r.o 



GLEANINGS IN I'.KE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15 



lime of our visit, but the little white seed- 

 hilKs or berries showed very distinctly. 



Ill Fig". 2 we have a partial view of the 

 field with Mr. E. Whitcomb standing- in the 

 middle g-round. After having secured this 

 shot I requested our jovial friend to step 

 nearer while I took a closer view of him 

 and the plant he had just pulled up by the 

 roots. 



In speaking- of him, perhaps it is proper 

 to remark that he is one of the leading and 

 influential bee-keepers of Nebraska. As 

 he lives at Friend, not far distant, he was 

 invited by Mr. Hutchinson and myself to 

 meet us at Dr. Gaudy's. He is a Director of 

 the N. B. K. A., and was President at the 

 meeting- held in Philadelphia. He is a 

 genial dry joker, and I can almost see a 

 smile on his face, notwithstanding he looks 

 so Sober. See how straight he stands, for 



FIG. 3. — E. 



WHITCOMB, OF FWIKVn, NF.B. 

 A STALK OF BUCK BUSH. 



he is an old soldier, and has been taught 

 to stand erect. 



Dr. Gandy did not regard buckbush as 

 important a honey-plant as catnip; it was 

 more easily propagated; in fact, when it 

 once struck root it was almost impossible 

 to eradicate it. For that reason it would 

 not be advisable to sow the seed of this plant 

 on any thing but waste land. He did not 

 think that either plow or cultivator could 

 tear it up, and he intimated that there was 

 danger that it would spread like a noxious 

 weed. 



Continuing on our drive, and following 

 the river, we came up to several large patch- 

 es of wild cucumber. The vines had cover- 

 ed the entire bank in luxuriant profusion 

 for a good distance each wa}'. The large 

 general view I took of it was unsatisfactory 

 and hence is not reproduced; but the next 

 shot, of the leaves and flowers, is 

 shown inFig. 4. The planttrail- 

 ed all overthetrees, alongthe rail 

 fences — in fact, it covered every 

 thing. Dr. Gandy regarded it 

 as a very important honey-plant, 

 and said if there were onl}'^ 

 more of it it would yield con- 

 siderable honey. The specimens 

 shown in the plate are about a 

 third the natural size. Little 

 white flowers surmount the 

 ends of the stalks; and, like 

 many another honey-plant, their 

 chief attraction to insects is their 

 sweetness. 



Wild cucumber is pretty well 

 distributed, not only over all that 

 part of Nebraska, but all over 

 the United States. I have seen 

 it everywhere, except, perhaps, 

 in the far West and in the ex- 

 treme South. 



In Fig. 5 we have a very pret- 

 ty field of heartsease. At the 

 time of my visit, the plant was 

 just in its prime. The bees were 

 working busily on it, and the 

 peculiar odor could be detected 

 qu te a distance awa}'. Large 

 fields of it in meadows and in 

 cultivated ground were seen ev- 

 erywhere; and the beautiful 

 combination of pink, and the 

 deeper violet intersprinkled with 

 pure white, made a verj' pretty 

 efTect. If, for example. Fig. 5 

 could be shown to j^ou in the 

 natural colors you would see 

 something having- a beautiful 

 blend of color. While the smart- 

 weed of the East, a near rela- 

 tive, has dark-red bitter-smell- 

 ing flowers, the heartsease has 

 heads sometimes white, and 

 sometimes sprinkled with white, 

 pink, and violet, and some deep 

 violet. I could not help noting 

 that the heartsease in that part 

 of the countr}' seemed to be more 

 vigorous in its growth than the 

 same plant in Ohio Jind else- 



EXAMININO 



