668 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



workod ariglit in tlie glaj^s, siiarkliiig like so 

 many rays of light. It looked very fascinating. 

 Our traveling eomi)anion used ii]) t\\() glasses. 

 Our guide also helped iiiniself, hut the llani- 



RESTING-l!()()>r. PLF.ASANT VAIJ.KY WIXK CO. 



ble)''s glass was not enii)ti(>d. We learned that 

 there was much drunkenness ab.out Ilani- 

 mondsport. and we were pointed to a farm on 

 the hillside where a nnm had such conscien- 

 tious sci'ui)les about the manufacture of wine 

 from grapes that he pulled u]) his vines and d(-- 

 voted the land to other purposes. That the 

 moral conscience of our wiiole land were ed- 

 ucated up to this point is the earnest praver of 

 the PvAMni'.iOK. 



BEE BCTANY. 



PItOF. f'OOK NAMES A FEW lIONEV-PLANTf 



Missorm. 



Prof. Coo?f.-— I send you by tliis nuiil a num- 

 ber of flowers which I should like to have you 

 name through (ii,E.\NiXGs, if not imposing too 

 much on good nature. No. 1 is a weed that 

 gi'ows )nostly on uncultivated or abandoned 

 fields, and along roadsides, to a iieight of four 

 t(j six feet. The tiowers commenced open- 

 ing the last week, and will continue until frost. 

 I feel certain that it fiu'iiishes the greater part 

 of our autumn honey here. Friend Root savs it 

 is a species of lioneset. 



No. 2 is a kind of creeping vine, not a native 

 here. It blooms from about July 15 until frost. 

 and the bees work on it almost continually when 

 tiie weather is suitable. It is very hardy and 

 thrifty. The roots seem to go a long distance 

 under ground, and. where exjjosed. they spi'(jut 

 out and grow into vines. No. :i I suppose, is a 

 sjM'cies of mint. It does not s(-em to be indige- 

 nous here, as I know of only one small patch. 

 The bees work very vigorously on it. 



No. 4, I sui)i)ose, is the heartsease that in 

 .some localities produces the jirincipal crop of 

 autumn honey, and was desciibed son)e months 

 ago by you. The bees work on it her(> occa- 

 sionally, but it does not amount to much in the 

 way of producing honey. We have twoor three 

 more closely allied to it. which grow in i)rofu- 

 sion on low ground. Imt bees seem to i)av little 

 attention to tliem. 



Nos. 5 and (i are not honey-plants, but fni'- 

 nish an almost uidimifed amount of forage for 

 cattle on the islands in the INIissonri River. No. 

 .5 is known here as sticktight or beggar-lice: it 

 grows to a height of from 3 to 5 feet. On the 

 sam])le I s(>nd thei'e are flowei's and seed not 

 fully develo])e(l. When ripe, any one who walks 

 through them, if he has on woolen pants, will 

 ever after\\ard remember them. 



No. (5 is known here as peavine. but it seems 

 to be more of a ho;\u. The |)od. \yhen i-ipe. has 

 a peculiar habit of suddenly Hying open, each 

 side curling up. throwing liie beans in every 



direction. As you will see. I have just taken 

 pieci's of the yine. S. E. INIllJ.EH. 



Blutfton. Mo.. Aug. :.'(). 



Prof. Cook foi'ward(Hl the abo\-e to us. and re- 

 |)lies: 



Xo. 1 \s Kii iKifni'iti in scriit'niii ni. or one of the 

 numerous bonesets. all of which are valuable 

 honey-plants. There are many species of this 

 important genus in the United vStates. E. sero- 

 liiiinii is said ijy (irny 1o grow in low gi'ounds 

 from Maryland to Illinois, and .South. No- 

 doubt Hro. ^lillei' is right in the oijinion that 

 this jdant gives those in his vicinity the major 

 part of their autumn honey. The bee-keeper 

 who has ami)le nuirshes neai' his l.ee-yard is 

 in luck, as the iiome of the eupatoiiums is in 

 our mai'slies. 



No. 2 is nuitriniony vine. L]iriinn vuhjarc. 

 This is introduced from Southern Europe. It is. 

 l)lanted, aiul, as Mr. Miller suggests, has run 

 wild in some .sections. It belongs to the night- 

 shade, or jjotato family. I have oft(Mi heard of 

 this as a valuable honey-plant. If Ix^e-keepers 

 who live where this is hardy wish a shrubby 

 vine, this is a good plant to grow. This taiuily 

 contains the potato, tomato, night-shade, to- 

 bacco, ground-cherry, etc. It is not VI ry rich 

 in honey-plants. 



Mr. Miller is right again, for No. 3 is a mint. 

 It is known as mountain mint. PyraiithemiDa 

 inuticuiii. No wonder the bees work on this 

 vigoiously. The mints are wonderful honey- 

 plants, and it seems to me to be mor(> indeijen- 

 dent of the weather than do most of our hoiu'y- 

 l)lants. It occurs to me that, if any i)lants are 

 worthy of cultivation exclusively loi' honey, 

 they are some of the perennial mints. I am in 

 hopes to cultivate, in a small way. numerous 

 mints in hopes to find the best honey-i)lant in 

 the family. 



No. 4 is* the famous heartsease. PoJiJuoinim 

 Pcinislvdnicinn. It seems that this plant does 

 not secrete in all places at all times, or else has 

 rivals that attract the bees from it. 



No. .5 is tickseed. or bush trefoil, De^iuodhnn 

 Dil Jen a. It is one of the members of the clover 

 family. 



No. () is also one of the pulse, or clover family. 

 It is P}i((seolas helvolus, or wild bean. It is 

 rather strange that these last are not honey- 

 l)lants, as so many of the leguminos:i? are. 



Agricultural College, Mich. A. J. Cook. 



ODD-SIZED HIVES. 



I'llE TltlALS OF ANOTIIEI! I)IS(il'STEI) HEE- 

 KEEPEP.. 



We were greatly entei'tained with Rambler's 

 account of Rlake"s tii'ade. Poor Rlake has oiu" 

 heartfelt sympathy : for. next to a snuiKy chim- 

 ney, an odd-sized f)ee-hive is the meaiu'st thing 

 on earth, and this I know from an aggravated 

 exjjerience. When we began bee-keeping we^ 

 wei'c sweetly beguiled into buying "Control- 

 lable" hives: l)ut what they controlled we have 

 failed to find: certainh' not our temp<'r. for not 

 a supply-dealer kejjt any thing to tit: every 

 thing must lie made toorder. costing more.orwe 

 must patch up as best w<' might, nuiking need- 

 le.ss work : and when done it resulted in some 

 amusing experiments — amusing now in the 

 light of added exp(>rience. b.ut far from it at the^ 

 time. 



Our next venture was. at a time when sw arm.s 

 ai)peared fastei- than hives, to buy s( cond-hand 

 Simplicity hives from an accommodatingtowns- 

 nuin: but. alas foi- cjur ignorance again I We 

 had no regular bottom-lioards. [)ut were told to 

 let the hive |)roject just far enough ovci'theend 



