8ki'tkmhi:i{. MVm 



(! 1, K A X IX (i S I N 



C IM, T U li E 



I 



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lur 



W18H every 

 jierson who 

 liuts up ex 

 tractt'd li o n e y 

 for market could 

 o r would read 

 t li a t editorial 

 (page 458 in Au 

 gust Gleauings). 



waruing extract- 



od-lionoy producers to avoid some of the 

 }>reseut slipshod methods of putting up their 

 lumey in ]>oor boxes and in yet poorer tin 

 cans. One who has not bought or handled 

 such packages can not realize the disgust of 

 the buyer or the actual loss that comes from 

 the use of such inferior packages. A good 

 point is made when the writer says: "If the 

 producer will pay out a little more for good 

 containers, the buyer will be more likely 

 to pay more for the honey. Good containers 

 liave a salvage value, while poor ones are 

 often worse than junk." Just so. We have 

 quantities of poor cans, and the only way 

 to dispose of them seems to be to knock 

 holes in them and throw them into a lake 

 or pond. We dare not dump them on land 

 for fear of scattering disease. 



Good new cans that have never been used 

 before we can sell for a fair price. We had 

 a call from a very careful (and I might al- 

 most siiy fastidious) beekeeper for such sec- 

 ond-hand cans a short time ago, and after 

 recei\-iiig them he ordered again. 



* « » 



J. L. Byer says, on page 477, it is hard to 

 understand the difference in the flow of nee- 

 tar in different sections or countries. The 

 reason for the difference in the flow of nec- 

 tar in different sections or in different 3'ears 

 or on different days is a fascinating subject 

 and one that none of us fully understand. 

 If one is anxious to sustain a reputation for 

 wisdom, it is better for him to look wise 

 and say nothing. I have given the subject a 

 good deal of thought for more than 50 years 

 an<l am free to say that I know but little 

 about it. Of course, if it rains or is ex- 

 tremelj- cold, or the earth is parched with 

 ilrouth, we get but little nectar; but, aside 

 from these conditions, who can tell? 



One year the llnwers yield well if the wind 

 is soutli, but little if in the north. The next 

 year the direction of the wind seems to 

 make little difference to the nectar flows. 

 One year a thunderstorm will check the flow 

 or entirely stop it, while the next year it 

 seems to make little or no difference. Forty 

 years ago this very season there was an 

 unusual basswood bloom. For two weeks 

 the bees gathered little from it. Then there 

 was a change and nectar seemed about as 

 plentiful as it well could be. and in the )iext 

 five days they filled their hives and stored 

 considerable surplus. 



* » * 



The "Onward March of Alsike Clover," 

 page 458, is of decided interest to those of 

 us who dei>end wholly upon clovcM- for our 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Crane 



1 



sLiiplus li () II e y. 

 While it has not 

 proved a great 

 success on sandy 

 or gravelly soils, 

 it has made good 

 on all clay or 

 strong soils, and 

 too much can not 

 ■ • - — :-"" "r- be said in its fa- 



vor. It seems hardly possible that a plant 

 almost or quite unknown in the United. 

 States 70 years ago should be so generally 

 grown for hay toda.y, or that a plant of such 

 exceptional value should have been so late 

 in being brought into cultivation. 



The Kev. L. L. Langstroth, writing in 

 1853 (that is 67 years ago now), says: "For 

 years I have attempted to procure thru bot- 

 anists a hybrid or cross between the red and 

 the white clover, in order to get something 

 with the rich honey -producing properties of 

 the red, and yet with a short blossom into 

 which the honeybee might insert its pro- 

 boscis I had hoped to procure a va- 

 riety which might answer all the purposes 

 of our farmers as a field crop. Quite re- 

 cently I have ascertained that such a hybrid 

 has been originated in Sweden, and has been 

 im])orted into this country by B. C. Eodgers 

 of Philadelphia. It grows even taller than 

 red clover, bears many blossoms on a stalk, 

 which are small, resembling the white, and 

 is said to be preferred by cattle to any kind 

 of grass, while it answers admirably for 

 bees." It is interesting to note that what 

 Langstroth longed for had already been 

 originated by the hand of the Creator, or 

 something better, for a cross between the 

 red and the white clover would doubtless 

 have been seedless or nearly so, while alsike 

 clover seeds abundantly. 



* * "» 



Traveling by auto some 75 miles a few- 

 days ago to the north of the State, it was 

 just fine to note the growing crops, and the 

 second bloom of white and alsike clover as 

 well as sweet clover near the roadside. 

 At one place the air was filled with frag- 

 rance. I thought at first it was alsike clover, 

 but it seemed denser or heavier. Upon turn- 

 ing to look I saw a field of sweet clover in 

 full bloom. In another place I saw a pasture 

 of sweet clover. My! But didn't it look 

 good to see cattle feeding, with the clover 

 ui* to their ears. 



* * * 



E. J. Ladd, on page 476, reports the clip- 

 ping of the queens to get a supersedure. We 

 have many times found a queen, with a use- 

 less leg or a minus leg, that her children had 

 had the good sense to retain. It would seem 

 that they were wiser than those beekeepers 

 who would cripple them. 



* * * 



It seems probable that the honey crop in 

 Vermont will not be more than one-half that 

 of last year. There will be a smaller yield 

 per colony and not more than 60 per cent 

 of the ((donies ke|>t a year ago. 



