82 
ASTER 
sented by a larger number of species in 
North America than in any other conti¬ 
nent. 
Aster honey is gathered chiefly from the 
very common species A. multiflorus, A. 
vimineus, A. lateriflorus, A. Tradescanti, 
and A. paniculatus, all of which produce 
dense clusters of small white or pale blue- 
white-rayed heads, except A. multiflorus, 
which has the rays white or purplish. Over 
large areas in Kentucky, Indiana, and 
other States the bloom is so abundant that 
the fields look as if covered with snow. 
The plants are often very bushy, growing 
Aster. 
from six inches to three feet tall. When 
the weather is favorable colonies will pack 
their combs with aster honey, or if combs 
have already been filled from an earlier 
source a surplus is often stored. One sea¬ 
son at Underwood, Ind., there were hun¬ 
dreds of acres of white aster in bloom, and 
100 pounds of comb honey per hive is re¬ 
ported to have been obtained. At Lang- 
nau, Ky., the scales showed a gain of 25 
pounds in four days from Oct. 2 to 5. 
Forty-eight colonies harvested 3,000 
pounds, of which one-half was surplus. 
There were ninety-five acres of white aster 
within reach of the bees. During 12 days 
of hot weather in September, 1914, J. L. 
Byer reports that 250 colonies 100 miles 
north of Toronto, Can., simply jammed 
the brood-nests solid with aster honey. 
Pure aster honey is white—as white, ac¬ 
cording to beekeepers familiar with it, as 
white-clover honey; but it is seldom ob¬ 
tained pure. Usually it is colored amber or 
yellow by honey from goldenrod or other 
late-blooming autumnal flowers. The as¬ 
ters, however, remain in bloom longer than 
the goldenrods. When newly gathered the 
honey has a rank odor, but this disappears 
when it has ripened. It has a pleasant 
aromatic taste, and is so thick that at times 
it is extracted with difficulty. It crystal¬ 
lizes quickly with a finer grain than gold¬ 
enrod. It has been stated to be unsuitable 
for table use, but O. H. Townsend writes 
that in Michigan he sells aster honey for 
the same price as red raspberry, and that 
it has a fine flavor and good body. Other 
beekeepers also describe ' the flavor as 
agreeable. 
Many beekeepers have complained that 
their colonies suffered more or less loss 
when wintering on aster honey. So strong 
has been the opposition to it for this pur¬ 
pose that its removal and the replacing of 
the stores by feeding sugar syrup have been 
repeatedly advised. It is not improbable 
that aster honey gathered so late that it 
only partially ripens and remains unsealed 
is liable to deteriorate and become deleteri¬ 
ous before spring; but any other honey or 
even sugar syrup under similar conditions 
would be objectionable. Its tendency to 
candy quickly and solidly, making it only 
partially available to the bees, has also 
added to its poor reputation as a winter 
food. Mismanagement on the part of the 
apiarist seems likewise in some instances 
to have been laid to the fault of aster hon¬ 
ey. But if this honey possessed properties 
that were actually injurious to bees, 
they would appear uniformly everywhere, 
but this is not the case. The experience 
of scores of beekeepers, continued thru 
many years, proves that aster honey well 
ripened and sealed is an excellent winter 
food for bees. And why should it not be? 
The asters are bland innocuous herbs, which 
are readily eaten by domestic animals,. 
