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G I. K A N I N G S IN BEE CULTURE 



£OtEAPJ_OF_GRSN3J?M 



Buttonbush in Some 

 Places is Valuable 

 Honey Plant. 



honeyballs, globe 



The buttonbush (Ce- 

 phalauthus Occident a- 

 li.s) is also called but- 

 ton ball, buttontree, 

 flower, pond dogwood, 

 and buttonwood shrub. In North America 

 there is only one species of buttonbush or 

 Cepftalanthus, a brief description of which is 

 given in the ABC and X Y Z of Bee 

 Culture. There are, however, five other spe- 

 cies found in Asia and tropical America, 

 some of which are small trees. Our species 

 is very widely distributed, extending from 

 New Brunswick to California, and south- 

 ward to Florida, Texas, and Arizona. It 

 belongs to the Madder family, or Ruhiaceae. 

 The English name, "buttonball," is also 

 used for the plane tree (PJataiius occideti- 

 tali'i), which has very small green flowers 

 in dense globular heads. Hence it is better 

 not to use this name for the buttonbush. 



In North America the buttonbush grows 

 along the banks of rivers and in dense 

 masses in swamps. The corolla-tube is 9 

 mm. (V2 inch) long while the tongue of the 

 honeybee is only 6 mm. long; but as the 



tubes are trumpet-shaped, flaring at the 

 mouth, the honeybee is probably able to 

 obtain all or nearly all of the nectar. The 

 nectar is abundant; and, besides the honej^- 

 bee, the plant also attracts bumblebees, vari- 

 ous solitary bees, and a large number of but- 

 terflies which are easily able to drain the 

 nectar with their long slender tongues. 



In the vicinity of large swamps the but- 

 tonbush is often a valuable honey plant. 

 This is especially true in the bottom lands 

 of the Mississippi Eiver, where this shrub 

 covers large areas. In Gleanings for Oct. 

 15, 1914, G. W. Haines describes a large 

 swamp, ten miles long, at Mayfield, Mass., 

 in which there is a profusion of buttonbush 

 bloom. It comes into bloom in August with 

 buckwheat, and at about 11 o'clock the bees 

 usually leave the flowers of buckwheat and 

 start for the great swamp, where they work 

 on the buttonbush all day. The honey is 

 mixed with that of buckwheat, to which it 

 gives a fine flavor. It has been described 

 as mild and light-colored. 



Waldoboro, Maine. John H. Lovell. 



BACKLOT BUZZKK. 



Mcniiy .Soiirwi'.'d says, "Wlien these bee fxperts get \<> quaiifliir nvpr the best way to bivc 

 'em. ;in' winter 'em, it jes' makes him think nf nlil Tii;!' .ukI Bill Mellvir'.s cat. 



'em. smoke 



