514 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Aug. 19, 



falsity in apiculture, just because they had not realized the 

 same results; then to Rive vent to his over-charged caliber, 

 and say, "These are immaginary notions ; there's nothing in 

 it," and so on. 



There is much to learn in apiculture — about bees, queens, 

 and the production of honey, and I apprehend that there is no 

 one so wise in the long catalog of bee-keepers but may learn 

 something about bees, and that's the grand mission of our 

 jouruals oa bee-culture — to distribute this knovfledge. 



My answer to Dr. Miller's question as I had discovered, is 

 as follows: 1 think it was in 1894,1 had reared from an 

 imported Italian queen one of the blackest queens I ever saw, 

 and called her "Black Bess," and took much delight in show- 

 ing her and her yellow progeny. I often said I would give a 

 nickel if anybody would show me a two-band bee in the colony. 

 Having, as I thought, a queenless colony, I took " Black 

 Bess " and introduced her to that colony, and reared one from 

 her colony from which she was taken, and after her bees be- 

 gan to fly I noticed about as many hybrids in the play as the 

 yellow, and I began to study the cause. I at once made an 

 examination, and on the flrst frame examined " Black Bess " 

 was busy laying. Not satisfied, and looking on the third 

 frame there my curiosity was satisfied — a fine, large, mis- 

 mated queen was also depositing eggs. Thus they continued 

 until I requeened another colony with " Black Bess." 



The same year I bought a queen, and when introducing I 

 usually take oue out and put the other in by the candy plan. 

 Having the two cages- lying handy, I caught the queen and 

 accidentally, or carelessly, pickt up the cage, took out the end 

 plug, and let the queen run in, putting in the plug, and 

 turned the cage wire side up, and found I had put the queen 

 in the wrong cage, and in a jiffy my dollar queen was cut 

 nearly in two, and if any one doubts this statement, I am 

 ready to affirm it. 



The honey-flow throughout this locality is fairly good. I 

 expect to report the result of my hiving-back method at the 

 close of the season. Morgan Co., Ohio. 



Sweet Clover Defeuded^ — Its Varied Values. 



BY MK8. L. E. R. LAMBRIGGER. 



I shall preface my remarks with a statement that may be 

 taken unkindly by some, but let us keep good-natured, at all 

 hazards. I think all will agree with me that it is to the in- 

 terest of each and every bee-keeper that they learn all that it 

 Is possible to learn concerning every one of our honey-plants. 

 To succeed in any calling we must have knowledge and apply 

 it intelligently. 



Beekeepers as a class are lame in botany — awfully lame ; 

 this ought not to be, it 7iced not be. Sweet clover has been 

 dubbed a " noxious weed " by local law-makers who know less 

 about the plant than our cattle, since the latter know it is 

 good to eat. Bee-keepers resent this charge, they declare it 

 is not In any sense a " noxious weed," but aside from the fact 

 of its being a money crop to them, they have so far not been 

 forthcoming with proof of their assertions. How many, I 

 wonder, have consulted their dictionaries and know what all 

 the word " noxious"' embraces? The latest authority gives 

 the following definitions: 



"Hurtful, harmful, baneful. Injurious, unwholesome, per- 

 nicious, mischievous, causing or liable to cause hurt, harm or 

 Injury." 



Now, then, what Is a ifecd ;' "A general name for any 

 useless or troublesome plant ; a term applied indefinitely and 

 generally to any plant or botanical species growing where it 

 is not wanted, and either of no use to man, or absolutely in- 

 jurious to crops." 



Does sweet clover belong to the class above described ? 

 Let us see. 



My encyclopedia gives the names of all chief weeds found 

 in grain crops, and winds up with the thistles and docks, but 

 as it happens (?) sweet clover is not found in the list. We 

 will now consult Henderson's "Hand-Book of Plants" — a 

 grand work by a grand author. On page 249, I find the fol- 

 lowing under the head of Melilotus: 



"This genus consists of about 20 species, mostly belong- 

 ing to southern and central Europe and western Asia. Some 

 of the species are grown in their native countries as fbrage 

 plants. M. (ifflclnnlis, with yellow flowers, and M. alha, with 

 white flowers, are common on the roadsides in the United 

 States, having become naturalized from Europe, and are some- 

 times cultivated as ' bee-plants.'" 



The foregoing was written many years ago, and may be 

 considered " behind the times." So, with your permission, 

 reader, we will have recourse to something later and strictly 

 up to date. On page 3087, Vol. Ill, of The New Encyclope- 

 dic Dictionary, I quote : 



" Melilotus, so called from the quantity of honey which it 

 contains. It is found in the warmer parts of the Old World. 

 Known species ten, two are wild in Britain — Mel. officinalis 

 and Mel. alba. A third, M. arvetisis, is an escape. A decoc- 

 tion of the/ir.st is emollient, and sometimes used on the conti- 

 nent in lotions and enemas. The second produces swelling in 

 the belly of cattle which graze upon it. The flowers of M. 

 cocrulea are used to give the peculiar odor and flavor to Schab- 

 zieger cheese made in Switzerland, and more particularly in 

 Glarus ; the plant is said to be a styptic. The seeds of M. 

 parviflora are regarded as useful in diarrhea, most especially 

 of infants: the plants are esteemed in India as forming good 

 pasture for milch cattle." 



Now, then, an emollient is applied to soothe inflamed 

 parts and relieve pain ; a lotion, to bathe and cleanse ; an 

 enema is simply an Injection. The word "officinalis," as 

 used in Pharmacy, means " of or belonging to a plant em- 

 ployed in preparing medicines recognized by the Pharmaco- 

 poeia, and therefore kept by druggists for the use of physi- 

 cians." 



The foregoing ably bears mo out in the statement made 

 publicly several times that sweet clover had great medicinal 

 virtues, tho it is the yellow that carries off the honors. Let 

 me cite one proof of this in my own experience, before I pass 

 to the next point in hand. One of my children fell against a 

 box heating-stove, producing a serious burn larger than my 

 hand ; the skin was left on the stove, and the print of the Iron 

 was left on the sore. My first application to relieve pain was 

 the white of an egg beaten up in fresh lard ; after that, three 

 times a day a dressing of sweet clover ointment of my own 

 preparation. A handful of yellow sweet clover leaves /ricci in 

 about half a teacupf ul of fresh lard or hen's oil. This was all 

 the remedy I used, and in eight days I removed the bandages 

 for good ; a new, smooth skin bad formed, and two months 

 afterward not even a trace of a scar remained. 



Shall such a plant be destroyed on the ground of its being 

 pernicious, baneful unwholesome, anrf 0/ no use toman? Its 

 value for honey goes unquestioned ; its value for hay and fod- 

 der has been fully establisht ; and its recognized value as a 

 medicine is but a question of time. 



As to its being a weed when out of place, what then ? So 

 is alfalfa, so is the mullein, the tobacco-plant and the deadly 

 nightshade, yet all have their uses in the economy of man ; 

 even the much-despised thistle furnishes a dainty tid-bit for 

 the humble donkey. 



All this hue and cry about sweet clover will exhaust the 

 promoters in time, and dwindle down to nothing; it will be 

 only another Instance of " Lo ! the mountain has labored and 

 a mouse is born." 



The yellow sweet clover Is better for honey, better for 

 hay, better for pasture, yields more seed, and is better for 

 medicine than the while, tho both are good, and I challenge 

 any man ur woman .to prove the contrary. It never troubles 



