THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



537 



boards." And so I would, if I lived 

 in a latitude where the mercury was 

 in the habit of running wild, but I do 

 not think I will in my present loca- 

 tion, for they are very much in the 

 way, besides adding a great deal to 

 the labor of the apiary ; and if I had 

 lost the entire colony, its value would 

 not have equaled the expense of 

 shade-boards for 11 years. 

 Philo,o Ills. 



[Tor tbe American Bee JoumoL 



My Experience witti Sweet Clover. 



WILLIAM 8T0LLEY. 



In answer to the request of Dr. C. 

 C. Miller, on page 501, respecting 

 sweet clover, I will say that I am one 

 of those who has acted upon the ad- 

 vice frequently given by the editor of 

 the Ameeican Bee Journal, to 

 have some sweet clover, not only 

 along public roads and along rail- 

 roads in the vicinity of my apiary, 

 but I also have cropped as much as 12 

 to 13 acres of good laud on my farm 

 for three years, after being sown with 

 the seed of this excellent forage plant. 

 I have fully reported upon the result 

 of my experiment in 1886, in the Bee 

 Journal, on pages 746 and 74.S. 



This year, beiug an " off " year for 

 80 many bee-keepers, I will at this 

 early day report once more the result 

 of my experiment this season, and 

 thus at the same time comply with 

 the Doctor's request. Up till Aug. 

 1, 1 had taken 732 pounds of capped 

 honey, leaving nearly all the uncap- 

 ped ill the supers. I think that I es- 

 timate low when I say that another 

 500 pounds are capped now and ready 

 for the extractor. 



If grown for a crop, melilot may be 

 sown as well in the autumn as in early 

 spring, and the land should be treated 

 the same as if sown to oats or wheat. 

 In the latter part of June it is ready 

 for the mower, and will yield a heavy 

 crop of most excellent fodder for cat- 

 tle. I leave it not longer in the Held 

 than is ab.solutely necessary, and salt 

 it quite liberally when stacking it. 

 Cattle prefer it to any other food, if 

 thus prepared and fed, after they get 

 used to it. 



I do not crop it a second time the 

 first season, although I think it could 

 be done without injury to the plants ; 

 but in the fall, when other pastures 

 are failing, the sweet clover pasture 

 is at its best, and will hold out late in 

 the season— yet into winter. If an 

 early honey crop is desired, it should 

 have its own way the following 

 spring, but a heavy crop of fodder 

 may be taken from melilot clover field 

 about June 15 the second year, and it 

 will grow up and produce a crop of 

 nectar-yielding bloom for the bees, 

 which will last well into winter. 



On an average, I have secured now 

 about 60 pounds of capped honey per 

 colony, spring count, in the supers, 

 and there is more than required for 

 wintering the bees on, left in the 

 brond-chambers. Prom 20 colonies 

 in tbe spring, I was compelled to in- 

 crease to 34 colonies, all it which are 



ready for the fall crop now. Rearing 

 my queens in advance from selected 

 colonies, I strengthen the nuclei, as 

 old colonies require weakening, to 

 prevent swarming, by talcing frames 

 with hatching brood and adhering 

 bees. For this happy state of affairs 

 I have to thank the melilot clover, in 

 conjunction with alfalfa. 



Our natural honey crop begins 

 about Aug, 15. and may be a good one 

 this year, since all my bees are in the 

 very best condition to gather in the 

 nectar, if Nature should produce it. 



In concluding, I will add that the 

 melilot, when nearly through bloom- 

 ing, should be plowed under well. 

 This requires a good sulky plow and a 

 strong team. The harrow should 

 "follow" the plow, and not be 

 dragged in an opposite direction, so 

 as to avoid the uncovering of the 

 heavy and bushy stalks put under 

 ground. It then will soon decay. It 

 IS best to defer the harrowing until 

 the following spring, and when the 

 seed has well grown. 



This harrowing in the spring will 

 thin out the thickly set plants suffi- 

 ciently to make a proper stand, " if 

 done judiciously ;" and in June the 

 field is again ready for yielding a 

 heavy crop of fodder. This summer, 

 in June, I plowed under 6 acres of 

 melilot when about 2 feet high, and 

 after taking a crop of millet this fall 

 from the land, 1 will see what the 

 effect of this treatment of the land 

 will be, when sown to spring wheat 

 next spring. 



The roots of the melilot penetrate 

 deep into the subsoil, and by decay- 

 ing, opens up channels for moisture 

 and minneral salts to rise to the sur- 

 face, which otherwise would be held, 

 and would not be available for plant 

 growth. 



Grand Island,© Neb., Aug. 14, 1887. 



For tee Ajnertcan Bee Journal. 



LeEislation for Bee-KeeBers. 



J. o. shearman. 



What does all of the talk about 

 bee-legislation amount to ? No one 

 has come to any conclusion as to 

 what is best to be done. Mr. Clarke, 

 on page 485, has, in his usual fluent 

 manner, shoved Mr. Foster to one 

 side, and good-naturedly sits down on 

 the spot vacated. Mr. Foster did, at 

 least, " break the ice," and propose 

 something to be done, even allowing 

 its possible impracticability. Did Mr. 

 C. get any further ? or as far toward 

 a solution of the problem V 



Now I believe if each bee-keeper 

 would state his views in a positive, 

 instead of a negative way, as to what 

 conditions would be best to try to 

 bring about to regulate the bee-keep- 

 ing industry, then compare notes at 

 the joint meeting in ' Chicago next 

 November, some good might be done 

 by coming to an understanding as to 

 the rights of bee-keepers and others, 

 comparatively. It would be better 

 for some legislation upon the subject 

 to be proposed t>y the beekeepers 

 themselves, rather than by outsiders. 



as they evidently understand the 

 merits and demerits of the case better. 



Now, as a case in point, note the 

 bill before our (Michigan) legislature 

 last term. I know the party who 

 presented that " bill," also the situa- 

 tion as to what started him on the 

 war-path. He went to see our super- 

 visor, and tied his horse (as usual) 

 near the front gate; the door-yard 

 between the gate and house being 

 occupied by a few colonies of bees (a 

 dozen, may be), made it uncomfort- 

 able for the horse, and put both gen- 

 tlemen to some trouble to get it away 

 without a serious accident. Now 

 both of them are intelligent and fair- 

 minded men in general, but not posted 

 in bee-matters ; consequently that 

 " bill." 



My idea in regard to legislation 

 would be something nearly as follows: 



1. No one shall keep any hives of 

 bees within 4 rods of a public high- 

 way, without a close fence at least. 8 

 feet high between the hives and the 

 highway. 



2. No one shall keep any hives of 

 bees within 4 rods of any place where 

 horses are obliged to be worked in 

 warm weather (orsummer time) with- 

 out an 8-foot fence, or its equivalent 

 between, etc. ; also the same stipula- 

 tion as to proximity of school-yards, 

 etc, 



3. Any one keeping bees near a 

 public highway, or near where horses 

 must pas's, shall keep a plain notice 

 posted in a prominent place saying, 

 '• Tie no horse near this place, for 

 fear of injury by bees." 



4. Any professional bee-keeper who 

 keeps improved strains or breeds of 

 bees, and rears queens to sell, or pure 

 queens of improved breed for the 

 purpose of improving his stock, shall 

 be entitled to protection in the follow- 

 ing manner : If any one shall bring 

 native or grade bees and let them 

 stand within two miles of the bee- 

 yard of the first comer, the first- 

 named bee-keeper may notify him 

 (the new comer) to remove his native 

 or grade bees beyond the two-mile 

 limit, and give a 30 days notice to 

 that effect, in writing, and then if the 

 new arrival shall continue to keep 

 his bees within the two miles, the 

 first bee-keeper may collect $7 per 

 day as damages, and prosecute the 

 second bee-keeper for a misdemeanor, 

 and subject him to fine or imprison- 

 ment, as the court shall direct, etc. 



5. Nothing in the previous clause 

 shall hinder the second bee-keeper 

 from purchasing pure (jueens, and re- 

 queening his colonies, if of the .«ame 

 breed as the lirst-arrived bee-keeper. 



6. Bees and bee-keepers' properties 

 shall be held as property, and be 

 liable to assessment in proportion to 

 the valuation of other property with 

 this exception, that no bees under 6 

 months of age shall be assessed. (N. 

 B. — That leaves it to assess the queen 

 and hive). 



I do not see how any one could be 

 legally prohibited from keeping bees 

 or anything else on his own premises, 

 except upon the grounds of being a 

 nuisance or a hindrance to public im- 

 provement in some way. no matter 



