March. 1915. 



American Hee Journal 



dust is about one inch narrower than 

 the space between the ends of hives 

 and the thickness of end boards, and is 

 nailed on so as to allow the proper 

 space for the tin rabbets. I enclose 

 a photograph showing inside corner 

 view of the building, and the hive ar- 

 rangement we like best. Cuts in No- 

 vember, 1014, .•\merican Bee Journal, 

 show outside arrangements, page 383. 

 Ebensburg, Pa. 



No. 3.— The Honey-Producing 

 Plants— "Asters" 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT. 



{/'/i(>ftwnrfi/is fir thf author.) 



THERE are said to be about 125 spe- 

 cies of asters or starworts in North 

 America, and also many species in 

 Eurnpe, .\sia and South Africa. These 

 plants then must be familiar to the 

 beekeepers of temperate regions in all 



Fig. 13.— Wild Aster 



parts of the world. Some species grow 

 in open shady woodlands while others 

 delight in the open sunlight of the 

 prairie. They range in height from 18 

 inches, or less, to ^ feet. As a rule, the 

 plants are many flowered, as will be 

 seen by the picture. A plant with a 

 small number of flowers was chosen 

 in an attempt to secure greater detail. 

 Sometimes hundreds of blossoms oc- 

 cur on one stem. They range in color 

 from white to blue and dark purple, 

 blue being perhaps the most common 

 color. They have a tendency in some 

 cases to become weeds, but are easily 

 destroyed by cultivation and are not 

 often regarded as serious. The bloom 

 in this locality comes very late, lasting 

 until killing frosts. In 1914 the writer 

 saw bees still working on asters in 

 November. 

 These plants are very attractive to a 



large variety of insect life, many differ- 

 ent species seeking them in addition 

 to the bees. The white rayed flowers 

 are said to be the best honey pruduc- 

 ers, some species apparently not yield- 

 ing any nectar. The value of the as- 



ters as honey plants is rather uncer- 

 tain, for while they yield considerable 

 surplus in many localities, the honey 

 makes very poor winter stores and 

 many reports show heavy losses from 

 wintering on aster honey. The honey 



FIG. u-BONESET OR WHITE SNAKEROOT 



Ji^^-.^ 





* -":^-Va: 



mdi^ 







FIG. I5-WHITE SNAKEROOT IN AUTHORS WILD GARDEN 



