1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



107 



No use for a detective, Friend Root ; I can find you plenty 

 of adulterated extracted honey without any detective. Thintc 

 I could go out in our city and find half a dozen samples 

 bearing the firm name of those who did the adulterating. I 

 seldom go into any large city without seeing clear cases of 

 adulterated extracted honey. It will not require much hunt- 

 ing to find plenty of this kind of work. 



The laws of Missouri recognize adulteration of food as a 

 crime against society, which it is, and declare it a^misde- 

 meanor, and place the maximum penalty at a fine of $1,000 

 and one year in the county jail. It is, however, a grave 

 question to know how great is the obligation on a citizen to 

 enforce this law. Should he set about it in dead earnest, he 

 would find all of his time taken up with law. Should he 

 report to the Manager of the Union, and have to appear as a 

 witness, he would get the ill-will of many of his fellow-men, 

 and be mixed up in some things that would not be very 

 pleasant, to say the least. Then, there is another side to this 

 question. Glucose is not injurious as a food, or at least so 

 says the Government Chemist, and it frequently happens that 

 these samples of adulterated honey are more palatable than 

 some of the black, filthy honey put on the market by bee- 

 keepers. So, I am free to confess that while I have nothing 

 but condemnation for any form of adulteration, I am at a loss 

 to know just what it is best to do. When the real article is 

 less attractive and less palatable than the mixture, it comes to 

 a case like choosing between oleo and much of the dirty and 

 unpalatable butter put on the market. We do not want to 

 favor the fraud, neither would we like to be forced to eat the 

 real stuff, if it "comes up in that shape and manner," as I 

 frequently hear one of our city auctioneers say. 



Then there is another difficulty about this; it is hard to 

 get all of the bee-keepers to pull together. Friend Alley says : 

 "Bee-conventions" — and this means unity of action — "are 

 no good." We thought the North American a success, but it 

 seems that those who attended that meeting were not a unit, 

 for we are now placed in the humiliating position of having 

 the Secretary withhold the Report, that he may "get even" 

 with some of the members of the association who did not do 

 exactly to suit him. I rather think we had better not start 

 the detective out just yet. 



I do recognize the fact, however, that something should 

 be done along this Hue, I may say further, while I am on this 

 subject, that I am confident that the decisions of Courts, 

 secured by the action of the Union, have been of more benefit 

 to bee-keepers than most of them are aware. 



'W'e Agree. — "The prospects are that bee-keepers will 

 continue to multiply, and the industry continue to grow until 

 the ground in the habitable parts is pretty well occupied. 

 This growth will probably not be so much in the direction of 

 specialism as bee-keeping in conjunction with farming, gar- 

 dening, fruit-raising, etc." — Allen Pringle, on page 26. 



Them's my sentiments ! That is about the way it will be 

 in this neck of the woods, and that is the way it should be, in 

 my opinion. I hope the day may come when every farmer in 

 the country will keep a few bees in modern hives, and secure 

 enough honey at least to supply his own table, not on Sunday 

 as a luxury, but three meals a day and seven days in the week. 



Conducted Toy " BEE-AI ASTER." 



Crimson Clover for Bees. 



There is quite a furor at the present time among farmers 

 about crimson clover. It is supposed by many to be a newly- 

 introduced variety of clover, but this is a mistake. More than 

 40 years ago it was in cultivation under the name of " Incar- 

 nat clover," so called from its botanical name — TrifoHum 

 incamatum — which will be found attached to it in the seed 

 catalogues after the names crimson, or scarlet clover. 



It was also known in those days as French clover. Eng- 

 lish farmers used to consider it a most valuable addition to 

 their list of plants sown for fodder, from the short time in 

 which it arrives at perfection if sown in spring ; so that wherc^ 

 the common red clover had failed, this was sown to till up the 

 bare places. But it was most highly valued as a stubble crop 

 by means of which very early feed could be raised for ewes 



and lambs, with but little trouble or expense. Immediately 

 after harvest, the stubbly ground was scarified and harrowed, 

 so as to raise a mould ; the clover was then sown and well 

 rolled in. It stood the English winter well, sprang up early in 

 spring, and soon furnished a bite. If left for hay it could be 

 harvested by the end of May or the beginning of June, being 

 off the ground in time to plough and clean the land for turnips. 

 This old country farm practice has not, so far as I know, 

 found its way into Canada, and it is doubtful if it would work 

 in this climate, which is far more severe than that of Britain. 

 Most likely fall-sown crimson clover was winter-killed, audi 

 hence this item of old country farm practice fell into disuse, 

 here in Canada, if it was ever tried at all, which I think it 

 must have been, for the British farmer, like every other kind 

 of Britisher, is posessed with the idea, when he gets across 

 the Atlantic, that he must do every thing precisely as it is 

 done in " Hingland." 



Why have I introduced this subject, and why have I headed 

 this article "Crimson Clover for Bees?" Because I have just 

 received a kind of electric shock from reading the following 

 paragraph in Vol. II of the American Bee Journal for June, 

 1867, page 234:— 



"Incarnat clover {trifoUum incaniatum) is an annual, the 

 blossoms of which yield supplies of excellent honey which is 

 eagerly gathered by bees. When sown in spring on stubble 

 land which was plowed in autumn, it comes into blossom about 

 the last of July or first of August, yielding plenty of pas- 

 turage for bees, and producing on good ground a large crop of 

 hay. Sow about half a bushel of seed on an acre. It may be 

 sown with spring barley, but will then come into flower some- 

 what later. If sown in autumn, it should not be done later 

 than about the beginning of September. It will then blossom, 

 in May, and can be mown for an early crop of hay. It suc- 

 ceeds well from loamy, clayey and sandy soils; and is best 

 adapted for mild climates." 



The last remark is doubtless made in view of the liability 

 of fall-sown fields to winter-kill in severe climates. 



Now this paragraph certainly deserves to be labeled, 

 " Important if true." A honey-plant that will blcom the last 

 of July or first of August is precisely what bee-keepers in 

 northern latitudes are in search of, to take the place of th& 

 basswood when it fails. According to the above paragraph, 

 two or three sowings may be made of this clover— one very 

 early in spring on land prepared the previous fall ; another 

 with barley, and why not a third, somewhat later still ? If 

 this clover will bridge over the gulf between basswood and the 

 late fall flowers we now have, our bees can glide grad^<ally 

 into wi-;ter without that long interval of uneasy idleness 

 which gives a sudden check to brood-rearing, and often sends 

 our colonies into their annual arctic ordeal with inadequate 

 numbers for maintaining due warmth in the hive until the 

 advent of spring. Such a plant would be a most welcome 

 God-send to Canadian beedom, and to the tier of northern 

 States that shares our latitude. 



I would earnestly advise a trial of this clover by bee- 

 keepers in high latitudes, and would call the special attention 

 of our great horticultural Dee-keeper, A. I. Root, to this 

 matter. The question of the suitability and value of this 

 clover as a forage plant for bees, can easily be tested during- 

 the coming season, and I hope that a large number of bee- 

 keepers on both sides of the lines will turn their attention to- 

 this experiment. 



[In one of the seed catalogues I find 

 the picture shown herewith, and also 

 this description, of the clover which 

 Bee-Master has written about in so vivid 

 a manner: — Editor.] 



Scarlet or crimson clover {TrifoUum 

 Inearnatuin) is the most bi^autiful of all 

 clovers, readily distinguished by the 

 bright crimson color of its flowers. Ex- 

 ceedingly productive and very palatable 

 to cattle. It is the latest of all the 

 clover family, and thus affords a desira- 

 ble succession of green food. At present 

 in much demand. Has proved exceed- 

 ingly valuable, both as a cattle-feeding 

 clover and as a green manure for plow 

 ing under. In the latitude of Philadel 

 phia it may be sown any time between 

 March and September. Sow 10 pounds 

 to the acre. 



Crimson or Scarlet 

 Clover. 



