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BEE BOTANY AND ENTOMOLOGY.
OUR THIRD WAX DESTROYER.
ASTER TRADESCANTI.
W. J. BEAL :- Enclosed please find a plant which
I have been watching all day. It has been swarming with bees and they were gathering both honey
and pollen. It is something ] have never noticed in
this section of country. It is a very profuse blossomer, and yields much honey. I will save the seed.
Please answer through GLEANINGS, and you will confer a favor.
Moberly, Mo., Oct. 3, 1879.
Answer by Prof. W. J. Beal, Michigan
Agricultural College.
This is Aster Tradescanti, a species very common
in many portions of the United States. It is just as
good as others, but no better than forty other asters
which grow in our country. All are prominent for
bees in autumn.

PRAIRIE CLOVER.
I send you a few stalks and roots of a bee plant.
The plant has from one dozen to three dozen flower
stalks to each root, with one half dozen or more little balls, or clusters, of snow white flowers. The
stalks are from 18 inches to 2 feet high, and grow in
clay soil entirely, in the very poorest places you can
find. The flowers are very fragrant, and smell like
honey, and are in bloom by the first of June, and remain from 8 to 10 weeks. This and the mesquite are
two of the finest honey plants we have on the prairies.
We have had no rain to do any good since the 5th
of May. Bees are getting some honey; but in places
there is no water for man or beast.
Dresden, Texas, Aug. 19, 1879,
B. F. CARROLL.

This is a species of Petalostemon, The plant is not
in good condition, so it is not possible to decide the
species. The common name is prairie clover. There
are five species east of the Mississippi River. They
are closely related to the clovers and are all excellent bee plants. I have often seen bees working on
the flowers for weeks at a time. At the South, perennial plants usually remain in flower longer than they do further north.
W. J. BEAL
Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich.

MOLLIE HEATH'S HONEY PLANT, STICK WEED, AND
BUTTON WEED.
I am located on James River, in full view of the
celebrated Dutch Gap. I send you three samples of
honey producing plants, which grow spontaneously
over our fields. The one with the yellow flower
and pods belongs to the pea family. The little blue
aster now covers entire fields. They are the spontaneous growth on sandy land, after the oat crop is
harvested. They seem to furnish the principal food

for my bees, at this time. The other sample is
known here as the stick weed, which is a pest to
farmers, as it is not regarded valuable as a fertilizer
or suitable for pasturage. I send you the top only
of the bush, for it grows about 4 ft. high. It blooms
in September. It grows on stiff clay soil, and presents quite a beautiful sight when in full bloom.
GEO. W. FRIEND, M. D.
Chester, Va., Aug. 28, 1879.

The first specimen is, as you say, of the
leguminosae or Pulse family, and is of the
genus Caesalpinia, though of a different species than the Poinciana, not possessing the
long crimson filaments that distinguish the
latter. See "Mollie Heath's Honey Plant," April GLEANINGS, 1879. The one called
"stick weed" is a species of aster, Aster miser. The third, we referred to Prof. Beal,
who replies as follows:
This is Diodia teres (Button weed). It belongs to
the Rubiacere or Madder family with Galium, Button bush, Partridge berry, Houstonin, all of which
are good bee plants, and some have numerous species.
W. J. BEAL.

EUPATORIUM ALTISSIMUM
I send you the top of a plant which is growing in
our wet lands, and is also getting on the hills somewhat, on my farm. It grows from 3 to 4 feet high, is
full of branches, and blooms full of sweet scented
flowers which produce a light colored, and pleasant
honey in abundance. Will you give me, or us rather, the name of it in GLEANINGS. We call it the bee
weed. G. A. WILLIS.
Enfleld, Ill., Ang. 27, 1879.
This is Eupatorium Altissimum, a plant with no
common name. The genus is the same as that to
which boneset belongs. There are 25 species east of
the Mississippi. I have had five or more species
sent me by apiarists, and shall not be surprised to
receive any of the rest. W. J. BEAL