THE BEE-KEEPERS, REVIEW. 



231 



onl}- reliable method I have ever found 

 that would keep the swarming impulse 

 under control, and also give satisfactor}' 

 results in surplus. 



At the close of the season, if I do not 

 wish for the increase, I unite the swarms 

 thus divided, which I leave near together 

 for that very purpose, by placing one 

 hive over or upon the other, reserving the 

 youngest or most desirable queen. 



I use a deep frame which has a cross-bar 

 in the middle, and this gives two places 

 from which to build comb, instead of one, 

 which is a decided advantage in starling. 



I have used wired frames for this pur- 

 pose, with good results, the wires running 

 perpendicular. The combs will be built 

 upon the wires in this manner with sur- 

 prising nicety, many of them comparing 

 favorably with those built upon founda- 

 tion. From the samples of combs thus 

 produced, I select the best for future use. 



and render the objectionable ones into 

 wax. In this way I make wax produc- 

 tion a source of profit. 



For several years, in August, I moved 

 about 100 colonies each year, about 12 

 miles, to the buckwheat fields on the 

 prairie, and returned them later in the 

 season. These colonies I treated in the 

 same way, and thus saved hauling the 

 stores back and forth, as well as keeping 

 the buckwheat and late honey by itself. 



We are having poor seasons for several 

 years past, and there is much less swarm- 

 ing, hence these different conditions have 

 to be met by different methods; and I am 

 not practicing this "shake-out" method 

 as much as formerly. 



I know of no reason why it is not adapt- 

 ed to any locality or season in which the 

 honey flow is reasonably good. 



East Townsend, Ohio, July 23, 1902. 



WHEN TO GUT ALFALFA. 



BY M. A. GIIX. 



Unwholesome if cut too Green; Gut in Full Bloom it 

 Makes the Most and the Best Hay. 



If a man hears a thing times enough, he'll believe it— heddon. 



BURING the past year there seems to 

 have been a disposition among some 

 bee-keepers, as well as some of the lead- 

 ing bee journals, to keep before the pub- 

 lic the early cutting of alfalfa. The agi- 

 tation has at times reached a point where 

 it amounted to an endorsment of that 

 practice. One Journal has said, editorial- 

 ly, that "it is a fact" that the early cut- 

 ting of alfalfa makes better hay; while 

 the real fact is that the contrary is true. 

 I think this is a mistake on the part of 

 bee-keepers and editors as well. 



TAKING TO MUCH STOCK IN HEARSAY. 



The average farmer does not do think- 

 ing enough for himself, and it is only 

 necessary for him to have an inkling that 



there is more money for him in a certain 

 courssi, for him to go pell mell into some- 

 thing that is often really against his best 

 interest. 



ALFALFA CUT BEFORE IT BLOSSOMS 



MAKES A POORER QUALITY 



OF HAY. 



I say again that it is not a fact that al- 

 falfa cut before it comes into bloom makes 

 the best hay; and I know of many care- 

 ful, thoughtful farmers who were once 

 led into that practice but who are now 

 letting their alfalfa stand until it reaches 

 that certain stage when it contains, 

 and will retain, the most food value. 



Who cannot remember when this same 

 fallacy was taught by some, and imitated 



