92 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Fkb. 1. 



experienco with it. It slmtild be planted in Februa- 

 ry, but will do as late as tlie lutli of April. There 

 should be three-fourths bushel of seed sown per 

 acre to secure a thick stand, but half a busliel does 

 very well. The land should be broken up broad- 

 cast, and harrowed well before sowing-. The plant 

 seeds tlie second year, then the roots die— but not 

 until it goes to seed. It has but one superior as a 

 hay crop, wliich is our lespedeza, and it sliould be 

 cut for liaj- wlien it is about fifteen ini;hes high; 

 after tluvt time it is too woodj- for good hay. I 

 have mowed it tliree times in one year, but general- 

 ly twice. 



Ifliid it to be a bettei' fertilizer than either peas 

 or red clover. T appreciate red clover very hig-hly, 

 but ha\e abandoned it entirely since I found the 

 advaiuayes melilotus had over it, l^oth as a fertiliz- 

 er and liay crop. I had a cut of poor land which 

 would not produce more than ten bushels of corn 

 per acre. I sowed it down in melilotus. I then put 

 corn back in it after running' it in melilotus two 

 years, and gathered 28 Inishels per acre. Cotton 

 land which made 600 pounds of cotton to the acre 

 makes now UOO pounds after two yearsin melilotus. 

 I find it stand.s the droutli and cold bftter than 

 any other clover. It is adapted to our black and 

 worn-out white lands. I don't think it will prove a 

 success on our red post-oak land, although I have not 

 given it a fair trial. Any information I can g-ive 

 you about this g-rand plant, write me and I will 

 cheerfully respond. With kind wishes, 



E. E. Dantzler. 



These experiments afford excellent proof of the 

 value of melilotus. TJie experimeutai stage has 

 been passed, and the fact seems clearly estab- 

 lished. The only remaining questions to be solv- 

 ed in regard to the great usefulness of this clo- 

 ver ill tile near future are: Will it grow advan- 

 tageously on other than limestone soils? and if 

 so. will it take hold of impoverished lands and 

 restore tliem as rapidly as will cow-peas and 

 other restorative crops ? 



I am convinced that it will grow and thrive 

 on soil not of limestone formation, hereon our 

 average loam on red-clay foundaMon, but deep 

 and rich. My experience does not extend to 

 poorer or worn-out land. The small patch I 

 have is as luxuriant as any one could desire, 

 growing to (5 or 8 feet high, and so dense that it 

 is a heavy task to go through it — a solid mass 

 of bloom in its season, and swarming with bees 

 from daylight till dark. 



Scattci-ed about on the place where seed have 

 been carried in souk; way are bunches of it, and 

 many of them on poor red clay with little soil 

 on it; and these bundles of it, while not as tall 

 as on the rich spot wliere I sowed it, gi'ow 3 to 4 

 feet, and look green and flourishing, besides 

 yearly getting lai'ger. showing they are more 

 than ■• holding their own." From this, though 

 I have not tried sowing a plat of poor laud to 

 it, I have faith to believe if such soil is well 

 prepared, and some cheap fertilizer like ashes 

 or air-slacked lime is sown broadcast ovei' it be- 

 fore or wlien the seed is sown, it will catch, and 

 that, if it ■' catches," it will ••hold."' I shall 

 give it a fair trial before admitting sweet 

 clover is a failure on poor land. 



Unfortunately it blooms here with bitterweed, 

 and for this reason it is hard to get at tlie facts 

 regarding its honey value, quality, quantity 

 per acre. etc. But I feel conlident it would 

 equal alfalfa, if grown to the same extent, and 

 that it would supplant bitterweed with the 

 bees, whicli seem to utilize bitterweed only 

 when sweet nectar to the extent needed is not 

 available, evidence of which we have; every 

 fall by securing nice sweet honey as soon as as- 

 ters and goldeni-od come in, though bitterweed 

 is still in bloom. 



One mor(> point I desire to notice regarding 

 sweet clover. The piece of ground I hav(^ 

 seeded to it is part of an orchard: and though 

 it has th(; deepest, richest soil on llie place, 

 there seemed to be some property lacking, as 

 the trees grew vei'y slowly, being outstripiied 



four to one by those on very much poorer land. 

 Since the dense clovei' growth, and without 

 cultivation, which they previously had, these 

 trees have >hot up like Jack's beanstalk. The 

 clover roots, aided by tlie densi^ mulching on 

 the surface, did tlie business. For two weeks 

 hogs have been allowed the run of this orchard, 

 and I find they greedily eat both stem and root, 

 having torn the place literally topsy-tui'vy to 

 get at the roots: and the result will be, no clo- 

 ver crop this year, except from the reseeding. 



My crop of honey for 1891 was: :.'1.56 lbs. of 

 extracted from :.*3 colonies: 14fi lbs. of section 

 from 2 colonies— 3302 lbs. in all, from the 25 

 colonies. April and May crop was white; June 

 and July crop was dark, but clear, well ripened, 

 and of good flavor and line body, and sold at 

 7 to 7K cents, and gave satisfaction. I have 

 inquiries for it now at s cents, which goes to 

 prove that all honey-di^w is not low grade, for 

 this later honey was mixed with honey-dew. 



My bees went into winter quarters full, both 

 stories. ' C. P. Coffix. 



Pontotoc, Miss., Jan. 11. 



[Many thanks for the facts that you have 

 presented us. Wherever it can be grown, it 

 would be a great boon to bee-keepers, to say 

 nothing of its enriching farm lands. This fact 

 alone will induce farmers to take hold of it. 

 We hope that bee-keepei-s who are also farmers 

 will try a small patch, and report. The matter 

 is too important to let go by.] 



A SUCCESSFUL AUTOMATIC SWAEMEE. 



A NKW YOKK MAN SAYS IT IS NOT A FAILURE. 



How about automatic hivers? All total fail- 

 ures, you fellows say; or. hold on I there is Dib- 

 bern, who says his device, with a leader from 

 the lower hive to one on top, is all right. Tell 

 Mr. D. I published this exact device in the 

 American Bee Journal two years ago. I am 

 inclined to believe it would be folly — yes, fool- 

 ish — for me to explain how to run successfully 

 thi'ee or four yai-ds of bees five and seven miles 

 from home, entirely alone, and have entire cou- 

 tiol of the swarms— yes, or prevent swarms, and 

 take either box or e.xtracted honey. 



••Why, Dibble," you say, '•you must be 

 crazy." 



'•Yes. yes; I am. I liave been for 15 years, 

 and am actually getting worse all the time. 

 For 15 years I have been putting into practice 

 all of the different devices— bee-hives, section- 

 cases, clap-traps in general. (Isn't this good 

 evidence?) lam aware that your wortliy cor- 

 respondence for Gleanings is mighty good 

 evidence on any and all subjects pertaining to 

 bees; but theory isn't practice. Send some of 

 those fellows over to Middlebnrgh. .Schoharie 

 Co.. N. Y.. next summer, in June. July, or Au- 

 gust, and I will show them how to hive swarms 

 in the absence of the bee-keeper: how to pre- 

 vent swarming, to a certainty, by the proper 

 control of the queen; liow to supersede an old 

 queen, or an inferior one, without losing a mo- 

 ment's time in egg-laying. 



These three tilings I lulieve are bothering the 

 bee-keep(M's more to-day t lian any or all the com- 

 bined things put together. I am crazy enough to 

 say, and invite your especial attendance for 

 proof, or llanililer's, that, with your hive, (>ight 

 frames and attachments, such as I am using, 

 and in this locality, knowing the honey re- 

 sources as I do, it is no longer an experiment 

 with me, but facts proven from practice, in my 

 yards, that these three things are easy, sure, 

 and practicable. 



I can't make a speech; I can't write much, 



