BEE CULTURE. 109 
For field or commons our first preference is decidedly 
given to sweet clover or melilot (Melilotus alba). Being one 
of the hardiest plants we have, it will withstand any degree 
of winter’s cold or summer's heat, and its deep-penetrating 
and wide-spreading roots, admirably adapt it to any variety 
of soil, whether wet or dry, sand or clay, loam or gravel. 
Being remarkably thrifty in growth, it will be found equal to 
red clover for soiling, and can be successfully grown in loca- 
tions where the latter will prove a failure. Prof. C. EH. 
Thorne, of the Ohio State University, thus testifies regarding 
its value as a field plant. “It will grow quite luxuriantly 
in hard, poor clay, where even white clover will scarcely live 
at all, and grows much more rapidly than red clover in any 
soil, while in the soils that are, as is said, ‘ Clover-sick,’ it 
thrives as well as anywhere. It is a good forage plant for 
bees and for cattle, and is well adapted for soiling, as it 
makes a growth of four to six feet during the season, and is 
said to bear two or three cuttings. A German analysis 
gives its hay a feeding value of fifteen dollars per ton as 
against sixtcen dollars and twenty-eight cents for very good 
red clover hay. While red clover, upon which our farming 
in many sections, and especially in clay lands, depends so 
essentially for crops of grain, is becoming more and more 
uncertain. It would seem to be worth while to try this ‘ fast 
weed’ as a resource for recuperative green manuring, in 
heavy soils especially.” 
But its greatest recommendation for the general bee-keeper 
is the fact that it requires no especial cultivation, thus 
making it particularly desirable for roadsides and commons. 
Being a biennial, the seeds possess great vitality, and may 
be kept over for a long time, and scattered a handful at a 
tinre, as opportunity offers, or a bare place develops itself. 
Where possible to devote even a limited time to its cultiva- 
tion, the ground may be plowed and the seed lightly harrowed 
under in the fall with winter wheat, or planted with barley ; 
or in early spring it can be sown with wheat, oats or rye, 
without detriment to the grain. If wanted, however, in its 
greatest perfection, it should be planted in drills four feet 
apart, and once hilled up with the cultivator. Sweet clover 
blooms and yields nectar continuously in this latitude from 
