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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sweet CloTer. — The ruiiUUe of July 

 I ciuefiilly prep:u'ed nearly two acres 

 of land and planted buckwheat and 

 Bokhiira clover together on it. I used 

 fully four pounds of the clover seed 

 per acre. The buckwheat came up, 

 but so far nothing is to be seen of the 

 clover. The seed was sold to me by 

 a trustwortliy dealer. 1. Can you ex- 

 plain the cause of failure V 2. Will it 

 likely come up yet V I am satistied 

 the pasturage is the great question 

 for bee-keepers to solve, and am in- 

 clined to plant a good deal of sweet 

 clover as well as some other plants, 

 but this lirst attempt is discouraging. 

 I had a novel experience with a young 

 queen a few days since. I thought it 

 time for her to begin laying and on 

 taking out a frame, she being on it, I 

 thought I detected in a cell near her 

 one egg. I had to disturb the bees, 

 they being clustered pretty thick over 

 the spot. To my surprise she took 

 flight. None of the bees were so 

 much disturbed. Shortly afterwards 

 1 found her in the hive, and intending 

 to build the nucleus into a colony, 

 gave her another frame of bees and 

 brood. Later in the day, wishing to 

 be assured of her safety, I carefidly 

 examined the hive. When I (irst 

 lifted out the frame on wliich I found 

 her she seemed nervous and timid, 

 but soon resumed her occupation of 

 laying, although the noon sun was 

 shining on her. The bees about her 

 seemed to be quite as much interested 

 in her work as I was. This conduct 

 seemed singular in a timid young 

 ■queen. Geo. E. Bogqs. 



Clintonville, Ky., Sept. 19, 1882. 



[1. We are yet in the experimental 

 stage of cultivating sweet clover, and 

 occasionally failure of germination is 

 a problem we have not solved. Yours 

 is the third case we have heard of, 

 ■where tlie seeds failed to grow, and in 

 the first two cases we knew the seeds 

 to be fresh and sound. In one case, 

 they were gathered in the vicinity 

 of Cliicago, and sowed at different 

 times on the same kind of soil gath- 

 ered from, and yet it did not grow. In 

 both instances, however, they were 

 sown broadcast during a spell of 

 drouth, and, we believe, were not har- 

 rowed under. A gentleman of this 

 city gathered some of the seed last 

 season and sent to a friend in Ne- 

 braska, who planted it in March last 

 and we are assured it has been in 

 bloom tor four weeks. We have 

 planted sweet clover at almost all sea- 

 sons, and in every method we could 

 think of, and have never had it fail to 

 grow ; but had but one kind of soil to 

 experiment upon— a low, blue clay. 



2. Were the case ours, we would not 

 despair of its growing, unless next 

 spring fails to bring it up. 



We have never had even a young 

 Italian queen take flight from the 

 •comb ; but it has been a very common 



occurrence with young Syrians, even 

 to the age of six weeks. They appear 

 quite nervous and restless when the 

 comb is disturbed. — Ed.] 



Moving Bees. — 1. Will it do any 

 damage to bees and brood to move 

 them 60 miles by rail about the lirst 

 of November, and should I cover the 

 frames with wire-cloth or honey- 

 board while in transit? 2. Is honey 

 from goldenrod good for wintering 

 bees ? It has been a very poor season 

 here for bees. W. N. Howard. 



Lyndon, Vt., Sept. 18, 1882. 



[It will do to move bees at any time, 

 provided the weather is mild enough 

 afterward to allow of their having a 

 flight. So late in the season as you 

 propose to move them would be too 

 cold to allow of wire-cloth covering 

 the frames. Use a honey-board over 

 them, or a blanket over the frames 

 and tlie hive cover on. It would be 

 well to bore one-inch holes in oppo- 

 site sides of the brood-chamber, and 

 cover them with wire-cloth from the 

 inside ; this would afford ventilation 

 enough. Never put the wire-cloth 

 outside, where ventilation is the ob- 

 ject desired, as the bees, when ex- 

 cited, will crowd into the cavity, and 

 those behind crowd against and kill 

 them, and thus defeat the very pur- 

 pose you wish to accomplish. 



2. If ripened and capped over, it is 

 excellent winter food. — Ed.] 



September Swarm Doing Well.— 



Bees are doing well. My last swarm 

 came out one week ago to-day. I 

 gave them 3 frames of brood and 

 honey, and 6 of foundation. At this 

 date they are almost complete. From 

 one pound of Dr. Tinker's golden 

 honey plant seed, sowed Feb. 15th to 

 April 1.5th, in best rich loam on lower 

 foothills and bottom lands, not one 

 stalk has appeared as yet. I have 59 

 good colonies of bees. 



AsBURT McKnight. 

 Bible Grove, 111., Sept. 16, 1882. 



Cultivation of Sweet Clover.— About 



the culture of sweet clover you remark 

 in the Bee Journal of Sept. 6th, 

 " the natural requirements of the send 

 are to some extent, or nearly wholly 

 met by planting in late winter or very 

 early spring when the nights are still 

 frosty and an occasional severe freeze 

 assists to rot and burst the hull," etc. 

 I have been experimenting with sweet 

 clover for three years, and the only 

 success I have had in sowing was in 

 spring, after all danger of liard freez- 

 ing had passed. Early last spring 

 there was a bountiful growth of young 

 plants from seed dropped by the old 

 ones, and a hard freeze killed every 

 plant above ground. The young 

 plants are quite tender. I sovC'ed an 

 acre in drills after all freezing was 

 over, about time of corn planting, and 

 judging from the result, I should say 



that good new seed would grow as 

 well as good seed corn, and if properly , 

 distributed, a pound is suflicient for 

 an acre. It should be covered about 

 an inch, and a plant to every square 

 foot is ample. It is about the first 

 green thing to be .seen above ground 

 in spring and is quite liable to be 

 nipped by frosts. Its early and rank 

 growth dwarfs and chokes out rival 

 weeds, its rich and luxuriant foliage 

 completely shading the ground. I 

 have not tested it for pasture, but if 

 stock like it and- thrive upon it, it 

 must be valuable for early pasture. 

 Can you tell me how to save and sepa- 

 rate catnip and hoarhound seed from 

 the chaff to which it adheres " closer 

 than a brother V" I consider them 

 lioth excellent honey plants, especially 

 as hoarhound blooms two to three 

 weeks before sweet clover, and I 

 never knew bees to desert it for some- 

 thing better. D. P. Norton. 

 Council Grove, Kan. 



[If sown in late winter, it will rarely 

 ever sprout in time for the frost to 

 kill it. We liave sown it on the snow, 

 and received good results. Again, 

 were it necessary to sow in spring, it 

 would not be so universally reproduc- 

 tive as it has always proven itself, 

 growing and thriving for many years 

 in succession if left to seed itself each 

 summer and autumn, as has been the 

 case in the vicinity of Chicago. 



We have no information as regards 

 saving and cleaning catnip and hoar- 

 hound seed, and quite agree with you 

 in commending them. — Ed.] 



Five Hundred Per Cent.— I have just 

 returned from the Rocky Mountains, 

 and after viewing the magnificent 

 and varied flora, of mountain, foothill 

 and plain, and seeing no honey nor 

 apiarian supplies at the great Denver 

 Exposition, I regarded it as an out- 

 rage upon ttie beautiful " Centennial" 

 State of Colorado. Our bees here are 

 piling in the honey at a wonderful rate 

 and 1 find a ready market at liome for 

 all produced. My bees have made for 

 me this season live hundred per cent, 

 upon their last spring's valuation. 

 Am beginning to feel quite well ac- 

 quainted with some of your corres- 

 pondents from their frequent letters 

 —and Ileddon— I just naturally like 

 hira. Jos. Saunders. 



Reynolds, Neb., Sept. 17, 1882. 



Honey Bound. — My 75 colonies of 

 bees are all full below — no room for 

 the queens to lay. Had I better ex- 

 tract two or three frames in each, and 

 put the empty combs in the center? 

 Some colonies have 10 frames of solid 

 honey. II. M. Morris. 



Rantoul, 111., Sept. 18, 1882. 



[Yes ; the first favorable weather 

 that comes. It would be much better 

 had it been done before ; but even 

 now there is time to mature a liberal 

 amount of brood before winter sets 

 in, if it is attended to at once.— Ed.] 



