1879 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



477 



AN ASTONISHING DAILY YIELD FROM WISCONSIN. 



This has been a pood season for bees, since the 

 middle of April. Basswood bloom only lasied 11 

 days, but bees gathered honey Aery fast from it. 

 One of my best Italian colonies, placed on scales, 

 gained in weight 181b., the 121 h of July, and 17 'a lb. 

 ihe loth. This colony had not been helped in any 

 way. Several others gained nearly as much. 



Eau-galle, Wis., Sept. 8, '79. Frank McNay. 



We sent the specimens to Prof. 13eal, who 

 said they were too incomplete to analyze. 

 One of our girls who is studying " bee bota- 

 ny," then took them and reports as follows : 



Nos. 1, 2. and 6 are species of Golden Rod. No. 8 

 belongs to the same family as the above, the Com- 

 posite, but is of a different genus, the Aster. No. 7, 

 which has been mentioned quite frequently by bee 

 men lately, belongs to ihe mint family, and is called 

 Melissa officinalis, or bee-balm. Other specimens are 

 too incomplete for analysis. 



Just think of it, boys and girls ! 18ft. in a 

 dav. from one colony ! If this result is due 

 to these honey plants, we would better all 

 have some, unless we do a still better thing, 

 and move up to friend McNay's neighbor- 

 hood, bay, friend M., does it " do so always " 

 (every summer), up where you live? 



LIPPIA nodiflora, again. 

 I will send you a few seeds of the honey plant that 

 Prof. Beal calls Lippia nodiflora (see page 346, Sept. 

 No.), which is in lull bloom now, and has been since 

 about the first of May. It is our main dependence 

 lor honey, especially in a dry year like this, for it 

 blossoms 7 mt nihs or over, and my bees have done 

 very well on that al< ne, or nearly so. The honey is 

 equal to the best white-clover honey. I have 180 

 swaims, and there are about 500 more within a mile 

 or so of me. I would like you to plant the seed, and 

 report the result next st ason. The plant lives from 

 year to year in the ground, and also comes fiom the 

 seed. You won't want more than about one plant 

 to every square yard, for it runs and spreads rapid- 

 ly, and stands dry weather well. Qhe blossom re- 

 sembles the while clover, especially at a little dis- 

 tance. If any of your readers wish to try it, I will 

 send them some of the seed at about the cost of 

 gatheiing and postage. O. E. Coon. 



Many thanks, friend C. I would suggest 

 that we make 5c. a uniform price for sam- 

 ples of seeds. If tbey are plenty, a good lot 

 can be sent, and, if scarce, only a few. 



bitter honey; where does it come from? 



I send specimen, from which bees make bitter 

 honey— in some years, thousands ol pounds; in oth- 

 ers, scarcely any. They get pollen from it every 

 year. C. R. Carlin. 



Shreveport, La. Oct. 17, 1879. 



Prof. Beal replies: 



This is Helcnivm tenuifolium. There are ten spe- 

 cies of Iklciiium east of the Mississi pi. One of the 

 species is common in Michigan and south, and is 

 sometimes called "sneeze-weed" {Helenium autum- 

 nalcK 1 he latter plant has quite often been sent in, 

 as a good b< e-plant. 1 see no reason why one should 

 make very biiter honey and ihe oiher not. Sneeze- 

 weed is usually in rather limit* d quantities, and per- 

 haps apiarists are not certain about the quality of 

 honey this makes. 



SIDA SPINOSA. 



Find inclosed a bunch of flowers that bees are 

 working on all day, from morn till evening, wn» n it 

 iswaim enough for thim to fly. It ou^ht to be a 

 good honey plant, as it is not a bcautilul plant, by 

 any means, and without a doubt is good for some- 

 thing. It is about one loot high. Please tell me the 

 name. S. H. Lane. 



Whitestown, Ind., Oct. 14, 1879. 



Answer by Prof. W. J. Beal : — 



The plant is Sida spinosa. It is a weed common 

 in the South, and was introduced from tropical 

 America or Africa. It belongs to the mallow family. 



SYMPHORICARPUS VULGARIS. 



After seeing the statement of W. C. Smith, of 

 Warsaw. Mo., in Gleanings, No. 11, Volume 7, con- 

 cerning Symphoricarpu8 vulgaris, I wish to say to 

 the readers of Gleanings in Bee Culture, that I 

 will deliver on boai d the cars at Reed's, Mo., in good 

 condition, plants at the following rates, and will 

 warrant them to be good and healthy: — Per 100, 

 $1.25; 200, $2.50; 500, $5.50; 1(00, $10,25; 2000, $19 00. 

 And where ten dollars' worth are taken at one time, 

 I will take one-half their value in Italian queens, at 

 prices in Gleanings. I have my bees packed in 

 wheat chaff, as per Gleanings, which is the " man" 

 ot my counsel. Norris C. Hood. 



Reed's, Jasper Co., Mo., Nov. 20, 1879. 



The above is pretty near advertising in our 

 reading columns, but as it is unlikely that 

 any one will care to invest largely just yet, 

 and the price is also extremely low, we let it 

 pass. Besides, it is from an A B scholar, 

 and we always rather expect youth and in- 

 experience from them. 



I this day send you, by mail, 5 specimens of our 

 flora, which I would like to have you name (common 

 namet, as the flowers are all new to me, and 1 can't 

 tell whether your magazine speaks of them or not. 

 I also send, in' a little box, specimens of insects, 

 which appear in buckwheat and other flowers, and 

 must rob our bees, as they come in millions. 



M. H. Porter. 



Western Park, Elk Co., Kan., Sept. 26, 1879. 



Answer by Prof. W. J. Beal :— - 



Number 2 is Hdianthvs gigantcus. There is no 

 definite common name, except large wild sunflower, 

 and several plants are entitled to the same common 

 name. In the Eastern part of the United States are 

 25 or 30 species, all good for bees, and all found in 

 abundance in certain places, some in one place and 

 some in another. 



Number 4 is SoJidago rigida, one of the golden 

 rods. This looks so unlike many of the golden rods, 

 that none but an expert would know it. Every bee- 

 man knows, by this time, that golden rods and asters 

 are all desirable. 



Number 5 is Salvia longipcs a sort of wild sago. 

 Sages, like all other mints, are favorites of bees. 



REMARKS ON BEE BOTANY. 



Plants are coming in every few days from various 

 parts of the country. There are some repetitions. 

 New species are also among them; I mean speci- 

 mens unlike any before sent. Those who read the 

 journals must begin to realize that the species good 

 for bees are not a few, but exist in many hundreds 

 of species. These cannot (many of them) be learned 

 by any except botanists. If a set were named and 

 placed belore any oiher person, he could not be 

 trusted to compare other plants with them for 

 identification. This the writer has seen exemplified 

 in ihe case of many sorts of plants, for twenty years 

 past. The same is true of insects, or other small 

 animals. W. J. Beal. 



Mich. Ag. Col., Lansing. 



The November number of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal contains a very full repoit of the convention at 

 Chicago. Among the valuable papers read was one 

 from Prof. Cook in regard to the bee's tongue, illus- 

 trated with diagrams. 



W t e clip the following good advice from the Cin- 

 cinnati Grange Btdlitin: 



Seiape up all y( ur beeswax on rainy days, but do 

 notsend it off by mail or express and lose half in 

 charges; if you cannot sell it near home, club with 

 your neighbors and s. ud a barrel of it by freight. 



Mr. James Boston of Cincinnati, Neb., has a tene- 

 ment hive- with the roof in two pieces, each piece 

 hinged so as to be raised like the lid to a chest. The 

 connection with the ridge board, where the hinges 

 are, is made waler*proof by a strip of enameled clotb> 



