1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



451 



mands a separate building," etc. Surely, now, from an apl- 

 cultural standpoint, he does not give much encouragement to 

 the novice. 



When I made my first exhibit I complained of the small 

 premiums offered by the fair ground people. They replied, 

 saying if my exhibit proved a drawing feature they would in- 

 crease the premiums. They did not erect a " special build- 

 ing," but put me in the Agricultural Building, which proved a 

 good place to sell my "honey lemonade," the past two years. 

 The premiums have been increast as promlst, but as yet are 

 of no consequence. Should the Interest in the department 

 warrant, I have no doubt but what we may in time get our 

 "Honey Hall." 



There is one thing certain, that the kind of displays men- 

 tioned by Prof. Cook do not offer much inducement to fair 

 ground officials to put up special buildings, or to offer large 

 premiums. Vanderburgh Co., Ind. 



[Concluded next week.l 



Sweet Clover for Honey and Forage. 



BY JOHN S. 8LEETH. 



I am living In a district where I am surrounded on all 

 sides with that "obnoxious weed"— -sweet clover — as the 

 farmers In this part of the country call it. But that Is not all 

 — they lay the blame on me for starting this great nuisance, 

 as some of them call it ! Now, I can't see why they should 

 accuse me of the deed more than any one else, only for my 

 keeping bees. They say that I started it for that purpose. 



I recollect once getting a small package of seed some 

 years ago, but I don't remember now what I did with it. Per- 

 haps I might have cast it by the wayside somewhere, hoping 

 that It would bring forth its fruit in due season. 



Sweet clover Is a biennial ; it will bloom the second 

 year, then die out that fall, and the seed that drops off c that 

 crop will come up the following spring, and so on. If you 

 want a continuous bloom on the same piece of ground every 

 year, the seed should be sown two years In succession. 



Now in regard to its not blooming long, as I see by some 

 writers In the American Bee Journal : That depends alto- 

 gether upon how well you treat it. Keeping it In bloom, and 

 not letting It go to seed, is done by keeping it pastured down, 

 not too close, but enough to keep It in bloom. Last season 

 was very dry here, and our pasture scarce, so that we and our 

 neighbors were obliged to take the public road and the right 

 of way along the railroad, which runs parallel with the above- 

 mentioned road, both of which are heavily set with sweet 

 clover for our stock to pasture on. Of course, we had to herd 

 them to keep them from getting on the track. 



The clover commenced blooming about the first of July, 

 and there was plenty, I believe, that could be kept In bloom 

 from the first of July until the frost would kill it down, and It 

 takes pretty hard frosts to do It. I have seen It in full bloom 

 here, along our roadsides, when it was so cold that the bees 

 could not get out to work on it. 



I will now give a little experience I had with It the season 

 of 1895, as we had a big crop of it, and we got a big crop of 

 honey from it — for my share I got 1,500 pounds from 22 col- 

 onies of bees, while 1896 was one of its off seasons, and we 

 got hardly any honey from its bloom, when the frost came. 

 Why ? Just because the stock kept It from seeding, and the 

 bees were busy on it all of the time. They would-be so thick 

 on it that the stock could hardly eat, sometimes. 



Our stock seemed to relish it very much, and did well on 

 it. For my part, and as far as my experience goes with the 

 plant, I don't believe that there Is another plant in existence 

 (and that is saying a good deal) that will produce more honey 

 and forage for stock than the sweet clover. 



Mr. A. I. Root, in the November number of the American 



Bee Journal, says that he has seen It a success on rich, pro- 

 ductive land. Now, I don't know about my old native Buck- 

 eye State, for I never know such a plant there In my time, 

 but here in middle Illinois, where I think we have as good a 

 soli as ever the sun shines on, it will grow wherever a seed 

 happens to fall — it will grow to perfection. As for sowing It 

 with grain in the spring, I could not say, as I have had no ex- 

 perience In that line, but If I live and am well, I expect to try 

 It on a small piece of rye. It is a wonderful clover to stand a 

 long drouth, and continued wet weather doesn't seem to affect 

 it in the least. But I don't think that It will produce so much 

 honey then. Livingston Co., 111. 



Bee-Stings— Use of Smoke With Bees. 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Some are adverse to entering Into bee-keeping on account 

 of stings. Stings hurt, but the one who is afraid of being hurt 

 will not enter Into any avocation in life, for, in any calling, 

 more or less accidents occur. If the sling is not allowed to re- 

 main in the flesh to pump poison fro-n the poison-sack into the 

 wound, very little pain will result. Knowing this, and also 

 knowing that a bee must lay hold of the skin with its feet 

 In order to insert Its sting, very few serious stings need be 

 received in the course of a year or in a lifetime. 



Persons afraid of bees, or subject to great inflammation or 

 swelling from their stings, should use some protection for their 

 face, and if very bad effects result, there may be cases where 

 it might be well to protect the hands. But, as a rule, to pro- 

 tect the hands results in more stings than not to protect them, 

 for gloves of any kind are clumsy and devoid of feeling, so 

 that bees are pincht and killed that otherwise would not be, 

 which the colony resents, thus causing anger to be aroused 

 which otherwise would have remained dormant, and the re- 

 sult proves that the person is stung in different places, through 

 the clothing, or in not fully protected parts, and a vindictive- 

 ness aroused which will cause angry bees to dart at anyone 

 who happens near the apiary for days afterward. 



Material for a bee-veil may be had of any of our supply 

 dealers, which can be made so as to slip down over the hat, 

 thus protecting the face. If a bee alights on the hands, it is 

 very easy to distinguish, if a little attention is paid to the mat- 

 ter, whether that bee alights there for the purpose of stinging 

 or otherwise. If to sting, you can feel a clutching movement. 

 If not tosting, it settles on the skin the same as a fly would. 

 Now the moment you feel the clutching movement, strike that 

 part of the hand against the clothing somewhere, giving the 

 hand a push downward or a pull upward, thus crushing the 

 the bee before it has a chance to sting, or if not quick enough 

 to avoid the sting, crushing the bee and withdrawing the sting 

 at the same time. In this way, you will, after a little practice, 

 be able to avoid, entirely, four stings out of five intended ones, 

 and take the fifth out before it has haidly reacht through the 

 outer skin, so that only a smarting, similar to a mosqulto-blte, 

 will be felt. In no case, ever try to pick a sting out of the 

 flesh with the thumb and finger, for by so doing the poison- 

 sack is first graspt, thus squeezing its contents of poison in- 

 to the wound. 



I work for days, continuously, from morning to night, and 

 sometimes for a whole week, opening hives, putting up bees 

 and queens for shipment, putting op and taking off sections, 

 and fixing up bees generally, without receiving a single sting. 

 And anyone can do the same, if he will only take pains to 

 learn under what conditions bees sting, and to avoid just those 

 conditions. 



KIND OF SMOKE AND HOW TO USE IT. 



I am frequently askt what kind of smoke Is best ; or, what 

 kind of smoke do you use to subdue bees with ? 



When I first commenced keeping bees, I used tobacco 

 smoke, because, at that time, (nearly thirty years ago), the 

 only smokers made for bee-keepers were those to use tobacco. 

 But as I was averse to the use of tobacco, I soon fouud that 

 smoke from sawdust, cotton rags, or rotten wood, answered 

 every purpose. To know that I was right, I experimented for 

 two years, using tobacco smoke on a part of the apiary, and 

 rotten wood on the other, and the result was, that I have not 

 used tobacco smoke when handling bees for years. My exper- 

 iments proved that bees managed with tobacco smoke are irri- 

 table (they seem to feel as if they had been insulted) for two 

 or three days after being treated to it, and are on the watch 

 for the enemy. Walk into a yard so treated, and first one hits 

 your hat, then another, and then another, and not infrequent- 



