Jan. 12, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



21 



matter. For Iowa, probably sweet clover will j'ield more 

 honev to the acre than any other clover. It is g-ood for for- 

 age if j-our stock have learned to eat it. Some find the drv 

 hav eaten more readily than the green clover. Some saj' 

 they can't get their stock to eat it. It yields a large quan- 

 tity of forage, and may be cut two or three times in a season. 

 It yields honey after white clover has ceast yielding, and is 

 valuable on that account. As an enricher of the soil it is 

 excellent, and will grow on poor land or pure clay. Alsike 

 is one of the finest for honey, coming about the same time 

 as white clover. If you have plenty of white clover, it is 

 not as valuable for you as sweet clover, but if white clover 

 is scarce Alsike may be worth more to you, as there is no 

 question about its value for hay or green feed. It is best on 

 land not too dry. Sweet clover will stand wet or dr)'. Sow 

 either one about the same as you would red clover, and with 

 the same kind of grain, using a little less seed to the acre 

 than you would where red clover is sown with no other 



grass seed. 



^*-»~#^ 



Making a Straw Hive. 



How is the old straw skep or straw bee-hive made ? I 

 always admired the shape, form and style of the straw bee- 

 hive — that is, the illustrations of it, for I never saw a real 

 one — and I should like to make or procure one, if one is to 

 be had, just for novelty. M.\INE. 



Answer. — I suppose a band or rope of straw is made, 

 coiled about and sewed together till the hive is done. But 

 I'm no authority on straw skeps, and will yield the floor to 

 John Kline or some other veteran. Bj- way of a side re- 

 mark, I may say that it is doubtful if your admiration for 

 the shape, form, and style of the straw skep will remain as 

 great after seeing the genuine article. Some things look 

 best in pictures. 



Sowing Clover for Late Bee-Pastnre. 



I want to seed some ground for bee-pasture. What kind 

 of clovers would be best to sow — those that could be sown 

 in the spring and blossom in the fall so that the bees could 

 work on them before cold weather ? JmNOis. 



Answer. — Probably no other clover is so good for late 

 nectar as sweet clover. But it will not blossom the same 

 year it is sown. It blossoms the nest year, then dies, root 

 and branch. You can manag-e, however, to have it bloom- 

 ing on the same ground every year after the first year. Sow 

 in the spring, and then sow again on the same ground in 

 the fall or the nest spring, and it will re-seed itself there- 

 after. By cutting it before it is budded for blossom, or just 

 when it first shows buds, you can make the main yield come 

 later, which is an advantage where you have a crop of white 

 clover. Alsike may be made to bloom tolerably late bv cut- 

 ting early enough. Very likely you may find Alsike to suit 

 you better for hay and pasture, unless j-our stock has been 

 taught to eat sweet clover. 



Section Honey Over Old Brood-Combs. 



Would a good quality of comb honey be produced (with- 

 out fishbone) by hivinganew swarm on old combs with full 

 sheets of extra-thin foundation in sections ? 



I have two colonies and do not desire more. I will re- 

 duce each to four frames and unite when the queens have 

 filled the combs with brood. I will have the honey extracted 

 from eight frames, and desire, if practical, to use the same 

 as stated above. Of course, I would not care to jeopardize 

 the quality of the product, and hence ask advice. Last sea- 

 son I used part of the sections with starters, and part with 

 full sheets, and consider those with full sheets the nicest to 

 look at. In answering, consider one season with another, 

 and average, as I realize that results might vary under 

 changing circumstances. Connecticut. 



Answer. — I suppose the emphasis in your question lies 

 on the old brood-combs and the full sheets in sections. 

 Much the larger part of all the fancy honey that is produced 

 is probably produced with old combs in the brood-chamber. 

 I know that I have produced some such honey fiver brood- 

 combs black with many year's use, and wouldn't think of 

 displacing those old combs, altho there may be a little ad- 

 vantage in having brood-combs that are entirely new. es- 

 pecially if the sections should be left on too long-. When 

 left on long, a little of the darkness is likely to be carried 



up to show on the cappings of the sections, but if taken off 

 as soon as finisht it is hardly likely that you would notice 

 the dift'erence between sections produced over old and new 

 combs. There is some difl'erence of opinion as to whether 

 full sheets or starters should be used in sections. In my 

 own practice I prefer the full sheets. 



Sowing Sweet Clover and Alsike. 



When is the time to sow sweet clover seed ? How much 

 to the acre ? How do you prepare the ground ? Also, how 

 and when is Alsike clover seed sown ? Indiana. 



Answer. — Sweet clover may be sown any time after 

 the seed ripens in the fall till late the nest spring. Perhaps 

 the very best way to make sure of a good stand is to sow on 

 hard ground and' let it be thoroughly trampt in the ground 

 when the ground is wet. That's the way it's sown on the 

 roadside, and it seems to flourish nowhere better. You may 

 also sow in cultivated ground the same as red clover, only 

 if sown shallow in mellow soil it is likely to heave badly in 

 the winter. If covered rather deep, or if the ground is 

 rolled down pretty hard, heaving will be avoided. Sow Al- 

 sike the same as red clover, onlv half as much seed will do. 



Preparing and Shipping Bees. 



1. Can bees be shipt in less than car lots ? 



2. Tell me just how you would prepare bees to be shipt 

 from Texas to Wyoming. 



3. When would you ship the bees ? Tex.\S. 



Answers. — 1. In some parts of the country they can be 

 shipt as freight only in car lots. Your station agent will 

 tell you how it is on" your road. Of course, a single colony 

 Ciin always go by express. 



2. If only a small number, each one should have wire- 

 cloth covering entire top of the hive, and raised several 

 inches above the frames. In any case tliere should be some 

 plan to provide plenty of air. depending somewhat on the 

 kind of hive as to preparation. 



3. Not till the weather has become warm enough so the 

 combs will not break easily. In freezing weather they are 

 brittle and will break with very little provocation. 



Sawdust In Double-Walled Hives. 



Will sawdust put between the walls of a hive be as good 

 aschaft"? Subscriber. 



Answer.— Sawdust is not generally liked as well as 

 chaff. If you use sawdust, be sure to have it very dry. If 

 you get sawdust at a planing-mill, you can also get planer- 

 shavings, which are well liked for packing. 



A Colony Feeding Caged Queens. 



Can a queenless colony of bees be depended upon to 

 feed the queens kept in West cages, or is it necessary to put 

 feed in the cages ? Tenn. 



Answer.— I think it will not be necessary to put feed 

 in any cage which allows the bees of a queenless colony a 

 chance to feed a queen. At one time I kept young queens 

 in a series of cages something like a top-bar. every two 

 inches of the top-bar containing a queen, the whole being 

 placed over a queenless colony, and I think I never knew 

 any of the queens to be starved. I have also kept caged 

 queens in a hive with a laying queen, and generally they 

 are fed. but sometimes I've found a queen dead in her cage. 



Loose-Jointed Hive-Bottoms and Supers. 



I have a lot of dovetail or lock-cornered hives with Dan- 

 zenbaker covers and bottoms. The bottoms are in three 

 boards, square joints, which swell and shrink, leaving 

 cracks that can be seen through. The supers have a strip 

 of tin tackt on the ends for the section-holders to rest on, 

 leaving- cracks on the sides when set on each other, or on 

 the hive. Is that good enough ? Missouri. 



Answer. — I should prefer to have all close, still no .seri- 

 ous harm can re.sult, unless it should be that the bees are to 

 be hauled and the cracks are large enough for them tocra-sv 

 through. 



