26 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Some curious stories are related by the pos- 

 sessors as to the manners of these bees, one of 

 which deserves to be recorded. They assert 

 that at the entrance of eacli hiye a sentinel is 

 placed to watch the outgoings and incomings of 

 his fellows ; and that the sentinel is relieved at 

 the expiration of twentj'-four hours, when 

 another assumes his post and duties for the same 

 period. On the duration of this guard some 

 doubts may reasonably be entertained, but of 

 its existence ample evidence was obtained by 

 repeated observaion. At all times a single bee 

 was seen occupying the hole leading to the nest, 

 who, on the approach of another, withdrew him- 

 self within a small c >vity, apparently made for 

 the purpose on the left-hand side of the aper- 

 ture, and thus allowed the passage of the indi- 

 vidual entering or quitting the hive ; the senti- 

 nel constantly resuming his station immediately 

 after the passage had been effected. That it 

 was the same bee which had withdrawn that 

 again took his station in the opening, could not 

 be mistaken ; for his withdrawal was only into 

 the cavity on the side of the hole, in which his 

 head was generally in view during the brief in- 

 terval while the other was passing ; and that 

 head again immediaely started forward into 

 the passage. During how long a time the same 

 individual remained on duty could not be as- 

 certained ; for though many attempts were 

 made to mark him, by introducing a pencil tip- 

 ped with paint, he constantly eluded the aim 

 taken at him, and it was therefore impossible to 

 determine with certainty whether the current 

 reports conceding him were or were not found- 

 ed in fact. With the paint thus attempted to 

 be applied to the bee, the margin of the opening 

 was soiled ; and the ssntinel, as soon as he was 

 free from the annoyance he suffered from the 

 thrusts repeatedly made at his body, approached 

 the foreign substance to taste it, and evidently 

 disliking the material, he withdrew into his 

 hive. The hole was watched to see what would 

 be the result of the investigation of the sub- 

 stance, and a troop of bees was soon observed 

 to advance towards the place, each individual 

 bearing a small particle of wax or of propolis 

 in his mandibles, which he deposited in his 

 turn upon the toiled part of the wood. The 

 little laborers then returned to the hive, and re - 

 peated the operation until a small pile rose 

 above the blemished part, and completely re- 

 lieved the inhabitants from its annoyance. 



If the existence of such a sentinel as has just 

 been described can safely be admitted, his util- 

 ity would be unquestionable, as being at all 

 times prepared to encounter a straggling stran- 

 ger, or to give warning of the approach of a 

 more numerous body of foes. Such foes ac- 

 tually exist in moderately sized black ants, 

 which sometimes in small, and occasionally in 

 large bands, attack the hive, and between 

 which and i he industrious bees desperate con- 

 flicts often take place. In tbese struggles the 

 bees g< nerally obtain the victory ; but they are 

 occasionally mastered by the overpowering 

 numbers of their opponents. 



&T Send us the names of bee-keepers, with 

 their Post OfQce address. 



[From Low's "Elemonts of Agriculture."] 



Esparsette, or Sainfoin. 



Esparsette, as it is called in Spain, Sainfoin, 

 as it is inmed in France, the onobrychis sativa 

 of the botanist, has a perennial root, and is ex- 

 tensively cultivated for green food in the chalk 

 and sandy districts of England and France. 

 Although this species has an extensive range of 

 the lighter class of soils, it is yet in a peculiar 

 decree adapted to the calcareous ; hence it is 

 iound growing naturally in many open downs 

 and hilly pastures where the chalk formation 

 exists. 



Sainfoin is a deep-rooted plant, with a branch- 

 ing stem, bearing spikes of beautiful flowers. 

 It grows wonderfully on rocky soils, stretching 

 its roots to a prodigious depth amongst the 

 crevices of rocks and open strata. It is, in 

 truth, on dry rocky soils that the chief advan- 

 tages of the cultivation of sainfoin are seen. 

 On a chalky rock, covered with only a few 

 inches of soil, it will thrive and grow for many 

 years with vigor, where neither grain nor culti- 

 vated herbage plants would cover the surface. 

 Like lucerne, although in a lesser degree, it is 

 choked and ultimately exterminated by the 

 prevalence of the grasses ; but in a soil per- 

 fectly suited to it, as in a chalky loam, it will 

 have a duration perhaps as long as any other 

 plant. Although best adapted to the calcareous 

 soils, it will grow upon any light soil which has 

 a free or open subsoil; but on moist clays it will 

 only last a few years, sometimes not above two. 



Sainfoin may be sown with a crop in the same 

 manner as the clovers and the grasses. In the 

 following season it may be mown for hay or 

 green forage, although it does not attain its full 

 maturily until the third year. When this mode 

 of management is adopted, the sainfoin should 

 be mixed with one or more of the clovers, 

 which will add to the weight of the produce, 

 without materially interfering with the growth 

 of the sainfoin. 



When greater care is thought necessary, sain- 

 foin, like lucerne, may be cultivated in rows, 

 being regularly tilled and horsehoed during the 

 summer, and manured at intervals, as every 

 fourth or fifth year ; but for the most part, it is 

 not thought necessary to resort to this method 

 of tillage, and the easier and more convenient 

 practice of broadcast is preierred. 



The seeds of the sainfoin are larger than 

 those of the clovers ; and wUen soavu with the 

 cereal grasses in spring, a little more c no is 

 necessary in covering them with the harrow 

 and roller. The seeds should be of a good and 

 tried kind, and perfectly fresh, for old seeds do 

 not vegetate in a proper manner. The quantity, 

 when sown broadcast, may bo four bushels to 

 the acre ; when sown in rows, from two to 

 three bushels. The b°st period of sowing is in 

 the month of March, or early in April. 



Sainfoin does not bear such frequent cutting 

 as lucerne. When used for soiling, it may be 

 cut twice ; when used for hay, it should be cut 

 once and the aftermath depastured. Sainfoin 

 may be used for herbage as well as forage, and 

 many farmers prefer depasturing it in the first 



