Mr. Editor:—I would like to give the readers of the journal my experience with the Rocky Mountain bee plant Polanisia purpurea. In 1868, I had the pleasure of receiving some of the seed from Mr. J. L. Hubbard, then of Walpole, N. H.; and from sixteen plants that grew, I got six quarts of seed. It comes into bloom about the last of July, and continues till frost comes. The bees work on it from morning till night. In selecting honey-producing plants, it should be the aim of the bee-keeper to plant such as would be of benefit to stock or poultry as well as bees. Now I find that my poultry will eat the seed of the Polanisia in a short time as readily as buckwheat; and there is no plant on my farm that stands the drouth equal to it. At present (July 25th) we are having a very severe drouth and extreme heat, yet with the temperature ranging from 90° to 108° in the shade, not a leaf of the Polanisia wilts; on the contrary, it is making a very rapid growth. Taking everything into consideration, I think it is worthy the attention of bee-keepers. Amesbury, Mass. |