110 BEE CULTURE. 
about June 10th till Aug. 1st, when the first sced crop ma- 
tures, which is succeeded with a new foliage and profuse 
second bloom about Aug. 15th, and this continues till winter 
sets in. If a part of the field be mown about July 1st, it 
will bloom and yield nectar, except when rains are falling or 
during the prevalence of strong, adverse winds, from the 
middle of June till past the middle of October—eertainly as 
long a period as our impatient little workers can utilize it ; 
nor will it then cease to “waste its sweetness on the desert 
air,” but after the advent of winter, when all else has passed 
into “the sere and yellow leaf,” its modest flowers will waft 
a fragrant gcod-bye to the bees when on their last flight, and 
leave pleasant memories for their long winter dreams. 
H. 8. Hackman, of Illinois, commenced the season of 1881 
with ten colonies, which he increased to seventy, and obtained 
1,200 pounds of surplus honey—1,000 pounds of extracted 
and 200 of comb honey—equal to 120 pounds per colony, 
spring count, and an increase to over seven colonies from 
one! Mr. Hackman, who is an experienced bee-keeper, and 
whose veracity is unquestionable, in a letter dated Nov. 15, 
1881, writes: ‘Please find inclosed flowers of the sweet 
clover, picked from the roadside, on the prairie, yesterday, 
14th inst. I suppose I owe my wonderful summer success 
largely to the sweet clover. We had the hottest and driest 
season we ever had—no rain from June 15th until Sept. 15th. 
The hotter and drier the more honey, seemingly. Sweet clo- 
ver, asa weed! Although it has been growing in our roads, 
on waste land, along railroads, and on our hill-sides for 
twenty-five years, it does not seem to get into the fields, 
except where water has carried the seeds into low places.” 
W. T. Stewart, of Kentucky, says: “ Melilot is best sown 
in the fall, but will grow any time or anywhere, except on a 
flat rock.” 
To sum up, it is worth more to the farmer for soiling than 
red clover, because of its thrifty growth ; it is a more relia- 
ble pasture for cattle, sheep, etc., than red clover, because it 
will thrive on soils where red clover sickens; it will yield 
much more fodder than red clover, because it -will stand two 
or three cuttings ; and it lacks but seven per cent. of the 
