.luLV. 1921. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C U I. T U K V) 



and had much larger leaves than any sweet 

 clover I had ever seen. I sent specimens of 

 it to our exiteriment station, and Professor 

 Thorne pronounced it a " mutation, ' ' and 

 lie said he was very glad I had got hold of 

 it, and that it might prove to be something 

 of great value. Later on I offered a few 

 seeds from this plant to any of our sub- 

 scribers who might care to work with me in 

 giving an improved sweet clover to the 

 world. Well, so far as I can learn, not much 

 came of it, and we rather decided that the 

 extra amount of bloom and larger leaf were 

 owing to some favorable conditions rather 

 than to the fact of its being a different va- 

 riety. My article on the matter, however, 

 called forth letters from far and wide in 

 regard to sweet clovei' plants thnt showed 

 unusual peculiarities. 



As early as December, 1916, we printed 

 a reference to an annual white sweet clover. 

 On page 1189 of that issue, we find the fol- 

 lowing: 



A field of Melilotiix alba sown here lust spring 

 bloomed profusely when about four feet high. I 

 enclose a sample, and ask the cause if you know 

 of any parallel case. I have never know it to 

 bloom the first vear. C. W. Riggs. 



Earl, Ark., Sept. 26, 1916. 



On page 385 of the May issue, 1917, under 

 the subject, "White Sweet Clover in Full 

 Bloom the First Year 's Sowing, ' ' we print- 

 ed a letter from W. O. Graeber, Milbrae, 

 California, a part of which runs as follows: 



In the December 15 issue, on page 1188, I no- 

 ticed an article by Mr. C. W. Riggs. regarding 

 Melilotuf! alba blooming the first year. I have 

 only one year's experience with it, and that was 

 in 1915, when in April I sowed a small patch just 

 to see how it would do in my locality. I kept it 

 moist with a garden hose, as there was no rain for 

 a time. It came up nicely and grew rapidly ; and 

 when about four feet high about the first week in 

 Jul.v, it began to bloom and kept growing higher 

 and sending out new buds and blooms. I went 

 away .\ugust 4, and a few days before going I took 

 an eight-foot rule and measured a number of the 

 stalks. The tallest measured 9 feet 8 inches, and 

 it was .still growing when I left. Several other 

 stalks went 8 feet and 7 feet 6 inches, and from 

 that down to r! feet. Some of the stems were al- 

 most a half an inch in diameter at the base. When 

 I returned the latter part of September it had 

 seeded and most of it was down. My bees were 

 very busy on it while it bloomed. I got the seed 

 from a local seed house, and it was the white 

 variety, vei'y sweet-scented. 



These were among the first, if not indeed 

 the first, references that ever api>eared in 

 any periodical in reference to an annual 

 sweet clover. 



Now, our journal goes to the Agricultural 

 College, Ames, Iowa; but I do not know 

 whether Prof. Hughes at that time was con- 

 versant with Gleanings or not. I think 

 very likely he knew something of my efforts 

 to get a sui)erior strain of sweet clover, and 

 that I ha<l also been sending packets of seed 

 to any one who would send a stamped en- 

 velope. But I rather think he knew some- 

 thing about it, because of a little ])acket of 

 perhaps 50 s(>eds he sent me with the follow- 

 ing letter: 



Mr. A. I. Root: 



We ai'e .sending you .fio.oil woi'lli of seed — not 

 by freight, but inclosed lierewith attached to an 



445 



explanatory sheet and with our compliment.'?. You 

 will be iiilci-ested in the atlaclied statements re- 

 garding this seed, wliich I am sending to the ditfer- 

 ent State experiment stations. Will you phiiu this 

 seed thi.s vear? Farm Crops Section, 



By H. D. Hughes. 

 -Vmes, Iowa, April 15, 1918. 



T straightway sent half of the seeds to 

 our own experiment station. However, he 

 had already sent some there direct. My 

 own 25 or 30 seeds were carefully planted 

 indoors, and in October, 1918, I notified the 

 friends that I was ready to send a small 

 packet to any applicant. We did not keep 

 record of how many were sent out; but we 

 had so many letters, all favorable, that there 

 was not room for more than a small part of 

 them in Gleanings. 



There was a picture of the plant given 

 on page 374 of our June issue. You will 

 notice what a tremendous amount of feed it 

 is going to make, aside from the honey. 

 While I write, June 1-t, it is not settled posi- 

 tively that the plants that live over will still 

 produce the real Annual seed, or whether it 

 will revert to the old biennial, or whether 

 there is a bare possibility of finding a per- 

 ennial. The plant we picture in this issue 

 is budded ready to bloom. There is no 

 question about its being the Hubam that 

 wintered over, because the old dried stalk 

 was still in the center when I found them 

 starting this spring. 



The |)hint pictured on page 374 June issue, ;)2 days 

 later: yard stick on right. 



A valuable Government bulletin (Annual 

 White Sweet Clover) was issued by the De- 

 partment of Agriculture last April. This 

 bulletin contains 21 pages, with illustrations 

 on nearly every page. It may be secured 

 of the Government Printing-office for 5 

 cents per copy. It covers the whole ground 

 comi)letely, excei)t that no mention is made 

 in regard to the ])lauts that winter over, 

 such as 1 have pictured. Prof. Hughes' joke 

 about sending me fifty seeds, "forty dollars 

 worth," was sonu'thing more than a 



