THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



205 



the Michigan State Agricultural 

 College, tells us \sEchmo2')S Sphae- 

 rocephalus^ and a native of Central 

 France, is, by common consent, 

 beginning to be known as the 

 Cliapman honey plant, thus desig- 

 nated on account of Mr. Chapman 

 being first to cultivate the plant in 

 this country, and first to call the 

 attention of those engaged in bee- 

 keeping to its value as a honey- 

 bearing plant. 



The appearance of the plant has 

 been very well described by Mr. 

 T. F. Bingliam on page 487 current 

 volume of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, where he says : " It grows from 

 three to four and half feet high, 

 each root or crown bearing from 

 six to sixteen round buds or lieads, 

 from one to one and tln-ee-quarters 

 inches in diameter. Tliese heads 

 all stand upright, and the entire 

 surface is covered with small white 

 flowers having bluish stamens." 

 Tlie stalks and leaves so nearly re- 

 semble those of the thistle that 

 were it not for the head, this plant 

 might easily be mistaken for the 

 tiiistle. There is, however, in this 

 particular a very marked difference, 

 the appearance of the head lieing 

 aptly described by its botanical 

 name, round-headed, and in ap- 

 pearance like a hedge-hog. 



The flowerets on the top of the 

 head open first, then they open 

 later along the sides, continuing in 

 the order of nature around the en- 

 tire surface of the sphere. Near 

 to the stem the last flowerets open, 

 long after the blossoms on the top 

 of the heads have disappeared, and 

 the seed capsules of the first blos- 

 soms have hardened. Unlike the 

 thistle the seeds are provided with 

 no balloon by wliich they may be 

 borne by the wind. The seed is in 

 weight and appearance very like a 

 small grain of rye, is enclosed in a 

 capsule, and falls directly to the 

 ground if not seasonably gathered, 

 not spreading more than oats if left 

 25 



to fall without harvesting. The 

 length of time from the first appear- 

 ance of bloom upon the tops of indi- 

 vidual heads, until the fading of the 

 last blossoms on the lower half of 

 the head near to the stem, is about 

 eight days, the continuance of 

 bloom depending upon the nature 

 of the soil and the season ; but the 

 heads or buds, sent out from each 

 individual shoot and forming each 

 individual cluster, vary in age and 

 size, so that the natural term of 

 blooming and honey-bearing may 

 safely be reckoned at from twenty 

 to thirty days. The term of bloom- 

 ing may, however, be prolonged to 

 a considerable extent by cutting 

 back a portion of the plants, and 

 the facility with which the honey 

 harvest may thus be prolonged, 

 constitutes an important feature 

 when estimating the value of this 

 plant. 



The plant is hardy, easily prop- 

 agated and i)erennial, and aj)pears 

 to flourish in all kinds of soil, and 

 there is no danger of its becoming 

 a noxious weed. It does not bloom 

 until the second season and as it 

 does not spread, its extirpation 

 could be easily accomplished. It 

 may be planted in waste places or 

 it may be sown in drills or hills, 

 like onion seed. It seems to be 

 characteristic of the plant to root 

 out all other vegetation and take 

 possession of the soil. No weeds 

 and but very little grass was seen 

 growing in tlie three-acre plot ob- 

 served. 



As to the value of the plant as a 

 honey producer, there appears to 

 be no room for doubt, whether 

 quality or quantity, or both, be 

 considered. Within reach of Mr. 

 Chapman's apiary no other resour- 

 ces were accessible for honey gath- 

 ering, the severe and prolonged 

 drought having destroyed all other 

 honey-yielding blossoms ; and yet, 

 in some instances, the bees were 

 making an excellent showing in the 



