IS'fJ 



(JLEANINCS IN HEE CULTURE. 



'.II 



\\ ill ii|i|)i'ar w litii \\c (ii'si'iilic tlic liivcs. jiiir- 

 iii^r the iMTJotl fitiiii Nov. l."i In Nov. ■.'."). .M r. 

 lliilTmaii ri'llais liis liccs. 



If the wcallicr pcriniis-i. c. if no loose snow 

 is upon tiic jirouiui. uiul tlic day is warm. Mi-. 

 II. would fihullv rcmovr all tlir Ihts from a 

 ot'llar and let llirm lly durin-r mid-winter. 

 Tliis work can he done for abonl ?1.(K» ^ler lOd 

 eoionies. Wiien Ihcs remain in eellars tonr or 

 live months, tlu' mortality arises chielly from 

 the inahility to i-etain tin' f;eces. If one flood 

 flv oeenrs diirinfi mid-winter. Mr. II. is liappy. 

 aiid is tlien assnn-d that liis bees will eoiiH! otil 

 witii little or no morialily. and he stron}^. 



Mr. lioHman assuics us that sntiar syrup is 

 better than honey for bees in winter: but the 

 sufiar syrup is not nearly as good as honey 

 when lirood-rearinfr begins and progresses. 

 Mr. II. is certain that buckwheat honey is su- 

 perior to white honey for i)r()od-rearing. \\hile 

 sugar syrup is best for wintering. Mr. 11. could 

 not be induced to replace tlie honey with syrup, 

 for I he work and exiienso arc too great. He has 

 encountered honey-dew. and finds more ditli- 

 culty in wintering" bees at such times. At the 

 approach of cold weather, honey-dew solidities, 

 and Mr. H. discovered that, in tiie damp cellar 

 under tlie sliop, bees wintered mucli bettei- than 

 in the cellars not so damp. The conclusion: 

 Moisture rendered the honey-dew .softer and 

 more acceptable. Mr. H. believes that, when 

 honey-dew is present, or at any time when the 

 cellar is very dry, a supply of water, fed regu- 

 larly, is worth the cost. He says many of the 

 ("lerinan bee-keepers supply water during win- 

 ter and spring. As soon as possible after the 

 bees are set out in spring, the enamel-cloth 

 covers are replaced, for then the moisture 

 should be carefully retained. 



Mr. Hoflman scouts the theory that b(vs void 

 the faeces in a dry state. He never saw any 

 thing to warrant this conclusion, and is satis- 

 tied that it never occurs. 



Mr. Hoffman has experimented with colonies 

 wintered outdoors packed with chafT and other 

 materials. He has been tolerably successful, 

 but would not practice that system, for it is too 

 e.\])ensive in the material used and labor of 

 packing, and in the cost and bulk ot the hives 

 and the extra trouble and expense for moving 

 them fioni place to place. 



The home apiary is located some rods l)ehind 

 the shop, so far to the right that the photogra- 

 pher did not include it. In spring this apiary 

 usually contains about 1:2.5 colonies, and the 

 out -apiaries. .SO colonies each. 



In our next, we will describe the hives and 

 SOUK- of their advantages, and explain the meth- 

 ods employed to secure surplus honey and in- 

 crease. .1. H. Ni:i-i.is. 



Canajoharie, N. Y. 



[Mr. Hoffman is one of those extensive Ijee- 

 keepers who say but little at conventions, but 

 who neveitheless are wonderfully s\iccessful. 

 We prei-uTue that there are not a dozen other 

 bee- keepers in the land who have had better or 

 even equal success. His pli-asant home and 

 surroundings all bespeak it. He is so modest 

 that we are glad to have him shoved forward. 

 He is an intelligent (lerman. and is therefore 

 thoroughly conversant with the researches and 

 experiments of the bee-kee))eis of his mother- 

 country : and. besides this, he has thorough 

 familiarity with American bee-literaturf-; and 

 hence, coupled with his large expeiience. he is 

 able tos]jeak with authority on many subjects. 

 Mr. Nellis has touched upon many things that 

 possibly the reader might like to know more 

 about. If so, please let us know, and we feel 

 sure that lie will feel glad to give us the desired 

 information. There is one point which may 



interest some of the readers; and that is. that 

 M r. I loll'man has success in wintering in i}<ttnp 

 cellars. Many of us have concluded that damp- 

 ness is decitleilly deleierious in cellar wiiiteiing: 

 and yet we have a good many reports of indoor 

 w intering w here t he cellais were '• reeking with 

 dainitness." This would be a good topic to dis- 

 cuss, now that our liees are in the cellar, when 

 we can make chjse observations.] 



MELILOTUS ALBA, OR SWEET CLOVER. 



IIOAV IT i:i:STOl{KS 1 AliiM I..\M): VAI.IAIU.K 



TK.STI.MONV FKO.M TIIOSK WHO AliK NOT 



I{I:K KKKPKKS. 



You ask for more testimony from the South 

 on th(>. subjei't of sweet clover. About, a year 

 or more ago I sent an extract from a hotter by 

 I'rof. Tracy, of our A. and M. College, to 

 Gleaninos regarding tlie value of sweet clover 

 as a forage i)lant. from exi)eriinents derived in 

 the cultivation of about KiU acres of it, on the 

 college farm, in which, both for pasture and 

 hay, he gave it high praise: but in that let- 

 ter he advanced the doubt as to the plant 

 tiourishing on other than limestone soils. I 

 now hav(!the pleasure of handing you a commu- 

 nication from General S. D. Lee. president of the 

 same college, to the Stodnaan and Farmer, giv- 

 ing his personal experience with it as a " forage 

 and restorative crop'" on one of his private 

 farms. 



Editor Southeni Stockman and Farmer:— In reply 

 to your recent note a.s to my e.vperience with meli- 

 lotus as a forage and restorative crop, I take plea- 

 sure in inclosing a letter of Mr. Emmel Dantzler, of 

 Noxubee County, wlio lias cliarge of my planting 

 Interest in that county. He is a gentleman of large 

 e.\i)eiience. and in tlie six years he has been asso- 

 ciated witli me has not made a single failure in 

 crops. 



He protested vigorously against planting meli- 

 lotus; but now, after five years' experience, he is a 

 thorough convert, and is gradually substituting it 

 for red clover, both as hay and as a re-storer of fer 

 tilitj' to worn lands. The backbone of my planta- 

 tion, which was about worn out, with this crop 

 (melilotus) is now Ht)out the most productive land 

 on the place, and is making 1 1(X) pounds of seed 

 cotton to the acre, wheieas it made only 6W jxiuiids 

 three years ago, and 3(i bushels of corn, wlu-reas it 

 made only in busheis three years ago. 1 consider 

 melilotus :i:") jjer cent lietter in restoring feitility 

 tliaii red clovei-. They liave been tried side l)y side 

 for live yeais. My niuU's and cattle prefer melilotus 

 as a hay to clo\'er, and it does not slol)ber my mules. 

 It furnishes two and sdinetimes three cuttings the 

 first year's planting, and one good cutting the sec- 

 ond year, when it goes to seed. The roots are larger 

 tlian tlie roots of red clover; and consequently, 

 when they rot the second year, it drains the land 

 better. Melilotus stands drouth better than red 

 clover, and it grows on poor land, whereas it re- 

 quires pretty good land to insure a catch of red 

 clover. Mr. Dantzler has had from tifty to one hun- 

 dred acres each of melilotus and red chner for five 

 years. He is now- dropping red clover and increas- 

 ing acres in melilotus. as all the conditions for hay, 

 restoring fertilitj-, drainage, and more certain crop, 

 are on the side ot melilotus. 



These facts are ti'iu' on our prairie lands, and are 

 vouclied for only for tliese lime lands. I regai'd 

 melilotus as the "God-send " for restoring fertility 

 to our worn prairie lands, and in laying the road 

 for changing from cotton to stock in our system of 

 farming. 1 can not too earnestly urge our praiiii!- 

 land owners to ti-yit. My j)lan' has been for five 

 yeai-s to keep one-third of "my place in red clovei-, 

 melilotus, and lespede/.a. and change crops so as to 

 gradually get ail my place in grass every four or 

 five years. 



The following letter is from Mr. E. E. Dantz- 

 ler. Cliftonville, Miss., to (ien. Lee. Mr. D. is 

 the manager of Gen. Lee's plantation. 



Dear Sir;— Yours, relative to melilotus, at hand. 

 In reply I would state that I have had five years' 



