VOL. LIX— NO. 10 



HAMILTON, ILL., OCTOBER, 1919 



MONTHLY, $1.00 A YFAR 



BEEKEEPING IN THE MISSOURI RIVER HILLS 



Glimpses of Conditions in the Sweet Clover Region of Northwest Iowa and 

 Southeastern South Dakota— By Frank C. Pellett 



SWEET clover is coming into its 

 own in northwest Iowa. In the 

 region about Sioux City there 

 are thousands of acres covering the 

 hills and stopping the erosion that 

 would otherwise be cutting away 

 some of the rich farms of that sec- 

 tion. I have visited the famous 

 sweet clover belt at Falmouth, Ky. ; 

 I have ridden for many miles through 

 the finest sweet clover territory in 

 the Arkansas River Valley and have 

 seen many sweet clover districts of 

 lesser fame, but nowhere have I seen 

 finer sweet clover fields than in 

 northwest Iowa, roundabout Sioux 

 City. Bordering the river at this 

 point is a wide range of hills of rich 

 loess soil. The soil is very produc- 

 tive, but with continuous cultivation 

 the humus content is rapidly re- 

 moved. When this condition devel- 

 ops, the fields are badly damaged by 

 heavy rain. Erosion is much more 

 difficult to control on steep hillsides 

 than on the gentle slopes. The 

 farmers have learned that in order 

 to prevent the washing of the land 

 they must bring some crop into their 

 rotation that provides a liberal sup- 

 ply of humus, or decayed vegetable 

 matter io hold the soil. Sweet clover 

 is ideal for this purpose, for it is a 

 vigorous and rapid grower. In addi- 

 tion it greatly enriches the soil with 

 a wealth of nitrogen gathered from 

 the air and stored in the earth 

 through the medium of the bacteria 

 living in the nodules which grow 

 on its roots. 



'J he ideal location for the bee- 

 keeper is one where the farmers re- 

 quire some good honey-plant in their 

 system of agriculture. In the sec- 

 tions where there is a large acreage 

 of white clover pasture, alsike clo- 

 yer or alfalfa grown largely for seed, 

 or where sweet clover is generally 



grown as a field crop, we find pros- 

 perous beekeepers. 



In the immediate vicinity of Sioux 

 City there are so many amateur bee- 

 keepers that the commercial beeman 

 has much to contend with in the 

 way of fighting disease. American 

 and European foulbrood are both 

 present and the beekeeper must be 

 constantly on the alert to keep dis- 

 ease under control. Farther out, 

 however in the direction of Ver- 

 million, S. Dak., there are less bees 

 present and some apparently ideal lo- 

 tions not occupied. In the vicinity 

 of a large city, we nearly always find 

 disease much worse. Just why this 

 is true we can only surmise. It is 



generally credited to the fact that 

 much honey is shipped in to supply 

 the markets, that there is more or 

 less exposure of discarded sections 

 and empty containers which are 

 thrown into the alley or garbage can 

 without being washed. The fact that 

 there are so many people with a few 

 bees in a limited area makes it very 

 difficult to eradicate disease, once it 

 gets a foothold. We do know that 

 disease has long been established 

 in the vicinity of nearly every large 

 city which is a market center for 

 honey. As far as can be ascertained 

 it has never been eradicated from 

 the vicinity of one of these centers 

 after once becoming established. In 



Near view of the Wilson apiary show 



our cover. 



