66 AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



plant had some kind of stupefying effect on them. At any rate, I 

 should not take the trouble to plant it now, if land and seed were fur- 

 nished free. 



CHAYOTE CSechium edule;). 



Cha3-ote is a vegetable of the squash family, commonly grown in the 

 American Tropics. It is found in Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico and other 

 countries in that latitude. There has been some discussion of the plant in 

 the bee magazines and occasionally the plants have been grown in Ameri- 

 can gardens. That it is a valuable honey plant there can be but little 

 doubt. J. J. Siebert, writing from Porto Rico to the American Bee Journal, 

 says that it is all that it is claimed to be, and that as a source of nectar it 

 has only one rival, the banana, blossoming all the year round. The follow- 

 ing is from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Bulletin No. 28: 



"As in other vegetables of the squash family, the stamens and pis- 

 tils are in separate flowers, pollination taking place through the 

 agency of insects. To attract these, the flowers of both kinds, but es- 

 pecially the pistillate, yield abundant nectar, which is secreted in 

 ten glands, two at the base of each of the lobes of the corolla. In 

 most of the countries into which it has been introduced, beekeeping 

 has not been a regular industry, and the value of the chayote as a 

 source of honey has not been noticed, but the reports of experimenters 

 in New South Wales contain very emphatic statements on the subject: 



'When the plant is in flower I have noticed that the vines were 

 swarming with bees, and as flowers are scarce in the autumn, the plant 

 will no doubt be valuable as a honey-producer. 



'The plant, which spreads over a large area, commenced flowering 

 at the close of the year, and has been well laden with mellifluous blos- 

 soms ever since. The bees, are extremely fond of the chocho, and with 

 the" apiarist the newly-introduced plant must become a strong favor- 

 ite.' 



"The chayote differs from many cucurbitaceae in producing numer- 

 ous flowers on each fertile branch. It has long been known that the 

 flowers of this family are rich in honey, but from the standpoint of 

 the beekeeper they have been considered of little importance, because 

 seldom accessible in sufficient amount, though in the United States 

 fields are recognized as good bee pastures. The chayote seems to make 

 up by numbers what the flowers lack in size, so that the yield of honey 

 may be larger than in related plants. In addition to this there is the 

 fact that Sechium is a perennial l)loomer in the Tropics, and in the sub- 

 tropical regions has a very long season. It is thus possible that in the 

 regions like parts of Florida, where beekeeping is already an estab- 

 lished industry, the honey-producing qualities of the chayote may be 

 found of practical account in connection with its other utilities." 



CHEROKEE ROSE (Rosa laevigata). 



The Cherokee rose is found from the Coast Region of the South At- 

 lantic States westward through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisi- 

 ana to eastern Texas. It occurs also in California. It was in Alabama 

 that the author first heard it mentioned as a source of nectar. Later re- 

 ports from California indicated that bees sometimes find nectar from this 

 source, though most of the roses yield only pollen. H. B. Parks states that 

 he has observed the bees getting honey from this source, and M. B. Talley, 



