_West Newbury, Mass._, Sept. 12, 1870.
[For the American Bee Journal.]
Silk Weed or Milk Weed.
Well, Mr. Editor, I saw in the Bee Journal for July something concerning
the injuriousness of the silk weed or milk weed. After reading the
article it struck me that there was some of this weed in the vicinity of
my apiary, and next day set about to search for it. On going out west,
on the low ground on the prairie, I found ten flowering stems of this
weed, and seven of the ten had bees fastened on them. Some of these bees
were dead, and some still living, though they could not leave the
flowers, being fastened in them by their hind legs. The bees seemed to
have been gathering honey.
Last Monday, as I was going to a neighbor’s, I saw one of these flowers,
three quarters of a mile from my home. I stopped to see if I could find
any bees on it, and found an Italian just alive. I am glad there are not
many of this species of plants in this neighborhood.