August, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN B E p: CULTURE 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



cent betti'i- tlian tlie rost of tlio yard. For 

 a long time I thought it was because they 

 worked a different range from the main 

 yard, but it's the decrease in robbing that 

 does it. 



This spring I set 62 of our weakest colo- 

 nies along the south side of a ditch bank 

 for additional warmth and protection from 

 wind. As they were to be run for increase 

 and needed few visits, I left them there all 

 the spring. These nuclei got more nectar 

 all the spring than the main yard of stronger 

 stands, getting it even when the others did 

 not seem to get any. 



For a while I thought it was the addi- 

 tional warmth (which really does increase 

 colony morale and ambition up to a certain 

 extent after which it decreases it). How- 

 ever, asparagus and milkweed and grass 

 grew up around these hives hiding their 

 entrances, and eventually hiding the hives. 

 Now, I never did think I liked my bees hid 

 from view with weeds, but those bees very 

 certainly did a lot better than the rest of 

 the yard only a few feet away. I '11 not ad- 

 vocate keeping weeds around bees to pre- 

 vent robbing, for weeds in a yard certainly 

 do go against the grain; but I do believe 

 in small isolated yards, and in a pre- 

 vention of robbing so far as possible, and — 

 yes, I do believe T would let a little grass 

 grow in front of the entrance if now'here 

 else. I believe the bees would rather climb 

 <lown the grass than to be warding off rob- 

 bers all the time. 



Did you ever notice how foul brood 

 (American at least) decreases the hive 

 spirit? These are the stands -which are the 

 first to be robbed, at least after the disease 

 is under noticeable headway. Do you know- 

 that American foul brood, besides destroy- 

 ing the larvEe, makes lots of bees sick and 

 weak? Cage bees from foul brood and bees 

 from a strong stand, and see which starves 

 or succumbs first. Foul brood is like any- 

 thing else that worries the bees, it certainly 

 decreases the "colony moiale. " 



Overton, Nev. T. W. Eiggs. 



THOROUGHWORT OR BONESET 



A Fall Flower That Contributes in Some Places to 

 a Late Honey Flow 



There are in North America some 47 

 species of Eupatorium, popularly called tho- 

 roughwort or boneset. They are most com- 

 mon in the Eastern United States, being es- 

 pecially abundant in the warmer climate of 

 the Southern States, but are comparatively 

 rare in the Rocky Mountain region. While 

 many kinds thrive in dry woods and sandy 

 fields, others grow in damp or wet soil, or 

 even temporarily in running water. The tho- 

 roughworts are tall, coarse plants with large, 

 resinous-dotted aromatic leaves, and white 



or purple fiowers grouped in large, flat- 

 tojijied clustei's. 



The two most widely known species are 

 common thoroughwort (Eupatorium: perfo- 

 liatuin), also called boneset, Indian sage, 

 and ague weed; and purple boneset (E. piir- 

 piireum), other English names of which are 

 Joe-Pye weed, gravel root, queen of the 

 meadow, and kidney root. These two species 

 will usually be found listed in the honey 

 floras of most of the Eastern States; but, 

 owing to the fact that many other flowers 

 bloom at the same time, pure thoroughwort 

 honey is seldom obtained. Thoroughwort is 

 an important component of the dense masses 

 of weeds which cover the great sawgrass 

 flats of Florida, but wild sunflower, golden- 

 rods, asters, Spanish needles and smartweed 

 bloom contemporaneously with it, so that 

 the honey is a blend from many flowers. In 

 most of the North goldenrod and aster 

 greatly exceed thoroughwort in abundance. 



In Tennessee, according to J.M. Buchan- 

 an, several epccies of Eupatorium are com- 

 mon along the northern edge of that State 

 and yield heavily, espe-ially white thorough- 

 wort {E. (tlhinii) and white snake-root or 

 white sanicle (E. (if/eratoides). The former 

 species is confined largely to the Southern 

 States, but the latter is a woodland plant 

 from New Brunswick to Louisiana. The 

 honey is light amber, but has a rather high 

 flavor. Further south, altho these plants 

 are abundant, they produce very little honey. 

 Thruout Kentucky thoroughwort is common 

 on damj) ground; but at Lexington, I am in- 

 forn'ed by the botanist of the exjjeriment 

 station, it is net abundant enousrh to fu'-nish 

 honey in any quantity. But at Hopkinsville, 

 Virgil Weaver writes that he became as- 

 euainted with a beekeeper who said that it 

 was one of his main sources of honey. If 

 blooms in August and September and yields 

 a light-amber honey with a fine flavor. The 

 genus seems to be best represented in the 

 southwestern part of the State. 



Eupatorium belongs to the Compositas, a 

 family in wiiich the small tubular florets are 

 massed in heads, and the heads are aggre- 

 gated into conspicuous clusters. In the 

 common thoroughwort (E. perfoliafuin) 

 there are from 12 to 15 florets in a head. 

 The corolla-tube is about 2 mm. (about one- 

 twelfth inch) long widening out into a little 

 cup, so that the nectar can be reached by a 

 great variety of insects, including bees, 

 wasps, flies, butterflies and moths, and 

 beetles. More than 130 species of insects 

 have been collected on the flowers, which 

 are sweet-scented. More butterflies have 

 been observed by the writer to visit these 

 flowers than others in this locality. The 

 purple boneset (E. purpuretim) has longer 

 corolla-tubes and is visited by a much 

 sn;aller number of insects, those with short 

 tongues being excluded. 



Waldoboro, Me. John H. Lovell. 



