Feb. 16, 190S. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



117 



-V (£ontrtbutcb ^- 

 Special Clrticlcs 



^ 



=/ 



An Experiment with Alfalfa in Illinois. 



BY J. E. JOHNSON. 



ONE year ago last spring- (April 28) I plowed about one 

 acre of ground, then harrowed it twice, after which I 

 sowed 10 pounds of alfalfa seed and 100 pounds of in- 

 fected soil from the Illinois Experiment Station ; that is, 

 soil taken from one of their successfully inoculated alfalfa 

 fields. I again harrowed this little field twice. The weather 

 was fairly favorable, and in two weeks the alfalfa was up, 

 and made a good stand. 



The first year I clipped it twice, and let it lay on the 

 ground. Tubercles did not begin to form on the roots until 

 about August or September, and the alfalfa did not look 

 very thrifty. In one corner of this patch the white clover 

 came up pretty thick, and at least half of the alfalfa plants 

 in this corner died out entirely, and very few tubercles 

 formed on these remaining plants. 



In 1904 the alfalfa continued to improve except in the 

 corner where the white clover was, and as it began to bloom 

 I visited it frequently. One fine morning in the latter part 

 of June I found that the bees were coming in great numbers 

 from that direction, and the steady, though strong, low 

 hum indicated that a great honey-flow was on. The bees 

 would alight on the ground and alighting-board in front of 

 the hive and rest. Everything seemed to indicate that one 

 of the greatest honey-flows I had seen was at hand ; and as 

 there was a steady stream of bees from that field of alfalfa, 

 I at once went to investigate. 



Sure enough, there were the bees, but all were coming 

 from or going to the basswood timber down by the creek 

 about half a mile away. A close examination proved that 

 not one honey-bee could be found on that alfalfa. But there 

 were thousands of bumble-bees very busy on it. In fact, I 

 never knew before that there were so many little bumble- 

 bees in this neck of the woods. They all seemed to be 

 about half the size of the old-fashioned Mr. Bumble, with 

 whom I was so well acquainted in my childhood days. 

 Why these bees preferred alfalfa to such a flow from bass- 

 wood I am not able to say. 



Well, in a few days I cut the alfalfa for hay, and it 

 made fine hay ; even the hogs would clean up a whole fork- 

 ful of the dry hay, and both horses and cows like it. 



In about four weeks it was in bloom again, and I could 

 find honey-bees working on it every day, but there did not 

 seem to be any great yield of honey ; but it yielded some, I 

 suppose, and when it was in bloom again in late fall the 

 tees would work on smartweed until about 10 o'clock, then 

 they would turn their attention to the alfalfa. 



The alfalfa has seemed to improve gradually in thrifti- 

 aess, and its roots are now 3 or 4 feet long in some places, 

 and it has a fair supply of tubercles, but not as many yet 

 as it should have ; but in this corner where the white elover 

 got started, there the alfalfa plants have very few tubercles, 

 and some none at all, and the alfalfa looks spindling. 



I have observed and studied the actions of this little 

 field of alfalfa very closely, and I feel confident that there 

 is an antagonism between the bacteria of alfalfa and those 

 belonging to white clover. Not that there is a declaration 

 of war between them, but that the presence of great num- 

 bers of white clover bacteria has an unfavorable efi'ect on 

 the action of the alfalfa bacteria, I am pretty positive. 



It is a well-known fact among bacteriologists that the 

 product of one species of bacteria is often unfavorable to 

 another, and prevents its rapid propagation. For instance, 

 persons having a certain contagious disease are found to be 

 immune from certain other contagious diseases, and can 

 not contract them, even though thoroughly exposed. There 

 is a little white clover here and there all through this field, 

 and in order to smother it out I let the alfalfa stand, and 

 did not cut it the third time. It produced some seed 



I neglected to say that I gave this land a light dressing 

 of manure before I sowed the alfalfa. I also applied lime to 

 a part of it, which gave it a little aid, I think. And to part 

 I applied wood ashes, a-.id that little spot on which I ap- 

 plied ashes far outstripped the other, and a much greater 

 abundance of tubercles can be found on the roots in that 



spot. For lack of ashes I applied ashes only to a spot about 

 10 feet square. Possibly the soil lacks potash. 



I think perseverance will bring about a good growth of 

 alfalfa, as well as a fair yield of nectar. I expect to sow 

 several acres of alfalfa next spring. My neighbors are be- 

 coming greatly interested in this experiment, and several 

 have asked for infected soil. I had several visitors who 

 came purposely to see this alfalfa. 



From the way this alfalfa grew last year on the best 

 part of the patch, I feel safe in saying that when it has be- 

 come well established it will yield twice as much hay as 

 common clover, and that it will, with its long roots, not 

 only stand the dry weather better, and not freeze out, but it 

 will bring both potash and phosphorus from a grefiter 

 depth than any other leguminous plant, thereby adding not 

 only nitrogen but potash and phosphorus as well. 



My catnip experiment is as yet only a moderate suc- 

 cess, but does well among any decayed rubbish without any 

 shade. I will perhaps tell more about it some future time. 



However, I got about 100 pounds of extracted honey 

 that smelled very strong of catnip when I was extracting 

 it. This honey has a flavor very much like hoarhound 

 candy, and we all like it so well that we kept it for our own 

 use. It is a little darker than clover. I suppose it is about 

 half smartweed. I will send a pint jar free to the editor if 

 he will pay express charges. Knox Co., 111. 



[The sample of honey arrived in due time, but we could 

 neither smell nor taste any catnip about it. Some 25 years 

 ag© we had a sample of catnip honey that was the real 

 thing, and, compared with that, the sample sent to us by 

 Mr. Johnson has scarcely a trace of catnip honey in it, we 

 think. Mr. Johnson's sample is good enough for any one 

 to eat at any time, while the catnip honey we had long ago 

 would be a good remedy for a certain kind of childish 

 ache — just below the belt !— Editor.] 



No. 2.— Bee-Keeping in the Southwest. 



BY PROF. LOUIS H. SCHOLI,. 



[Coatinued from page 85.] 



MANAGING THE BEBS BEFORE THE HONEY-FLOW. 



IN a previous article were listed the honey-flows as they 

 appear in the different localities, and the readers will 

 therefore have an idea about the time when these flows 

 may be expected, and the length of time the beekeeper has 

 for bringing his colonies to the best possible condition for 

 them. 



WHEN TO BEGIN PREPARATIONS. 



With many bee-keepers the idea still prevails that the 

 time to begin preparing the bees for the honey-flow is not 

 until spring, but many years of experience have taught 

 some of «t that the right time to begin is in the fall before. 

 If the bees go into winter quarters in good condition, with 

 plenty of stores, they will come out the following spring 

 ready to make preparations for business when the honey- 

 flow comes. Such colonies will build up rapidly, and popu- 

 lous colonies are one of the most important essentials in 

 producing a large crop of honey. Herein lies the way for 

 success in bee-keeping. Weak colonies, in a poor condition, 

 will not do ; they will profit their owner little or nothing 

 at all. 



MANAGEMENT THE PREVIOUS FALL. 



Begin the fall before by having good queens in all your 

 colonies. This is of great importance, for around them 

 centers everything. To have a good queen in a colony 

 means the same as heading a herd of fine-bred animals with 

 one of the best breeders. Of course, all this is well known 

 by the bee-keepers in general, but do they follow such 

 teachings about which they have learned? While some do, 

 it is neglected by entirely too many, and that to their own 

 detriment and loss. 



Besides good queens, the condition of the brood-nest 

 should be looked after, that there are no defective or incom- 

 pletely built out combs ; or, as it sometimes happens in 

 some of our Southern apiaries, that there are no pollen- 

 filled combs left in the center of the brood-nest. Sometimes 

 an abundance of pollen is stored in the late summer, and 

 combs are packed solid with it. Such, together with other- 

 wise unsuitable combs, only retard the progress of brood- 

 rearing of the colony in the early spring ; and no matter 

 how good the queens may be, they will not be able to do 

 their part unless a brood-nest is provided for them in the 



