Melilots as Weeds. 



" It no wand then happens that a plant 

 heretofore regarded as harmless, rinds a 

 locality specially favorable to its 

 development, becomes aggressive, grow- 

 ing where it is not wanted and is recog- 

 nized as a weed. Singularly enough 

 two species of the same genus, Meli- 

 lotus, nave come to us this year from 

 widely separated localities — Maryland 

 and Texas — to ascertain their names, 

 and both represented as unwelcome in- 

 truders. There are two species of 

 Mel dot common in the older States, a 

 white and a yellow flowered. Both are 

 ■coarse branchingplants 2 to 4 feet high, 

 or even taller. The leaves are shaped 

 like those of clover, rather smaller, and 

 the divisions toothed ; the flowers, 

 which are minute pea-shaped are in 

 little racemes, which go on lengthening 

 and blooming, so that while there are 

 buds and flowers above, the little one or 

 two-seeded pods at the bottom of the 



cluster will be full grown if not ripe 



The White Melilot, 31. albus, is from 

 Maryland; the yellow, (M. officinalis) 

 besides the different color of its flowers, 

 has somewhat differently shaped leaves, 

 there are other species, and all have the 

 peculiar odor that is so marked in the 

 Sweet-scented Vernal-grass, the Seneca 



frass, and especially the Tonqua Bean, 

 'he White Melilot, known as Sweet 

 Clover, and sometimes as Bokhara 

 Clover, is sometimes cultivated by those 

 who are fond of its perfume. It was 

 formerly cultivated in England, not so 

 much as a fodder crop, as cattle will not 

 eat it when fresh, but to mix with poor 

 hay in order to perfume it. In Europe 

 this or a related species is bruised and 

 mixed with the curd to flavor it in 

 making Gruyere cheese. This is all 

 that can be said in favor of the plant ; 

 it is often found as a straggler along road 

 sides and in waste places, but not in a 

 manner to arrest attention. Last June, 

 Mr. T. Davids, who has a farm near 

 Annapolis, Md., brought us a remark- 

 ably vigorous specimen, which reached 

 as high as one's head, and branched 

 from the very base. This, according to 

 Mr. Davids, is spreading with great 

 rapidity, making inroads upon the grass 

 lands, appearing in the wheat fields, and 



threatens to be a serious pest If left 



alone they are biennials, the root dving 

 at the end of the second year, and after 

 it has provided for its abundantincrease 

 by seed. If the tops are cut away be- 

 fore the seeds are ripe, we are met by 

 another difficulty— cutting off the top 

 prolongs the life of the root. Were a 

 crop of seeds perfected this would so 

 exhaust the root that it would die, but 



by preventing this we keep the old root 

 which becomes stronger and pushes up 

 its shoots year after year.* 1 



The above extract from a late num- 

 ber of the American Agriculturist, bears 

 strong testimony as to the "staying" 

 qualities of melilot or sweet clover, and 

 its adaptability to any climate. We 

 heartily thank the editor for his recom- 

 mendation of the plant to bee-keepers, 

 and making mention of points we had 

 forgotten to call attention to. Except 

 the mammoth mignonette ( Reseda 

 grandiflora), we know of no plant so 

 well calculated to serve every turn, and 

 again repeat our advice to plant sweet 

 clover plentifully— everywhere. See to 

 it, in October or November, that all 

 waste places are seeded in melilot, and 

 early in spring scatter mammoth 

 mignonette in every place overlooked 

 this fall with melilot. The happy, con- 

 tented hum of your bees, and the gen- 

 erous return of beautiful, rich honey, 

 will well repay you for the little trouble 

 involved. In truth, had apiarists long 

 ago, generously provided for their little 

 workers by planting the barren spots 

 and waste places, our " Honey Har- 

 vest " department would not this num- 

 ber be so monotonously discouraging. 



Prince Arthur Hive. 



Mr. Anthony Malone, Garden Island, 

 Ont., has sent one of these hives to our 

 Museum. As its name implies, it is 

 gotten up in 'princely style, and has been 

 greatly admired for its beautiful finish 

 and workmanship. It is ingeniously 

 arranged so that the outer shell turns 

 down all around exposing the frames, 

 which may be opened like the leaves of 

 a book. It is in this particular very 

 much like the Armstrong, Latchaw, 

 and some other hives. Prize boxes or 

 sections of any of the newer styles may 

 be used over the frames for surplus. It 

 can be made to conform to the "long 

 idea" shape, containing 24 frames when 

 used for extracting honey. It is stained, 

 varnished, lettered in gold, and mounted 

 with brass trimmings, and is an orna- 

 ment to our Museum. 



