388 



fHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



June 23, 



majority of the modern bee-hives are made of the more porous 

 timbers, like pine, basswood, etc., are double-walled, opening 

 from one or two sides, cupboard fashion, not from the top, 

 thus making it practicable to tier up colony upon colony with- 

 out inconvenience (just the thing for bee-houses). Tenement 

 hives are much liked. Of late years a few bee-keepers are 

 commencing to construct their hives after the English and 

 American pattern, giving access from the top, and also using 

 pound sections. — Gleanings. Ontario Co., N. Y. 



Somethiug About Alfalfa and Sweet Clover. 



BY PBOF. A. J. COOK. 



There are some subjects which are like Banquo's ghost, 

 and will not "down," and the ones suggested by the above 

 heading seem among them. It Is good that they will not be- 

 take themselves away until they are rightly settled. 



Regarding alfalfa, the work of the experiment stations 

 prove conclusively that It is most valuable if cut while in 

 bloom. 



In Bulletin 48, Utah Station, will be found the following 

 tables showing the results per acre of analysis : 



FIRST CUTTING. 



Date. Height. 



May 4 6}^ inches. 



Junel IS inches. 



July 7 Fall flower. 



August 10 ^'LTavesdr^- 



August 24 Still dryer. 



Frotein,Carbo hydrates, J'^ats, 



pounih, pounds. pounds. 



607 40 



697 1.247 103 



74.5 2,278 118 



644 

 428 



2,298 

 1,776 



116 

 94 



SECOND OOTTING. 



Date. Height. 



July 7 Budding. 



July 20 Medium bloom. 



Augusts Full flower. 



August 24 Leaves dry. 



Protein, Carbo hydrates, Fats, 



pounds. 

 334 

 519 

 551 

 388 



pounds. 



657 

 1,140 

 1,529 

 1,484 



pounds. 

 50 



78 

 81 

 SI 



THIRD CUTTING. 



Protein, Carlio hydrates, Fats. 

 Date. Height. poimds. pounds. pounds. 



August 17 138 317 17 



August 31 322 757 33 



September 14 298 934 43 



From the above the conclusion is apparent that alfalfa 

 must not be cut earlier than the middle bloom, and not later 

 than fall bloom, to secure a large yield of dry matter and 

 albuminoids. This gives two or three weeks after budding, 

 and several days in which the bees may gather nectar. These 

 figures are generally accepted, and agree well with what we 

 know of other similar plants. They may well be publisht 

 broadcast by bee-keepers, in the hope that farmers of Utah, 

 Colorado, Arizona, California, etc., may be influenced to delay 

 the cutting of this valuable forage and honey-plant. 



About here the hay is generally cut just as it is coming 

 into bloom, and so, except that there are always stray plants 

 or early ones that come into full bloom in any case, the bees 

 get almost no honey from alfalfa. The reasons that the hay 

 is cut so early are two, first, it is thought that the less mature 

 hay Is better for cows, tho many who think this agree that 

 for horses it is better to wait until it is in full blossom. Most 

 alfalfa hay here is fed to cows. 



Another reason — perhaps more influential, tho rarely 

 urged — is the greater amount secured by the early cutting. 

 Alfalfa hay may be cut six, seven or even eight times, while 

 three, four or five times is all that are possible if uncut until 

 the bloom begins to fade. The one, two or three extra cut- 

 tings will give more weight, even tho at the expense of real 

 nutrition. If we could persuade the farmer that it is to his 

 interest to tarry in the cutting, then alfalfa would become a 

 valuable adjunct to bee-culture all over Southern California. 

 It will take a long time to do this, even if possible to do it at all. 

 The grower has ready means to test the profit in his own 

 hands, and as long as he secures more Income, or thinks he 

 does, by early cutting, just so long will the hum of the mower 

 precede and preclude the hum of the bees. 



MELILOT OR SWEET CLOVER. 



J am sincerely glad that I am wrong regarding the value 

 of sweet clover as a food for stock. It is, however, signifi- 



cant that Prof. A. W. Henry, in his admirable work on 

 " Feeds and Feeding," which all interested In such subjects 

 should own and study, makes no mention at all of this plant. 

 The work is very complete and up-to-date. 



I am glad, I say, that so many find It valuable for pas- 

 ture and hay. I still fear that It will long wait general use. 

 Red clover, east, and alfalfa, west, will, I believe, be too 

 strong competitors. Of course, any legume is good for green- 

 manuring, trapping as each does the wary nitrogen from the 

 air and combining it into available food for the plant. Yet 

 here again I fear that it will be hard to secure the sweet 

 clover a place in general practice for such purpose. Red 

 clover would be better in the east, while lupines and peas 

 will give better satisfaction west. 



The orchardist, in California, wishes to grow his plants 

 for green manuring during the winter months, and plow un- 

 der In late February or early March. The white sweet clover 

 being a biennial would be of no use for bees, if treated in this 

 way, and so if as good as other plants it would not be avail- 

 able for honey. 



The yellow sweet clover Is an annual here, but so far as I 

 have observed is not of much excellence for honey; nor Is It 

 equal to other plants for green manuring. For plants to be of 

 service to apiculture, they must be generally desirable so as to 

 be grown in profusion, like white clover in the pasture-fields 

 of the east, or basswood in the eastern forests, or white and 

 ball sage in the brushwood or bush of California. 



As a wayside plant melilotus may take rank east, and 

 help the bee-keeper out; but for planting by the general 

 farmer is it at all probable that it will ever find a place? It 

 Is so good a bee-plant that I hope it will. I think It will not. 



Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



A Consideration of Our Bee-Keepers' Interests 



BY JAMES A. STONE. 

 {Jiead at an lUiuois Farmers^ Institute.) 



It matters not what pursuit we wish to enter in life, the 

 first question that confronts us is — Will it pay ? 



It is an axiom that no business in this world will pay un- 

 less properly managed ; and even then the time will come 

 when it will not prove a success financially. We will take 

 wheat-growing for example, which has not been profitable for 

 a number of years, and yet in times many a farmer has paid 

 for his farm out of the profits of wheat-growing. We might 

 say the same of corn, hogs and cattle, and In fact all the pro- 

 ducts of the farm. 



One of the great faults (we might call it) with farmers is 

 their great disposition to rush to the same thing and over- 

 crowd It, like a lot of frightened cattle on a boat — cause it to 

 be sunk by all rushing to one side. The interests of bee- 

 keeping are not so, for the reason that all will say the wild 

 flowers are disappearing, and there are no honey-plants for 

 bees to work upon as there used to be. And then there are so 

 many who are afraid of bees. We have had many to tell us 

 that they wanted to be let alone by the bees, they hurt too 

 badly, and "their sting swells so on me," and is so pain- 

 ful y ! They will follow me a mile to get to sting me," 



and all such talk. If a person is not brave enough to stand 

 an occasional sting, he would better never engage in bee-cul- 

 ture. 



The writer, when a boy, was as badly affected by the 

 sting of a bee as any one well could be. But by persistence 

 and a determination not to give it up, he has grown to care 

 less for their stings ; and on several occasions is positive that 

 they have (;ured rheumatism. 



With Italian bees, a bee-veil, and a smoker, the only stings 

 received will be on the hands, and by removing the sting im- 

 mediately, and squeezing out the poison from the place af- 

 fected, the pain Is soon gone, and but little if any swelling 

 occurs. 



With the many barriers in the way, the interest of bee- 

 keeping is overlookt, to the loss of everybody. 



The first objection offered (that wild flowers are disap- 

 pearing) can easily be overcome. No sane man ever thinks of 

 keeping any kind of animals without in some way providing 

 food for those animals. But when it comes to bees — because 

 they have wings, their owner will say, " If you can't go and 

 ' sponge ' off my neighbor you can starve." To a certain ex- 

 tent this is all right, but suppose your neighbor has no pas- 

 ture for your bees ? Then comes up the original question, 

 "Will it pay" — to raise some kind of pasturage for them ? I 

 KNOW It will pay largely. To illustrate : 



The writer with his son not long kince, in viewing a 20- 

 acre piece of Alsike which they have, made this statement : 



" Suppose we obtain only 50 pounds of honey per acre, at 



