AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



513 



while overcrowded ones do not increase 

 it. Tt is by attention to small details 

 that success is won in this as in any 

 other undertaking. If the seeding is 

 done by hand, mixing the seed thoroughly 

 with several times its bulk of sand may 

 aid in its even distribution. 



The seed may be sown with oats, if 

 preferred, provided the ground can be 

 put into proper condition early enough. 



Soon after the removal of the wheat 

 from the ground, the young clover plants 

 should cover it. They often make such 

 growth as to blossom and mature seed 

 the first season. Possibly, by sowing 

 the seed alone, and under the most favor- 

 able conditions, a fair crop of seed might 

 be obtained the first season ; but the 

 second season is the one depended upon 

 for the main crop, under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances. 



In the Autumn and early Spring the 

 field may be lightly pastured, preferably 

 by sheep, but care should be taken to 

 remove the stock before damage is done. 



By early June the clover field should 

 be a sheet of vivid green, with no earth 

 visible. Later, the pink and white 

 blossoms appear, borne at the ends of 

 the main stalk and branches. This is 

 the bloom which will furnish the largest 

 and best part of the seed crop. Keep 

 watch of them, for they soon disappear 

 under a set of somewhat smaller blos- 

 soms, which in turn give away to 

 another, the bloom continuing several 

 weeks. During this time the bee does 

 double duty in improving the yield of 

 seed by cross-fertilization, and in gath- 

 ering the jiectar with which the florets 

 are abundantly stored. Mr. M., realiz- 

 ing the value of its labors, purchased 10 

 colonies, and feels that they paid for 

 themselves in the first season by increas- 

 ing the yield of clover seed, to say noth- 

 ing of their gathering 300 pounds of 

 the finest honey in the world. Had he 

 been an experienced bee-keeper, instead 

 of the beginner that be was, the honey 

 crop would have been twice as great. A 

 week or more of bloom passed before the 

 sections were put on at all. 



To go back to those first clover blos- 

 soms — they will have become a rich 

 brown in color, and nearly dry. Now is 

 the time to cut it. Just here is where 

 a day's delay means partial if not total 

 failure. Waiting for the later and in- 

 ferior heads to ripen, the earlier and 

 more valuable ones, becoming entirely 

 dry, burst their pods and scatter the 

 seed upon the ground. When cut at 

 the proper stage, a large part of the 

 foliage is green and tender, and, \yith 



the immature heads, furnishes a hay 

 equal, if not superior, to that from the 

 first growth of red clover. 



After it is cut, moisture does not in- 

 jure Alsike as readily as it does other 

 hay. To avoid scattering the seed, the 

 hay should be handled as little as pos- 

 sible during the curing, and then only 

 when there is moisture enough in the 

 atmosphere to keep the stems pliable — 

 never in the heat of the day. This is 

 the second point of extreme importance. 

 Drawing should be done during the 

 earlier part of the day, after the dew is 

 off, and again in the latter part of the 

 afternoon. Subsequent operations need 



Alsike Clover Root and Crown, Ked Clover Root 

 average size, 1 year old. and Crown, 1 yr. old. 



no comment until the seed is ready for 

 the cleansing process. 



In order to command the highest price 

 in the market, the seed must be perfectly 

 clean ; but as it is so much smaller than 

 any other kind of seed which a farmer 

 handles, the fanning-mill requires finer 

 screens than those ordinarily used, and 

 the blast controlled so that seed is not 

 blown off in the chaff. Though it re- 

 quires skill and a good machine to per- 

 fectly clean seed without waste, care 

 and ingenuity will often accomplish the 

 desired result with slight expense, and 



