94 OBSERVATIONS BY APIARISTS. 



plenty of that in this country. Alfalfa is far ahead of buckwheat or 

 white clover." 



R. L. SNODGRASS, Gordon, Butler county. "Have sixty hives and 

 manage, in addition, forty for others. I have kept hybrids and Ital- 

 ians, and prefer the latter. Alfalfa has given me wonderful honey 

 flows. My hives on scales this season and last ran as high as fifteen 

 pounds per day. I have turned my whole attention to the bee busi- 

 ness and have secured for this season's labor 5000 pounds comb and 

 extracted honey from sixty hives. I secured this season 200 pounds 

 from one hive. Alfalfa, in my experience, is far ahead of buckwheat 

 as a honey plant. I winter my bees both in the cellar and in the open 

 air with success." 



W. D. FULTON, Garden City, Finney county, eighty-five stands, 

 "Alfalfa as a honey plant is second to none for richness of nectar and 

 flavor. It is a very common thing for a single colony to gather 200 1 

 pounds of comb honey in a season and sometimes more. I would pre- 

 fer a dry climate for bees, provided there is plenty of water at com- 

 mand, but usually there is sufficient rainfall to make the business- 

 profitable here. I meet with very few difficulties in the care of my 

 bees." 



DR. T. J. CONRY, Florence, Marion county ; 300 stands. "Alfalfa 

 is our best and surest honey producer, although sweet clover would 

 probably be better if raised in equal quantities." 



C. A. D. BENNETT, Garden City, Finney county. " I have 220 stands- 

 of bees. Alfalfa is a splendid honey plant. There is no better in 

 Kansas. We get three distinct flows from it each year. Each bloom 

 gives a flow. The flow on irrigated land is more even than on land 

 watered by rain, but is not so heavy. Alfalfa is superior in every way 

 to while clover, sweet clover, or buckwheat. I do not attempt to 

 build up weak colonies. I believe in the survival of the fittest. I 

 give my bees the best care and attention. I leave plenty of honey in 

 the fall for their winter's supply. Then if they dwindle I let them 

 go, and pay attention to my other colonies. In this way I rear colo- 

 nies disposd to be strong." 



JOHN WEIR, Carbondale, Osage county. "I have at present fifty- 

 five colonies. I prefer the pure Italian. They are good honey 

 gatherers, hardy, gentle, and beautiful. I have had no experience 

 with alfalfa as a honey plant. There is not much grown in my 

 neighborhood. We have both the yellow and white sweet clover here 

 on waste land. The yellow is of most value, as it blooms six weeks 

 earlier than the white, and just at a time when the bees are much in 

 need of something to do. When the honey flow begins, I place the comb- 

 honey colonies in one brood chamber, and keep them well-shaded, put 



