THE AMERICAI^ BEE JOURNAL. 



243 



and participated in a barbeque, provided 

 by tlie citizens, and then look a trip to- 

 wards Texarkaiia. Tlie train halted in a 

 cotton tield, wliere pickers were busy 

 gathering the crop. iMany of our party 

 left the cars and converseii with the col- 

 ored pickers, and inspected, lor the first 

 lime, one of the cotton fields of the Soutli. 



We then returned to Little Rock, break- 

 fasted, and then the parly divided, at its 

 own pleasure. A portion, as guests of 

 the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, 

 went eastward to see the country between 

 the Arkansas and Mississijjpi rivers, and 

 the other part, as guests of the Little 

 Rock and Fort Smith Railroad, went west 

 to visit the Arkansas coal fields, which 

 are being newly developed there; of these 

 fields there are several — chief of which is 

 the celebrated mine of the "Ouita Coal 

 C')mpan\%" Our friend, Thos. Lafterty, 

 Esq., of Little Rock, being the managing 

 director. He accompanied the excursion, 

 and took the party through the mine. 



We "went west," and were treated like a 

 prince. Theo. Hartman, Esq., Gen. Supt. 

 of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Rail- 

 road, took charge of the party, and no 

 man could do more to make it pleasant 

 and agreeable. L'nder the able manage- 

 ment of such a suderiuteudent, that Rail- 

 road must prosper, and become a power 

 in the laud. At every station, the inhabi- 

 tants were out in numbers, exhibiting the 

 fruits of the soil, and tempting us with 

 choice viands. At one of these stopping- 

 places we saw a cucumber weighing 64 

 pounds, and measuring 13 by 28 inches; 

 at another, corn 14 feet high; at another, 

 prairie grasses 7 feet high, and wheat and 

 oats of large size ; at another, stocks of 

 Japanese peas that had produced 200 

 bushels to the acre. But space and time 

 would fail us to speak of all we saw: our 

 advice to all seeking good bee-locations, 

 is to go down and see for themselves, and 

 then act on their best convictions. 



At Little Rock, the party iinited, 

 and all flew on the rails of comfort, in 

 elegant palace cars, back to St Louis, 

 having enjoyed the pleasure of an excur- 

 sion of five days, loaded with pleasant 

 memories, and freighted with incidents 

 and facts about a country which is des- 

 tined to become one of the best, most con- 

 genial and profitable on this continent. 



In the language of another, we would 

 s-dj: "The climate of the State — her im- 

 munity Irom cyclones, grasshoppers and 

 other pests, the regularity of her seasons 

 show the adaptation of the State to agri- 

 culture. Then, the advantages offered to 

 manufacturing enterprise is palpable, 

 with such forests and coal fields, and raw- 

 material of every variety. The mineral 

 wealth of the State is of such a character, 

 and crops out so plainly, that the learning 

 of the geologist may be almost dispensed 

 with for practical purposes. The State 



government, if not all that could be de- 

 sired, will certainly compare favorably 

 with any other in the Union." 



The party passed a vote of thanks to the 

 Railroads, and to Col. Loughijorougii, 

 the indefatigable and earnest Land Com- 

 missioner, as well as toT. B. MiM.s & Co. 

 editors of the Spirit of Arkansas, at Little 

 Rock, and to many others; but want of 

 space forbids the details. At St. Louis, 

 the party separated and repaired to their 

 respective homes and fields of labor, to 

 tell their readers what they had seen and 

 heard. 



Ijtovicy plants* 



Questions answered by Pi'of. C. E. Bessby, 

 Profetcor of Botany, at the State Agricultural 

 College, Ames, lovva. 



Herewith find a branch as broken from 

 two kinds of wild weeds upon which my 

 bees are now working, and getting pollen, 

 if not honey. I would like to know the 

 name and honey-producing capacity of 

 them. J.Stuart. 



AVebster Co. Mo., Sept. 15, 1875. 



The plant with yellow flower-, is a 

 species of golden-rod, probably solidago 

 canadensis, although the entire absence of 

 leaves from the specimen renders it some- 

 what doubtful. It is valuable for honey, 

 as are all the golden-rods. 



The violet or purple flowered plant be- 

 longs to the general family which includes 

 the mints. It is the common dittany, can- 

 ila mariana. It grows from southern New 

 York, southward and westward. Judging 

 from the value possessed by its relatives, 

 this plant is probably a good honey plant. 



You will find enclosed some seed of a 

 weed which the bees work on from the 

 20th of June, and is in bloom yet; the 

 bees work on it every day. It has a square 

 stalk, hollow in the center and grows 

 from 2 to 4 feet high. The seed and flow- 

 er are close to the stalk in a bur. Here is 

 a small piece of it, not quite in bloom. I 

 think it yields more honey than catnip. 



Port Rowen, Ont. E. Bkown. 



This appears to be motherwort, (Zeo«,tt7'w« 

 cardiaca) an introduced European plant. 

 It is a relative of catnip and the mints in 

 general. I should like pressed specimens 

 of the whole plant. 



Yesterday morning I accidentally found 

 the inclosed plant on the roadside; my at- 

 tention was called to it, from the fact that 

 it was literally covered with bees. The same 

 was the case on my return in the evening. 



