DECEMBER 15, 1916 



occasional stalk that would blossom the first 

 year. The matter was called to mind by the 

 following : 



A field of Melilotus alba sown here last spring 

 bloomed profusely when about four feet high. I en- 

 close a sample, and ask the cause if you know of 

 any parallel case. I have never known it to bloom 

 the first year. 



Earle, Ark., Sept. 26. C. W. RiGQS. 



To the above, Mr. Calvert replies as fol- 

 lows : 



Mr. C. W. Riggs : — I have yours of the 26th, with 

 sample of what you say is Melilotus alba. Where 

 seed is sown as early as July or August, it usually 

 makes sufficient growth that year to produce bloom 

 the year following. I do not recall a case where it 

 would bloom the same year if sown in the spring, 

 altho Melilotus indica, the annual yellow, does bloom 

 the year sown. 



Medina, O., Sept. 29. J. T. Calvert. 



Later on came the following : 



The seed of the plant I sent you, supposed to be 

 Melilotus alba, was sown some time last April, so 

 the party who sowed it told me. I was particular to 

 ask if he sowed it the fall before or the spring before 

 last. Both he and his women folks declared that it 

 was sown last spring, grew to about four feet in 

 height, when it bloomed profusely, the field being 

 covered with a nice white bloom. I thought it might 

 be a yellow annual, so I went to see and found the 

 white bloom in various places. The party had cut it 

 several times and pastured it most of the summer — • 

 had hogs on it, pastured heavy. You, of course, have 

 seen the plant in its second year, when it has been 

 pastured heavily, struggling to perpetuate itself. 

 This is the condition in which I saw it. The party 

 was not satisfied with it, and said he was going to 

 plow it up and put in alfalfa. I begged him not to 

 do so until I had communicated with you. I never 

 saw or heard of anything like it in my experience 

 with white sweet clover. 



Greenland, Ark., Oct. 4. C. W. RiGGS. 



Neither of the letters tells us definitely the 

 date at which the bloom appeared. The 

 first letter is dated, you will notice, Sept. 26. 

 Perhaps the locality, Arkansas, has some- 

 thing to do with it ; but if the seed was sown 

 only the last of April, the last of September 

 would give just five months for the plant 

 to grow 4 ft. high and bloom profusely as 

 he states. The question arises I'ight here, 

 is this a special strain of sweet clover be- 

 cause it blossoms so early, or is it because 

 the climate and environment down in Wash- 

 ington Co., Ark., are so particularly favor- 

 able? Will the friends who are growing 

 sweet clover, especially those in the South, 

 (ell us if they have had any like experience? 

 If they have not, some measures should be 

 taken to secure seed from this particular 

 field, as it would seem to be quite desirable 

 to get a strain of sweet clover that will give 

 a yield of honey the first season. 



THE PRICKLY PEAR OF AUSTRALIA — IS IT 

 SUCH A TERRIBLE PEST, AFTER ALL? 



When I published the article referred to 

 below, I felt sure it was an extreme state- 



lidd 



raent in regard to the prickly pear, and I 

 rather expected we should get something on 

 the other side. Well, below is a letter from 

 one of our friends in the same locality: 



Mr. Root: — I see by the June 15th issue, p. 506, 

 that our friend W. Mertons is troubled about the 

 prickly pear. He says he has 130 acres of land, 

 and it took five years to clear 30 acres. I know 

 plenty of men to clear nearly that much in one year. 



If you want to keep the land clear you must plow 

 it and put in a crop. Corn is a good crop, as prickly 

 pear is a plant that requires sun and air; and as 

 for seeds, it would take at least two years before 

 they would be large enough to be noticeable. So 

 you could soon settle them with a good scarifier. 

 He says the land costs from 10 to 50 dollars. It is 

 a long way from that, as you can have the prickly- 

 pear farms by applying for them. The only condi- 

 tion is that you have to clear them; then you get 

 your title rights, and labor is not so high as he says, 

 as there are plenty willing to work for $5.00 a week 

 and board, and a place to sleep. 



I know several farmers saved the lives of their 

 cattle thru the drouth by boiling the pear and mixing 

 it with chaff; and there are hundreds of pigs fat- 

 tened with boiled prickly pear and corn. A friend 

 of mine took up one of these prickly-pear farms. He 

 took out a lot of pigs and 20 hives of bees. As soon 

 as he cleared a patch he put in a patch of corn, and 

 fattened the pigs with boiled pears and corn also ; 

 and he got a large crop of extracted honey from his 

 bees. The honey is so transparent you can see thru 

 the sides of the bottle as easily with the honey in it 

 as you could if it were empty ; and it is a good thick 

 liquid. The pears have a large cream-colored flower, 

 and the fruit is bright-red and pear-shaped. It 

 makes a very good jelly, and it is nice to eat like 

 fruit, as it is sweet, and comes in very handy when 

 there is no other about. In fact, there are many 

 children that get hardly any other fruit, as it is too 

 dear to buy. Peaches, early sorts, bring 5 cts. each, 

 and apples 4 cts. ; apricots, 2 cts., and plums 2 cts. 



As for the pear spreading at the rate of one 

 million acres, it is what we call "putting it on thick," 

 and trying to deter people from coming out here. At 

 the rate the pear is destroyed, fed to stock, and used 

 in various ways, there will not be much left. It is 

 boiled, and the liquid is mixed with lime or whiting, 

 and it makes a good whitewash. You cannot rub it 

 off when dry, and I hear they are making petriol 

 out of it. 



A pear is full of very fine thorns on the young 

 leaves; but when boiled they collapse and are harm- 

 less. The old stems have large thorns; but when 

 they use them they make a fire on them with grass 

 or small brush, and that is the end of the thorns. 

 The leaves are about 3 by 4 inches on the young 

 plants, and the older about 6 by 8 inches. 



On the whole, the prickly pear is a blessing in 

 disguise. Walter Lincoln. 



Toowoomba, Queensland, Aus., Aug. 20. 



From tlie above we learn that even the 

 Australian prickly pear has its uses. I am 

 glad to know that it yields honey, and lioney 

 almost if not quite water-white and of e.\- 

 cellent quality. If I understand it, it is 

 desirable to put in some cultivated croD like 

 corn or potatoes after the prickly pear is 

 turned under. I know by experience that 

 it takes quite a long time for the seeds to 

 germinate, and I can hardly think it is a 

 worse iK'st than some weeds we have to 

 contend with here in tlie United States. 



