TTM® mmamm^cM.u mmm jovitimmi^. 



800 



To urge them to stay, I put in some 

 foundation; but almost all of them left 

 their hives without any noise that 

 was noticable. so we could not tell 

 they were swarming out. Mr. Pringlo 

 says, give them foundation four days 

 afterwards. Now, I do not see how 

 I could, as I did not know where 

 they were. What he s.aj-s about 

 curing foul brood in the Fall, seems 

 to me a hard thing, not having enough 

 sealed comb to make the experiment. 



Three years ago, late in the Fall. 3 

 colonies were entirely rotteu. I 

 cleaned them out, and gave them 

 empty comb and medicated sugar- 

 syrup. These, the next ye.ar, were 

 my best colonies, and they never had 

 the disease again. Some that I cured 

 in July, caught the disease again this 

 Fall. I have fed my bees $S worth of 

 sugar, but at the same time they 

 seemed in a starving condition. My 

 bees have had to be put together so 

 much, that they have been reduced to 

 onlj"- 3 colonies. 



I am an old bee-keeper ; have been 

 in the business since I \yas a child. I 

 have been among them, and have kept 

 them, myself, for over 30 years, and 

 do not know what to think of this con- 

 dition of things. I have always read 

 the leading bee-jjapers from Germany 

 and this country. I have never heard 

 of such a case before. 



Flint, Mich. 



JAPAN CLOVER. 



Some Facts About this Honey- 

 Plant. 



Written for the American Bee Jovmal 

 BY DAYTON E. BARKER. 



The following article I have taken 

 from the American Farmer, treating on 

 Japan clover. It may be of interest to 

 some of the readers of the American 

 Bee Journal, should you think it 

 worthy of publication : •• I am prompt- 

 ed to send this article hy the fact that 

 this same clover is beginning to take a 

 strong hold in ^ Southern Missouri. 

 Wherever it makes its appearance, it 

 spreads vei-y rapidly, and completely 

 covers the ground in a short time. It 

 seems to thrive on any kind of soil ; on 

 the highest as well as on the lowest 

 ground, and on the stoniest as well as 

 on the stoneless land. Japan clover is 

 a member of the clover family (Lespe- 

 deza slriala). Introduced Into the 

 Southern States, and has had much 

 said both for and against it. It is a 

 native of Japan, and is considered of 

 more and more value year by year, as 

 its merits become better known. 



"I will here give a description copied 

 from the ■ American Encyclopa>(lia of 



Agriculture,' which says : ' It is a low, 

 perennial plant, not rising much above 

 the ground, hut spreading widely im 

 the surface. It belongs to the Leguni- 

 inans family of plants, which includes 

 the common clover, bean, pea, etc. 

 The leaves are very small, trifoliate, 

 and very numei'ous. The flowers are 

 exceedingly small, and are produced 

 in the axils between the leaf and stem, 

 and the fruit is a small, flatish pod.' 



•• Mr. Killebrew says concerning it : 

 • About the year 1849, it was noticed 

 in the vicinity of Charleston, S. C. the 

 seeds having been brought from China 

 or Japan in tea-boxes. A short time 

 afterwards, it was discovered at a dis- 

 tance of iovly miles from Charleston, 

 but growing with great luxuriance on 

 the poorest soils, and retaining vitality 

 in its severest drouths. It is said to be 

 a fine plant for grazing, and being a 

 perennial, neeils no re-sowing, and but 

 little attention. On soils untitfor any- 

 thing else, it furnishes good pasturage, 

 and supplies a heavy green crop for 

 tuining under and improving the 

 land." 



Mr. Green, of Tennessee, says : 

 "This clover made its appearance in 

 our localitj' in 1870, and it is fast cov- 

 ering the whole country ; it supplies 

 much grazing from the Hrst of August 

 until frost." 



If anj' bee-keeper has had any ex- 

 perience withtlie Japan clover, as well 

 as witli the white clover, I would like 

 to learn what is the diflerence between 

 the two clovers, and which one is the 

 best honey-pi'oducing plant. 



St. Joseph, Mo. 



PAINTING HIVES. 



UoAV and When to Paint- 

 injar Bees, etc*. 



Feed- 



Writtenfor the Prairie Farmer. 



BY MRS. L. HARRISON. 



The fine Indian-summer weather 

 with which we have been favored of 

 late, and of which we would fain have 

 a further supply cut from the same 

 web, makes the pi-esent a good time 

 for painting hives. If it is a little 

 cool, the bees will not disturb the 

 workman, and there are no insects 

 flying to get fast in the new paint. A 

 leaky 'roof is an abomination to a 

 colony. 



For the lower hive we use white 

 lead and linseed oil ; for the upper 

 stoi-y, Venetian red and oil, with a 

 little white lead added, to give it body. 

 If we wish to vary the color of the 

 hives in the apiary, we use a little 

 burnt umber, more or less. This, in 

 combination with Venetian red and 



white lead, gives almost any of the 

 neutral tints. 



In a late visit to the Dailants. I saw 

 a large collection of blocks painted in 

 ver3- briglit colors of green, red. yel- 

 low, purple and white. In answer to 

 n)y in(|uiric's as to what they were 

 for, I was told tliat hives were formerlj' 

 painted in ditterent colors, so that 

 queens coidd distinguish their own 

 hives on their return from bridal 

 tours ; but, instead of this, these 

 blocks were now used. Tliey are 

 about two inches square, and six 

 inches in length, with one end cut oft' 

 diagonally. These blocks are also 

 used to regulate the size of the fly- 

 entrance, either decreasing or increas- 

 ing it at discretion. 



FEEDING BEE.S. 



A poor honey season is a good one 

 to judge of the merits or demerits of 

 bees. When the honey-flow is ver3- 

 abundant, the natives appear to keep 

 up in the race, but during a poor sea- 

 son they are distanced. I have taken 

 oft' surplus in the Fall from native bees, 

 and found their cupboard bare. Italians 

 in the same condition would have un- 

 capped everj- cell, carried every drop 

 into the brood-chamber, and been ■' as 

 snug as a bug in a rug" for cold 

 weather. 



There was very little swarming in 

 this locality in the past season, conse- 

 quently but few colonies need feeding 

 — only six in an apiary of one hundi-ed 

 colonies, and these were principally 

 nuclei, which had been formed for the 

 purpose of rearing queens. The wind 

 were tempered to the shorn lamb, for 

 the days were warm the first of the 

 month of November, the thermometer 

 indicating 60^ in the shade I im- 

 proved these warm days in feeding 

 these small colonies, 



CELLARS FOR BEES. 



Those contemplating putting bees 

 into the cellar to pass the winter, 

 should give these repositories a first- 

 class overhauling — no make-believe, 

 or promising to do better next time 

 will answer. If the repository is un- 

 der the dwelling, it should be done 

 away with, for the health of the occu- 

 pants. Sweep it over-head, sides and 

 floor, and give it a coat of whitewash, 

 for lime is a great deodorizer. I never 

 had any comfort with my cellar until I 

 had a sub-earth ventilator, made of 6- 

 inch tile, bringing fresh air from out- 

 of-doors into the bottom of the cellar. 

 A window hung on hinges is just above 

 the ground, and can be opened as cir- 

 cumstances demand. It is open now. 

 and has been for months, the air con- 

 tinually changing. The tile coming 

 above ground is covered with per- 

 forated tin to keep out I'ats. mice, toads 



