseed oil and white lead. For the hives I paid in cash 

 $48. They were made of clear, white pine lumber, one inch 

 thick, after it was planed. At the same time I had 12 hives, 

 same size, made of rough lumber, not painted, for which I 

 paid §24, and to-day one lot is about as good as the other. 

 Now, just 30unt the difference between .$24 and $48, and 

 compound interest for 24 years, and see what a nice little 

 sum of money I would have saved with all unpainted hives. 



Outside of the 12 painted hives I have since used nothing 

 but unpainted hives, and thereby saved many hundreds of 

 dollars on hives alone. But I consider this only a small part 

 compared with the comfort of the bees and general success of 

 my bee-keeping. I am in line with Dr. Miller when he says 

 (on page 774, 1895) : "So far as the bees are concerned, it 

 will be an unpainted hive." I am not keeping bees for pleas- 

 ure, but for the pay I get for my labor. 



The most important point is not mentioned by either the 

 Doctor or Mr. Thomas, namely, that the unpainted hives 

 should not be planed on the outside, but only planed on the 

 inside. This roughness on the outside not only helps to pre- 

 serve the wood from the weather, warping aud cracking, but 

 creates very little refiection from the sun in hot weather, 

 which all the veterans in bee^culture know unpainted hives 

 do. Of late years this hive (the Minnesota Langstroth) is get- 

 ting very popular in Minnesota, as bees winter better In un- 

 painted hives, and it has many other advantages oyer painted 

 hives. Theilmanton, Minn. 



The Sun Wax-Extractor— How to Make It. 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLB. 



And old bee-friend of years ago writes me as follows: "I 

 hear through Friend W. that you have thrown away the Swiss 

 wax-extractor you used when at your place In the early eighties, 

 and now use a sun wax-extractor. I suppose you like the lat- 

 ter better than the former; aud if so, and you think the sun 

 wax-extractor a really good thing, I wish you would tell us in 

 the American Bee Journal how to make one, for from days of 

 yore I know that you can tell us so plainly that any of us can 

 make one. Please do this and oblige." , 



Yes, I now use a sun or solar wax-extractor, altogether, 

 and find it one of the nicest things about the apiary. The 

 Swiss was good for its capacity, and the time as toapicultural 

 advancement, when it made its advent, but it was no compari- 

 son to a good solar wax-extractor, as to ease of manipulation, 

 cleanliness of use or capacity of work. As to the "how" of 

 making, I will, in order to make it plain, give the size and 

 number of pieces contained in the extractor, by numbers, and 

 then tell you how.to put them together, as 1 find it in an old 



