82 A Modern Bee-Farm 



the ground eventually get sick of the clover, having it so 

 often. Do all four clovers named for a succession (scarlet, 

 white, alsike and melilot) give two flowering crops yearly ; 

 or do you count on one crop only from scarlet, alsike 

 and melilot. If they all flower twice, what would be the 

 dates for first and second crops." 



"You will find," I replied, "150 acres give you suffi- 

 cient as a succession for the bees, having as you say only 

 20 stocks, and not desiring increase, representing, say, the 

 power of 50 ordinary swarmed lots. 



" As to ' clover sick ' land, I do not think you will find 

 land clover sick, except with the common red. I have 

 tried a field where the former occupier could not get a 

 plant of red clover. The first time I sowed scarlet or 

 Trifolium Incarnatum, and got a good plant. The next 

 year I sowed Melilot, and that also came very thick." 



" The dressing for the Trifolium was 4 cwt. Basic Slag 

 to the acre. The Melilot was sown (following year) with 

 rye-grass, the land having first been dressed with 30 tons 

 of yard manure, ploughed in, with 4 cwt. of bone dust, 

 and 4 cwt. of salt to the acre, before harrowing in the 

 seed. 



" The worst of it is from a bee-keeper's point of view, 

 one cannot do without red clover, if he wants a down-right 

 farm-crop, supposing the land is not clover sick. Alsike 

 is late in flowering, and practically flowers only once in the 

 season, and that in July, being a much slighter crop than 

 red. White clover flowers in June and July, and then 

 again immediately the crop is out. Trifolium flowers 

 only once — May and June, and dies away the same year. 

 Moreover, it makes inferior hay, even dangerous to 

 animals, if cut after the seed forms. It is essentially a 

 green crop, and a most valuable one, when fed as such. 

 " Melilot flowers only once — August till frost, and is 



