440 



^HE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



Sweet Clover. 



Having read several glowing state- 

 ments regarding sweet clover as a honey 

 plant of unusual merit, and never hav- 

 ing seen it, my curiosity induced me to 

 purchase ten pounds of seed, and, al- 

 though it was rather late in the season, 

 I sowed the seed and in due time the 

 plants appeared, and then for the first 

 time was I able to study and watch the 

 development of the plants that I so 

 longed to know what it looked like. 



The next year it bloomed and only 

 then was my anticipation rewarded, 

 when I saw with my own eyes, how 

 those bees did work on the new honey 

 plant. 



It kindled my enthusiasm as the sea- 

 sons have come and gone, and I no 

 longer doubt the statements made which 

 have induced me to try it. The longer 

 I study it and the more I become ac- 

 quainted with its habits, the more of a 

 crank I become on sweet clover, for 

 you know it is in close relation with a 

 bee crank. 



When sowing sweet clover seed it re- 

 quires no special preparation of the soil 

 as does alfalfa — simply sow the seed 

 in the late fall or very early spring 

 and the action of the freezing and thaw- 

 ing will imbed the seed in the soil and 

 when the time arrives for it to germi- 

 nate it will be on hand and bow to the 

 morning sun. 



It is a very robust grower and soon 

 chokes out other plants that grow more 

 slowly; it soon masters the situation 

 and a crop of hay can be cut from it 

 the first season that equals any alfalfa 

 hay in feeding qualities. 



On one square foot of ground I 

 counted 45 plants and the average 

 height was 48 inches, and each plant 

 formed from six to ten crowns, all the 

 first season's growth from seed. Now 

 you can imagine this mass of vines 

 above ground, but I was curious to 

 know what was in the ground, and this 

 is what I found : I dug up one square 

 foot of ground and carefully lifted up 

 the roots, I soaked the ground off the 

 roots to expose the root system, and it 

 is truly wonderful, the fibrous root net- 

 work is all interwoven near the surface 

 of the soil forming a real mat or 

 sponge as it were to hold water, while 

 the main or tap root extended about 

 eight or ten inches into the soil. 



Now, if we carefully observe these 

 small rootlets you will discover the 

 manj^ nodules that grow on the roots of 



the clovers and other leguminous plants. 

 These nodules, or tubercles, are espe- 

 cially numerous on the roots of sweet 

 clover. In these nodules are living 

 micro-organisms which obtain the nitro- 

 gen from the air, so we are told, and 

 store it in the soil and make it avail- 

 able for the use of the plant. Hence 

 sweet clover is very valuable, especially 

 for this purpose, as it has such an 

 enormous root growth. 



Sweet clover adds much humus, or 

 organic matter to the soil, both the de- 

 caying tops and the roots furnish the 

 matter. There is no better plant to 

 grow than sweet clover on any soil that 

 is deficient in organic matter. It can be 

 brought up to a high state of culture 

 by growing sweet clover on it for a 

 number of years. The soil becomes 

 very mellow or sponge-like and is ca- 

 pable of absorbing great quantities of 

 water, thus holding the moisture during 

 a drought. The soil is more easily 

 handled and worked after sweet clover 

 reigned supreme. 



For pasture, sweet clover is espe- 

 cially adapted, as it is a very persistent 

 grower. If cut or eaten off it sends out 

 new sprouts which are again in prime 

 condition in a short time for pasturing. 



I am again pasturing hogs on sweet 

 clover and they are thriving on it, and 

 they eat it with great relish ; the cows 

 and horses are also very fond of it and 

 eat it greedily. — E. S. Hacker, from 

 Pennsj'lvania State Bee-Keepers' Re- 

 port. 



"Delicious Honey Crisps" Contained 

 Practically No Honey; Ship- 

 pers Fined $50. 

 Washington, D. C, Sept. 25. 



The Standard Flaked Food Co., 

 Owosso, IMich., has been fined $50 for 

 the alleged shipment into Indiana of 

 so-called "Honey Crisps Corn Flakes," 

 which was misbranded, according to a 

 notice of judgment just issued by the 

 Department of Agriculture. 



The label on the package described 

 it as "Delicious Honey Crisps, a 

 Toasted Corn Flake Dainty — Guaran- 

 teed by the Standard Pure Food Co., 

 under the Food and Drugs Act of June 

 30, 1906, Guarantee Filed with Secretary 

 of Agriculture Under Serial No. 5165." 



This label was considered deceptive, 

 and misbranding was charged because 

 it conveyed the idea that the product 

 contained a substantial amount of 

 honey, whereas analysis showed it to 

 contain practically no honey. 



