BEE BOTANY AND ENTOMOLOGY. 476-477 Dec 1 1879 A RELATION OF THE SIMPSON HONEY PLANT. ENCLOSED, please find a sample of a honey plant. I counted as many as 87 flower stems on one stalk. It commences to blossom in July, and remains in bloom about 2 months. Bees work on it late and early, wet and dry. If you know any name for it, I should like to hear from you, and to learn if it is worth anything for honey. Buchanan, Mich., Sept. 26, '79. WM. BLAKE Prof. Beal replies as follows: It is the top (a very poor specimen) of Lophanthus scrophularifolius. It is a sort of giant hyssop, of which there are several in this country. They are tall herbs belonging to the mint family. Bees are fond of all mints, in which they can reach the honey. The word scrophularifolius seems to indicate that it is a relative of the Simpson honey plant (Nodosa scrophularia), does it not? I should be very glad indeed to see even a distant relative; will you not send me some seed, friend Blake? ASTERS. I herein send you a twig of a bush that is quite a honey producing plant, just coming Into bloom. would like to know its true name, it you will please answer by card or in GLEANINGS. Hammersville, O., Sept. 11, '79. J. L. SHINKLE. This is a small aster (probably A. miser), of which there are many species, all good for bees. The specimen is imperfect. Mich. Ar. College, Lansing. W. J. BEAL. Enclosed, you will find a branch of a plant that grows on low lands. The frost has not hurt it yet, while all other vegetation has been hurt. The bees are busily working on it. St. Johns, Mich., Oct. 6, 1879. C. L. GAGE. The above is a poor specimen of some kind of aster. These are very common in autumn, and all good. There are many kinds. PROF. W. J. BEAL. Bees cover this plant; what ls it? S. W. MORRISON. Oxford, Penn., Oct. 6, 1879. Prof. Beal replies,- This is another aster, -a poor specimen with no leaves. ACTINOMERIS SQUARROSA. Enclosed I send you a good honey plant. Please tell me the name of it. It is very dry and hot here now, and scarcely anything else yields honey. Buckwheat is drying up, but the bees are on this plant from morn till eve. It grows from 5 to 8 it, high, in the timber lands along the creeks, and has now been in bloom about a week. I send you some seed pods and flowers in full bloom, some buds and a full grown leaf. Table Rock, Neb., Sept. 1, 1879. M. M. STUVER. Answer by Prof. W. J. Beal :- This is Actinomeris squarrosa, a tall perennial, somewhat resembling coreopsis and helianthus. These are all good for bees wherever found, and there are many kinds. Enclosed, please find a plant of which bees are quite fond. I have inquired of several persons for a name for it, but no one can tell. The stalk and leaves resemble smartweed. There are acres of it in this section, and when the weather is fine, the bees are very busy upon it. It grows from one to four feet high, on low wet land. Do bees get honey from it? Please reply through GLEANINGS. Fielding, IlL., Sept. 12, 1879. JOSEPH MASON. It is of the family Polygonaceae (Buckwheat); the genus, I think, is the same as smartweed, Polygonum; the common name is blackheart. BITTER HONEY; WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? I send specimen, from which bees make bitter honey-in some years, thousands of pounds; in others, scarcely any. They get pollen from it every year. C. R. CARLIN, Shreveport, La. Oct. 17, 1879. Prof. Beal replies: This is Helenium tonuifolfum. There are ten species of Helenium east of the Mississippi. One of the species is common in Michigan and south, and is sometimes called "sneeze-weed" Helenium autumnale. The latter plant has quite often been sent in, as a good bee-plant. I see no reason why one should make very bitter honey and the other not. Sneeze- weed is usually in rather limited quantities, and perhaps apiarists are not certain about the quality of honey this makes. SIDA SPINOSA. Find enclosed a bunch of flowers that bees are working on all day. from morn till evening. When it is warm enough for them to fly. It ought to be a good honey plant, as it is not at beautiful plant, by any means, and without a doubt is good for something. It is about one foot high. Please tell me the name. Whitestown, Ind., Oct. 14, 1879. S. H. LANE. Answer by Prof. W. J. Beal :- The plant is Sida spinosa. It is a weed common in the south, and was introduced from tropical America or Africa. It belongs to the mallow family. I this day send you, by mail, 5 specimens of our flora, which I would like to have you name (common name), as the flowers are all new to me, and I can't tell whether your magazine speaks of them or not. I also send, in a little box, specimens of insects, which appear in buckwheat and other flowers, and must rob our bees, as they come in millions. M. H. PORTER. Western Park, Elk Co., Kan., Sept. 26, 1879. Answer by Prof. W. J. Beal :- Number 2 is Helianthus giganteus. There is no definite common name, except large wild sunflower, and several plants are entitled to the same common name. In the Eastern part of the United States are 25 or 30 species, all good for bees, and all found in abundance in certain places, some in one place and some in another. Number 4 is Solidago rigida, one of the golden rods. This looks so unlike many of the golden rods, that none but an expert would know it. Every bee- man knows, by this time, that golden rods and asters are all desirable. Number 5 is Salvia longipes a sort of wild sage. Sages, like all other mints, are favorites of bees. REMARKS ON BEE BOTANY. Plants are coming in every few days from various parts of the country. There are some repetitions. New species are also among them; I mean specimens unlike any before sent. Those who read the journals must begin to realize that the species good for bees are not a few, but exist in many hundreds of species. These cannot (many of them) be learned by any except botanists. If a set were named and placed before any other person, he could not be trusted to compare other plants with them for identification. This the writer has seen exemplified in the case of many sorts of plants, for twenty years past. The same is true of insects, or other small animals. W. J. BEAL.