December 5, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



1 1 



considerable quantities of culture media, and by cbemical 

 methods isolated and extracted the ptomaines and albumoses 

 that the germs form. 



These poisonous liquids have been injected into guinea- 

 pigs, and the animals then inoculated with the virus of 

 the disease. The guinea-pigs which bad thus been treated 

 were not seriously affected by the virus, while the guinea- 

 pigs which bad not been treated by injecting the remedy 

 invariably died. Both swine-plague and hog-cholera have 

 thus been prevented in guinea-pigs, which are very suscepti- 

 ble to the diseases. 



Some experiments have also been made upon hogs, which 

 have been fairly successful ; and there is every reason to 

 expect that this method of treatment can shortly be applied 

 on a practical scale. It may be mentioned that the scientific 

 results of these experiments were published in the Philadel- 

 phia Medical News of September and October, 1890. 



While Professor Koch has been working for the benefit of 

 mankind, the secretary of agriculture of the United States has 

 had the pecuniary interests of the farmer and the safety of 

 animals at heart in encouraging this difficult line of investi- 

 gation; and results have been secured which are far-reaching 

 in their importance and application for men as well as ani- 

 mals. 



Professor Koch, in treating consumption, uses a solution 

 the composition of which he says he does not know. The 

 Department of Agriculture uses substances which are ob- 

 tained in a solid form, as most drugs, and prepares solutions 

 of any desired strength for treating the diseases of hog cholera 

 and swine-plague. 



There is no reason why this line of research should not be 

 pushed with reference to many diseases of men and animals 

 in the large universities and laboratories of our own country. 

 In the hands of competent investigators, there can be se- 

 cured in the United States the most important results, and 

 great discoveries can be made. The Scientific Department 

 of the government has shown the way. Let others follow. 



SPECIAL PLANTING FOR HONEY. 



It is a weU-known fact, and as thoroughly appreciated by the 

 thoughtful bee- keeper, that often, because of some peculiar con- 

 dition of the weather, even our best honey -plants faU to secrete 

 uectar. In Michigan the years 1888 and 1890, and to a lesa de- 

 gree 1889, gave excellent illustration of this fact in resjject to 

 white clover. 



Again, it frequently occurs that a drouth or over-production 

 the previous season so weakens plants that they do not de- 

 velop to the blossoming stage, or do not produce blossoms. This 

 very season, 1890, gave us almost no basswood bloom. The same 

 truth is illustrated not infrequently by almost aU of our nectar- 

 secreting plants. 



Once more, there are times in every season and region when 

 there is a dearth of nectar- secreting flowers. In Michigan this 

 period comes about July and August, usually from about July 15 

 to Aug. 15. At this season there are neither native honey-plants 

 in bloom, nor are there honey-plants in cultivation. So at this 

 season the bees are idle, and robbing is a common occurrence. 



For the above reasons bee keepers are much interested to know 

 if there are plants that will always secrete nectar irrespective of 

 weather. — plants that will secrete not simply enough to attract 

 hees, but enough to give a surplus and insure a profit. They are 

 also practically interested in knowing whether or not there are 

 plants that will secrete so liberally that it will pay to grow them 

 for honey alone. It is further a matter of importance to find if 

 there are plants that bloom at the time of the honey-dearth in 



July and August, and so, valuable to grow, either for honey alone 

 or for honey and other purposes. There are always more or less 

 waste places, by roadsides, along railways, etc., near by most 

 apiaries. It is important to know if it will pay to utilize such by 

 planting for honey, and, if so, to know what to plant. 



That these are important matters for investigation is clear from 

 the fact that many bee-keepers have spent considerable sums in 

 trying to solve these questions. 



It is clear, that, to arrive at any definite and reliable conclu- 

 sions, experiments must be tried on a large scale. We must not 

 see simply that bees work on the flowers, but we must get results. 

 We must be assured that the bees actually store, and that in pay- 

 ing quantities. 



It occurred to me, and to the board of our Michigan experiment 

 station, that this was a very proper subject for investigation at 

 our station, and so for the past two seasons we have devoted 

 about fourteen acres to this purpose. The seasons have been very 

 opportune, as there was an almost total failure in the honey-har- 

 vest both years; and so, if any plan adopted was a success, it 

 would have ample chance to prove its excellence. 



I decided to try the three following honey-plants: Rocky Moun- 

 tain bee-plant {Cleome integrifolia), Chapman honey-plant (Echi- 

 nops spherocephalus) , and a foreign mint of the genus Melissa. 

 I hoped to find a plant that would secrete nectar every year, es- 

 pecially in times of drouth, that would grow with little or no care 

 on the part of the bee-keeper, and would yield bountifully of nec- 

 tar. As the Chapman honey-plant was loudly praised, and was 

 reported a success upon actual trial, and as the seed had been 

 distributed by the government, it occurred to me that it should 

 be one of the plants first tested. The Rocky Mountain bee plant 

 flourishes on the dry plains of Colorado, where it is said to give 

 prodigious yields of nectar; and as I had been quite successful in 

 growing it in small plats for years, where it seemed to attract the 

 bees from early July till frost, I looked upon that plant as well 

 worthy a trial. This plant is also reported as growing wild in 

 Wisconsin and Minnesota, and as affording much nectar. The 

 Melissa belongs to the mint family, — a family of honey -plants, — 

 is strongly praised by those who have tried it, and who have no 

 pecuniary interest in its becoming popular: so I concluded to 

 make it third in the list to be adopted. 



The Chapman Honey-Plant. 



I have planted, in all, four or flve acres of the seed of this 

 plant, some on clay and others on sand. When the seed came, 

 the plants made a very vigorous growth, but did not blossom at aU 

 the first year. Thus the plant is a biennial. No nectar can be 

 secured from it until the second year after planting. The plant 

 looks like a thistle, the spines doubtless suggesting the generic 

 navue f^chinops. The flowers form a very perfect globe or sphere; 

 hence the speciflc name spherocephalus is very appropriate. The- 

 plant, if cultivated till once well started, will care for itself, as it 

 is very vigorous. It begins to bloom here at the Michigan Agri- 

 cultural College about the middle of July, and continues to blos- 

 som till the middle of August. The blossoms commence to openr 

 at the lower margin of the head, and continue to open towards 

 the centre. The seasons have been very dry, yet the bees visited 

 the Echinops very freely, and secured considerable honey ; and 

 this, too, just at the most desirable period of the year. 



A very serious objection to the general adoption of this plant is 

 the difficulty of securing the seed. The chaff has barbed awns, 

 that are very minute. These fly everywhere as we clean the 

 seed, and, except one is protected better than he will be unless 

 previously taught by experience, these awns are sure to enter the 

 eyes and pierce the skin at every possible opportunity. The effect 

 of this is almost maddening. For three or four days the pain in 

 the wounded eyes and skin is almost unendurable. 



After the plants bear a full crop of seed they seem exhatrstecJ, 

 and very few survive to blossom the second year. Our plants in 

 1889 were wonderfully fine and vigorous: the plants on the sanae 

 area this year are very few and scattering. To be sure, young 

 plants have come up thickly from seed, but they will hear no 

 bloom till 1891. Thus we see that we cannot grow this plant 

 profitably except as we plant, or permit it to self-plant, every 



