446 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



July, 1921. 



joke. 1 think I have already mentioned 

 that the DeGraff Food Company, DeGiafif, 

 Ohio, i^aid our good friends, The Field Seed 

 Company, of Shenandoah, Iowa, something 

 like $10,000 for half of the seed from a six- 

 acre crop. Well, Mr. Crites, president of 

 the above company, has just paid us a visit. 

 (See their advertisement in this issue.) Near 

 their plant at DeGraff, Ohio, they are put- 

 ting out 500 acres to this new sweet clover. 

 They have also 100 acres somewhere in 

 Texas, where they are now harvesting the 

 new seed. Besides this, they have about 

 500 more — I think in North Dakota. 



By the way, we have several reports from 

 our subscribers who have had a little pack- 

 et of perhaps 30 to 40 seeds of getting from 

 one to two pounds of seed from these little 

 packets we have been sending out. Prof. 

 Hughes informs us that the College, Ames, 

 Iowa, has been kind enough to grant him a 

 leave of absence for one year to visit Ala- 

 bama, where the seed was first found, and 

 do what he can for the benefit of humanity, 

 in addition to what he has already done in 

 working out the possibilities of this plant, 

 and in helping to develop it as rapidly as 

 possible. 



A 9-foot plant of Hubam clover at Ames, Iowa, 

 1920. H. D. Hughes tries to reach the top. Pho- 

 tographed in October when the seed was ripe and 

 most of the leaves had fallen. This clover has made 

 a growth of 9 feet in 3^4 months. When the Iowa 

 Station first announced the discovery of this clover 

 in 1918 it was with the statement that it had growTi 

 4% feet in SVz months, when medium red clover 

 made a growth of 5 inches. Growths reported in 

 1920 are 100% greater than those first reported. 



Let me digress a little. In our recent 

 Sunday-school lesson we had the story of 

 the good Samaritan. Now, as I see it, Prof. 

 Hughes is a good Samaritan to the whole 

 wide world. His active energy in getting 

 the seed quickly disseminated, not only thru- 

 out America but the whole wide world (even 

 into the islands of the sea), is certainly com- 

 mendable; and I feel particularly happy to 

 think that it was my privilege, altho I did 

 not at the time realize what I was doing, 

 to back him up and help him in his efforts 

 to reduce, say, the "high cost of living." 

 I verily believe this plant will do more to 

 make this ' ' a land flowing with milk and 

 hone.y ' ' than any other plant, possibly, in 

 the whole world. 



By the way, The DeGraff Seed Company, 

 DeGraff, Ohio, have sent us some leaflets 

 giving full information in regard to this 

 new clover. They have also sent us several 

 pounds of the seed which they have gath- 

 ered in Texas from seed that was planted 

 since last Christmas. This is very nice-look- 

 ing seed and we have planted some of it near 

 our oflice and have some left. We are still 

 going to send out trial packages of this 

 wonderful clover, and if The DeGraff Food 

 Company will keep us supjtlied with seed 

 (which I know they will until we produce 

 some ourselves this fall) we will keep on 

 sending seed in small pinches to every one 

 who asks for it. I want every bee man who 

 has not seen this clover grow to write me 

 for a pinch of the seed and for one of these 

 leaflets whicli The DeGraff Food Company 

 have sent us. I want to help Prof. Hughes 

 and The DeGraff Food Company and every 

 one else in distributing seed of one of the 

 greatest plants which Gojl in His all-wise 

 Providence has given to his children. 



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. 

 We have just received from Prof. Beck- 

 man of the Iowa State College a communi- 

 cation from which we make clippings as 

 below: 



When seeded with small grain at Ames, Iowa, it 

 produced six times the growth of medium red and 

 uiamiuoth clover, and three times that of the bi- 

 ennial white sweet clover, following the removal of 

 small grain crop. When seeded broadcast on a 

 weedy and poorly prepared seedbed the last of 

 May it overcame the weeds, made a growth of 5 \^ 

 to 7 feet and matured a seed crop. 



The growth when carefully measured has often 

 averaged over 1 V2 inches per day, with a maxi- 

 mum under greenhouse conditions of 2V2 inches 

 ill 15 hours. 



Its heavy seed-setting characters are indicated 

 by seed spikes which have measured 20 inches in 

 length. Planted in rows three feet apart the seed 

 yields have averaged from 5 to 8 bushels per acre, 

 while with closely spaced growths the yield has 

 run over 10 bushels per acre of clean, scarified 

 seed. 



While Hubam clover has gained many friends 

 the past year, the most uniformly enthusiastic 

 group of men are the beekeepers. The most widely 

 read and oldest bee journal in the United States 

 carried extensive discussions of its merit, with 

 many illustrations, in eight of the twelve issues of 

 the "year 1920. 



This clover wa.s found growing in greenhouses at 

 Ames by Professor Hushes in the winter 1915-16. 

 When planted in the field it made a growth of be- 

 (Continued on page 454.) 



