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Publisht Weekly at 118 Michigan St. 



George W. York, Editor. 



il.OO a Year— Sample Copy Free. 



38th Year. 



CHICAGO, ILL., FEBRUARY 17, 1898. 



No. 7. 



Sweet Clover — An Occasional Forage- Plant. 



BV PROF. A. J. COOK. 



The note of reproof from the editor, on page 25, regard- 

 ing my statement in reference to melilot only gives me pleas- 

 ure. I am glad to have my position criticised, at all times. If 

 I am wrong — and we all make frequent mistakes — I wish to 

 be corrected, and the correction cannot be too speedy or too 

 thorough. If I am correct, another's errors will be likely to 

 be corrected. Thus candid, courteous criticism is always In 

 order. Any other kind is always to be deeply regretted. How 

 common were harsh criticisms, bitter aspersions, and sharp, 

 cruel, cutting Invective in the olden time of American bee- 

 culture. Happily it is now rare. We can almost always criti- 

 cise kindly, reprove gently, and after such criticism and re- 

 proof are none the less friends. Thus, Mr. York and I are 

 none the less friends, tho he so sharply questions my act. 



I have noticed all the recent words of commendation re- 

 garding sweet clover in the several journals. That occasional 

 cases of cattle and horses eating melilot clover may occur I do 

 not doubt. Frequent statements to that effect may have been 

 made, and I am always slow to impeach another's veracity in 

 such case. Cattle and horses may be crowded by hunger to 

 eat what Is really distasteful and unappetizing. In all such 

 cases the food is of doubtful value. 



Again, melilot may be grown on exceptional soil, or under 

 exceptional conditions which may be more appetizing. If this 

 be true, we may believe it exceptional. Usually the quality 

 of sweet clover does not attract any of our stock. I still be- 

 lieve that melilot, while it is excellent for honey has little 

 value as a forage plant. It has one other value. It is a 

 legume, and so takes nitrogen from the air, through the aid 

 of the nitrofying microbes. It is thus valuable for green 

 manuring. I wisht much to find this plant valuable for hay 

 and pasture. I have often seen it in pasture and by roadside, 

 left wholly undisturbed by horses, cattle, etc. 



Again, white melilot is strictly, so far as I have observed, 

 a biennial. It grows vigorously for one season, storing up 

 starch to push its growth and development the second season, 

 when it blooms and forms the seed. The first year the stems 

 and foliage are tender and succulent, and, were they savory, 

 would furnish much good feed. But this would be of no use 

 to bees, as the flowers do not come till the next season. The 

 second season, the stalks are coarse and large, and would be 

 of little or no use for pasture or hay. Yet, now the bloom 

 comes with sweet scent and big load of nectar. This again 

 would discount the value of sweet clover except for honey and 

 green manuring, even tho It were appetizing. 



The yellow sweet clover here in Southern California ap- 

 pears to be an annual, to grow vigorously, and tho of doubt- 

 ful value for hay and pasture, may prove to be valuable for 

 trapping nitrogen, and enriching the soil. 



The objection urged to melllotus alba in the above re- 

 marks, applies somewhat to alfalfa. It is of incomparable 



excellence and value for hay and pasture, especially for hay. 

 When it blooms it is very valuable for honey ; but it is better 

 for hay to cut It just before it blooms, and so is often of no 

 avail at all for the bee-keeper. If, like red clover, it were 

 permitted to bloom fully and freely, before cutting, it would 

 take very high rank as a honey-plant ; as It is, there Is much 

 bloom, so that in some portions of California it furnishes gen- 

 erous quantities of nectar, and so adds materially to the 

 honey-product of the Slate. In one respect, itls very valuable. 

 It secretes liberally in seasons of drouth. As the alfalfa is 

 irrigated, It grows and blooms even in drouthy years. 



Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



Anti-Bee-Space — A Reply to Criticisms. 



BV "COMMON-SENSE BEEKEEPING." 



Mr. Chairman : — I rise to a point of order. I have waited 

 a long time for the subject under discussion to get cool, be- 

 cause some of those who take up their pen to defend the bee- 



C. ThcUinnnn — See pnge WO. 



space seem more disposed to hack on the " Common-Sense Bee- 

 Keeper" than they are to discuss the three points at actual 

 issue, which are : That the bee-space Is opposed, first, to the 

 successful wintering of bees in cold climates ; and, second, 

 the booming of the colonies In the spring ; and, third, the 

 early storage of surplus honey In the section-boxes. 



