Itmm fCMERICffif* BltlE JO'lURPiat. 



245 



- — ^ ■-■■» — ' _-^-> -^ " — -■—■» — -■-■■^■— ■■^^^f;;<l^^^> ^«^l*•>^ ^*>*«>*^^■^■'f^;J^:^^':^^*^*■' 



t*»*j^^^>j>>^ 



APRIL SH01VERS. 



The warm, sweet rain is falling 



From April's clianseful skies ; 

 Theerpen leaves ou the Willows 



LauEch out their Klail surprise. 

 The Violet wakes from dreaming 



Beneath the dead year's leaves. 

 Each blossom adds its bri«htiiess 



To webs that spring time weaves. 



The buds on Oak and Elm tree 



Seem growing as we look ; 

 {Spring legends are repeated 



By the babbling little brook. 

 The air is full of sweetness, 



The skies are brighter blue, 

 The rain that falls in April 



Makes all tlie old world new. 

 E. E. Rexfoki), in Vick's Miigiizine. 



Alfalfa as a lloney-I'laiit. 



On page 8, Mr. William Willis tells his 

 experience with alfalfa as a honey-plant, in 

 California. On page 68, we gave more par- 

 ticulars concerning this excellent honey 

 producer. A. H. M., a correspondent in 

 Moroni, Utah, gives these particulars con- 

 cerning its cultivation : 



Lucerne will grow on any land that will 

 produce wheat, corn or potatoes, and will 

 thrive on many lands that none of these 

 will arow on, especially very liuhtsandor 

 gravel, though it does well on clay. But it 

 will not grow on any land that the water 

 stands within one foot of the surface, and 

 there is no use in sowing it in an alkali 

 strong enough to keep wheat from growing. 

 Though particular aoout wet land, it will 

 stand any amount of wet in the summer, as 

 long as there is plenty o( drainage. It will 

 aNo stand all of the water in the winter 

 that may fall in the shape of rain, or snow 

 that may melt. 



It is a very quick grower, and will mature 

 the first crop in about two months from the 

 time that growth commences. The second 

 crop will mature in about six weeks from 

 cutting, and the third is about five weeks 

 from cutting of the second. The second 

 crop is the heaviest, but the first is a little 

 the best feed, as it grows a little lonaer than 

 the ottiers. It will yield anouton an aver- 

 age of six tons per acre, and I have known 

 it to produce double that quantity. It is a 

 perennial of the clover tribe, but will out- 

 yield it two to one, makes just as good feeil, 

 and has a great advantage over the clover, 

 for it never falls down, but stands up 

 straight. 



Sowing.— The best method is to sow 

 broadcast about 15 pounds per acre, where 

 the land is in good condition, but on very 

 weedy land or clear gravel or sand that is 

 very poor, put about 3 pounds more. You 

 cannot get any crop from it the first year, 

 but do liOt get discouraged if the plants are 

 on an average of 10 inches apart, little, slim 

 single stems about 4 or 6 incni-s high. Your 

 prospect is good that you will get 4 tons per 

 acre next year, and the next it will be as 

 good as ever it will, and stand that way for 

 ten years. It is best to sow with grain. 

 Oats are the best ; thus you will lose no 

 time, but can have a crop from your land 

 every year. In fact it does better to have 

 it shaded when young. Sow at the same 

 time that you do spring grain. 



Cultivation.— Where there is plenty of 

 rain, there is no cultivation needed, for it 

 would be unwise to manure it, as it thrives 

 fully as well on washed sand as it will on 

 the best garden-spot, but in a few years it 

 will make clear sand a rich land, owing to 

 the decay of the root. The roots will sink 

 themselves for a distance of 10 to 'iO feet 

 straight down. They are about IVj inches 

 in diameter, and fully one-half of that root 



decays every year from the outside, and 

 keeps growing larger from the centre every 

 year. 



It should be cut when in full bloom. A 

 little old is better than too young ; when 

 the bloom is ready to fall off is not too late. 

 Do not cut too much at once, for if you 

 allow a rain to come on your hay after it is 



cut, it will not be worth more than one-half 

 for feed, and will be entirely worthless for 

 market. Heavy dews are not good either. 

 Rake into windrows, if cut with a mowing 

 machine, and let dry until it begins to let 

 the leaves fall when handled roughly, then 

 pick it up and lay it in piles, just one fork- 

 full in a pile, to cure. Do not roll it to- 

 gether, or it will not load easily, then you 

 will have to pull it to pieces, thus losing 

 one-half of the leaves. By following my 

 directions you can put each on perfectly 

 clean at one fork-full, and not waste time 

 nor any of the leaves. But let me warn you 

 against condemning it as a worthless lot of 

 sticks, until you try your horses and cows 

 and see them clean up the sticks before 

 they do the leaves. There are not many 

 animals that take to it when dry, without 

 having it in their manger for a few days 

 with other hay ; but in a few days you will 

 see the grass hay left, while the lucerne is 

 cleaned up. A ton of lucerne will not go 

 quite as far as a ton of timothy. Do not let 

 hungry cattle get on it while green, es- 

 pecially when wet, for it will bloat them, 

 which is apt to result in death. If pou wish 

 to pasture it. first feed your stock all that 

 they can and will eat, and then turn them 

 on the greeu lucerne, and no harm will 

 come to them. It is the best thing to renew 

 old, worn-out land that I ever saw, and 

 there is not a weed or anything else in this 

 country that can stand before it. 



We would add that lucerne or alfalfa 

 (Medicago saliva) was introduced into the 

 Pacific States from Chili, many years ago. 

 It resists the driest weather, and it is said 

 that when every blade of grass droops for 

 want of moisture, it holds up fresh and 

 green. 



Ou page 184 Mr. Wm. Muth-Rasmussen 

 also gives his experieifce with alfalfa as a 

 honey-plant. He obtained .5,000 pounds of 

 comb honey from it, which he sold at a 

 satisfactory price. 



Alfalfa will be a prominent crop in all 

 places where the winters are not too severe. 

 The power to withstand great heat and 

 dryness comes from the long, searching tap- 

 roots, which are sent deeply down into the 

 soil and find moisture which is inaccessible 

 to other less energetic vegetation. 



Canada.— At a meeting of the Board 

 of Directors of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, at Toronto, on March 38, 1888, 

 the resignation of E. Schulz, of Kilworthy, 

 was accepted, and Mr. McPherson elected 

 to fill the vacancy. 



The resolutions adopted were the follow- 

 ing: 



That all duly qualified local societies ap- 

 plying for afliliation on or before Aug. 1, 

 1.SS8, receive an appropriation of $35. 



That each member of the association for 

 1888, receive an Italian queen, supposed to 

 be purely mated and laying, for the purpose 

 of introducing new blood into their colo- 

 nies, and that she be received on or before 



That the President, Secretary, and Mr. 

 McKnight be a committee for the purpose 

 of arranging for the supply of queens to 

 the members, and that the same be of 

 Canadian production. ... 



That the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion offer a special prize of $35 for the most 

 tasty and attractive display of honey at the 

 Industrial Exhibition at Toronto; the dis- 

 play to be the production of the exhilntor, 

 provided the Industrial Exhibit Association 

 supnlement it so as to make the prize fifty 

 dollars. 



