AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



725 



subjects have been discussed in the bee- 

 papers the past year, but very little on 

 this important question. I think this 

 would result in keeping all bogus hives 

 out of the market. 



I shall experiment this season with 

 different hives, and try in this way to 

 get this subject settled for myself. Out 

 here in the Northwest we have long, 

 rainy winters to contend with, and but 

 very little of cold and frost, except for 

 a few days in January, and then it is 

 only down to zero for a few hours at a 

 time. 



We expect to have a bee-keepers' con- 

 vention here next fall ; also an Inter- 

 State Fair, and I am preparing to have 

 a honey exhibit, and expect to make a 

 good display of Tacoma honey. Bee- 

 keeping has become more general here 

 within the last year. 



Tacoma, Wash. 



[We should like to hear what Mr. R. 

 L. Taylor and others think about the 

 suggestion offered by Mr. Littooy. — Ed.] 



More AMit Lucerne or Alfalfa In Dtati. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY HOMER BROWN. 



Alfalfa is said to be a local name for 

 lucerne. Let that be as it may, lucerne 

 is the universal name for the plant here 

 in Utah, and possibly Mr. Webster will 

 say we are right. But now for the plant 

 itself. 



In this part of the world it has a dark 

 blue or almost purple blossom, but I am 

 told that in some places it has a yellow 

 blossom, and I have seen an occasionally 

 almost white one (perhaps Prof. Coolf 

 would enlighten us on this); and it 

 grows all the way from one to five feet 

 high, according to soil and circum- 

 stances. 



I fear it will not be a particular favor- 

 ite with my friends who live in a rainy 

 country, especially when it comes to 

 curing the hay, for when it comes to 

 having from two to four or more tons to 

 the acre, of very juicy hay to cure, it 

 wants a very dry atmosphere to do it, 

 without even much dew, let alone rain. 

 The tedder would have to be used con- 

 tinually, which would be apt to greatly 

 injure the crop by knocking off all the 

 leaves. The hay-tedder is an implement 

 that the writer has never seen in Utah. 



There are many localities and soils 

 that are not favorable to lucerne. Wet 

 ground, where the water stands within 



one to two feet of the surface, is sure 

 death to the plant when the roots strike 

 the water, or soon after, although it 

 may do well for a year or two. 



There are different opinions about 

 sowing the seed ; some think it should 

 be covered as light as possible, with a 

 very light harrow or brush. I have had 

 the best success by sowing with a broad- 

 cast seeder with spring teeth, and put 

 the teeth down as deep as for wheat or 

 oats. My neighbor saw me sowing the 

 seed in this way, and wanted to know if 

 I ever expected to see it again ; he 

 thought I never would, but when he saw 

 the crop I cut, he gave it up. My soil 

 is sandy. Soil and location will prob- 

 ably make a difference. 



I sow from 20 to 30 pounds of seed to 

 the acre, and have never seen any that 

 was too thick. Some prefer the coarse, 

 woody stalks from thin sowing, which 

 )nay do very well to sell, provided you 

 can find a customer that wants that 

 kind, but I have not been able to edu- 

 cate my stock to eat it. Some may 

 think they can thicken it up after, if 

 they sow thin at first — I would say, 

 "Don't do it." 



Now if any of my bee-keeping friends 

 think of trying the lucerne in a locality 

 where it has not been tried, I would say, 

 try it on a small scale by drilling a few 

 rows the same as they would onions, and 

 they can soon tell if It is adapted to 

 their locality. If they are in the irri- 

 gating region they need have little fear 

 if the soil is suitable. Three crops a 

 year is the usual thing in the vicinity of 

 Salt Lake, but in the north part of Utah 

 only two crops, while in the south- 

 ern part they cut four or more crops if 

 the water supply holds out. 



If I am rightly informed, the people 

 of southern California cut as high as 9 

 crops. I know that I saw them cutting 

 lucerne the 15th of January in the vi- 

 cinity of Los Angeles ; therefore it is 

 no wonder that they beat the rest of us 

 in producing honey. Pardon the digres- 

 sion, but how many of the readers of 

 the Bee Journal would believe that a 

 tomato-vine would bear fruit continually 

 for five or more years ? If my North- 

 ern friends will go to southern Califor- 

 nia, they will see it for themselves. 

 That beats planting in hotbeds. 



SWEET clover IN UTAH. 



Now just a few words about sweet 

 clover: I think it is Dr. Miller who says 

 that people do not know just what sweet 

 clover honey is. Well, perhaps he is 

 right, for it would be pretty hard to tell 



