672 



GLE.VNIXGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



visit at tlu'ii' |)lac'('. In vicu' of liis cxixTiencc. 

 I did not ask togu tlu'Diigli tlicii'ostablisiinient: 

 but I was siiowii sonic of tlicir bcaiitifui foun- 

 dation. They have qnitc a lai'ge factoiy. and 

 evidently do quite a business. I tooli particular 

 l)ains to notice tbat this country was very flat 

 bottonu'd — an ajiproiiriate location foi" making 

 foundation. We wei-e cordially invited to stay 

 and take dinner: hut as my time \\'as limited. I 

 explained tiiat I should luive to be moving 

 along. 



SNEEZE-WEED FOJIEY. 



PKOF. COOK AI.SO TOTT'HKS I'POX THE MATTKH 

 OF MKDKIXAL HOXKV. 



I have received from Mr. C. P. Cof'fi]i. Ponto- 

 toc, Miss., a plant for name, together with some 

 suggestions and questions which are of general 

 interest, and so T am p!( ased to comply with 

 Ids r<'(iuest and answer through Gi.KAXixiis. 



The i)lant is a si)ecies of "'sneeze-weed,"' 

 HelenUim tcinil foliitin, which Dr. (xray says 

 lias become a naturalized weed through the 

 Southein Ignited States. It is one of the com- 

 posites, and so related to the goldeniods, asters, 

 bonesets, b(>ggar-ticks, etc. We can not wonder, 

 then, that it furnishes a g' nerous amount of 

 nectar. It comes of a sweet family. 



Mr. Coftin says this is very abundant in Mis- 

 sissippi: that it occupies ail waste lands and 

 commons, and is marching on to possess all un- 

 occupied, vacant, and uncultivated teiritoi'y. 

 It grows as tliick as oats oi' wheat, and crowds 

 out all other plants. It is often the sole adorn- 

 ment of cemeteries and front yards. We see, 

 then, that it is like the ragweed and mayweed 

 north, a monopolist of first rank. 



The [)eoi)le m Mississippi know it as " bitter 

 we(>d." Tile bees store huge (piantities of hon- 

 ey fiom this plant. Mr. Cofhn says it seldom 

 fails to yield hoiuitifully, so that "the bees till 

 their hives solid— both stories— with this honey. 

 But this honey is of no value, except foi' winter- 

 ing. " It fuiiiishes an unfailing supply for this 

 purpose."' liut it spoils the goldeni'od and aster 

 h(mey, which is also abundant, and valuable 

 for tiie table as well as for the bees. 



Ml'. Cot^n quotes an article from a Boston 

 paper, to the eflect that an English physician 

 reports that a small bee of Tasmania gathers 

 eucalyiitiis honey, which has special and pecul- 

 iar i)liysical characteristics, and lias very valu- 

 able therapeutic or medicinal jiroperties. 



Mr. Coffin asks if the Tasinanian bees could 

 in any way add to the virtues of this eucalvptus 

 hoiKn-. I should argue no. True, bees modify 

 nectar, or change it into iioney: but there is no 

 reason to believe tliat diflfereiit bees affect the 

 honey dift'erently. I jiresume the honey varies 

 because of the source from which it is derived, 

 and not from the bees that store it. 



Mr. Coffin urges further: (iranting that the 

 position taken by the Englisli physician is cor- 

 rect, may we not reasonably conclude that 

 honey collected by our oN'ii b(M'S from plants of 

 known medicinal cliaracteristics would have 

 like therapeutic virtues'? Eor instance, suppose 

 an a|)iary to l)e near a large field of hoarhound. 

 which is universally recognized as efficacious 

 in throat and lung afl'ections. Would not the 

 syrup thus made in Nature's laboratory by 

 these wonderful chemists— plants and bees- 

 containing the very essence of the plants, be 

 superior to the syruj) which we may make bv 

 lioiliiig the leaves with sugar'? 



Ill replv. li't me say: We must not put too 

 much coiitid( uce in such r(>ports. As a people 

 we overestimate tremeiidonslv the virtues of 

 medicine. Nature is the great healer. Medi- 



cine may occasionally ludp. but I fear it as often 

 hinders. Dr. (). W. Holmes once said — and who 

 ought to know bett<u''? — that it were better for 

 the jieojile were all the medicine of the world 

 cast into the sea: but it would be awful on the 

 fish. Yet if people are to medicate. I for one 

 would urge honey. It is certainly nutritious 

 ami wholesome. It has the rare (piality of 

 medicine — it is safe. 



Again. I do not believe that the nectar secret- 

 ed by plants necessarilj' or even probably par- 

 takes of the nature of the juice or tissues of the 

 plant. The definition I give my students of 

 glands — and I believe it a correct one — is that 

 they are organs that can take elements from 

 sap or blood, and form a substance jieculiar to 

 thcMuselves and unlike any thing else in the 

 idaiit or animal. Thus, secretions are not like 

 th(> tissues that secrete them or the liquids from 

 which the elements were derived. The milk of 

 the cow is not blood or beef, nor like them. No 

 more is the nectai' of plants — the secretion of 

 plant-glands — like the sapor tissue of the iilaiit. 

 This secretion is a new formation, of the gland- 

 ular cells, for a specific purpose— to attract 

 insects — and is specific in its character as well 

 as in its function. 



Again, we have plants with poisonous juices. 

 These often secrete nectar, but that is not poi- 

 sonous. Were it so it would poison the very 

 insects it was formed to attract, and so defeat 

 its very i)uri)ose. 



Mr. Coffin continues: " Nothing was made in 

 vain. May it not lie that this bitter honey 

 has very valuable medicinal properties'? If so, 

 a knowledge of the fact would be very inipor- 

 taut. As this plant secretes nectar abundantly 

 from July 1.5th to September 1.5th, when there 

 are no other nectar-srcreting plants in bloom, 

 the honey can be obtained unmixed with other 

 kinds of honey, and could be ])ut on to the mar- 

 ket very easily and cheai>ly."" 



I would answer, tliat morphia and quinine 

 are vegetable products, and no one may say that 

 any vegetable iiroduct is worthless or without 

 virtues until he has demonstrated the fact. 

 On the other hand, he should b(^ just as slow to- 

 announce virtues till they are demonstrated by 

 actual experiment. Such proofs — like all valu- 

 able scientific facts — must come from induction, 

 not deduction. We must demonstrate by actual 

 test that this honey is medicinal: then, and 

 then alone, can w(> recommend its use in thera- 

 peutics. 



This honey might be extracted and sold 

 cheaply for winter food, in ca.se it is good for 

 that purpose in all climates, and could also be 

 sold for such manufacturing purposes as form- 

 ing printers" rolls, <>tc.. where the flavor is not 

 an objection. In case we have many such sea- 

 sons as the present, where in INIichigan the bees 

 have not been able to collect enough even for 

 winter. ther(> would be a good market for the 

 first-named purpose. As this lioney is so sure 

 and abundant, it could doubtless be sold at a 

 very low rate. Possibly it would do to use in 

 making cigars. wher(\ I am told, much honey is 

 used: and then if it has medicinal virtues it 

 wouUI be right where it would be needed. 



Agricultural College. ISIicli. A. J. Cook. 



Friend Cook. I am exceedingly glad to hear 

 you give utterance to the sentence. ''As (x peo- 

 ple we overesUmate tremendously the virtues of 

 mecliclne.''' As I look upon humanity day by 

 day, I am more and more forced to the conclu- 

 sion that "we as a people"' are floundering in 

 the dark mazes of superstition and ignorance. 

 esp(>cially in this matter of dnsuKj ourselves. 

 Just think of it! There are at present in the 



