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QEORQE W. YORK, Editor. 





39th YEAR, 



CHICAGO, ILL, DECEMBER 14, 1899 



No, 50. 







Wild or Bee Aster and Some of Its Peculiarities. 



BY JOHN R. SCHMIDT. 



SEVERAL years ago, while studying the honey-produc- 

 ing plants of this section of Ohio, my attention was 

 called to a plant which of late is rapidly forging its waj' 

 to the front, and now promises to be quite a friend of the 

 bee-keeper in this locality, es- 

 pecially with those who have 

 colonies light in stores at the close 

 of the main flow, which is derived 

 from that well-known and much- 

 abused sweet clover. 



This plant, as will be seen from 

 the photograph, is the wild or bee- 

 aster, as it is sometimes called, and 

 probably better known to some bee- 

 keepers. At first it could only be 

 seen in small patches scattered 

 along the roadsides and waste lands, 

 but now it can be found almost 

 everywhere, more or less, and seems 

 to be well establisht and spreading 

 rapidly. 



Wild aster begins to bloom late 

 in August — about the same time as 

 the goldenrod, but, unlike it, it con- 

 tinues to bloom until late in Octo- 

 ber, sometimes lasting until the 

 middle of November, when it is 

 usually killed by heavy frosts. At 

 this writing (Nov. 15) there are still 

 a few blossoms to be seen in the 

 more sheltered localities. 



Sweet clover and wild aster live 

 and thrive on the same ground, and 

 vigorous growths of each can often 

 be seen intermixt, the wild aster 

 starting to bloom when the last 

 blossoms of the sweet clover fail, 

 making a field of continuous bloom 

 from June until the end of October. 

 Probably I would better explain 

 more definitely as to the two plants growing on the same 

 ground. I do not know how long the)' would prosper if 

 sown together, or would I advise anyone to do such a thing, 

 but this is just exactly what it amounts to here on the waste 

 lands, both trying to crowd each other out, and each hold- 

 ing its own. The sweet clover being a biennial, gives the 

 other an advantage in growth everj' other year, and proba- 

 bly this accounts for its rapid increase and steady encroach- 



'•x^m.r-. 





Wild or Bet- Asler 



ment upon the clover-fields. Nothing but time will tell 

 which one will survive. 



Wild aster has several peculiarities which are worth 

 mentioning, and one is very apt to deceive, making one 

 think there are two varieties when in fact there is really 

 only one. When the plant first begins to bloom the flowers 

 are white, but after blooming for some time — I cannot tell 

 how long, but probably depending upon the condition of the 

 weather — the flowers change to a purple, which makes one 

 think that there are two different varieties blooming to- 

 gether. This I thought was the case, but on closer investi- 

 gation, when selecting specimens for my illustration, I 

 found some plants with the two different colored flowers on 

 the same stem, and when observing the same plants some 

 time afterwards I found all the white flowers had disap- 

 peared, and the plants now had a profuse bloom of the 

 purple flowers. This change be- 

 came more rapid as the season ad- 

 vanced, and in a few weeks not a 

 white flower could be seen. 



As to the quality of the honey 

 from wild aster, it is hard to say 

 anything definite at present, but it 

 seems to be of a rich, dark amber, 

 and of very good flavor. When the 

 honey is being ripened a very 

 strong, peculiar odor is emitted from 

 the hives, which can unquestiona- 

 bly be recognized at a great dis- 

 tance from them, on a calm, sultry 

 daj', usually within 300 feet of the 

 hives. This odor makes its appear- 

 ance at the very beginning of the 

 bloom, almost before the presence 

 of the flower is discovered, and lasts 

 until it ceases to bloom. The flower 

 itself is almost odorless, and en- 

 tirely unlike that which is emitted 

 from the hives. The bees work vig- 

 orously upon the blossoms, and even 

 after being confined by cool weather 

 they take to this plant as soon as 

 the weather permits them to do 

 so again. 



Section honey will never be ob- 

 tained here from this source, as the 

 flow comes too late, and the weather 

 is alwaj's against it. The growth 

 of wild aster seems to depend very 

 much upon the soil, as in some lo- 

 calities the plant is just the oppo- 

 site from what it is in others. 

 Often it can be seen covering large stretches of land, with 

 plants which are short and stubby, of a very uniform hight, 

 and rarely exceeding one foot ; while in others this same 

 plant often exceeds 5 feet in hight, and has numerous small 

 branches on the top of a tall, slender stem, very much like 

 the golden-rod. Hamilton Co., Ohio. 



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