Sept. 15, 1911 



571 



GdosKi]© (bU ®[PsiDm Hirmm MisHmiP^mii IFmMi 



Sweet Clover in Iowa. 



I am writing you my experience ^vitll sweet clo- 

 ver; and if it is a common trouble it maybe well to 

 make mention. 



When 1 have sown sweet clover in the spring on 

 old cultivated ground there has been less than one 

 per cent that grew that spring; but let it lie over 

 summer and winter until the following spring, and 

 then it gi'ows. 1 am planning to sow this fall, and 

 see if it will grow next spring. It seems as though 

 seed has to freeze and thaw to germinate well. The 

 kind of soil here, too, has much to do with growth. 

 The soil is acid by litmvis test, and is very deficient 

 in calciinii carbonate (lime) by test with hydro- 

 chloric acid. Common clovers do not make a 

 large growth, although sweet clover makes a fair 

 growth along the roads. Around yards where 

 wood ashes have been thrown, and soil shows 

 lime, sweet clover grows readily. 



Stockport, la.. Aug. 14. - C. R. Dewey. 



[In answer to the above, our friends will recall 

 that our sweet-clover book says there is frequently 

 much trouble in getting sweet clover to germinate, 

 especially on culiirated ground. Dr. Miller has 

 said repeatedl.v that, when he takes pains to get a 

 good stand, there is often here and there only a 

 plant; but where the seed drops off itself by the 

 road, or on hard ground, it grows luxuriantly. 

 Most of yott have noticed this peculiarity of this 

 particular clover; and I am well aware that the 

 freezing and thawing of winter has much to do 

 with it. esi>ecially with the unhuUed seed. There 

 have been quite a number of reports that the seed 

 with the hulls off germinates ciuicker than the un- 

 hulled. In this connection I might mention the 

 fact that we have had quite a few reports of the 

 yellow sweet clover, both kinds — that is, if there 

 are really two kinds — that make only a small 

 growth, hlo.ssom the first year, and then die. Now, 

 this must be largely a question of climate and lo- 

 cality, for in some cases plants from the same seed 

 grow as high as one's head, and blossom the .second 

 year as well as the first. We shall be glad to get 

 reports and experiences, especially with the yellow 

 sweet clover. It is quite generally agreed that the 

 white is more likely to blosoin only after the sec- 

 ond year, and I believe it grows taller and more 

 luxuriantly. — A. I. R.] 



Italians vs. Blacks for Immunity from Foul Brood ; 

 the Duties of an Inspector. 



I>i: C. C. Miller: — I should like to know how you 

 effected a cure of foul brood, American or Europe- 

 an. Has your method proved a safe one to try? In 

 what number of Gi^eanings were your first experi- 

 ments reijorted? lOverybody advises getting Ital- 

 ianized to free ourselves of foul brood; but those 

 who have pure Italians are troubled with it just 

 the same as those with black bees. 



What are the duties of a bee-inspector? How 

 much are they paid lor their work? When are they 

 supposed to do it ? W. P. F. 



[Dr. Miller replies:] 



My experience has all been with European foul 

 brood. I have had no experience with American 

 as yet. You will find what I reported in (;r,E.\N- 

 iNG.s for 1909, pages "28 and TfiO, and for 1910, pages 8, 

 649. and 753. You will there see that I used the 

 plan of brushing uijon foundation, and also the 

 plan of leaving the colony queenless for a time. 

 There were .some cases of a return of the disease by 

 both plans, although I could not be sure whether 

 the returns might not have been from outside. 

 From my present knowledge 1 greatly prefer the 

 queenless plan. 



I think it is true that Italians will clean up the 

 disease better than blacks. C>f cour.se there may 

 be exceptions, just as there are exceptions in the 

 matter of gathering honey. As a general rule, 

 Italians are better honey-gatherers than blacks: 

 yet there might be an unusually poor colony of 

 Italians side by side of an unusuall.v good colony 

 of blacks, in which case the blacks might gather 

 more than the Italians. So a good colony of blacks 

 might do better with European foul brood than a 

 poor colony of Italians. It is just possible that 

 there is something in the mere fact of being Ital- 

 ian that gives the Italian the advantage over a col- 

 ony of blacks of eciual vigor, but I have my doubts. 



The duty of foul-brood inspectors is to give infor- 

 mation in suspected cases, and to give advice and 

 assistance in curing the disease: also to enforce the 

 curing or to destroy the diseased colonies if nece.s- 

 sary. The inspector is supi)Osed to do the best he 

 can to get around as soon as he can wherever he is 

 needed; but. of course, he can not be in two places 

 at one time, and I don't suppose there is much 

 done except when bees are flying. Compensation 

 depends on the special law of each State — so much 

 per day, and in most cases the amount is limited 

 to so much for the year. Often an inspector ap- 

 points one or more deputies to assist. C. C. M. 



Chickens that Have Well-balanced Rations do Not 

 Eat Bees. 



Before reading Mr. Scholls statement with refer- 

 ence to his chickens develoi>ing an ai)i>etite for 

 worker bees, if I had been asked whether or not 

 chickens ever eat worker bees I would undoubted- 

 ly have committed a grave error by answering in 

 the negative— all of which proves the folly of using 

 the word " never " in referring to the acts of bees. 



I have kept ))oultry in connection with bees for 

 more than thirty years, and in all that time 1 have 

 never known a fowl to become an habitiuil eater 

 of worker bees, although I have had occasionally 

 one that would develop an abnormal ai)petite for 

 drones. Such fowls will instinctively station them- 

 selves close to the side of the hive at the front end, 

 and seldom dlrectLv in front, and watch the en- 

 trance exactly as a cat watches a mou.se-hole. 

 Whenever a drone makes his aiJijearance. either 

 from the outside or inside of the hive, his lordship 

 is speedily gobbled up. An educated chicken is an 

 expert drone-trap, and will often catch them on 

 the wing when returning to the hive. A chicken 

 that has developed an api)etite lor drones will lis- 

 ten with the greate.st attention for the noisy hum 

 of the drone, and is ever on the alert to devour him 

 as soon as he strikes the alighting-board. Chicks 

 may be taught to catch drones by decapitating 

 drone brootl that is about read.v to hatch, and let- 

 ting them imll the kicking drones out of the cells. 



.\t present we have 400 hens that have the run ot 

 the apiary, and I am quite positive that none of 

 them eat worker bees, nor have we any at present 

 that make a practice of eating drones. The fact 

 that I have never known a chicken to eat worker 

 bees amouijt-i to nothing in the face of the fact that 

 Mr. SchoU's chickens do eat them; but it is my 

 opinion that, if he would practice high-pressure 

 feeding for egg-ijroduction, and keep hoppers full 

 of feed before his chicks, including beef scraps, he 

 would not be troubled with bee-eating fowls. 



Birmingham, Ohio. J. E. Hand. 



Old Bees Killing Off Young Ones. 



My bees seem to work finely; but about every 18 

 or 21 days they kill oJf about a pint of young bees 

 that are lull grown and ready to work. I don't un- 

 derstand why they do this. This is the second 

 time they have done so. This colony threw off a 

 swarm about 20 days ago. and they went back in. 

 on the 4th they threw off the second swarm, and 

 they settled all right. 1 put them in a hive, and 

 tliey are doing well. To-day the bees of the old col- 

 ony are killing off the young bees again. 



(ilen Fasten, W. \'a.. .luly 8. J. T. Lutes. 



[The extremely hot weather that we have been 

 having during tlie past summer may accoiuit for 

 the old bees killing off the young ones. That is to 

 sa.v. the trouble originates in this way: The weath- 

 er is so warm that the young brood is overheated 

 in sonte stage, and. as a result, the .voung bees are 

 defective, either in their wings or in their legs, or 

 in some minor respect, .so that the older bees kill 

 them off. because nothing but a perfect bee is toler- 

 ated in the hive. We can't understand why this 

 should happen periodically unless it is because you 

 have been having extremely warm weather off and 

 on. It is possible that the entrance of your hive is 

 not large enough. During hot weather we would 

 advise raising the hive up on four blocks so as to 

 allow plenty of ventilation under the hive, and 

 putting a shade-board, if the hive is not already in 

 the shade, on top of the hive. We have had re- 

 ports something like this in times gone by, of how 

 young bees were killed during very warm weather. 



