THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



15 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Alsike Clover in the South- 



Having had sev(>val years' experience 

 •U'itli tliis specie of clover, 1 trust some of 

 «iy conclusions may be of value to a portion 

 of your readers. 



Alsike produces more honey than white 

 clover and continues nnich longer in blos- 

 •som. The honey is of a good quality, a lit- 

 tle higher colored than that of the white 

 clover and not quite so delicate in flavor. 

 It branches like red clover, and the same 

 ■stock will often have at the same time many 

 ripe heads, and even to the embryo bud, so 

 that when the crop is cut for seed, the straw 

 makes a second quality of hay if we'd cured. 

 Horses, cattle and sheep are fond of it for 

 My or grazing. 



I sow about five pounds of seed to the 

 'acre, with the same (luantity of timothy. 

 It makes better hay than the red clover, 

 though not so productive. It does best on 

 snoderately moist soil. If gi'own with timo- 

 thv for seed, the latter should be cradled 

 ibe'fore the Alsike is cut. Sorrel and other 

 :small seeds should be carefully sifted out 

 After Alsike is threshed out, but before it is 

 ground out of the hull. 



In my opinion every bee keeper should 

 try Alsike clover for his bees. I say try, for 

 I am not confident that it will succeed in 

 sandy soil at the South. E. Need. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Whistling Down Swarms. 



Mr. George T. Ilaiiiiuond, of North Ber- 

 gen, X. Y., (a successful and progTessive 

 bee-keeper) tells me that he practices whis- 

 tling down swarms, and has never failed in 

 causing them to alight, since becoming ac- 



auainted with this method of arresting their 

 ight. His attention was first called to 

 •whistling for them, in this way. A neigh- 

 bor had a swarm that were flying over. Be- 

 ing asked how lu' stojjped them, he replied 

 •"the boy whistled them down," but would 

 orconUrnot tell how he did it. Mr. Ham- 

 mond says he did not take any further 

 notice of it, till the subject was again called 

 to his attention by reading in the proceed- 

 ings of the Bee-Keeper's Convention, that a 

 gentleman stated tliat he could control a 

 swarm of bees on the wing by whistling to 

 them, and by request gave a s])ecimen 

 whistle, which was pronounced by the re- 

 jfbrter to be indescribable upon paper. 



My informant, at the proper season, prac- 

 tised and hit upon a sound which st'cms to 

 have the desired effect and can be tested by 

 any person of ordinary whistling abilities. 

 As" I heard him repeat the sound I should 

 describe it as not being very peculiar, but a 

 brisk modulated repetition of whist-whist- 

 whist. 



Now if this whistling theory is a success, 

 liow superior it is to all other known 

 methods for stopping absconding swarms. 

 What easy control it would give to the api- 

 aiian over his bees, during the swarming 

 season. How easily " Novice'' or P. G. 

 could have stopped that swarm of Italians 

 led off by "Giantess." This running through 

 ,the house pell-mell kicking over the stool 

 smd scalding the cat, in your eft'orts to pull 

 the looking glass from its hangings, mean- 



while one of vour largest swarms may be 

 doing its level Itest for the woods— and then 

 when you think you have your glass in 

 position find the sun does not shine, or is 

 disappearing behind a cloud, is not just the 

 tiling to preserve that mental equilibrium 

 said to be so n(>cessary in handling bees. 



My object in writing this article is to 

 broach the subject, and get reports from 

 others who have tried the experiment ; as I 

 canhot confirm Mr. Hammond's success by 

 my own experience, not having any confi- 

 dence in my whistling abilities to imitate 

 the call of "the (pieeii, yet think if 1 were 

 again to go through the "past season's labors 

 in the apiary I should attempt some tall 

 whistling when seeing swarms making for 

 the woods, and I without means to hinder 

 their progress. C. li. Isiiam. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Dysentery Again. 



Bidwell's paper, as printed in the Novem- 

 ber No., will create a general row among 

 bee-keepers, and no doubt new ideas and 

 profitable ex])erinients will be discovered. 

 The discovery of bees flying under glass 

 will be of great importance for bee-keepers 

 who are in a very windy situation, like my- 

 self. Last year every one wintered his bees 

 so well out-doors and int;ellars that no com- 

 plaints about dysentery were heard off ; but 

 I fear very much if Bidwell's plan, when 

 tested with bees having the dysentery, may 

 yet prove a failure ; because the space 

 being so small they will smear each other so 

 much that nearly all will be soiled. I find 

 in time of dysentery that there is always a 

 great loss of bees, partly through weakness 

 and bv the smearing of their wings in their 

 first flight. 



Last year my bees soiled the snow but 

 very little, and the consumption of honey 

 was very small. By the burning of my 

 farm, and the lack of time in October and 

 November to fiM'd th(Mu. I was compelled to 

 feed every week all through the winter ; so 

 every Saturday afternoon I examined frame 

 after frame, as in mid-snmmer, to see what 

 honey they had, to prevent starvation. 



Sugar syrup in bulk they would not take, 

 I must coax them in every manner. By 

 care and continual feeding they came 

 through in good condition, although they 

 had to coil over the top of the frames once a 

 week, and I got a good deal of stinging too. 

 No man was ever bothered so much with 

 his bees during winter. Had I given strain- 

 ed honey it might have been quite different. 

 Novice mentions that dysentery is often 

 attributed to the (luality of the honey. That 

 is my opinion and experience. 



In Belgium the honey season is over with 

 August ; many bt^e-keepers instead of kill- 

 ing them put several stocks together, these 

 new hives are sent to the province of Ant- 

 werp where one-half of the State is very 

 barren, but a low brush is found from which 

 the bees gather fall honey. Some years, in 

 wet seasons they gather very little, and 

 some years enough is stored to winter on. 

 Now many bee-keepers, and myself amorig 

 them, have never Ibeen able to winter a 

 colony without dysentery. It is a common 

 saying that the honey of this flower is too 

 hot to winter them. I believe those bee- 

 keepers do not know what they say ; yet 



