1266 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



ALFILARELA, OR PIN CLOVER. 



Erodiuin Ciciitarium. 



BY W. K. MORRISON. 



This very useful bee-plant has received 

 comparatively little notice thus far, though 

 it is one of the most valuable forage-plants in 

 the United States, covering a wide extent of 

 country, including all of Arizona, Califor- 

 nia, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon, 

 and parts of Washington. Idaho, and Texas. 

 It deserves more notice than it has hitherto 

 received. Though classed as a weed by 

 some, it is greedily eaten by stock, and com- 

 pares favorably with red clover in nutritive 

 value. It is not cultivated at all anywhere, 

 therefore we do not know what it would do 

 under intensive culture. The seeds stick to 

 the fleeces of the sheep, and by this means 

 have been carried far and wide over the 

 West. No one seems to have tried it in the 

 South; but as it grows well in Central Amer- 

 ica and Mexico it might be expected to do 

 well in Florida. The Spanish introduced it 

 accidentally into Mexico from old Spain, 

 and the Mission Fathers of California proba- 



yields considei'able honey, but it is more 

 valuable still for the pollen it yields. 



Despite its names it is not a clover at all, 

 but has been assigned by botanists a place 

 with the common geranium. In California 

 and Arizona the inhabitants regard it as a 

 native plant, and naturally so, as it is as 

 much at home there as on the shores of the 

 Mediterranean Sea. 



A SEASONS WORK AVITH SECTIONAL 

 HIVES. 



Swarm Control and Comh-honey Production; 

 Cellar Wintering of Bees. 



BY J. E. HAND. 



MAKING IIAY FUOM ALFILAKELA. 



bly brought it with them sticking to the 

 hides of their cattle or in the wool of their 

 sheep. 



Altilarela is particularly interesting at 

 this time now that the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture has undertaken to improve some of 

 the Western ranges which have been over- 

 cropped, for the cattle-raisers have a high 

 opinion of it as a forage for all kinds of 

 stock. 



The Arizona Experiment Station has is- 

 sued a very good account of this plant in 

 the shape of a special bulletin (No. 52) from 

 which we derive ov;r illustrations and some 

 of our facts as regards its history. 



The bee-keepers of the West would be 

 glad to see Secretary Wilson do something 

 to help this plant to survive on the ranges, 

 and possibly its area might be extended. It 



Having our strongest colonies snugly tu(;k- 

 ed in their winter nest we will next turn our 

 attention to the lighter colonies that were 

 chosen for cellar wintering. Experience has 

 taught us that it is not safe to attempt to win- 

 ter a colony of bees out of doors that is light 

 either in bees or stores: however, sui^h colo- 

 nies will winter as well in a dry warm cellar 

 as will a stronger colony. We will flrst place 

 under each colony to be wintered in the cel- 

 lar an empty 

 super 5 inches 

 deep, with a 

 tight bottom, 

 and the sides 

 well ventilat- 

 ed with wire 

 screen. T h i s 

 fiiruishes an 

 ;iir-cham be r 

 for V e n t i I a - 

 tion, and at 

 the same time 

 prevents the 

 bees fi'oiu fly- 

 ing o^it of the 

 hives and per- 

 ishing on the 

 cellar bottom, 

 and does away 

 with the nui- 

 sance of hav- 

 ing the bees 

 fly out of the 

 hives at the least jar, as they have a habit 

 of domg while carrying them in and out of 

 the cellar. It is also a safeguard against 

 the depredations of mice, which often an- 

 noy the bees in the cellar, causing many to 

 leave the hives only to become lost and per- 

 ish on the cellar bottom. 



The advantages gained by this method of 

 confining the bees to the hives while winter- 

 ing in the cellar are many, and no one should 

 take the risk of allowing his bees to leave the 

 hives while confined in the cellar during win- 

 ter. Bees that are kept so long in confine- 

 ment have a strong desire for flight, in order 

 to enable them to discharge their feces, and 

 will leave the hives in great numbers. Colo- 

 nies are often greatly weakened from this 

 cause, and the bee-keeper can ill afford to 

 lose bees at this season of the year. 



