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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



233 



Crimson Clover.— Mr. A. I. Root, In Gleanings, 

 gave the following interesting report about his piece of crim- 

 son clover in Medina Co., Ohio : 



At this date, March 15, our crimson clover is a " thing of 

 beauty " and a " joy " to at Ifiast one individual. I am glad 

 to say that there are acres of it where we dug our potatoes 

 that are a perfect mat of green. Not a leaf has been injured, 

 and the clover has made a considerable growth since the first 

 of December. There is no question about it, it has grown 

 wonderfully during the months of December, January, and 

 February. Of course, we are not cnJire/j/ through the winter 

 yet; but from what experience I have had with the plant, I 

 cannot for a moment believe that this thick, heavy mat is 

 going to be thrown out by the frost. The stand is just about 

 the same on the creek-bottom land, on some that is a little 

 higher, and clear up on the hillside by the windmill. I am a 

 little surprised that It should winter with us season after sea- 

 son, when so many other parts of Ohio report failure. Of 

 course, our laud is very rich. The seed was put in after dig- 

 ging a crop of 875 bushels of potatoes to the acre. The last 

 was sown about Aug. 15, but it looks just about as well at 

 present writing as that put in a month sooner. 



Our Debt to Bees. — Mrs. L. Harrison, in an ex- 

 change, has written thus appreciatively of the valuable work 

 done by bees in the fertilization of fruit-blossoms, thus caus- 

 ing a larger production : 



When Columbus discovered America he found no honey- 

 bees here, for their had been no need of any. But when the 

 settlers came they brought apples, pears, quinces, and cher- 

 ries and their fertilizers, the honey-bees. Nature detests self- 

 fertilization, and we see how this is avoided by the wisdom of 

 an All-Wise Creator. 



The apple-blossom is a perfect flower, containing both 

 senses in one, with the stamens and anthers waving above the 

 germ ; why then does it need a foreign agent to insure fertili- 

 zation ? On a close examination, we find that when the germ 

 is in season for the fertilizing powder, the authers waving 

 above have not burst. When the germ is ready, Nature 

 spreads a rich feast of delicious, fragrant nectar, and invites 

 the bees to the nuptials. They come, like millers, with flour 

 on their bodies, and with their pollen-baskets filled with it, 

 kneaded into bread, and as they load up the nectar they leave 

 some of the fertilizing powder in exchange. 



Spraying: Fruit- Trees.— Bulletin No. 36 of the 

 Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, Columbia, by Prof. 

 J. M. Stedman, reports the results of elaborate experiments 

 with means of preventing two insects very injurious to apple 

 trees, and describes cheap aud efficient methods of combating 

 them. In the letter announcing Bulletin No. 36, we find this 

 paragraph, which shows that at least one of the Experiment 

 Stations Is sending out the right kind of advice : 



"Never spray a fruit-tree while it is in blossom ; serious 

 injury to the blossom aud imperfect pollination may result, 

 and in many instances honey-bees will be killed." 



Bulletin No. 36 is for free distribution, and may be had 

 by writing to the Director of the Experiment Station, Colum- 

 bia, Mo. 



Tl?e Weekly Budget. 



Mbs. Emery Newell, of Kane Co., 111., made the Bee 

 Journal office a pleasant call recently. She will care for the 

 bees this year — some 20 colonies. Mrs. Newell is quite en- 

 thusiastic, and will doubtless make a success of the business. 

 We hope she will. 



The W. T. Falconer Mfg. Co. have publisht a neat li5- 

 page and cover pamphlet, entitled " Successful Bee-Keeping," 

 written by that very competent bee-master, Mr. W. Z. Hutch- 

 inson. They mail it with their catalog of bee-keepers' sup- 

 plies when a l2-ceut stamp is enclosed. It should prove a good 

 advertising scheme. It certainly is a unique and valuable 

 4>4x6 inch pamphlet. 



Mr. G. Johnson, of Clark Co., Wis., wrote us March 29 : 

 "I would not try to keep bees without the American Bee 

 Journal. Give it to the fraud commission merchants strong. 

 Hit them straight from the shoulder. Success to the 'Old 



Reliable.'" 



Mi.s8 Mathilda Candlkr, of Grant Co., Wis., called at 

 this office a week or two ago. She has been In Chicago all 

 winter, pursuing a course of study, and will now return to 

 her bees again. She has some 00 colonies, and has made 

 quite a success of it for a number of years. 



Mr. Geo. R. McCartney, the inventor of a combined sec- 

 tion-press and foundation-fastener, advertises the same in 

 another column this week. Read what ho says, and send to him 

 for a circular giving full description of the machine. You 

 will be interested in it, and he will be glad to sell it to you. 



Mrs. L. C. Axtell, of Warren Co., III., besides being an 

 expert bee-keeper, also keeps poultry. In a letter she wrote 

 thus wisely : 



" Poultry seems like little business to some, I suppose, but 

 as a side-issue it pays well. It is only as we look after and 

 care for the littles that we can get ahead much." 



Mrs. Desdemonia Smith, of Canyon Co., Idaho, wrote us 

 as follows when renewing her subscription : 



"I prize the Bee Journal, and when it comes I devour 

 with avidity the different articles. I especially enjoy Doolit- 

 tle's and the Dadant's contributions. 1 am an amateur bee- 

 keeper, and have had some experience that I may write up 

 and send to the Bee Journal in the near future." 



Mr. F. a. Snell, of Carroll Co., III., wrote us as follows, 

 April 3 : 



Friend York : — You are doing a good work for bee-keep- 

 ers. You make it hot for the frauds, and merit the favors of 

 all apiarists." 



Yes, sir, we mean to be death to frauds that are trying to 

 swindle bee-keepers. Just put that down. We invite all our 

 readers to help clean them out. 



Mr H. E. Hill, of Brevard Co., Fla., has kindly sent us 

 two neat little sample sections of honey, %% inches square, 

 gathered from pennyroyal. In the letter accompanying the 

 honey he writes : 



"I send you a taste of pennyroyal honey and -sample of 

 the bloom. I would like to know how, in your opinion, it com- 

 pares with California sage. Pennyroyal blooms here from 

 December until March, and I think the quality is in every 

 respect first-class." 



The honey came all right, ami we wish to thank Mr. Hill 

 for his kindness. The color is almost the same as white 

 clover or basswood honey of the North, but the flavor — well, it 

 tastes fine as a medicine. We should say that the sage honey 

 is superior — at least, we could better eat it regularly than the 

 pennyroyal honey. But doubtless we could soon learn to like 

 the Florida specimen all right. 



Mr. Samuel Cornaby, of Utah Co., Utah., when sending 

 a new subscriber's name to the Bee Journal lately, wrote : 



"lam sending this order and furnishing my own sta- 

 tionery and stamp purely for the good of apiculture and the 

 Bee Journal." 



We want to thank Mr. Cornaby for his kindness, and his 

 appreciation of the Bee Journal. We like such a testimony. 

 It makes us feel like pushing on, and doing still more for the 

 good of bee-keeping, if we possibly can. But suppose ci'crj/ 

 present subscriber should, during the next month, Imitate Mr. 

 Cornaby's example. Our list would just be doubled, and then 

 — well. It wouldn't be long until you'd see such an Improve- 

 ment in the old American Bee Journal that you wouldn't 

 know it. You give it twice the number of subscribers it now 

 has, and we'll guarantee you'll get just about twice as good a 

 paper for your money. We are ready to do our part as soon 

 as we have the paid list to wiirrant the extra expense neces- 

 sary to put the Bee Journal up to the mark we have long had 

 in mind for it. Our plans so far exceed our capital, that until 

 the latter is increast the former must simply wait. 



This is a good time to work for new subscribers. 



