

high, dry and gravelly, save your money 

 and your seed. Like white clover, Al- 

 sike blooms all through June, and in 

 most seasons through July. Both of 

 these clovers should be sown early in 

 the spring with about 6 lbs. of seed per 

 acre. 



Those who may own rough, broken or 

 waste land, may well try a little sweet 

 clover [Melilotus A lba)\ this plant yields 

 a delicious honey ; it is a biennial, does 

 not bloom the first year, and at the close 

 of the second year dies, root and branch. 

 Some, object to this plant, claiming that 

 if it becomes fairly established it is a 

 pernicious weed ; but, as it dies the sec- 

 ond year, root and branch, it is easily 

 gotten rid of if not allowed to seed, and 

 its decaying roots and branches are a 

 benefit to any soil ; and as an ornament 

 to roadsides it is superior to dog fennel 

 or ragweed. Buckwheat, the very name, 

 is suggestive of honey ; this cereal, upon 

 fair soil, may be safely calculated upon 

 to yield 15 bushels of seed per acre, and 

 to the owners of 50 colonies it is worth 

 on the average $15 per acre more ; there 

 is occasionally a season when buck- 

 wheat does not produce honey, but it is 

 very rare. Sow, the last of June, V 2 

 bushel per acre, if the soil is rich ; if 

 the soil is poor, % of a bushel. 



Trees.— First in rank as a honey-pro- 

 ducing tree, stands the Linden or bass- 

 wood (Silex American a ) , of rapid growth , 

 luxuriant foliage, tall, spreading, ma- 

 jestic; it is truly a beautiful tree for 

 shade, is a passable fuel, a fair timber 

 for many purposes, and for cutting into 

 veneers for fruit baskets and berry 

 boxes is second to none, and, although 

 there is occasionally a season in which 

 the blossoms secrete little or no honey, 

 the yield is generally good, and some- 

 times immense ; to every bee-keeper 

 who expects to continue in the business 

 I would say, w ' plant the Linden." 



The tulip tree [Liriodendron tulipifera) 

 often called poplar or whitewood, is a 

 good honey-producer; the flowers ex- 

 pand in succession, thus affording more 

 time to the bees in which to harvest the 

 nectar ; the tree grows to a large size, 

 and for many purposes makes a supe- 

 rior quality of lumber; plant the tulip 

 tree. 



I need hardly remind apiarists of the 

 apple (that king of northern fruits), the 

 blossoms of which yield a most delic- 

 ious honey, or the horticulturists of the 

 benefit derived by the cross fertilization 

 of the flowers by the busy bee, but will 

 take for granted that every bee-keeper, 

 who has the facilities for so doing, will 

 plant an apple orchard. 



To the lovers of that delicious fruit, 

 the toothsome raspberry, I will say that 



its blossoms yield very freely of honey, 

 of a quality surpassed by none, and the 

 bees, as a rule, will even forsake white 

 clover for the bloom of the raspberry, 

 while 1 have never known of a season in 

 which it failed to secrete honev. 



I have only attempted to give a list of 

 some of the more important honey-pro- 

 ducing plants, and those which have a 

 double value ; for while I do not believe 

 it will pay to raise any crop, tree or 

 plant, for honey alone, there are many 

 things, which by saving its harvest of 

 nectar, may be raised with pleasure and 

 profit. 



Peoria, 111. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Fertilization in Confinement— Swarm 

 Catcher, Etc. 



M. S. SNOW. 



I have tried the plan for fertilizing 

 queens described by Mr. A. J. Hintz, 

 on page 233 of the Journal for May. 

 I made a frame 10 feet square, covered 

 with mosquito bar. I caught the drones 

 and put them in, and then introduced 

 the queen, but they would cling to the 

 mosquito bar and try to get out. I ex- 

 perimented with it until I was satisfied 

 that it would not work, and then gave 

 it up. His plan of putting the nucleus 

 hive in the fertilizing cage and feeding 

 may overcome this difficulty. I will 

 give it another trial, and report through 

 the Bee Journal. 



My Swarm Catcher. 



I think 1 made my first swarm-catcher 

 in I860, and in 18(51 I had 10 in use, hav- 

 ing then 200 colonies at Forestville, N. 

 Y., the home of my brother. The size 

 I make is 3 feet high, 3 feet long, and 

 2% feet wide. Tack the mosquito bar 

 on to the frame, which I make of lath. 

 Any light frame, even if made of wire, 

 will answer for any hive or box, as there 

 is no adjusting ; simply putting it over 

 the hive. Let it remain until they quiet 

 down, which will be about the same 

 length of time as though they had 

 swarmed out into the air. 



Any one can make all they wish with- 

 out fear of some one claiming this in- 

 vention, for I believe I stand ahead. I 

 never heard of such a thing, nor saw an 

 illustration of one of any make until 

 since the cut of mine came out. If on 

 the watch, you have ample time — as the 

 time required is nearly long enough — to 

 pick it up and set it over. If it does 

 not set close to the ground, put some- 

 thing around it, but on grass there is 

 no danger, as their course is upward. 



