1880 



GLEAKmCJS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Gn 



beautiful niaple-lrees, evidently planted ex- 

 pressly for the benelitof the tables, for those 

 around the square table were planted at reg- 

 rdar distances, in the form of a square; 

 those at the round tal)]e in the same way, 

 only they were in the form of a circle. Some 

 of these trees were eij'-ht or ten inches in di- 

 ameter. Friend Chapman remarked, in an- 

 swer to the (pu'stion, that these tables were 

 for washing and packing" garden-stulf. They 

 did excellent service on this2Hlh day of July, 

 for our bee-convention. Seats and chairs 

 were arranged for the comjiany. Sections 

 of honey, gathered fioni the Chapman honey- 

 plant, were on the tables— enough for all. 

 An organ placed on the porch, a little on 

 one side, was well supported by singers of 

 no mean talent ; and between the speeches 

 we had good nuisic. The audience was 

 mostly C(miposed of the people from the 

 country round about— friends of Mr. Chap- 

 man, and anybody who cared to come, 

 who had heard of his famous honey- 

 plant. Prof. McJ^ain spoke first, and gave 

 us many facts that were new and valuable. 

 lie is emi)loyed by the U. S. government, as 

 you may know, to investigate and develop 

 whatever is worthy pertaining to bee culture. 

 Our friend L. C.lloot also gave us one of 

 his happiest talks, and I felt sorry all 

 tlirough it that we could not have had a 

 siiorthand writer to give it in full to our na- 

 tion of bee-keepers. Your humble servant 

 spoke brielly between the two. lie tried to 

 tell the people of God's various gifts to man- 

 kind ; of the lumey to be had for the gath- 

 ering ; of the fruits of the soil, and, later, of 

 the oil and gas. of which I have spoken be- 

 fore, and linally of the new honey-plants 

 that bear honey of such quality and quanti- 

 ty that it will pay to raise them for the hon- 

 ey alone. I spoke of the way in wliich God 

 seems to call us to exercise our talents and 

 abilities in different lields, and of the pe- 

 culiar way in which these calls sometimes 

 come. Friend Chapman, with his oddities, 

 feels called upon by some invisible power to 

 use his rare skill in market gardening, to- 

 ward introducing and disseminating this 

 wonderful new honey-plant. Prof. McLain 

 liad told us that its name is Midnops nphcp- 

 rorcphaliis. signifying '" round - headed 

 hedgehog," and that the place of its na- 

 tivity was in the south of France. How 

 should it come hereV Even friend Chap- 

 man could not tell us, further than that he 

 presumed it was among some specimens he 

 liad collected wiiile on a visit to Florida or 

 the Bermuda Islands. While traveling it 

 liad been his habit to .save specimens of 

 plants. Well, after these dried-up speci- 

 mens had. lain a long time in an old sack 

 in the garret, or some such Y)lace, Mrs. Chap- 

 man suggested, like a good housewife, that 

 it might as well be thrown away or burned 

 up. Accordingly the sack was turned in- 

 side out, and shaken on one corner of the 

 garden. F'inally this queer plant came up, 

 and friend Chapman noticed how eager the 

 bees were to visit it. Mr. Hubbard, a )ieigh- 

 borofhis, who lias l)een assisting him in 

 his experiments with his honey-plant, tohl 

 us, in a brief little speech, that he just 

 counted, for an experiment, the bees that 



visited a single ball of the Chapman honey- 

 plant during just one day. IIow many bees 

 do you suppose came to this one blossom, or 

 ball of blos.somsV Well, it was JLJo. Of 

 course, an assistant watched the blossom 

 while he got his diimer and supper. To 

 further test the quantity of honey secreted, 

 some paper bags had been tied over the 

 blossoms, two days before the convention. 

 These papers were taken off, and the balls 

 seemed as if they liad been dipped in honey 

 — good thick honey too. Since coming liome 

 I have tried the same experiment. Thelioney, 

 as it tirst oozes from the nectaries, is first thin, 

 like sweetened water ; but during 48 hours of 

 our hot July and August days it becomes as 

 thick as honey in the comb. The flavor is a 

 very pure sweet— much like simple syrup, 

 only it has a slight flavor, which we all pro- 

 nounce very pleasant. I think it will rank 

 equal to white clover or linden. In closing 

 my talk I spoke of all these valuable quali- 

 ties belonging to this plant, and repeated 

 my text in connection with the thought of 

 (iod's promises and purposes to us his chil- 

 dren. As friend Chapman has expended a 

 good deal of money experimenting with this 

 plant, he prefers to control the sale of the 

 seed — at least for several years. This year 

 it will be offered in packages of half an 

 ounce each for SI. 00. No smaller quantity 

 is to be sold. Below we give a cut of it. 



CHAPMAN H()NEV-I>[,ANT. 



In regard to the above plant I submit the 

 following letter from friend Cook : 



Dear Mr. Kditar:— You will remember tliat Mr. 

 Cliapmuii, of Versailles, N. Y., exhibited at, tlie De- 

 ti-oit meeting' a lioney-plant wtiicli lie said com- 

 menced to liloom just at tlie close of the basswood 

 season, and was ol' rare excellence as a honey-plant, 

 both as rog-ards finantity and quality of honey which 

 is I'lirnished. Upon examination I foniid tliis to l)e 

 hJcliuKijis Kiih(vi(>(<pli(Ui(x ol' Central France. lam 

 indebted to I)i-. W. .1. Beal for the determination. 

 Thronjili tlie kindness of Mr. Chapman I secured a 

 number of the plants iu the spring'. These were set 



