THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



427 



know how, well the farmers of this 

 region have succeeded in raising 

 alsike seed, and that it is from this 

 plant tliat the beekeepers of On- 

 tario get most of their honey. In 

 England the largest yields of sain- 

 foin honey and also the best sainfoin 

 seed are obtained in regions where 

 the subsoil is chalk. The value of 

 the chalk subsoil is probably here 

 partly due to it porosity, for sain- 

 foin needs good drainage. Even in 

 the case of heather, a plant that is 

 more partial to moisture than Sain- 

 foin, Sitwell says that a rank 

 growth in damp places and low 

 lying moors gives a very poor re- 

 turn and the sample is thin, watery 

 and of poor keeping quality. Drain- 

 age is therefore important. Yet we 

 all know plants that will only flour- 

 ish and yield nectar in swamps. 

 In Canada tlae touch-me-not (Im- 

 patiens biflora) is one of the best 

 examples. 



Nectar secretion is probably in- 

 fluenced by several factors not 

 mentioned, and perhaps not 

 known. Who can tell exactly why in 

 many parts of Ontario basswood 

 gives a crop of honey only once in 

 four or five years? 



It need hardly be pointed out that 

 a careful study of the conditions 

 that favor an abundant secretion of 

 nectar of the best quality in our 

 most important honey plants would 

 be of very great value, especially 

 for the purpose of choosing new lo- 

 cations for apiaries and also in 

 any form of migrating beekeeping 

 such as taking the bees to the 

 buckwheat fields. We have plenty 

 of figures giving the total yield of 

 light and dark honey from year to 

 year in various apiaries. This is 

 very useful as far as it goes, but 

 in order to attempt to discover all 

 the factors controlling nectar se- 

 cretion in our most valuable honey 

 plants w^e want more direct and de- 

 tailed evidence, taking into consid- 

 eration all the different conditions 

 that are likely to affect results. 



The causes of variation in the 

 nectar yield of a honey plant may, 

 for practical purposes, be divided 

 into three classes: 1. Permanent: 

 These include climate, soil, sub- 

 soil, natural drainage, etc., all of 

 great importance in choosing a lo- 

 cation. 2. Fluctuating: namely, 

 weather with its ups and downs of 

 temperature, rainfall and sunshine; 



this the beekeeper usually need 

 not worry about beyond ascertain- 

 ing the extent of fluctuation in his 

 district. 3. Artificial: such as the 

 cutting of the plant before matur- 

 ity to bring on a later yield, drain- 

 ing land and feeding the plant, for 

 instance, applying lime for clover 

 "Where it is deficient in the soil. 



Reliable Poultry Journal and the Re- 

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The Reliable Poultry Journal is one 

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 nection With the Review. Both only 

 $1.25 for a whole year. Canadian pos- 

 tage 25 cents additional. Address The 

 Bee-Keepers' Review, Northstar, Mich. 



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!68i BZ Delancey Stieel; 



New York City 



Keep Pigeons 



They Pay Dollars While 

 Chickens pay Cents 



The young 20 to 25 days old sell 

 for 40 to 60 cents each (accord- 

 ing to the season.) 'ihe City 

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Each Pair of Pigeons will 

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They will clear you above all 

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All this is fully explained in this 

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