OCTOBKK, 1921 



GI. EANTNGR IN BEE CULTURE 



629 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



ranks close to white clover. This and bone- 

 set seldom fail to give a fair to good yield 

 of nectar in this vicinity. S. E- Miller. 



Answer by Lovell. 



In the employment of the common or Eng- 

 lish names of flowers we are governed en- 

 tirely by usage. There is no hard and fast 

 rule as in the case of the Latin names- The 

 same species may be called by a dozen dif- 

 ferent popular names, by one name in one 

 locality and by another name elsewhere. Or 

 the same name may be applied to three or 

 four very unlike plants; for example, loose- 

 strife is the name of three plants belonging 

 to entirely different genera; fireweed, elder, 

 dogwood, and clover are other examples. In 

 all such cases we depend for the identifica- 

 tion of the plant on the Latin name, which 

 is determined with extreme care. 



The English name "heartsease" is uni- 

 versally used by American beekeepers for 

 the well-known honey plant Polygonum per- 

 sicaria. It is always thus referred to in 

 conversation and in our bee books and bee 

 journals; and every beekeeper knows what 

 plant is meant- This must be an old name 

 for this plant, since it was invariably used 

 by such a veteran beekeeper as Dr. C- C. Mil- 

 ler. This plant is also called lady's thumb, 

 heartweed, and knotweed, all of which are 

 given in the ABC and X Y Z of Bee Cul- 

 ture. The names heartweed and lady 's 

 thumb doubtless come from a dark-green ir- 

 regular blotch or spot on the center of each 

 leaf, which may be variously imagined to 

 represent a heart or the imprint of a thumb- 

 From this it was an easy step to suj^pose 

 that the foliage was beneficial in heart trou- 

 bles, and hence the name heartsease. The 

 fact that the same common name is also 

 used for the pansy makes little difference 

 any more than in the case of fireweed and 

 scores of other plants. Knotweed is a trans- 

 lation of the Greek word Polygonum. 



This particular honey plant, P. Per.-iicarid^ 

 should not be called smartweed- There are 

 24 species or kinds of knotweed or polygo- 

 num in northeastern America, and two of 

 these P. acre — acre is Latin for sharp — and 

 p. hydropiper — hydropiper is Greek for 

 water pepper — are properly called smart- 

 weeds. The leaves are acrid and pungent, 

 due to small glands which secrete an acid. 

 The name smartweed should be restricted 

 to tlijese two species- 



The name commonly given in the botanies 

 for the honey plant P. Pcrsicnria is lady's 

 thumb; but, in the matter of common names, 

 in the casO of the majority of species the 

 botanies usually give no common name at 

 all. For the most common plants they sel- 

 dom give more than one or two English 

 names; while, as in the case of the boxberry 

 (daulthrrid procumhenH) , there may be a 

 dozen. The name gallberry is not given in 



the floras, but all beekeepers know a valu- 

 able southern shrub by this name. Its omis- 

 sion from the botanies is the result of in- 

 difference or an oversight- If we were to 

 speak of ilex honey few would understand 

 this name, and the same is true of poly- 

 gonum honey. It is because we can not rely 

 on the popular names for the identification 

 of plants that we have the Latin ones- 

 Waldoboro, Me. John H. Lovell. 



ADJUSTABLE WINTER ENTRANCE 



A Two-Colony Winter Case, Embodying Some New 

 Features 



My packing cases are modeled somewhat 

 according to the description given in Farm- 

 ers' Bulletin 1012, United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, but there are some 

 differences. They are made 48 x 35 x 35 

 inches, and accommodate two two-story 

 hives, side by side, facing south. The bot- 

 toms are made of rough lumber nailed to 

 the two-inch surface of 2 x 4 's in such a 

 way as to make a rim extending around the 

 outside, the 2 x 4 's extending upward their 

 full width. The hives are set on other 

 2x4's, so arranged that the bottom-board 

 of the hive is level with the top of the 

 2 X 4 's on the rim. 



The sides and ends are all separate, and 

 project below the cleats, to which they are 

 nailed, about 1^^ inches. When the cases 

 are put together, these cleats set squarely 

 on the bottom rim, while the sides overlap 

 the rim l^^ inches. To nail the cases to- 

 gether requires just eight nails, one each in 

 the four upper corners, and one each thru 

 the center of each side and end into the 

 bottom rim. 



The cover is telescoping, and is made of 

 pine flooring, covered with a cheap grade 

 of roofing. 



The tunnels arc 8 inches wide at the top, 

 and 61/^ inches wide at the bottom, to allow 

 for the projection of the bottom-board. 

 They are 1% inches deep, and as long as 

 the distances between the two side cleats 

 of the bottom-board. One end rests on the 

 bottom-board; the other on the rim of the 

 case. 



In the front of the case an opening, one 

 inch wide and as long as the combined 

 widtli of the hives, is made so that the bot- 

 tom of the opening is even with the bot- 

 tom of the tunnel. These openings are 

 closed by doors, hinged at the top, and 

 opening outward from the front of the 

 ease. Each door has four %-inch holes 

 bored thru it, connecting with the tunnels. 

 In cold weather the doors are closed by 

 means of a single screw; but, if there comes 

 a day when the bees can fly safely, the doors 

 can be opened, and the entrance to the tun- 



