1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



387 



Dj you set your hives right down upon the pile of 

 sawdust? Can comb honey be ripened out of the 

 hive, as well as that which is extracted? An old 

 apiarist tells mc that he would render into wax all 

 combs that had reached the ag-e of four years, and 

 make the bees build anew. Would that be advisable? 

 Do those old thick-walled cells diminish the size of 

 the bees? I am inclined to think they do. 1 exam- 

 ined some old combs. Geo. F. Robbins. 

 Mcchanicsburg, 111., June, 1883. 



Thank you, friend R.,for your vivid ac- 

 count of your lirst year's experience. One 

 interestinipc tiling in letters from beginners 

 like you is to note the rapidity with which 

 one can learn, under the influence of real, 

 genuine zenl and enthusiasm. J3y another 

 year you will be almost ready to give us one 

 of the stunning reports that we are getting 

 so frequently of late. You will see by A B 

 C and price list that we support our hives on 

 four half-bricks. If you object to this height 

 because the bottom-boards rot, turn your 

 bricks up edgwise — Comb honey can be 

 ripened out of the liive so as to be so thick 

 it will scarcely run, on the plan friend Doo- 

 little has several times given.— It would be 

 rather sad, I imagine, if our friends who buy 

 so much fdn. were obliged to melt it up and 

 buy more once in every four years. I should 

 use comb ten years at least, and I don't 

 know but that 1 would twice that length of 

 time. The idea that old combs make the 

 bees smaller, is, I believe, an old exploded 

 humbug. 



\m ic^wwg, 



OR HONEY-PLANTS TO BE NAMED. 



WILD LUPINE. 



p SEND you a specimen of a honey-plant that is 



new to me. Please write me what you know 

 about it; and if you wish them, I can supply 

 you with seed, either for your own use or to sell. 



J. McL. Brown. 



Sowers, Dall is Co., Texas, May 17, 1883. 



Answer, by Prof. Lazenby : — 



This is a very pubescent specimen of Lupimis per- 

 cnnis, Jj.; calyx deeply bilabiate, 5 -toothed. Wings 

 of corolla slightly united at the summit. Stamens 

 monadelphous, anthers alternately oblong and glo- 

 bose; legume 3 to 5 seeded, in this specimen quite 

 pubescent. This herb is found principally in sandy 

 soil, growing about one foot high, and is often culti- 

 vated for ornament. Several species of the genus 

 are quite showy. The flowers of this species are 

 blue, varying to nearly white, borne in a terminal 

 raceme. Leaves palmately composed, 5 to 9 foliate; 

 leflets ohlauceolate, mucronate, 1 to 3 inches long, 'i 

 as wide; leaves alternate on the stem, pubescent be- 

 neath; generally called "Wild Lupine," but often 

 called " Sundial," because its leaves are said to 

 turn with the sun, facing it all day. 



W. U. Lazenby. 



O. S. U., Columbus, May 23, 1883. 



When I lirst saw the plant mentioned 

 above, it seemed familiar, in some way ; but 

 not until Prof. Lazenby mentioned " sun- 

 dial " did I recognize it as a (lower in our 

 garden, away back in my boyhood. It was 

 its peculiar habit of moving its leaves to- 

 ward the sun, that used to attract my atten- 



tion. As I look at it now, after having 

 studied the great family of peas and clovers, 

 it somehow seems to be a connecting link 

 in the wonderful series, and an old friend be- 

 sides. 



A IIONEY-PLANT THAT BEARS SOUR BERRIES. 



By this mail I send you a few seeds of a shrub 

 which is one of our best bee-plants. It blooms very 

 early in spring. If j-ou should want more seeds of 

 this shrub I will gather some for you; but you must 

 let me know soon, as the sheep, goats, birds, and 

 cattle, will soon eat them all up. The bushes grow 

 only about from 2 to 5 feet high. Please state what 

 the botanical name is. As these berries are very 

 sour, they are used for making vinegar. Hogs get 

 fat on them. Herman Fucns. 



Tiger Mills, Texas, May 5. 1883. 



Prof. Lazenby replies : — 



The branch with berries, we are are not able to de- 

 termine from so little material. If the gentleman 

 will send some flowers, if he can procure them with 

 more leaves, we will try to determine what it is. 



Columbus. May 23, 1883. W. R. Lazenby. 



Now, Prof. L., I, in my innocence, shovild 

 have told our friend that it was some sort of 

 a sumac, on account of its sour berries, even 

 if the leaves are quite different from any su- 

 mac I ever saw. Perhaps I should say ber- 

 ries with some sour substance on the out- 

 side, for that is really the only thing sour 

 about them. 



ONE OF THE MILKWEEDS. 



Plants from Herman Fuchs, Tiger Mills, Burnett 

 Co., Texas: No. 1 is a " milkweed" {Asdepias), prob- 

 ably A. Michnuxli, Decaisne. It is a somewhat 

 weedy plant, with a milky juice, and flowers in um- 

 bels, regular, 5pnrted, sepals and petals united at 

 base; stigmas 2, united and covered by the united 

 stamens. The flowers are given a peculiar appear- 

 ance by the corona, or crown of hoods covering the 

 stamens, and often inclosing a horn-like process. 

 The pollen is collected into two masses in each an- 

 ther, and united by slender stems. In this species 

 the leaves are long-acuminate, 2-4 inches, green on 

 both sides; umbels. 20 to 00 flowered. Pedicelsabout 

 1 inch long, slightly pubescent. The calyx is green, 

 sepals lanceolate, corolla greenish white, petals 

 spreading; hoods yellowish green, closely folded in- 

 ward. It is a plant often very troublesome to bees, 

 the pollen-masses adhering to their feet, and clog- 

 ging them when they visit the flowers. Fruit, folli- 

 cles, in pairs. 



PRIMROSES AS HONEY-PLANTS. 



No. 2 belongs to the "Evening- Primrose" family 

 (Onarjvacecc), and to the genus Q^nuthera; but the 

 species is not given in any botanies at my command. 

 It is an herb with alternate leaves, i-parted flowers, 

 the calyx-tube united with and prolonged beyond 

 the slender ovary. Petals 4, obovate, bright yellow, 

 stamens 8, with long anthers; pistil compound, with 

 afour-lobed stigma; ovary long (1 in.), and slender, 

 4-celled, many-seeded. The flowers are about 1 inch 

 broad, and very showy. Several species in this fam- 

 ily are quite pretty ornamental plants, and a num- 

 ber are very pernicious w^'Cds. Found chiefly in 

 pastures, and on the borders of cultivated fields. 

 William R. Lazenby. 



Columbus, O., May 16, 1883. 



Our friends will recognize the former as 

 the milkweed figured in our books, and that 

 has so often been complained of as an enemy 

 to the bees, 



