400 



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comb or extracted honey ; as a means 

 of controlling swarming, or increasing 

 the size of colonies when desired, of 

 rearing and pure mating of queens, of 

 preventing formation of brace-combs, 

 etc. ' ' Pooh !" every one will say, 

 " he claims the earth." For repl}-, I 

 say simply, "Try it, and be con- 

 vinced." 



Is the plan rational and in line with 

 nature ? I have always been led to 

 believe that man was given bi-ains to 

 use, and, in bee-keeping, the best use 

 he can make of them is to aid his pets 

 where he can. "Father Langstroth " 

 started the " ball a-rolling " with his 

 frame ; and now we can control and 

 aid also. 



In nature, the bees space their combs 

 widely, for the reason that it gives 

 them ample space for winter supplies. 

 We do not need this space, for we can 

 do what the bees cannot, namely, give 

 all the space wanted, and just where 

 it is needed. Now what we want is to 

 use the brood-chamber for brood, and 

 we do not need any winter supplies to 

 be stored therein. By close spacing, 

 we can accomplish just this, if we 

 wish. It is not guess-woi'k with myself 

 — I have tried and proved it, season 

 after season ; and what I have done, 

 any one can do also. 



But " brevity is the soul of wit," and 

 I need not enlarge on the point, as I 

 have already said enough to, as I 

 desire, start a discussion that will 

 bring the matter to the attention of 

 all experimenting apiarists. Who will 

 give the method a thorough test, and a 

 fair report of results ? 



North Attleboro, Mass.,May 31,1890. 



THE CLOVERS. 



Alsike and Its Origin — Honey 

 from Clovers. 



WrltUnfor the American Bee Journal 

 BY C. J. ROBINSON. 



In reading the correspondence of 

 bee-keepers, I observe that some have 

 mentioned that differently named 

 clovers afi'orded honey, and that it may 

 be to advantage to cultivate certain 

 species or variety of them. 



The Alsike — so-called — has been tried 

 by many, but the reports are conflict- 

 ing. Its botanical name was so given 

 from its being supposed by Linnajus to 

 be a hybrid between white and red 

 clover, but it is now known to be a dis- 

 tinct species. It is found native over 

 a large part of Europe, and was first 

 cultivated in Sweden, deriving its com- 

 mon name from the village of Syke in 

 that country. In 1834, it was taken to 

 England, and in 1854 it was taken to 

 Germany, where it is largely grown. 



not only for its excellent forage, but 

 also for its seed, which commands a 

 high price. 



In France, it is little grown as yet, 

 and is frequently' confounded with the 

 less productive Trifolium elegtms. In 

 the oiBcial report of the World's Fair 

 held at London in 1851 (if I remember 

 correctly), mention is made of Alsike 

 clover seed, which was exhibited in 

 the department alloted the Swedes. 



In 1853 or 1854, I received, among 

 an invoice of seeds, a small paper of 

 Alsike clover seed, sent to mo from 

 the now Department of Agriculture by 

 our Member of Congress. I sowed it 

 on rather dry land, and did not get a 

 favorable opinion of it. 



In 1870 I procured a few pounds of 

 Alsike seed, and put it upon dry land, 

 my object being to test it as a bee- 

 forage plant. 1 was not highly enough 

 pleased with Alsike to make further 

 trial. I sowed timothy seed with the 

 Alsike ; the latter failed to grovv much 

 of a crop the second season. Alsike 

 seed is possessed of lasting vitalitj-. 

 The reason for Linnreus supposing 

 Alsike to be a hybrid, was because it 

 is intermediate in size and color be- 

 tween white and red clover. 



In "Les Prairies Artificielles," by 

 Ed. Vianne, of Paris, we tind the fol- 

 lowing (condensed here) : 



Alsike does not attain its full develop- 

 ment under 8 or 3 years, and should there- 

 fore be mixed with some other pl.iut for 

 permanent meadows. It is best adapted to 

 cool, damp calcareous soils, and gives good 

 results upon reclaimed marshes. It is 

 adapted neither to very dry soils nor to 

 those where there is stagnant water. Being 

 of slender growth, rye or oats are often 

 sown with it, when it is to be mowed. In 

 fertile ground, weeds are apt to diminish 

 the yield after a few years, so that it 

 requires to be broken up. It is generally 

 sown in May, at the rate of 6 to 7 pounds 

 of the clean seed per acre. Alsike sprouts 

 but little after cutting, and therefore pro- 

 duces but one crop and one pasturage. The 

 yield of seed is usually 130 to 170 pounds 

 per acre. 



It does not endure drouth as well as the 

 common red clover, but it will grow on 

 more damp and heavy soils, and it is said 

 that it can be grown on land which, through 

 lung cultivation of the common clover, has 

 become "clover sick." 



Other vareties or species of clover 

 secrete honey, but bees are not able to 

 reacli the nectar at the bottom of the 

 tubes of the flovvers. Bees have cer- 

 tain parts of tlie mouth — the maxilla; 

 and labium, or lower jaws and lower 

 lip, with their feelers (palpi) — elongat- 

 ed into a sort of proboscis ; and the 

 ligula is elongated, assuming the form 

 of a filament capable of extension and 

 retraction, and is folded up when not 

 in use. 



This is the organ called, by some, 

 the tongue of bees, although the name 

 cannot be regarded as very appro- 

 priate, it being a part of the labium or 

 lower lip. The other elongated parts 



of the mouth serve as a sort of sheath 

 for this organ, when it is folded up. 



It is not tubular, and employed in 

 tlie manner of suction, as has been 

 supposed by many, but is more or less 

 hairy, so that the honey adheres to it 

 as it is rolled and moved about, and is 

 conveyed up through the mouth into 

 the honey-bag, sometimes called the 

 first stomach, an appropriate recepta- 

 cle, in which it apparently undergoes 

 some change — without, however, being 

 subjected to any process analogous to 

 digestion, and is ready to be given 

 forth again by the mouth. 



I do not (please note) disagree with 

 Prof. Cook in his remarks calling 

 honey " digested nectar," but I do 

 assert that honey is different from nec- 

 tar in its natural state or when gath- 

 ered ; and the change is produced by 

 passing through certain organs of the 

 honey-bee, and the term "digestion" 

 expresses the action correctly enough. 



The idea that bees can be or have 

 been bred into a "strain" that, differ- 

 ent from other bees, gather nectar 

 from red clover, is ridiculous. When 

 it occurs that red clover secretes nec- 

 tar so that the flower-tubes are nearly 

 tilled, the bees will work on the clover 

 so long as they can reach the sweet in 

 the tubes ; so bear in mind, it is the 

 kind of weather — not the kind of bees 

 — that produces honey from big clover. 



There is, in this country, red clovers 

 known by different botanical names. 

 The French clover (Trifolium incarna- 

 hmi) ; also manmotli clover (Trifolium 

 mediu7n), which is cultivated under the 

 name of sapling, or pea-vine clover, 

 etc. These clovers are usually re- 

 garded as being the above mentioned 

 species, but are, perhaps, a variety, or 

 varieties, of the common red clover — 

 Trifolium j^ratense. 



Richford, N. Y. 



THE BEE-SPACE. 



Tlie Correct Space — Experience 

 Avitli the Bee-Escape. 



TFritfen /or the American Bee Journal 

 BY WM. L. DREW. 



To query 709, regarding the size of 

 the correct bee-space, Mr. Secor an- 

 swers three-sixteenths of an inch, and 

 the Dadants a scant one-fourth inch, 

 which is about the same. In the June 

 Apiculiurist. an article in the Review is 

 mentioned, recommending this same 

 space — three-sixteenths of an inch — 

 and Mr. Alley seems to sanction it. 

 Now all this talk seems very strange 

 to me, and I will proceed to tell why. 



I have in my possession, and have 

 had in use for several years, some 15 

 Heddon honey-boards which were in- 



