ssom with the
raspberry, and continues longer. We have an insufficient supply (in
this section) in most seasons. Red clover probably secretes as much
honey as the white, but the tube of the corolla being longer, the bee
appears to be unable to reach it. Yet I have seen a few at work even
here but it appeared like slow business. Sorrel, (_Rumex Acetosella_)
the pest of many farmers, is brought under contribution, and furnishes
the precious dust in any quantity. Morning is the only part of the day
appropriated to its collection.

CATNIP, MOTHER-WORT, AND HOARHOUND ARE SOUGHT AFTER.

Catnip, (_Nepeta Cataria_,) Mother-wort, (_Leonurus Cardiaca_,) and
Hoarhound, (_Marrubium Vulgare_,) about the middle of June, put forth
their flowers, rich in sweetness, and like the Raspberry, the bees
visit them at all hours and in nearly all kinds of weather. They last
from four to six weeks; the catnip I have known to last twelve in a few
instances, yielding honey during the whole time. Ox-eye daisy,
(_Leucanthemum Vulgare_,) that beautiful and splendid flower, in
pasture and meadow, and worth but little in either, also contains some
honey. The flower is compound, and each little floret contains
particles so minute, that the task of obtaining a load is very tedious.
It is only visited when the more copious honey-yielding flowers are
scarce. Snap-dragon,(_Linaria Vulgaris_,) with its nauseous and
sickening odor, troubling the farmer with its vile presence, is made to
bestow the only good thing about it, except its beauty, upon our
insect. The flower is large and tubular, and the bee to reach the honey
must enter it; to see the bee almost disappear within the folds of the
corolla, one would think that it was about being swallowed, when the
hideous mouth was gaping to receive it; but unharmed, soon it emerges
from the yellow prison, covered with dust; this is not brushed into
pellets on its legs, like the pollen from some other flowers, but a
part adheres to its back between the wings, which it is apparently
unable to remove, as it remains there sometimes for months, making a
cluster outside the hive, appear quite speckled. Bush honey-suckle
(_Diervilla Trifida_) is another particular favorite.

SINGULAR FATALITY ATTENDANT ON SILKWEED.

Silkweed (_Asclepias Cornuti_) is also another honey-yielding
perennial, but a singular fatality attends many bees while gathering
it, that I never yet saw noticed. I had observed during the period t