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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



July 25, 



Phacelia as a Honey-Plant. 



BV ANDKKAS SIMON. 



Among the many well-known honey-plants of this country 

 and Europe, phacelia, a member of the family of Hydro- 

 phylUe, has lately been lifted into special prominence by the 

 Agricultural Supplement of the Illinois Staats Zeitung. In 

 doing this, that paper was mainly incited by printed reports 

 from the old country, where the high value of this plant as a 

 honey-producer has quite recently been newly confirmed be- 

 yond any reasonable doubt. 



It appears that the bee-keepers' society of the Kingdom of 

 Saxony — a large and progressive body of men — undertook the 

 task of instituting a general Investigation among a goodly 

 number of widely recommended honey-plants, for the 

 purpose of ascertaining which of them ought to be 

 selected as the best material with which to enlarge and im- 

 prove the bee-pastures throughout the Kingdom. Phacelia 

 was found to possess all the desired qualities, and to be the 

 plant fulfilling the requirements in the highest degree. The 

 aforesaid society started its researches by sending a trial 

 package of phacelia seed to each district society in Saxony, 

 and the latter again forwarded the seeds to the various branch 

 societies, for the purpose of carrying on the desired experi- 

 ments, and to observe the plant during its blooming period. 



These experiments fully established all that was claimed 

 for phacelia, and so as to induce bee-keepers to grow this 

 plant extensively, the general society of bee-keepers of Saxony 

 this year forwarded a large package of seed to each branch 

 society, and each package was accompanied by printed direc- 

 tions, containing full instructions in regard to the methods to 

 be followed where a successful culture of phacelia is to be 

 aimed at. These directions were also reprinted in the German 

 paper named above, a few weeks ago, and if the American 

 Bee Journal should desire to publish them, the writer will 

 gladly furnish a translation. Chicago, 111. 



[In the list of honey-producing plants found in the " A B 

 C of Bee-Culture," phacelia is named. As it seems to be such 

 a favorite in Germany, it might also prove to be valuable here. 

 Doubtless bee-keepers would be glad to have the translation 

 of the directions referred to by Mr. Simon, and he is hereby 

 requested to furnish it, if he will kindly do so. — Editor.1 



■^ 

 What Dr. Miller Thinks. 



Introducing Queens. — On page 425, Bro. Abbott says 

 he always leaves his new queen caged in the hive two or three 

 days before destroying the old queen. I may have been care- 

 less in my reading, but I don't remember to have seen that 

 before. It looks like a good thing. For that queen is likely 

 to be making some friends in that time, and an incident under 

 my own observation makes me put trust in it. One spring, 

 when a number of weak colonies petered out, I put five or six 

 of their queens caged in a colony that had a laying queen, to 

 be taken care of. The caged queens were taken care of all 

 right. Then one of the caged queens was freed in the hive, 

 and the others removed, and all was lovely. 



Buying Queens. — What Chester Belding says on page 

 424 sots one to thinking, and he may be partly right, at least. 

 His idea is that the breeder picks out his best queens to sell 

 at a high price as tested or select tested queens, and if you 

 buy from the same man an untested queen you get only the 

 refuse. But it must be remembered that when the tested 

 queen is still untested the breeder knows nothing about her 

 except her looks, and if all look just exactly alike he's just as 

 likely to sell his best queen among the untested. Of course, 

 thoy don't all look alike, but I'm iuclined to think that a breeder 



who is all right in every direction will not send out an untested 

 queen whose looks make it a certain thing that she shall be 

 poor. I confess I don't know as much as I might on this sub- 

 ject, and I wish Bro. Doolittle would tell us what chance he 

 thinks there is for getting among untested queens one that 

 shall equal the best among the tested. 



Prevention of Swarming. — What will satisfy one will 

 fall short of satisfying another. The swarming problem 

 doesn't trouble Chester Belding (page 424) with only 10 in 

 50 swarming, but it would trouble him, I think, if he kept an 

 out-apiary, or could not have some one at the home-apiary in 

 swarming-time. If only 2 in 50 would swarm, then one 

 could afford to let those two go off and lose them, but when it 

 goes beyond that the loss is too heavy. I believe he makes a 

 good point by raising the front of the hive to give abundant 

 ventilation. 



Honey- Vinegar. — I once made some honey-vinegar, and 

 it was not at all popular in our family. They didn't want any 

 more honey-vinegar. Now comes Bro. Secor, on page 428, 

 speaking of it in the highest terms. I once tasted some made 

 by T. F. Bingham that was fine, and generally it is well 

 spoken of. But what I made was poor stuff, and I incline to 

 the opinion that if you want first-class vinegar you mustn't 

 use too much fourth-class honey. 



Sweet Clover. — "Nothing will eat sweet clover, either 

 green or when cut for hay," says James H. Wing, on page 

 434. A good many people around here think the same thing 

 until they know better. Both cattle and horses will eat it 

 here when they get used to it, and I'm told that stock must be 

 used to it before they will eat alfalfa or even corn. I've seen 

 the roadsides for miles where not a stalk of sweet clover was 

 allowed to grow half its usual height, being constantly eaten 

 down. Will others tell us whether well-cured hay from sweet 

 clover cut before blooming is never relished by stock in any 

 part of Kansas ? 



Dr. Dubini's Swarming Management. — I've taken lots 

 of comfort in seeing that there's one Italian word F. L. 

 Thompson couldn't make out (page 473), for I'm just green 

 with envy to think he can read any. I turn over yearningly 

 the pages of the Apicoltore, making out a word here and 

 there, and wishing I had time to study the language. 



Leaving other points untouched, I'd like to know why Dr. 

 Dubini says, "placing the swarm on the stand of the old col- 

 ony is not for natural swarms, but assuredly for artificial 



swarms only." What is there in the case that makes it less 

 desirable for natural swarms ? 



Strawberries. — Now that the smoke of the battle is clear- 

 ing away, it may be well to inquire where " we are at" on the 

 question of bees and strawberries. There seems to be evidence 

 that in some cases bees pay no attention to strawberries, and 

 in others that they do. Just exactly what per cent, of the 

 total acreage of strawberries is profitably worked by bees re- 

 mains unsettled, and will probably always remain so. Let us 

 rejoice that bees work on strawberries in any case. 



Bee-Veils — Are They Needed ? — The article on page 

 430, recalls the difference on this question, some thinking 

 they never need a veil, others thinking they should always be 

 used. The writer of the article in question evidently intends 

 to continue the use of a veil, no matter how much he may be 

 laughed at. I can handle bees without a veil. Indeed, I don't 

 always need either veil or smoke. There's a hive in which an 

 experiment interests me, and at present I visit that hive daily 

 or oftener, with neither veil nor smoke, generally bareheaded. 

 But the truth is, that I nearly always have a veil when work- 

 ing with bees— at least have one on my hat ready to pull down 



