61 



ground is covered with brash, so that labor will be necessary in 



clearing - the land before plowing can be done. 



With the idea of obtaining an opinion -of the value of Sweet Clover as 

 a silage plant an alcohol barrel was filled with the cut Btalks, solidly 

 packed, and sealed air-tight. This was done on July 14, just as the 



clover was getting fairly into bloom and while the stalks were y< r 

 tender and nutritious. On September 23 the barrel was opened and 

 the ensilage was fed. A horse that had previously eaten corn silage 

 ate it very readily, but another horse and a cow that had never eaten 

 silage would not touch it. Several experts upon the subject pro- 

 nounced it excellent. There is no doubt but that it would be a very 

 desirable plant for the purpose if the feeding value per acre could be 

 made equal to that of corn. An estimate made from the amount cut 

 for silage gave between 6 and 7 tons per acre. Although its feeding 

 value maybe much higher than that of corn, it is still doubtful if it will 

 pay to use it for this purpose alone, from the above estimate. 



In concluding these experiments in planting for honey carried on by- 

 Prof. Cook and now concluded for the present, I desire to say that no 

 results have been obtained with any plant sown or planted for honey 

 alone that will warrant the bee-keeper in expending money and labor 

 in this direction. Bee-keepers have in the past spent much time and 

 money in the effort to cultivate some plant for the honey the bees may 

 obtain from its flowers. In no case coming under my observation have 

 these efforts been a success and the practice has never been continued 

 at a profit. Therefore let me caution all apiarists against spending 

 money in the attempt to cultivate at a profit any flower for honey 

 alone. Bee-keepers should cease these useless efforts and turn their 

 attention more persistently to extending the area of all wild honey- 

 producing plants and urging upon all the superiority of Alsike Clover 

 and Japanese Buckwheat as farm crops and the Linden as a shade tree. 



EVAPORATION OF HONEY. 



Nectar of flowers taken into the stomach of the bee undergoes certain 

 chemical changes before it is finally deposited as honey in the cells of 

 the honeycomb. The recent analyses, by direction of the United States 

 Government chemist and those insl ituted at the Michigan State Exper- 

 iment Station, prove that there is no chemical change made in the 

 honey by the bee after it is deposited in the comb. There, however, 

 remains much water in this honey that musl be evaporated by the heat 

 of the hive and the current of air through the hive caused by the fan- 

 ning of the bees. It is well known thai this labor of evaporation and 

 the room occupied by this thin honey Interferes greatly with tin 1 rapid 

 gathering «>t' nectar. In this opinion I am confirmed by a study of many 

 records of colonies placed upon scales during the honey flow, it i< 

 Often desirable to extract all of the honey gathered from one specie 

 honey plant before the flow from other sources begins and before the 



