a r. E A N I N n s in p. e e c m l t u r k 



August, 1020 



TH 1 K T V - 

 FOUR yeara 

 ago there 

 was not a field of 

 alsike clover in 

 my part of the 

 State, so fnr as 

 I knew. It was 

 then that I saw 

 the first field; 

 and from that year this legume has become 

 more and more popular among farmers gen- 

 erallj', until now it furnishes the bulk of 

 the clovers grown here. This was largely 

 brought about at first thru my own efforts. 

 Being a farmer as well as a beekeeper I was 

 in position to learn its value, not only as a 

 honey-producer, but as a valuable crop for 

 seed and hay and for pasture and for all 

 kinds of live stock It has been discovered 

 that wherever this clover has been grown, 

 pastured, or cut for hay or seed, it comes up 

 whenever the field is sown to any small- 

 grain crop, thus making a good catch with- 

 out further seeding. This is due to the fact 

 that alsike produces sufficient seed to keep 

 on hand in the soil enough seed for all ordi- 

 nary occasions. Alsike is a very prolific 

 yielder of seed, like white clover, and, like 

 the latter, the bees work on it so freely that 

 there is no lack of the blossoms' being fer- 

 tilized. The above characteristics count for 

 much, and will keep alsike clover with us 

 for all time to come. 



Alsike makes its best growth on land that 

 is low and wet, and on deep loamy soils. On 

 such lands it will grow to a height of four 

 or five feet; but it will fall to the ground 

 unless seeded with some other strong grass 

 to hold it up — orchard grass or timothy 

 being the best to seed with it. All one 

 needs to do when alsike is once established 

 in the land is to sow the timothy or orchard 

 grass. On light soils and on dry upland the 

 clover does not grow very tall but fills bet- 

 ter for a seed crop. If wanted for hay it 

 should be seeded with timothy. The .two, 

 when grown together, will result in a very 

 fine crop of hay. Alsike is a better hay to 

 cure, and will stand being rained on once 

 or twice and yet be good hay; but red 

 clover would be all but ruined by rains. 

 This is because alsike has a smooth stem, 

 while red clover has a hairy growth all along 

 the stems, and consequently the rains turn 

 it black, thus injuring its value materially. 



Alsike will hold its own over any other 

 clover, not only because it grows and thrives 

 ia soils so acid that red alfalfa or sweet 

 clover would die outright, but, for reasons 

 already stated, it will always remain where- 

 ever it gets a good hold. Alsike fills the 

 same place that white clover does as a pro- 

 ducer of honey, and it may be pastured and 

 the bloom prolonged just as white clover 

 can: or alsike may be mown early and a 

 second bloom come on, and this second bloom 

 will yield honey well, but this early mowing 

 will not lie at all practiced. 



The !( ngthciiing of the period of yielding 



GET MORE HONEY 



oAnother Method of Increasing the 



Yield for Next Tear. Help Spread 



the Facts Concerning Alsike 



By Frank Coverdale 



will be affected 

 by pasturing 

 with live stock. 

 It has become a 

 general practice 

 here to mix in al- 

 sike seed when 

 seeding red clo- 

 ver, and the 

 practice is giv- 

 ing great satisfaction. The alsike being well 

 adapted for thickening the stand, such fields 

 show up well and make heavy crops of clover 

 hay of fine quality; and if the first crop of 

 this red clover and alsike is not cut too late, 

 both alsiko and red clover bloom together 

 which, 031 account of the alsike, makes very 

 good bee pasture. This is especially true 

 during a moist season. From an economic 

 point of view alsike should be seeded on 

 every farm east of the alfalfa belt because 

 it becomes a very valuable plant, and, a 

 thing that will please every farmer, it is al- 

 ways coming up just as most bad weeds do 

 when they once get their seeds scattered in 

 the soil. One may say, "See what a fine 

 stand of clover I have, and I didn't have 

 to put my hand in my pocket either." In 

 this case, if one wants red clover all he has 

 to do is to sow it, as then he will get the 

 mixed crop. 



If red clover should become extinct in 

 the clover belt it would be a serious loss to 

 the bee industry, as much nectar is gathered 

 from it. This is especially true when the 

 ciop is ripening and when the weather is 

 dry and the grasshoppers eat off the tubes, 

 nsaking the nectar available to the bees. 



Later I shall have something to say about 

 sweet clover, which, when used in its place, 

 is of paramount importance for live stock 

 and for the production of honey and also as 

 a crop to put land in the very best trim to 

 grow other crops. I am growing all these 

 clovers, and I believe it will finally come 

 to this — each and every clover for its own 

 ]ilace. 



Alsike seed should never be covered too 

 deep at seeding time. A.side from this tht 

 ground should be prepared and seed sown 

 just as is the custom with red clover. Alsike 

 does well, even where water partly covers 

 the ground. It can be seeded in swamps 

 where other grasses grow tall, and it will 

 keep up — yes, to the height of six feet, just 

 as the writer has seen it. Where one wish- 

 est to seed one of those wet sloughs or 

 swampy places, just burn off the old grass 

 and then in early spring sow the seed; and 

 if the wiUl grass does not smother it, then 

 the second year there will be a great field of 

 alsike that will be just as high as any other 

 grass. I know of no other clover that could 

 be used in a place like the above with suc- 

 cess. 



Alsike lanks well as a hon(>v ]i'aiit. When 

 generally grown in the surrounding eonntry, 

 the nuinher of colonies can Ix^ materially 

 increased. The coming of alsike ui>on the 

 stage has almost cliiiiiiia tcil th(> j^oor sea- 



