126 



April, 1909. 



American IBee Journal 



absorbents came through in good shape. 

 Mr. Hoshal, one of our best bee-keepers, 

 in that winter, experimented with some 

 colonies by having a hole put through 

 the boards that he always left next to 

 the bees, as he had generally practised 

 the seaied-cover plan for wintering. 

 Well, that winter, nearly all his bees 

 with the sealed covers died, while all 

 those with the "safety valve" in the 

 top, came through in good shape. Many 

 liave had a like experience, and for my 

 part I know that the absorbent system 

 is all right, but I cannot say that for 

 the sealed covers. At the same time, 

 I believe that some very successful On- 

 tario bee-keepers are using the latter 

 svstem with success, but, for me, I want 



none of it, as my experience with the 

 sealed covers was a costly one. 



I forgot to say that in the other yard 

 I looked at during the cold spell re- 

 ferred to, the bees there all had a cush- 

 ion of sawdust over the frames to the 

 depth of about 4 inches. In this case, 

 too, there was no dampness next to the 

 bees at all, but, as in the other case, 

 there was lots of room for air circu- 

 lation over the packing. 



Where bees have a flight every 2 weeks 

 or 10 days, as is the case in Editor 

 Root's locality, the sealed covers may 

 be the best, but where there is pretty 

 steady cold weather for 4 months or 

 more, with no days suitable for a flight, 

 it is an entirely different proposition. 



Reflections 



California Bce-Kecper 



By W. A. PRYAL, Alden Station, Oakland. Calif. 



Objects to Sweet Clover. 



I notice that a correspondent of Wal- 

 laces' Farmer comes out strongly 

 against planting sweet clover. He ad- 

 mits it makes good honey, but it has 

 no other value. "My advice," write this 

 Iowa farmer, "to any one who is think- 

 ing of sowing sweet clover is, don't do 

 it, for I have had experience with sweet 

 clover." We Californians wish we 

 could have more of this clover, but it is 

 a pretty safe proposition that we will 

 not, owing to the dryness of our sum- 

 mers. 



Stachys BuUata. 



Here is a plant that seems to have 

 been despised by everybody, including 

 even the apiarist. I presume this has 

 been owing to the fact that it is a 

 retiring or modest sort of member of 

 the vegetable kingdom, for we do not 

 find it growing in places where it can 

 Tub up "with and get acquainted with 

 •every person who goes a-tumbling over 

 the face of the earth. We find it hid 

 away in hedgerows, and along the banks 

 •of creeks, and other out-of-the-way 

 places. While sometimes it creeps a 

 little otit of retirement and encroaches 

 upon cultivated spots, still, it never be- 

 comes a noxious weed. 



If it were not for the fact that it is 

 one of our important honey-plants, I 

 should not be noticing it here. It is a 

 perennial, coming up from the roots 

 very early in January each year, and 

 ■begins to blossom in early spring, and 

 sometimes so continues the year through. 

 It is of rather low-growing form, and 

 to the casual observer looks much like 

 the black sage; the flowers,_ however, 

 are usually red-purple. It is rich in 

 nectar and furnishes considerable for- 

 age for bees. Owing to its long period 

 of infloresence it is no mean adjunct to 

 our bee-pasturage. 



There are several varieties, but 5". 

 BiiUata is the most common : it is found 

 everywhere in the State. Its common 

 name is "Hedge Nettle;" it is not a 

 nettle, though, withal its stems, spikes 

 and leaves are covered with nettle-like 

 hairs. 



Covers for the Brood Chamber. 



Many bee-keepers in this State like to 

 cover the top of the frames with some 

 sort of material or fabric. For "many 

 years burlap was used; common grain 



This I think a mistake. When whole 

 sacks were used a goodly portion of 

 them hung over the sides of the hives 

 and they easily became soaked witli 

 rain, and by natural causes the mois- 

 ture penetrated to the interior above 

 the frames. Where wide covers that 

 extended an inch or so all about the 

 body of the hive were used, this trou- 

 ble was not noticed, unless the cover 

 leaked. I had used such sacking on 

 some of my colonies, but of late years 

 I use a heavy duck or canvas. 



One may secure discarded canvas 

 bags that contained cement at a trifling 

 cost. One of them will make two cov- 

 ers. The more cement that has worked 

 into the texture of the cloth the bet- 

 ter, as the bees won't gnaw the cement 

 after it has become once wet. 



Honey as a Health-Food 



This is a 16-page honey-pamphlet in- 

 tended to help increase the demand for 

 honey. The first part of it contains a 

 short article on "Honey as Food," writ- 

 ten by Dr. C. C. Miller. It tells where 

 to keep honey, how to liquefy it, etc. 

 The last part is devoted to "Honey-Cook- 

 ing Recipes" and "Remedies Using Hon- 

 ey." It should be widely circulated by 

 those selling honey. The more the peo- 

 ple are educated on the value and uses 

 of honey, the more honey they will buy. 



Prices, prepaid — Sample copy for a 

 2-cent stamp ; 50 copies for 90 cents ; 

 100 copies for $1.50; 250 copies for 

 $3.00; soo for $5-00 ; or 1000 for $9.00. 

 Your business card printed free at the 

 bottom of front page on all orders for 

 100 or more copies. Send all orders 

 to the office of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. 



Stachys Bullata. 



sacks being handiest and cheapest. 

 Withal the bees gnawed and soon de- 

 stroyed this material, it was much used. 

 Another objection to its use was the 

 fact that it seemed to absorb moisture 

 more readily than any . other material. 



Apiarian Pictures 



We would be glad to have those who 

 can do so, send us pictures of bee- 

 yards, or of anything else that would be 

 of interest along the bee-keeping line. 



