May, 1913. 



American Hee Journal 



American Hedicinal Leaves and Herbs. 



.^This is tlie title of Bulletin No. '■il!), 

 Bureau of I'lant Industry, United States 

 Department of Agriculture, by Alice 

 Henkel. Three dozen medicinal plants 

 are described, with a beautiful picture 

 of each, a full page being devoted to 

 each plant. Bee-keepers will be spe- 

 cially interested in the uses of 4 of 

 these plants, which are also honey- 

 plants. Their collection and uses are 

 accordingly given : 



HoRF.HOUND. — Afarrubiiim Tulffcnc L. 

 Other common names. Houndsbene. 

 marvel, marrube. 



The leaves and tops are tiie parts used in 

 medicine, and are official in the United 

 States Hharinacopneia. These are gathered 

 just lieforc the plant is in Hower. the coarse 

 stalks being rejected. They should be care- 



Motherwort. — l.ionuritx cardiaca I.. 

 Synonym. — Cardhnci i'u/_i,'aris Moarch. 

 Other common names. — Throwwort, 

 cowthwort, lion's-tail, lion's-ear. 



The leaves and flowering topsare collected 

 during the flowering season. They have an 

 aroniatic odor and a very bitter taste. At 

 present they bring ai^out i to scents a pound. 



Motherwort has stimulant, slightly tonic 

 properties, and is used also to promote per- 

 spiration. 



BONESET. — Eufalurium f'eyfnliatum L. 

 Synonym. — /uipatorinm cotinaittm 

 Michx. Other common names. — Thor- 

 oughwort, thorough-stem, thorough- 

 wax, wood boneset, teasel, agueweed, 

 feverwort, sweating-plant, crosswort, 

 vegetable antimony, Indian sage, wild 

 sage, tearal, wild isaac. 



The leaves and flowering tops, official in 



for bee-keeping, 

 bulletin : 



As] stated in this 



HoREHOUND Mjrrubiumvulgiire). LEAVES. Flowers, and .Seed Cll'sters. 



fully dried in the shade. The odor is pleas- 

 ant, rather aromatic, but diminishes in dry- 

 ing. The taste is bitter and persistent. 

 Horehound at present brings about i^i to 

 2 cents a pound. 



It is well known as a domestic remedy lor 

 colds, and is also used in dyspepsia and for 

 expelling worms. 



Catnip. — Xepeta cataria L. Other 

 common names. — Cataria. catmint, cat- 

 wort, catrup, field-mint. 



The leaves and flowering tops, which 

 have a strong odor and a bitter taste. 

 are taken when the plant is in flower, 

 and are carefully dried. The coarser 

 stems and branches are rejected. Cat- 

 nip was official in the United States 

 Pharmacopoeia from 1840 to 1880. The 

 price ranges from 3 to .5 cents a pound. 



Catnip is used as a mild stimulant 

 and tonic, and as an emmenagogue. It 

 also has a quieting effect on the nerv- 

 ous svstem. 



the United States Pharmacopaeia. are col 

 lected when the plants are in flower, strip' 

 ped from the stalk and carefully dried- 

 They lose considerable of their weight in 

 drying. The price per pound for boneset is 

 about 2 cents. 



Boneset leaves and tops have a bitter, as- 

 tringent taste and a slightly aromatic odor. 

 They form an old and popular remedy in 

 the treatment of fever and ague, as implied 

 by some of the common names given to the 

 plant. Boneset is also employed in colds, 

 dyspepsia, jaundice, and as a tonic. In large 

 doses it acts as an emetic and cathartic. 



Texas Bee-Keeping Bulletin Bulle- 

 tin No. 142, of Texas .Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Stations is received, entitled, 

 "Practical Information for Beginners 

 in Bee-Keeping," by Wilmon Newell, 

 State Entomologist and Entomologist 

 of the Experiment Stations. 



This bulletin ought to do well the 

 work for which it is intended. Texas 

 is doing more than the average State 



By law. the Professor of Entomology at the 

 Agricultural and Mechanical College of 

 Texas is made .State Kntomologist. and as 

 such, is charged with enforcement of the 

 law for control of diseases of bees, and with 

 maintaining an experimental apiary in 

 which experiments are conducted for the 

 benefit of Texas bee-keepers. Several colo- 

 nies of purebred bees are kept on the A. & 

 M. College grounds for use in connection 

 with a course in bee-keeping given to stu 

 dents in the Agricultural Ctnirses of study, 

 and for demonstration purposes. A more 

 complete apiary, well-etjuipped with mod- 

 ern tools and imi)lement5. is maintained by 

 the present .State Entomologist on the Bra- 

 zos River, about 7 miles from the College. 

 This apiary contains at present 4u colonies, 

 and is used for experimental work exclu- 

 sively. 



The author shows a level head when 

 he speaks thus of the money in bees : 



The profit from keeping bees on a commer- 

 cial scale is easy to calculate "on paper." 

 but is not always so easy to realize in prac- 

 tice. It not infrequently happens that good 

 colonies, properly cared for, in favorable 

 seasons yield from 40 to 60 pounds of honey, 

 selling at prices varying all the way from 7 

 to \s cents per pound. The cash revenue 

 from an apiary under such conditions is of 

 course considerable, but unfavorable sea- 

 sons, disease, lack of skill or insufficient at- 

 tention on the part of the bee-keeper may 

 reduce the yield to much less than this 

 amount, or even wipe it out entirely. Expe- 

 rienced bee-keepers have learned that they 

 can not count on handsome profits every 

 season, but find that by judicious manage- 

 ment and by caring for their bees in bad as 

 well as in good seasons, they get a good aver- 

 age return from their investments. 



It may be of interest to cull a few 

 items here and there from this bulletin. 



The egg laid by a queen-bee, usually 

 given as 1-16 of an inch long, is here 

 given more exactly: 1.8 millimeters, or 

 7-100 of an inch. 



Rarely more than 200 or 300 drones 

 are found in a normal colony, and as a 

 usual thing not more than 7.5 to lOo 

 during summer and autumn. (That 

 300 would require only about 3 inches 

 square of drone-comb. This is only 

 about one-tenth of the estimates given 

 by nearly all other writers, ancient and 

 modern. We are inclined to believe 

 that the Texas estimate was based 

 upon colonies which had been sup- 

 plied with full sheets of comb founda- 

 tion. If we are mistaken we would 

 like to be corrected.) 



For Texas, the best hive is the 10- 

 frame dovetailed. 



As a great amount of propolis is 

 gathered by the bees in Central and 

 East Texas, the metal-spaced frame is 

 preferable to all others in these locali- 

 ties. 



(/)n opening a hive, blow one or two 

 puffs into the entrance. " Do this with 

 a strong closing of the bellows, so as 

 to drive the smoke thoroughly into 

 every part of the hive. This does not 

 mean that the bees should be deluged 

 with smoke. .\ll that is required is 

 that each bee in the hive should get a 

 whiff, however li,t;ht it may be." 



As to the effect of smoke upon bees: 



The probable explanation is simple. All 

 wild creatures are afraid of fire and the 

 bees, not unlike other creatures, have 

 learned bv generations of experience that 

 fireisa force which they can not hope to 

 combat successfully. As smoke is the fore- 

 runner of the fire, they doubtless conclude 

 that it is better to load up with their house- 

 hold supplies of honey and prepare to va- 

 cate than to attempt opposition to the 

 smoker and its operator. 



(Didn't Prof. Newell accept that tra- 

 dition without much studying over it? 



