MOTHERWORT. 



Besan to bloom about tbe 20th of June. 

 •Dii the 2Ttliof June the bees connuenced to 

 work upon our bed. They seemed to take 

 to it more readily in tlie afternoon. It will 

 last until about August 1st. It is one of our 

 needful plants. 



ESPARCETTE, or SAINFOIN {Onobrig- 

 cliis Satlva). 



Hardly hardy enough for our climate. 

 CATNIP {Nepeta Catarla). 



Commences to bloom about the 20th of 

 -July, and lasts until about the 1st of Sep- 

 tember. The honey is clear and beautiful. 

 As it comes into bloom about the time Bass- 

 wood goes out, it is of importance to bee- 

 Jveepers. Bees work upon it readily. 



WHITE MUSTARD. 



It began to bloom about June 7th, and 

 lasted nearly a month. The bees com- 

 menced work on the Uth; on the 19th the 

 bees were so thick that their hum sounded 

 something like Prof. Cook's buzz-saw, lack- 

 ing the screech. This is one of the best of 

 honey plants, and I think its bloom can be 

 «8asily regulated by man so as to have it come 

 after Bass wood. 



BORAGE {Dorrngo Officinalis). 



The period of blooming is from June 20th 

 to cold weather. Where there are no plants 

 lor bees to work upon. Borage does very 

 well; but when White Clover and Basswood 

 are in bloom, bees will forsake the Borage 

 for them. As cold weather begins to come, 

 'they swarm to the Borage. It is a good 

 honey plant, when there are no plants of 

 ^greater importance in bloom. 



FALL BLACK MUSTARD. 



Commences to bloom about the 4tli day of 

 July, and passes out about the middle of 

 August, so that it is in bloom when most 

 needed. Early in the morning it is loaded 

 with bees, and they will work en masse un- 

 til about eleven o'clock, when their numbers 

 begin to grow less, and at nightfall hardly 

 a bee is to be seen upon it. Its bloom can 

 be easily regulated by man, by sowing either 

 earlier or later in the season, and can safely 

 be classed among the best of honey plants. 



RAPE. 



Can be made to bloom to suit the pleasure 

 of the one sowing it. It comes up very 

 quickly, comes into bloom soon after it is 

 up, and will last about three weeks. The 

 bees swarmed to the bed of Rape, worked 

 well all the forenoon, and then left for more 

 profitable fields in the afternoon. 



From the December number of The Glean- 

 ings in Bee Culture for 1S7(;, I have taken 

 Prof. Beal's article on honey plants: 



" I am frequently asked to identify or give 

 names to certain plants upon which some 

 person has seen bees at work. This does 

 not usually occupy much of my time, espe- 

 cially if the specimens are well put up, as 

 most of them are known at sight, or after a 

 few minutes' examination. 



"But the thought occurs to me, of what 

 Jbenefit can it be to the person sending the 



plant to know whether it is Aster Jfadiro- 

 jyhyllus, Aster Prendnthoides, or Aster 

 Grandlflorus; whether it is Solidago Pe- 

 tiolaris, Solidago Canadensis, Solidago 

 Missouriensis ? My examples are some 

 which are included iifthe list lately received. 

 Of Asters, we have in the Northern States 

 41 species, beside 40 to 100 more which re- 

 semble them to a person unaccustomed to 

 botany. • Of Solidago, or Golden Rods, we 

 have 37 species, and some others which re- 

 semble them. Scarcely one of these has a 

 separate or common name. Asters look too 

 much alike to be distinguished from each 

 other by any one but an expert. The same 

 is true of Golden Rods and avast number of 

 other bee plants. They will get the species 

 and even the genera 'all mixed up.' Even 

 the botanist gets some of them mixed occa- 

 sionally. Our country is renowned for the 

 abundance and variety of the Asters and 

 Golden Rods in September, till the hard 

 frosts appear. These are found in open or 

 unwooded regions, in swamps, along 

 streams, and on the prairies. The fact is, 

 there are nearly a hundred times as great a 

 variety of flowers which furnish bees with 

 food, as most people imagine. On checking 

 off for a noted bee-keeper, who wanted to 

 make a list of bee plants, he seemed to be 

 surprised at the great number, and said he 

 only wanted the best of them. Which are 

 the' best ? The forty-one asters are all good. 

 In one locality certain species abound in 

 great numbers; in other places, some disap- 

 pear and others take their places. To be 

 sure, there are some Asters and other plants 

 affording good honey and pollen, which 

 rarely exist in large numbers. The same is 

 true of Golden Rod and many other jjlants. 

 I suppose a plant is desirable if it exists in 

 quantities large enough to afford much food 

 during a long period, or if it affords food a 

 certain time when most other flowers are 

 scarce. 



"I have made the action and behavior of 

 insects on flowers a study for years. Some 

 flowers are only visited in the morning or 

 forenoon, as the dandelion; others in the 

 afternoon, others at all times «f day when 

 not raining. I tell no news, that Basswood 

 and Rasi)berries att'ord good honey, while 

 the Tulip Tree and Lobelia afford honey 

 which is unpleasant or unwholesome to 

 some persons. 



"The jRanuncnlacece, Crowfoot family, 

 afford us So species or more upon which bees 

 work; some of them open early in spring. 

 The Cruclfercv, or Mustard family, about 

 70 species; Malvacete, or Melon family, 

 over 20 species; Oeremacece, or Geranium 

 family, 13; Anacardiacece, or Maple. &c., 

 11; Legununoca% or Pulse family. 110 or 

 more native, besides some exotics; Rosacea^, 

 or Rose family, s:;, and several exotics; Sax- 

 ifrwidcciv, or Saxifrage family, about 30; 

 Caprlfoliacea% Honeysuckles, &c., about 

 30; C'ompositm, Sunflowers, Asters, &c., 

 perhaps 325, besides many in cultivation; 

 Lobeliacea\ Lobelia family, 13; Campana- 

 lacew, or Bell Flowers, 7; Erlcacea:, Heath 

 family, 00; Scrophulariacea', Figworts, 

 about 60; Verbenacecc, Verbenas, 10; La- 

 biatew. Mints, many of much value, 7s»; 

 Borragincecc, Borage family, 28; Aselcpia- 

 daeecv, Milkweed family, 25; Polygonacetc, 



