THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



223 



When I stated that I remove from the Live 



intended to be divided about one-half of its 

 conil)s containing brootl, for fitlini^up the artifi- 

 cial colon}-, it was probablj' tlion^iit tliat I make 

 too heavy a draft on the Ibrnier. There need 

 be no uneasiness on that score, in any such 

 case. If in a condition to swarm, the stock can 

 readily bear tie deprivation -without injury, 

 l)rovided the division be not made at an improper 

 time. But, if unwillini; to remove from it so 

 much brootl and so many workers, you may, if 

 3'ou i)rel('r, restrict yourself to the abstraction 

 of bees alone, and taki! the needed brood from 

 some others of your stronsj colonies. The arti- 

 ficial swarm thus built up will thrive equally 

 well. You may even let the adhering bees re- 

 main on the brood combs ; being for the most 

 part young bees, they will be kindly received in 

 their new quarters, and if some of the older 

 ones happen to be transferred at the same time 

 and meet with a hostile reception, they will 

 quickly leave for their proper home. 



Your artificial swarms will certainly succeed 

 and tlirive, if you follow these instructions, and 

 do not undeitakc to operate prematurely. Wait 

 jiatiently till your stocks have become suffi- 

 c"ently pojndous to warrant the expectation that 

 they would ere long swarm ; and then be care- 

 ful to undertake division only when the season 

 is sufiiciently advanced and the weather will 

 permit the bees to tly. A single daj' of auspi- 

 cious weather will secure the success of your 

 e.\i)eriment. 



In like manner you may divide all the colo- 

 nies in your apiary, and double your stock an- 

 nually. Br.t therewith j'ou must resolve to be 

 content, without allowing yourself to be tempted 

 to hazard a larger or more rapid increase ; or 

 you may find yourself constrained to re-unite 

 your weak colonies in the fall, or run the risk 

 of seeing most of them perish in the ensuing 

 winter. 



There is nothing so disastrous to new beginners 

 in bee-culture as the overweening desire to be 

 the owner of a large number of stocks. If in- 

 dulged, it invariably and infalliby leads to disap- 

 pointment and loss. Whereas a rigid adherence 

 to a plan which gives a regular moderate annual 

 increase, is the sure mode of creating and per- 

 manently maintaining a large and profitable api- 

 ar}'. Let this counsel be deeply impressed on 

 your memory. It is the most important and 

 valuable that an experienced bee-keeper can 

 give, or a novice receive. Not the number of 

 your stocks should elicit your pride, but their 

 intrinsic excellence. On the latter only can 

 you base j'our hopes of the enduring prosperity 

 of your apiary, or of remunerating success in 

 your business. 



[From the Bienenzeitung.] 



White Melilot. 



A discarded queen will either be stung to 

 death by the workers, encased and smothered 

 by them in a cluster, or driven out and exclu- 

 ded from the hive. 



As soon as the internal temperature of a hive 

 rises to 100'^ F. the bees cease working, and many 

 of them cluster idly on the outside. 



Much has been said about White Melilot 

 (Melilotus alba), as a forage plant affording 

 abundant bee-p;isturage. Some regard it as 

 valuable for both purposes, while others think 

 it of no account except in the latter aspect. 

 Both may be right according to the circum- 

 stances under which it is cultivated. In some 

 districts, it is said, cattle reject it, whether of- 

 fered to them in a green or a dry state, while in 

 others, it is stated, they will eat it greedily. I 

 have no doubt both statements are correct, and 

 based on careful observation. The soil in which 

 it is grown makes all the ditference. 



One of my friends procured seed from me. 

 Some of it was sown on low, moist, sour mea- 

 dow land ; and some on well cultivated sandy 

 soil. Visiting me some time ago, he remarked 

 that the melilot on the meadow land was grow- 

 ing with great luxuriance, but his horses and 

 cows would not eat it; while that from the sandy 

 land Avas consumed eagerly. He said, more- 

 over, that the meadow had previously produced 

 nothing but sour grass, which the cattle would 

 not eat; and it had, lor that reason, been plowed 

 and sown with melilot, in the hope of obtaining 

 from it a more acceptable product, as the hay 

 previously made there could only be used for 

 litter. 



Again, in my own immediate neigborhood, 

 there is an extensive range of meadow land ; 

 but the plants and flowers found on it naturally 

 yield very little honey. To a point where the 

 deep, moist alluvion enroaches on and covers 

 the drier upland soil, the grasses growing, on 

 the former, though to all appearance precisely 

 the same as those found on the latter, are refu- 

 sed and rejected by horses, cattle, and sheep. 

 If mown and made into hay, it is either sent by 

 the proprietors to the distant city market, or 

 retained and used merely for litter. Such is the 

 iulluence which some sods exercise on the crops 

 grown on thsm, and melilot seems to be one of 

 the plants peculiarly liable to be thus affected. 

 If to be used for fodder, it should moreover be 

 cut young. If allowed to attain its full growth, 

 the stems become hard and ligneous ; which is 

 the case also with Lucerne grass. 



At an agricultural meeting in Magdeburg, 

 Mr. Knauer, well known as an intelligent far- 

 mer and bee-keeper, warmly recommended the 

 cultivation of white meldot. When I objected 

 that cattle would not eat it, he replied that it 

 was very productive, that he fed the hay to his 

 sheep, and that it was readily eaten by them. 



I have not myself been in a position to culti- 

 vate this plant on a large scale, but have a small 

 patch of it near my apiarj--, which when in 

 bloom is frequented jjy astonishingly large 

 crowds of bees. Visitors have often expressed 

 their surprise at the sight, and declared they 

 had never seen the like before. A bee keeper 

 who should sow even a quarter of an acre with 

 melilot, would provide three months of most 

 excellent and abundant pasturage for his bees ; 

 and the increasing demand for seed among far- 

 mers shows that its value and importance iu 



