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In this part of Illinois it grows in rich soil by the wayside, or in de- 

 serted stone quarries with equal luxuriance. As the plant will grow 

 without any cultivation in by-ways and waste places, wherever the seed 

 can obtain a foothold, and is a perennial, it is rightly reckoned among 

 the number of excellent and cheap bee-forage plants. Sweet Clover will 

 endure drought well. During the long drought of last season bees in this 

 neighborhood would have been entirely without resources for many 

 weeks together had it not been for Sweet Clover. The quality of the 

 honey is excellent, and under ordinary conditions the yield is altogether 

 satisfactory. Much apprehension has been felt among farmers lest it 

 become a noxious weed. Observing how readily the seed is carried 

 in the mud on wagon wheels and horses' feet in the spring, when the 

 roads are bad and the entire space in the highways is used for travel, 

 belief has obtained that the fields would soon be invaded. Careful 

 and continuous observation of the facts for five years past has convinced 

 me that fears of trouble from this source are groundless. In but one 

 instance have I seen Sweet Clover invade a plowed field, and that was 

 for a distance of 3 rods on both sides of an old road leading into the 

 field and the seed had been carried in on wagon wheels. This plant 

 being a biennial is easily exterminated when desirable. I would recom- 

 mend bee-keepers to provide abundance of this forage by scattering the 

 seed in waste places and by the roadside. Sweet Clover is much more 

 sightly and useful, and less objectionable, in every way, than the weeds 

 which ordinarily cover the roadsides. 



Pleurisy-Boot (Asdepias tuberosa) is a honey-bearing plant indigenous 

 to nearly all parts of the United States, but its growth has not been 

 encouraged for the reason that its value to the honey-producer has not 

 been generally known. The plant is a perennial ; the top dies and rots, 

 a new growth springing up each year. It is commonly regarded as a 

 harmless prairie weed. The deep red blossoms hang in clusters. The 

 plant is very hardy and of a rugged growth, growing luxuriantly in all 

 kinds of soil. The honey is of the finest quality both as to color and 

 flavor. Mr. James Heddon, of Dowagiac, Mich., speaking of Pleurisy, 

 says : " If there is any plant, to the growing of which good land may be 

 exclusively devoted for the sole purpose of honey production, I think it 

 is this ; I would rather have one acre of it than three of Sweet Clover. 

 It blooms through July and the first half of August, and bees never 

 desert Pleurisy for bass-wood or anything else. The blossoms always 

 look bright and fresh, and yield honey continuously in wet and dry 

 weather. Bees work on it in the rain, and during the exce ssive drought 

 of the past season it did not cease to secrete nectar m abundance.' 7 I 

 have had some observation and experience with the plant, and, having 

 secured seed, I expect to test it in different kinds of soil next season. 



For two years past I have cultivated a plot of Motherwort (Leonurus 

 cardiaca), and I prize it highly as a honey plant. Bees work on it con- 

 tinually all day, and every day, unless it is raining quite hard. The 



