392 



^ -*-■*--*- ^- -*- ^- ^ 



THM? MBlERICMIf mwm JQ^mMMI^. 



combs over and use only such as are 

 straight worker comb. Cut out all the 

 drone comb you find, and all crooked 

 or very old, soiled romb. If you have 

 not comb enough to fill the hive, fill 

 out with full sheets of foundation. On 

 no account use empty frames, as the 

 bees would be almost certain to fill 

 them with drone comb. 



For a Combination— Wliati 



We have been asked what can be 

 combined with bee-keeping to make 

 the pursuit reasonably safe and cer- 

 tain to support a man with a family. 

 Well, in the first place, if the person 

 has had no experience, or a great nat- 

 ural liking for it, we should say, do not 

 go into it at all. So few have suc- 

 ceeded in making it a success, as an 

 exclusive business, that some other 

 undertaking would be more certain to 

 yield an adequate income. But to an- 

 swer the question, a good garden 

 should be one of the first things to be 

 thought of. Much can be produced in 

 this way bj' working at odd times, that 

 will be a great help, and greatly re- 

 duce tlie family expenses. All kinds 

 of small fruits, and especiallj- straw- 

 berries, raspberries and grapes, should 

 be grown. If you have more than can 

 be used bj- the family, there is usually 

 gootl sale for the balance. A cow or 

 two, where pasturage can be had, ma}' 

 be kept, also a flock of chickens, and 

 in fact everything or anything that 

 will contribute to the comfort and wel- 

 fare of the family. 



Selling llie Honey Crop. 



Now let us get ready for the honey 

 harvest that will likely be a little late, 

 but will probably put in an appearance 

 early this month, and should last well 

 into July. Should we be fortnnate 

 enough to get a reasonable crop, do 

 not be in too great a hurry to sell it 

 unless it is wanted at full figures. 

 During the last few years, when a fair 

 crop was secured, some bee-keepers 

 seenuMl to be so anxious to get rid of 

 their honey, and get ahead of their 

 neighbors, tluit they sent it into the 

 nearest town and sold it for whatever 

 was otl'ercd. The price obtained was 

 often ridiculously low, and the market 

 was thus ruined for the balance of the 

 year. The bees are not now in the 

 country to gather a very lai'ge crop, 

 even should the season be exceptionally 

 good, and there will surely be no more 

 honey produced than can easily be 

 sold at about present rates. It is bet- 

 ter to secure the crop first, in the 

 nicest possible condition, and no mat- 

 ter if grocerymen begin to wonder 

 why honey is not forthcoming, they 

 will be all the more anxious to buy 

 when it is brought in. Do not take 

 in too nuirh at a time, especially at 



first — a crate or two is plenty. Better 

 supply them often, and keep it neat 

 and fresh, and keep it going. In tliis 

 way it will never become old stock 

 and unsalable. 

 Milan, Ills. 



THE OTHER SIDE. 



Expei'iuieiitsMii Providing: Pas. 

 liirase for Bees. 



Written for theAmericnn BeeJoiirnal 



BY MAHALA B. CHADDOCK. 



I notice that many writers on bees 

 speak of sweet clover as a valuable 

 honey-plant, and they say that it yields 

 honey all summer. Last fall I rode 

 four times a week along a road that 

 was lined for miles witli sweet clover, 

 and I never saw a bee on it — not one. 

 This was in September and October. 

 Perhaps the hot weather had dried up 

 all the first growth, and this was only 

 a second fruition, and contained no 

 honey, or none worth the bees' notice. 

 I masticated some of the blossoms, and 

 the}' had a far-away sweetish taste, a 

 little sweeter than rain-water. 



Once Mr. Chaddock was with me 

 when riding, and I asked him to let 

 me stop and gather some of the seed 

 to sow in waste places. " No, indeed," 

 said he ; •" not on my land. I have 

 weeds enough already. Don't you see 

 those cows eating grass roots, and here 

 is all this sweet clover going to waste. 

 Nothing eats it ; it is a pest." I told 

 him that Mrs. L. Harrison and all the 

 big bee-keepers took home much of it, 

 and scattered it about, and the bees 

 gathered honey from it. But it was of 

 no use to argue. 



About a 3'ear ago I decided to raise 

 Alsike for the bees to work on, and I 

 began talking Alsike to every one who 

 would listen. When I went to the 

 neighbors I took all the bee-papers 

 along that had anything about Alsike 

 in them, and read them aloud, and 

 when they came to see me I did the 

 same. 



At last several of the farmers grew 

 so tired of hearing about Alsike, that 

 they agreed to get half a bushel of the 

 seed and try it ; — if what ? If I could 

 get a farmer iiiio did not keep bees to 

 s.ay that it was as good as red clover. 

 Then I wrote to the editors of all the 

 agricultural papers that we take, and 

 asked them — yes, begged them to say 

 that it was as good. But none of them 

 would quite say it. They would say 

 that it was " about as good," and that 

 on certain lands it would do as well, 

 etc. ; but not one of them would come 

 .■^qi'-rcl}- out and say, " Yes ; Alsike is 

 fully as good as red clo\er for a 

 farmer's use." 



Then I told the farmers that I would 

 buy the seed if they would sow it. I 

 told Mr. Chaddock that I would give 

 him some of the seed if he would give 

 it room to grow. He j'ielded, and 

 said that he wouhl sow a bushel of the 

 seed. So I got two bushels of the seed, 

 and the neighbors paid for their 

 shares. (You cannot give anybody in 

 Illinois anything; the}' are all too in- 

 dependent.) They sowed the seed, 

 and it came uji well ; but the dry 

 weather killed it all except a patch 

 about as big as a table. This patch 

 was in an old pasture, and was a hard, 

 bare place where the sheep bad been 

 salted (I believe). 



One of the neighbors says that he 

 thinks he will try it again. I won't. 

 I am through growing Alsike. It may 

 be a very good clover for everything, 

 and more too, but I shall not urge 

 people to raise it. The sign does not 

 seem to be right for us to raise it, and 

 I shall not worry any more about it. 



Dr. Miller says (I believe) that his 

 honey cost him about $2.50 a pound. 

 Did he give the items anywhere ? If 

 he did, I have not seen them. Of 

 course I do not doubt what he says. 

 I know that the only year that I have 

 ever had a fall crop of honey, was the 

 kind of year that I never want to see 

 again. We had 25 acres of corn, and 

 obtained only 28 bushels ; our oats 

 rattled in the shock, and the wheat 

 rattled in the stack. It rained, rained, 

 rained all the time ; all the corn on 

 low ground was never plowed at all. 

 Reapers mired in the tields when cut- 

 ting small grain, and after the harvest- 

 ing was done it did not get dry enough 

 to stack. Ever}' time the sun shone 

 out for half-a-day men, women and 

 children rushed out, tore the shocks 

 apart, and spread the sheaves out to 

 dry. The next day it would darken 

 up again and out we went to shock it 

 up again. Most of the grain, when 

 stacked, was damp, and a great deal 

 of it was ruined. We could get no ! 

 hay dry without its being spoiled with 

 rain. It was black, ill-smelling, musty 

 sjuff. Here we were with very little 

 small grain, no corn to speak of, no 

 good hay, and no corn-fodder, but we 

 had a ton of honey, I suppose. The 

 rain kept the corn from growing, and 

 most of the corn fields grew up a solid 

 mass of smart-weed, and this was what 

 kept the bees swarming and carrying 

 in honey all summer. 



My bees swarmed from four to six 

 times, and filled everything full of 

 honey that they could find, even build- 

 ing combs beneath the hives, and stor- 

 ing honey in them. They had thou- 

 sands of acres of smart-weed to go to, 

 and they went to it ; but I pray to be 

 excused from having another fall crop 

 of honey, if I have to pay the price for 



