1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



371 



BEE BOTANY AND ENTOMOLOGY. 



LOCUST. 



fjjHE black locust is a great honey producer hire, 

 and, during the two weeks it is in bloom, bees 

 desert nearly all else to work upon it. The 

 honey is white, and very nice and fragrant. The lo- 

 cust is easily propagated and a fast grower. In the 

 spring, scald the seeds and plant in good ground 

 where you wish them to grow, and in 3 years you 

 may have a breakwind or hedge, and bloom for your 

 bees. j. E. Johns* >s. 



St. George, Utah, June 10, 1880. 



There are locust trees in this locality from 1 foot 

 high to 2 ft. in diameter. They are very hardy trees, 

 growing and doing well on almost any kind of soil. 

 My bees worked on them nearly two weeks, and the 

 roaring and humming in them was almost equal to 

 that during linn bloom. They bloom here when 4 

 years old. The trees should be set out either in the 

 spring or fall, and they would be almost sure to 

 grow without any care at all. They will grow from 

 4 to 8 ft. the first year from the seed. I will furnish 

 locust trees from 3 to 5 ft. hiab packed in good con- 

 dition, on board of cars at West Line for $4.00 per 

 100. 



BUCK BUSH. 



We have a honey plant here of which I see hut lit- 

 tle said in Gleanings; it is commonly known as 

 buck bush. It is almost equal to linn and never 

 fails. It grows any where, on any kind of ground in 

 this country. I could furnish this for $1.00 per 100, 

 on board cars. Neither the locust nor buck bush 

 need cultivation or coaxing to make a thrifty growth. 

 The buck bush grows from 3 to 4 ft. high and blos- 

 soms almost from the ground up. The locust is the 

 best timber known for posts, or for any thing which 

 is needed to last a great while, either in the ground 

 or out. 



STONE-CROP. 



Enclosed I send you a flower which grows here in 

 a perfect mat on the hill sides, and ledges of rock. 

 My bees have been working on it for the past week, 

 and seem to get considerable honey from it. It 

 seems to be a kind of moss and is called by some 

 rock moss. Is that the right name for it? If not, 

 what is it ? and do you know anything about it as a 

 honey plant? (). A. Hoag. 



West Union, Cass Co., Mo., June <>, 1880. 



This moss is very beautiful, and I think 

 will be quite an acquisition to our honey 

 farm, if you will mail us a few roots, friend 

 II. Prof. Beal to whom we sent your speci- 

 men, says it is Sedum pulch?llwm, a kind of 

 stone-crop. 



SOURWOOD. 



I don't think sourwood could be successfully grown 

 from the seed. Since you have mentioned it, I have 

 noticed that most of the young trees are sprouts 

 from the roots of some large tree. I suppose tke 

 sourwood could be furnished at 83.00 per hundred, 

 and the locust at $1.00. 



BUCKTHORN. 



We have another tree here that, in my opinion, ia 

 more valuable than either of the above. They call 

 it thunderwood here. I don't know what the pro- 

 per name is. I send you a specimen. Please give 

 the name. It grows about :,'5 ft. high, and blooms 

 immediately after white clover begins to fail. If 

 you should want some of them, I could furnish them 



at about .",0c. per hundred. With us it is better than 

 the linn, as it blooms between white clover and sour- 

 wood. c. E. Kiwgsley. 



Greeneville, Tenn., June 9, 1880. 



This is Rhamnus Carolinianus, a kind of buck- 

 thorn. A few days ago [see buck bush on oppo- 

 site column] you sent a specimen like this from 

 another source. W. J. Beal. 



Friend ( 'orey, who gave us the cold blast 

 smoker, sends some fine specimens of Cali- 

 fornia honey plants with the following note: 



Friend Hoot :— I send you a few samples of hpney 

 plants. The relative value of them will be given 

 when I have leisure. J. G. Corky. 



Santa Paula, Cal., June 0, 1880. 



THE SAGES OF CALIFORNIA. 



The first, he iabels White Sage. It has a 

 light, ashy colored foliage not unlike our 

 common sage, and the stalk and blossoms 

 are much like the picture in the ABC book. 

 The foliage has a very strong aromatic fla- 

 vor, not unlike common sage and penny- 

 royal combined,— a sort of a thyme flavor, 

 reminding one, if he be at all imaginative, 

 of both mountains and deserts. 



No. 12, labeled Black Sage, is quite a differ- 

 ent plant, and partakes more of the nature 

 of our woods balm, both in taste, and in 

 stalk and flower. 



No. 3 is labeled as a cross between the 

 black and white, and its looks strongly in- 

 dicate as much. The flowers grow in more 

 separate knobs, like the bj^ack. 



No. 4 is labeled a hybrid, cross between 

 the white and purple. It is the most beau- 

 tiful plant of all. The flowers have such a 

 very strong aromatic flavor, that one is al- 

 most sure lie has a lump of camphor gum in 

 his mouth, when tasting it. The stalk of 

 this is more nearly square, like the mints, 

 while those of the previously mentioned va- 

 rieties are round or nearly so. After tasting 

 of the flowers of these plants, one can scarce- 

 ly wonder at the remarkable and exquisite 

 flavor of the California honey. 



OTHER CALIFORNIA HONEY PLANTS. 



No. 5 is labeled wild Alfalfa, which is 

 quite like the Alfalfa growing on our 

 grounds, only the flowers are yellow, in- 

 stead of blue. 



No. (> is labeled Soap Plant, and in taste it 

 is not unlike soft soap. Tasting of things 

 has been one of my favorite ways of analyz- 

 ing; I presume I acquired the habit very 

 early in life. I wish somebody would tell 

 more about the soap plant ; I ain satisfied it 

 is not made to eat. 



No. 7 is marked Chimesal. It looks like 

 an evergreen, but has a profusion of clus- 

 ters or masses of white flowers. The skin 

 seems to be off my tongue, but I don't know 

 whether it was soap plant or chimesal that 

 did it. I think I won't taste of any more 

 Nos. 



Please give common and scientific name of en- 

 closed honey plant. C. Sherrick. 

 Shawncetown, 111., June 25, 1880. 



Prof. Beal, of Michigan Agricultural Col- 

 lege, to whom we sent the specimen, names 

 it n rhi no, 8ttricta (mullein verbena). lie re- 

 marks that most or all of the verbenas are 

 fine bee plants, 



