SWEET CLOVER, WHITE ANNUAL 
835 
a cover crop. The possibilities of such a 
quick growth in the South are almost be¬ 
yond calculation. In southern soils humus 
is most difficult to obtain and is one of the 
most necessary constituents. There are 
many summer-growing legumes which sup¬ 
ply nitrogen, and crimson clover makes an 
excellent leguminous cover crop. Annual 
sweet clover will make a heavy winter 
growth and can be turned under by the 
middle of April for humus; it should give 
an immense impetus to southern agricul¬ 
ture. The rapid growth made in short 
seasons may also greatly change the north¬ 
ern system of farming. As a cover crop in 
the citrus groves of California and in many 
other orchards it will be likely to replace 
the biennial form. 
Finally Hubam clover secretes nec¬ 
tar as fully and freely as does the biennial 
white and yellow sweet clovers. It blooms 
three months after seeding, and the bloom¬ 
ing period lasts for five or more weeks. 
Honeybees visit the flowers eagerly and in 
great numbers. The honey is apparently 
much the same as that of the biennial spe¬ 
cies. If this variety justifies present prom¬ 
ises and is planted as extensively as is ex¬ 
pected, it will greatly increase honey pro¬ 
duction in this country, 'and doubtless in 
many other parts of the world. 
Before planting, the seed should be scari¬ 
fied. In an experimental test before scari- . 
fying, only about 34 per cent of the seed 
germinated, but after scarifying 91 per 
cent. Nearly every seed company in the 
United States and many individual seed- 
growers and farmers are now using the 
Ames hulling and scarifying machine per¬ 
fected and given to the world by the Iowa 
Agricultural Experiment Station. The 
soil should also contain an abundance of 
lime and the proper sweet clover bacteria. 
If the soil is acid and the bacteria are 
absent, the plants will probably not grow 
more than a foot tall. It is of the greatest 
importance, therefore, in fields where such 
conditions prevail that lime should be 
worked into the surface, and the soil inocu¬ 
lated with soil gathered from an alfalfa or 
sweet clover field. 
The biennial white sweet clover grows in 
many localities, which differ from each 
other widely in soil and climate. As a re¬ 
sult there are many varieties of this spe¬ 
cies, but most of them are of little value 
and do not differ greatly from the typical 
form. The discovery by a happy chance of 
the annual variety, however, has led to a 
more careful search for other varieties 
which may be worth testing. In Grundy 
County, Illinois, a variety is under cultiva- 
ttion, which blooms nearly three weeks ear¬ 
lier than the large coarse, late-bloom bien¬ 
nial form. It is a heavy seed-producer and 
ripens its seed more uniformly. With an 
annual variety, which blooms the same sea¬ 
son the seed is planted, and with early and 
late blooming varieties of the biennial spe¬ 
cies, the beekeeper may hope for a much 
greater honey flow in the sweet clover sec¬ 
tions. Other leguminous plants, as alfalfa, 
should receive careful observation as they 
also may produce valuable mutants. 
T 
TEMPERATURE. —In bee culture, tem¬ 
perature is one of the most important fac¬ 
tors with which the beekeeper has to deal. 
The more nearly he can hold it to the exact 
point, the better he will be able to bring 
about certain desired results in the busi¬ 
ness. 
Under the heads of Ventilation and 
Swarming it is shown how the bees keep 
down the internal temperature of the hive 
during hot weather by an elaborate scheme 
of forced ventilation. One set of bees, by 
means of a vigorous fanning of the wings, 
force air into the hive; and another set, 
working in collaboration, drive foul and 
heated air out. Under Moving Bees, the 
