401 BEE BOTANY AND ENTOMOLOGY. I AM one of the A B C class in bee culture, and as such am very much interested in bees and bee plants, I send you herewith three specimens of fall flowers, numbered 1. 2 and 3, which are very common here. and should very much like you to give me the names of the same in next GLEANINGS and their worth as bee plants. No. 1 has been in very heavy blossom here for about a month, and is scarcely beginning to fail now. Bees have been very hard at work on it all this time. No. 2 I suppose is golden rod. although I am not quite positive. If it is, of course GLEANINGS has already told me all about it. Bees very much prefer No. 1 to it however. No. 3 is considerably sought after by the bees, and they seem to get a good deal of honey from it, but this is also very much inferior to No. 1. If you are not overrun with such questions from the ignorant, and can answer as above, you will very much oblige the A B C class of this neighbor- N. H. ALLES. No. 1 is one of the small asters, of which there are a large number of species, all valuable for bees. No. 2 is one of the largest golden rods, of which there are also a large number of species. They are prominent bee plants. No country on the globe is more renowned than the United States, for the asters and golden rods which abound in autumn. No. 3 is Eupatorium altissimum, one of the tall bonesets, of which we have twenty or thirty species, W. J. BEAL. Mich. Agr. College. I send you a bush that has been in bloom about a month. It grows about feet high. Bees work on it all day, and it must be honey they get as I don't see anything on their legs. Please give the name of it. I also send the head or blossoms of what is called here golden rod. It commenced blossoming 6 weeks ago: some of the plants have ripe seed, others are just in bloom. and still others are just budding. We have had 5 or 6 frosts, but they do not seem to injure it. Bees are very busy on it. My bees have gathered more honey from it than from all other blossoms. The honey is a clear golden color, nearly the color of the blossom, and weighs 13 lbs. to the gallon. Would it pay to save the seed? T. B. WILLIAMS. Fort Scott, Kas., Oct. 8. 1878 The name of the bush, of which a specimen was sent, is Amphiachyris dracunculoidee. It has no common name. It is probably much like some of the golden rods and asters for honey. Bee-keepers, unless they are botanists, have but a faint idea of the great number and variety of plants visited by bees. W. J. BEAL. Mich. Agr. College. I cannot say whether it will pay to raise golden rod or no. It furnishes much honey in some localities: in others (like our own) bees notice it little or not at all. Enclosed, I send you a sample of a weed found here very plentifully, which seems to be quite prolific in honey, for the bees are constantly at work upon it. It is also very prolific in flowers, as I have just taken a small brunch, six inches long, and counted 134 flowers upon it. I know of no name for it. What can you say about it? A. A. FRADENBURG. North East, Pa., Oct.1i, 1878. The enclosed plant is Aster cardifolius. W. J. BEAL. Mich. Agr. College. Enclosed find a bunch of bloom. from which the bees appear to be getting plenty of honey for present use. Please tell me the name of the plant. S. H. LANE. Whitestown, Ind., Oct. 8, 1878. The enclosed plant is one of the small asters, of which there are many. W. J. BEAL. Mich. Agr. College. Enclosed, please find specimen of a little blue flower now in bloom here, which the bees are very busy on. It grows among the brush and hedges, and also on the edge of the ditch. It appears to be on a vine, and has a white bud which blooms into a beautiful, light blue flower. West Baton Rouge. La . Oct. 17th. ’78 The enclosed flower is Conoclinium calestinum, or mist flower. I know nothing of the value of this particular plant for bees. It is nearly related to Eupatorium or boneset or thoroughwort. I presume it is good for bees. W. J. BEAL Mich. Agr. College. Bees are still bringing in honey lively, from cleome and a wild dower, of which the enclosed is a specimen. What is the name? CHAS. E. MCRAY. Canon City, Col., Sept. 23, 15.8. The enclosed flower is a species of Coreopsis, of which there are many: all are good bee plants, 50 far as I know. W. J. BEAL. Mich. Agr. College.