\ • BEE KEEPERS. 445 



and Boihe other kinds of bloom come in, but they don't amount to much. Last 

 spring we had to feed our bees after apple bloom, and also after white clover was 

 gone, owing to the drought. Everything else was shut off about the time of the 

 clover, except the Simpson honey plant. The alsike clover yielded more honey 

 than white clover this year. It failed about the time white clover failed. The 

 Simpson honey plant came in and ran on until frost. We had two acres of it ; 

 cultivated it, and it bloomed right on. During the time we had from three to five 

 bushels of bees gathering honey from this plant. Go anywhere in the patch, it was 

 like a swarm of bees. Tliis continued on for six or eight weeks, and our bees bred 

 on until cold weather. My bees are in the best condition we have had for many 

 years at this time. There is a new clover which blooms on up to white clover. I 

 have forgotten the name of it. We don't have enough of it, and don't know how 

 to get it. I runs on the ground for'four feet, and takes root at every joint. It has 

 a flower similar to the white clover, only larger, and brown in color. 



Mr. Leming. In filling up the gap between apple bloom and white clover, it • 

 can be done with raspberries. They are profitable, and make fine honey. Bees 

 work on this and do well. 



Mr. . Did Mr. Davis try cutting alsike clover the first of June ? 



Mr. Davis. No ; I pastured it about four weeks ; it came on and bloomed 

 about as well, anyhow. This Simpson honey plant contains much nectar. Of a 

 morning a single bloom has a drop of honey ; when the bee lights on that he fills 

 himself ; when it is empty they go to another, and in this way they secrete honey 

 all the day long. They work on them from before it is light until after dark. We 

 expect to have three acres of this plant next year. 



• 3Ir. Anderson. I have frequently read the statement that it does not pay to 

 raise the Simpson honey plant. I want to know if he is going to enlar^-e on this 

 plant. 



Mr. Davis. I am going to enlarge it one acre next spring. My reason for 

 saying they are in better shape is that they bred right up to cold weather. When 

 bees die out iu winter with plenty of honey, it is evident they went into winter 

 quarters with old bees. The old bees are the cause of it. 



Mr. Minnich. How does the Simpson honey plant stand the drought? 



Mr. Davis. We cultivate it, and it blooms right along. 



Mr. Kennedy. I have noticed it some and am well pleased with it, but I can 

 not favor it quite so much as Alsike clover. I want to induce every farmer in my 

 country to sow Alsike clover in order that bees might get plenty of honey and cows 

 get plenty of grass, for making of milk and butter. Mr. Goodspeed, of New York, 

 says his Alsike clover is worth $60 an acre, counting it for seed and hay. If we 

 can sell it for that we can make more money from it than we can in raising wheat, 

 and the bees never go hungry. We should convince the farmers that they can 

 make money out of this clover for stock purposes. I am satisfied you can con- 

 vince him that there is more money in it than red clo'^^er. This clover has from 

 three to five tap roots, and not so ea,sy to freeze out as red clover. The bees visit 

 this clover all the time and every flower has the honey extracted from it. The 

 honey bee can not penetrate the red clover on account of the petals. Every flower 

 of the Alsike clover has seed and will yield seven or eight bushels to two or three 



