THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



189 



There is a bond of friendt;lnp existing be- 

 tween the beel<eeper uikI nectiif-l)e:uing 

 plants, and tluy ap|)ear to spriuii' up to 

 greet liini wlierever he goes. The Indian 

 calls white clover -'The white man's foot," 

 and well he may, (or its modest flower 

 soon appears as the harbinger of peace 

 and plenty. 



Soils. 



The interest thus awakened in plants 

 soon takes a wider rnnge, and extends to 

 the soil. Seeds of while clover (uielilot) 

 are scattered on gravelly soil, take root, 

 penetrating deei)ly, keep it from washing 

 and dying and add to its fertility. Dreary 

 wastes til us lieeome elotlied with verdure, 

 adding to ihe beauty of the landscape and 

 yielding choice nectar, fit food lor gods. 

 Ou a recent trip of a dozen miles on a rail- 

 road leading out from this city, we were 

 agreeably surprised to lind this plant 

 growing luxuriantly nearly the whole dis- 

 tance, and some deep cuts were so cov- 

 ered with it that the soil could not be seen. 

 It is to be hoped that the officers of rail- 

 roads will appreciate the utility of this 

 plant ill keeping the soil from washing 

 away and preventing damage and danger 

 therel)y, and foster its growth. I have 

 seen the yellow variety of this plant grow- 

 ing on the borders of salt marshes ou the 

 shores of Long Ishind Sound. 

 Moisture. 



Marshes and wet lands along rivers and 

 water courses, come in for a share of at- 

 tention l)y the beekeeper. His eye quickly 

 detects anything in the interest of his 

 winged stock. If by digging a ditch and 

 running oft' water, the growth of favorite 

 bee plants is promoted, it is done. He 

 then l)enetits his neighbors as well as him- 

 self, for, as the ground becomes dry, blue- 

 grass and the clovers will take I'oot, thus 

 promoting grazing for stock, and malaria 

 will disappear. New plants will spring 

 up as if l)y magic, the button-bush {Ceph- 

 alanlhus occide.ntalis) growing in water. 

 It seems as if the seeds of honey-plants 

 rattled from the beekeeper's clothes. The 

 seed of many honey- plants is food for 

 birds, which are our friends and cowork- 

 ers in destroying many noxious insects. 

 Educated ears. 



As seeing is cultivated by bee culture, 

 so is hearing — even all the senses are 

 quickened, much better than they can be 

 in a kindergarten. How soon tlie trained 

 ear discovers the note of the robber, the 

 sound of swarming, the piping of queens, 

 and the happy lium of plenty, or the sor- 

 rowful moan when the queen is lost. The 

 sense of smell reveals the blooming of 

 apples, as also the opening of the fragrant 

 basswood, buckwheat, etc., and reveals the 

 presence of that dire calamity, foul brood. 

 — Mi;s. L. Haijki.sox in Prairie Farmer. 



Ss ^&^ Sanag^r. 



Carniolan and other Races of Bees. 



On another page may be found a most 

 interesting article from tlie i)eii of Mr. L. 

 Stachelhausen on the Carniolan l)ees. The 

 description as to color and characteristics 

 of that gentle race of bees is correct in 

 every particular, and just exactly as I found 

 them. Some ten years ago I imported 

 several queens of this race, and I am quite 

 sure that they were the only pure Carnio- 

 lan queens that ever caine into the United 

 States They handled as easily as so many 

 flies, as far as stinging was concerned. I 

 found them fair workers when they would 

 work a few days without swarming. It 

 made no dift'erence wliether they were 

 gathering honey or not aliout swarming; 

 they were in that respect tlie worst race of 

 bees I ever had any experience with, and 

 I have had about all tlie new sorts that 

 have come into this countiy. 



As Mr. Stachelhausen says, and as I 

 have frequently stated, the pure Carniolan 

 bees are not the race of bees that American 

 beekeepers want. Several parties who 

 speak in high terms of this race, and 

 claim to have pure bees, do not have them, 

 and in my opinion not one of those who 

 have them for sale ever saw" a pure Carni- 

 olan bee. If they do have them, they must 

 stretch the truth wonderfully when speak- 

 ing of their good quahties. 



I want to inform those parties that pure 

 Carniolan bees shoAV no yellow bands. The 

 color of true bees of that race is whitish, 

 ormoi'e like in color to new cast-iron. No 

 doubt the race, or strain of bees most 

 dealers sell for pure Carniolaus, are as 

 good as thej^ claim, but they are not a pure 

 race of bees all the same. All the good 

 points they possess are derived from the 

 Italian blood by which it is evident they 

 are crossed. 1 do not believe that there 

 are more than tw^o beekeepers in this couii- 

 iry who ever iinw pure Carniolan bees, nor 

 do I believe there is a pure tpieen of that 

 race in the United States. I do not care 

 whether Frank Benton sent them here, or 

 wiiether they came from some other per- 

 son. If people depend on Benton for pure 

 queens they will get awfully deceived. 



The statement that there are no pure 

 Carniolans bees in this country, ma}" cause 

 some dealers to say "cuss" words, but tlie 

 assertion is true all the same. There is no 

 race or strain of bees that is superior to 

 or any that equals the Italians — the Amer- 

 ican Italians I mean. 



The suggestions made and the hints 

 thrown out by Mr. Stachelhausen in his 

 article are of great importance, and should 

 be noted by all who desire to imi)rove the 

 condition of their apiaries. No article that 



