1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



oblonjf, lower petiolate, upper sessile, the topmost 

 subtending the glomerules, like an involucre. It is 

 found in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and south- 

 ward, in rather damp, shady places, and blooms 

 from July to September. W. S. Devol. 



Columbus, O., Sept. 6, 1884. 



B.\STARD PENNYROYAL. 



I inclose you a sample of a plant which grows in 

 small quantity near my bees, and over which they 

 are making- a terrible ado this morning-. What is it, 

 and what is its value as a honey-producerV 



H. C. Lewis. 



Laurel, Sussex Co., Del., Aug. 28, 1884. 



This is bastard pennyroyal (Trichotttcma clicliuto- 

 mum, L.), a member of the Mint family (Lahiatw), 

 and can be classed as a honey-phint. It is a low an- 

 nual with many branches, opposite loaves 1 to I'o 

 in. long, and purple flowers borne in the a.xils of the 

 leaves and at the ends of the branches. The flower- 

 stems are curved, inverting- the flowers. The sta- 

 mens are much excerted, the filaments purplish, and 

 curved toward the upi)er lip of the corolla, forming 

 a graceful arch, and so placing the anthers that 

 bees and other insects working on the flowers for 

 honey will remove the pollen with the head or back, 

 thus insuring poUeuization. W. S. Devol. 



Columbus, O., Sept., 1884. 



PENNYROYAL, AGAIN. 



I send you a small box by mail, containing a spec- 

 imen of a wild honey-plant that grows all through 

 this mountain country. The bees use it all day 

 long- from about the first of June until frost. I 

 should like to have the proper name for it, and 

 whether it is common throughout the country. 



Spencer, Tenn., Sept. 1, 1884. H. C. Cox. 



This reminds me that peimyroyal has been 

 many times noticetl as a honey-plant. Can 

 any of the friends tell ns about the flavor of 

 the lioney ? It seems to me it would be 

 beautifnl— similar to the California sage, for 

 instance; and this reminds me that we have 

 never had any pennyroyal on our f^ronnds 

 yet. I think we shall have to give it a trial. 



WILD BUCKWHEAT. 



I send a specimen of vine on which bees are now 

 working a great deal. It grows on our lakes and 

 wet places, rvinning into the tops of the willows, 30 

 or 40 feet. Please give me the name of it. It is 

 now in full bloom, and continues to bloom as the 

 vine grows. W. S. Logan. 



Keachi, De Soto Par., La., July 16, 1884. 



This is Brunnichia (liruHiiichia cinhimi, Banks), 

 a member of the Buckwheat family, and undoubted- 

 ly an excellent honey-plant. It is a smooth vine, 

 climbing by terminal tendrils to 10 to 30 or 40 feet 

 high. The greenish flowers, pi-oduced in April and 

 May, are borne in terminal and axilary racemes, on 

 slender pedicels. It is found along streams, climb- 

 ing over bushes and trees, from Florida to South 

 Carolina, and westward. W. S. Devol. 



Columbus, O., July 23, 1881. 



In closing our column of bee botany, it 

 seems to me we owe a vote of thanks to 

 friend Devol ft)i- the patient wiiy in which 

 he has worked and named all these plants 

 sent him. I met him for a few minutes 

 while at Cohunbtis lately, at the agricultural 

 grounds, and it makes "me feel happy every 

 time I think of the tine young men our 



State has Ixhmi able to secure for the work. 

 I feel Jiappy to tiiiidv we liave an agricultur- 

 al and exiieriiiiental station on behalf of our 

 farming inti^est. Then I feel happy again 

 to think it is my ])rivilege to i)ei-haps' help a 

 little in the good woik now and then. 



THE ST. JOSEPH EXPOSITION. 



THE bee and APICULTUR-\L DISPLAY. 



fHE sixth annual exhibition of the St. Joseph 

 Exposition closed to-day. The weather was 

 fine, the attendance large, and the displays 

 in all the departments good. The amount 

 of honey displayed in the apiarian depart- 

 ment was not so large as last year, but the premium 

 list was much larger and more comprehensive, and 

 there was a greater variety of articles on exhibition. 

 Increased space was given the department, and, at 

 the suggestion of the superintendent, the Board 

 had a space inclosed Avith wire cloth for the special 

 display of the internal workings of a colony of bees. 

 The superintendent of the department, E. T. 

 Abbott, of St. Joseph, got out a very neat eight- 

 page paper, cut and pasted, in the interest of bee 

 culture, and distributed two thousand copies of 

 them during the week. It attracted considerable 

 attention, and will, no doubt, aid the cause of ad- 

 vanced bee culture in the future. 



There were three very fine displays of apicultur- 

 al literature, which represented about all of the 

 books and periodicals published in this country, be- 

 sides a luunber of foreign publications. A number 

 of parties supplied themselves with books during 

 the fair, and a great many sample copies of differ- 

 ent magazines were given out. It is to be hoped 

 that the benefits of this may be seen in future dis- 

 plays. 



Mr. E. Armstrong, of Jerseyville, 111., had a very 

 fine display of hives, honey, bees, etc. The neat 

 and tasty way in Avhich his honey was put up and 

 arranged attracted much attention, and had a great 

 deal to do in securing him a number of the first 

 premiums which he received. We hope that others 

 nmy profit by his example another year. 



One of the things that attracted special attention 

 was an Excelsior extractor, on exhibition by Mr. 

 Newman, of Chicago. Mr. Newman not being pres- 

 ent, the superintendent was kept l)usy cxplaining 

 that it was not a " churn," an "ice-cream freezer," 

 nor a "washing-machine; " all of which the ladies 

 persisted in calling it, notwithstanding the fact that 

 the name was plainly written upon it. 



Mr. Alley's drone-excluder, which, by the way, 

 reached here too late for entry, was carefully ex- 

 amined by many bee-men, and received nuich favor- 

 able commendation. Mr. Armstrong, of Illinois, and 

 Mr. Parker, of Missouri, wei-e kept busy manipulat- 

 ing their respective hives, and were surrounded by 

 attentive circles most of the time. 



But the event that attracted the most attention 

 was the transferring, by the superintendent and 

 Mr. Armstrong, in the manipulating-room, of a col- 

 ony of bees from an old box hive, to one of modei-ii 

 make with movable frames. The transfer was 

 (juickly made, and excited the wonder and astonish- 

 ment of many present, a large number of whom 

 had never seen any thing of the kind l)efore. 



It may be worthy of mention, that among the ex- 

 hibitors was a young lady who had a very find dis- 

 play of comb and extraetcnl honey, and whose work 



