1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



707 



is an A No. 1 bee-plant. I think it belongs to 

 the milkweed family. Last year I got consid- 

 erable surplus from it. The color is very light 

 amber, and a peculiar spicy flavor not similar 

 to any other honey I am familiar with. Here 

 it blooms from July 1 to Sept. 1; and were it 

 plentiful enough I would not exchange it for 

 any honey-giving plant that grows here. Give 

 me the proper and common name if you can. 

 Belleville, 111., Aug. 20. E. T. Flanagan. 



[The specimen, as nearly as we can identify 

 it. is known as common swamp milkweed, 

 Asclepias incarnata. — Ed] 



The Kansas Bee keeper is growing better as 

 it grows older. It has had a good start as a 

 youngster, only nine issues old. 



Although this is supposed lo be the dullest 

 part of the year, we are full of business. Ver- 

 ily, the goods that go out from the Home of the 

 Honey-bees are doing their own advertising. 



Some of the convention notes and comments 

 will be found in A. I. R.'s talks in this issue. 

 Others will be given by J. T. Calvert, in this 

 department. 



Our newly equipped factory is being put in 

 running order as rapidly as possible. A good 

 many machines are now started, and we shall 

 have all of them in full blast by the first of 

 October. 



The frequent rains, and the abundance of fall 

 flowers, especially of the great family of asters, 

 give great promise of a fall How of honey. In- 

 deed, it is already coming into our hives now. 

 Buckwheat is also doing well. 



A VERY pretty sight in front of our factory 

 building is the merry humming of hundreds of 

 bees on a couple of beautiful beds of porlulacas. 

 If we had acres of this, instead of ragweeds 

 and other noxious weeds that do nobody any 

 good, what might we have in the way of honey? 

 If you haven't a bed of porlulacas, better have 

 one by another year. 



VVe are again printing an extra number of 

 copies as usual, and, for any thing we can see, 

 shall have to do so for several numbers to come. 

 Advertisers should not fail to take advantage 

 of this extra circulation, for we charge no more 

 for the space, although w^ add one-half to the 

 regular number printed. 



Quite a number of specimens of fall honey- 

 plants are now being sent in to us for identifi- 

 cation. Some of them have been forwarded, 

 the sender asking if they were alfalfa. I could 

 not imagine why there should be such ignorance 

 regarding this plant until I looked the matter 

 up. I then found there had never been a decent 

 engraving made of this celebrated plant — at 

 least, I had never seen one. The A B C of Bee 

 Culture has one copied after a picture in a seed 

 catalog, which was itself poor in the first place. 

 I should be glad if our readers would refer us to 

 a good engraving, or send us good specimens 

 when the plants are in full bloom. I am deter- 

 mined that, by another year, there shall be a 

 good picture, so that all may know when they 

 see the plants, without calling in the services of 

 a botanist. 



FATHER LANGSTROTH AGAIN AT THE FORE- 

 FRONT. 



One of the notable features of the last con- 

 vention of the North American at Toronto was 

 the presence of that veteran of all bee-veterans 

 of the New World, father Langstroth, the one 

 man of all the world who gave bee-keeping its 

 first real important start. Although he has 

 been an invalid all his life, he siill survives his 

 8.5th year. Indeed, his health has so far im- 

 proved that he has resumed his pen. We al- 

 ready hav(! one article from him, and the same 

 will appear in our next issue. He hopes, health 

 permitting, to finish up his interesting Remi- 

 niscences that were begun October 1.5th, 1892, 

 and which, owing to the recurrence of his old 

 head trouble, had to be discontinued in the 

 May 1st issue of the next year. These Reminis- 

 cences were exceedingly interesting, and it was 

 a great disappointment to us all that it should 

 seem necessary to drop them when it seemed 

 probable that, owing to his advanced age and 

 ill health, they would never be completed. Mr. 

 Langstroth is now at work upon them again; 

 and, if all goes well, the hopes of his latter 

 years will at last be realized. 



The representative bee-women, including 

 Mrs. L. Harrison, Mrs. Axtell, Miss Wilson, 

 Mrs. Sherman, and Mrs. Heater, are shown up in 

 half-tone on the first pag! of the American Bee 

 Journal. It is a pity that so many of our repre- 

 sentative women refuse to let us have their 

 photos. Indeed, as it w iS. Bro. York, if I am 

 not mistaken, had to taki- some of them by sur- 

 prise. 



BEES AND COUNTY FAIRS, AGAIN. 



Our older readers will remember that we had 

 trouble in times past by our bees helping them- 

 selves at the candy-siands while our county 

 fairs have been in session from year to year, 

 within a quarter of a mile of us. For the last 

 two years you will remember we have drugged 

 the bees with tobacco smoke, and cautioned 

 the candy-men to kill the first few bees that 



