THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



135 



rainy years, in which Alsike clover especially 

 thrives and attains much greater luxuriance 

 than in ordinary dry summers. It yicld'^, 

 however, in general, good and safe crops, and 

 both in the middle of Sweden, (especially in 

 Nerike,) as well as at several places in Upland, 

 Gestrickland, and Helsingland, Alsike clover 

 mixed with grass is prized as being far more 

 reliable than red clover. Alsike clover yields, 

 too, better and finer hay, and, when ripe, the 

 stalk is not so hard as red clover. 



Gathering the seed of Alsike clover demands 

 espodial care, as it is of importance to gather 

 seed for homo use; the purchase of such seed 

 being always connected with considerable ex- 

 pense. In addition to this, however, the 

 gathering of Alsike clover seed for sale may be 

 attended with considerable profit, it being in 

 great request in the foreign markets, and fetch- 

 ing high prices. It is also well known that the 

 gathering and sale of Alsike clover seed is now 

 prosecuted on several estates as the main object, 

 and it is desirable that the production of this 

 seed for sale were more generally carried out, 

 .i,s from it might be derived a very profitable 

 article of export. 



On one estate in Sweden, where twenty acres 

 were set apart for raising the seed, the average 

 annual production for five years was 133 pounds 

 per acre, while the production one year was 

 200 pounds per acre. When it is recollected 

 that Alsike clover seed generally obtains in the 

 market about double the price of the red clover 

 seed, it is evident that tlie gathering of the for- 

 mer seed must render a very handsome re- 

 turn. 



Alsike clover seed is more easily threshed 

 than red clover seed. When cultivated and 

 threshed together, the Alsike clover seed always 

 comes out of the pods before the red clover seed. 

 The ripened seed-head of Alsike clover, how- 

 ever, falls off easier than that of red clover, 

 and therefore in mowing Alsike clover that 

 has been allowed to ripen, still greater care must 

 be taken than with the seed of red clover. 



The mowing of ripe Alsike clover should 

 always be elfected either early in the morn- 

 ing or late in the evening,, while it is moist 

 with dew; otherAvise the riper seed pods fall 

 olf with the best and finest seed, however care- 

 fully the mowing may be performed. The 

 mowed Alsike clover is left lying as it falls, and 

 is turned once or twice while moist with dew, 

 after which it is housed when dry. In carting 

 home canvass lining should be used in the carts, 

 of suflicieut size to cover the whole of the bottom 

 and a part of the sides of the carts, so that those 

 seed pods that fall ofi" in carting may not be 

 lost. 



If Alsike clover be employed for home use, it 

 may, as mentioned above, be used uuwinnowed 

 or winnowed, and if in such case it be mixed 

 with the seed of red clover or timothy grass, no 

 iujuiy would be caused, as, for the reasons be- 

 fore stated, the seeds of these plants mayinauy 

 case be advantageously mixed with the seed of 

 Alsike clover. If Alsike clover seed is to be 

 sold, and especi'ally if it is to go abroad, it 

 should be perfectly clean and free from ad- 

 mixture with other seed. Every grain of seed 



found amongst another kind of seed which is 

 intended to be perfectly winnowed, must be con- 

 sidered as weed seed, 'and the worst weed in 

 Alsike clover that is left to ripen is timothy 

 grass. 



Eed clover seed may be separated from 

 Alsike Clover seed by means of a fine riddle 

 adapted to the purpose, so that the former 

 remains, while the latter passes through the 

 riddle; but this is not the case with timothy 

 seed, which is so fine that even in the last 

 riddling (of which more below) it cannot be 

 separated from the Alsike clover seed. It is 

 therefore best in tiie early summer, if it be ob- 

 served that the Alsike clover is mixed with 

 timothy, to mow the timothy as soon as it lias 

 shot into the ear, provided the seed of the Alsike 

 clover is intended for the market. 



Alsike clover is threshed like red clover. The 

 experience of the farmer will direct him to the 

 best method of separating the seed from the 

 pod. It may be done by passing the straw 

 through a threshing machine, and then carefully 

 separating it from the pods, which must be 

 again (and perhaps more than once) passed 

 through the machine to open them. But a better 

 method, probably, is to thresh with the flail; 

 for by this method the seed is disengaged from 

 the pod, and falls on the floor, in.stead of being 

 blown away and often lost !)y the action of the 

 machine. The pod is also more cffectuall}' and 

 surely opened by the use of the flail. 



When the seed has been winnoAved on the 

 corn sicA^', it is riddled through three riddles of 

 different degrees of fineness adapted to the pur- 

 pose. The coarsest riddle is iTsed first to separ- 

 ate coarse Aveed seed and anything else that 

 may be mixed with the Alsike clover seed; then 

 the second; and, lastly, the third and finest 

 riddle. If the seed be dusty when it has passed 

 through the last riddle, then, as a final process, 

 it is sloAvly and cautiously passed througli the 

 corn sieve once more, by Avhich means the dust 

 is bloAvn away. 



Many persons Avho are well-informed on 

 most subjects, are extraordinarily ignorant of 

 the natural history of bees, and the economy of 

 the bee-hive. Perhaps Ave might venture to 

 suggest that more pains shoufd be taken at 

 schools or by parents to inform young per- 

 sons on this, in connection Avith kindred sub- 

 jects. As an amusing illustration of the igno- 

 rance referred to, Ave transcribe an order Ave 

 received a short time since from a seminary in 

 the north of England. The young gentleman 

 thus writes: "Master presents his com- 

 pliments to Messrs. Neighbour, and begs thej^ 

 Avill send him a swarm of bees; he encloses sii 

 postage stamps, and hopes they Avill send him ;i 

 good swarm." This embryo naturalist Avas 

 evidently of a mercantile turn, and had a mind 

 to buy in the cheapest market, for in a post- 

 cript he adds : "Please let it be four pence, if 

 you can !" We need scarcely say that in reply 

 we endeavored to enlighten our juvenile cor- 

 respondent as to what constitutes a SAvai'm of 

 bees, and returned the stamps Avith our thanks. 

 — jS'eighhour''s Apiary. 



