A. I. Root's influential journal, Gleanings in Bee Culture, covered many agricultural and scientific topics. This opinion of the government free seed program was widely held. While the program started with the admirable intention of exposing farmers and the general family gardener to superior varieties being developed, it grew over time into a politician's give-away to curry favor with their constituents. More often in my reading I come across strong opinions from reputable seedsmen who were outraged at the poor quality of seed that was sometimes accepted by the government, as well as the fact the government was competing unfairly with their business as they saw it.
Feb. 1889 - Gleanings in Bee Culture CHAPMAN HONEY-PLANT SEED; CAN IT BE OBTAINED OF THE GOVERNMENT?
I saw the notice last spring In Gleanings, stating that the Agricultural Department at Washington had obtained seed of the Chapman honey-plant, for distribution. I applied to our representative, and be notified me that he had never heard of such a plant, but said that he had sent my application to the department, since which time I never heard from it. Were any of your readers more fortunate?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friend L., I can not help you any about procuring seed of the Chapman honey-plant, opposed the measure of asking the Government to buy friend Chapman's seed, at the National Convention held in Chicago; also at the Michigan State Convention at Saginaw, a year ago.
Some of the friends who were in favor of it admitted that the Government Seed Bureau was a big humbug anyway; but they gave, as an excuse, that friend Chapman might as well have some of the humbug money as anybody else. They did not state it in just that way, but it amounted to that.
Now, the $2800 that was paid to friend Chapman for his honey-plant seed might almost as well have been thrown into the fire, in my opinion. The seed is very likely stowed away with other old rubbish, and it will probably get too old to germinate before it gets into the hands of beekeepers, if it ever does at all.
Another thing, I do not believe that any bee-keeper wants a lot of Chapman honey-plant seed until he has first tested it by trying a five cent package; and even after it has been so tested, and the seed was wanted, I am not sure that it could be had of the Government.
Perhaps I am a little uncharitable here; but I can not help feeling indignant at this whole proceeding—not only in honey-plants, but seeds for almost all other purposes. There have been a good many complaints just like yours, friend L., that they could not get the seed of the Chapman honey-plant, even after the Government had paid $2800 for it; and it is not only this kind of seed, but seeds in general are managed a good deal in the same fashion.
Our agricultural papers have for years shown it up, and protested that our money should not be wasted in such senseless proceedings, but still it goes on. This is the first time I have publicly spoken about the matter, and perhaps I shall never have occasion to speak of it again.
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A follow up - CHAPMAN HONEY-PLANT SEED—HOW TO GET IT OF THE GOVERNMENT
As I see some complaint in Gleanings, on page 134, by A. L. Lane and you about the distribution of the Chapman honey-plant seed by the Department of Agriculture at Washington, I want to say that I too read the notice in Gleanings last spring, and I at once wrote to Hon. Norman J. Colman, Commissioner of Agriculture, at Washington, for some seed, and soon got a little package of the same.
I sowed some, and almost every seed came up all right. Some plants had, by fall, leaves 38 inches long.
I believe if Mr. Lane had applied to Hon. Norman J. Colman, Commissioner, for the seed, instead of to his Representative, he would have received some.
Jacob Ruch, Jr. Gruetli, Grundy Co., Tenn., Feb. 21, 1889.
I had to look up Greutli to see if it was an OCR mistake! Nope.
James Vick responded to the popular interest in bee plants in this article from his Vick's Monthly Magazine, Volume 2 in 1879.
It starts out slightly off topic, discussing what attracts an insect to a plant. I wasn't sure if a seedsman correcting the poor science being aired in Popular Science Monthly would be of interest here, but then I remembered it was MY blog! I like the fact he felt the need to explore the idea.
Drop down below to the specie lists for a more seed-centric topic as Vick does go on to address bee plants here, a subject more in keeping with my theme...and I added his great flower illustrations from his catalogs for those plants.
BEE PLANTS
In a late number of the Popular Science Monthly a correspondent, Thomas D. Lilly, of Virginia, gives an account of his observation, the past summer, of the visits of bees and other insects to the flowers of Petunias and Morning Glories. As his account of the operations of the insects is so interesting, we here give the communication entire:
"During the summer I spent much of my time in a porch surrounded by Petunias and Morning Glories, of all shades of color from white to bright purple and dark violet. I first observed that the colored Petunias were torn to pieces every day before noon, while the white or pale ones escaped almost uninjured. I soon discovered that the bees and butterflies were the mischief-makers, and that the damage was done with their sharp claws in struggling to get to the bottom of the flower-cup. I kept a close watch down to the present day—when the bees and butterflies are gone, and a few blossoms still remain, never molested—and my first impressions have been fully confirmed.
In every variety of situation and circumstances the white Petunias have been neglected for the colored, in exact proportion to the intensity and vividness of color; and the same I found to be true, in a less degree, as regards the deep and pale Morning Glories. I have called the attention of others to the facts, and proved that the preference of the insects is determined by color alone. If there was any difference whatever in sweetness or fragrance, it was in favor of the rejected white flowers."
The statement of facts here is something new, and we do not offer an explanation of them.
There is a popular impression very prevalent that the white Petunia is obnoxious to insects; of the real truth of this, however, we are not prepared to state an opinion. This idea would seem to have some confirmation by Mr. L's observations, as, he remarks, after making the statement of the insects shunning the white Petunias, that he found the same to be true in a less degree, as regards the pale Morning Glories. That is, the insects visited them, more or less, but did not universally shun them as they did the white Petunias. Possibly the white Petunia may yet prove to be an insectifuge.
What we would more particularly notice is the deduction that "the preference of the insects is determined by color alone". If this conclusion was intended to apply merely to the flowers which were subject to these observations it might pass unnoticed, although it would not be difficult to show that even in this case it is not warranted by the facts. If, as already suggested, the white Petunia possesses some principle obnoxious to the insects, this would be the cause which determined them to visit the colored flowers, and not the bright colors; that some flowers do thus affect insects is well known, for instance, the Pyrethrums, carneum and roseum.
As previously remarked, we are not aware that the white Petunias possess any such obnoxious principle, but until it is shown that the color is the only difference between the white and the colored flowers we could not consider it logically proved that the preference of the insects is determined by color alone.
But in the statement of this conclusion in connection with that, "if there was any difference in sweetness or fragrance it was in favor of the neglected white flowers", some may be led to suppose that colored flowers are the most desirable for honey purposes for bees. To any such inference we would here oppose a statement of fact, that of the kinds of flowers from which bees gather their honey a large number of them are either white, greenish-white, yellowish-green or apetalous, that is, destitute of petals, and as such comparatively inconspicuous.
In evidence of this position and also as a practical guide to apiarists we here give two lists of bee plants. One of these lists was prepared a few years since by Dr. Muenter, Director of the Botanic Garden at Greifswald, Prussia. We suppose his knowledge of the value of these plants, for the use of the bees, was obtained by noticing their visits to the plants in the Garden.
Rejecting from this list those kinds which produce white and colored flowers on different individual plants, such as Convolvulous tricolor and the Campanulas, &c., we find of the rest 121 with colored flowers and forty-four kinds with flowers that are either white or yellowish green, or, in a few cases, apetalous, that is, without petals. One-third of the whole number bear white flowers, and two-thirds colored flowers. Evidently it cannot be stated as a general principle that bees reject white flowers or those not highly colored.
Prof. A. J. Cook, of the Michigan Agricultural College, author of a valuable manual of the
apiary, recently published, gives a list of bee plants which, also, we copy. This list shows a still larger proportion of white, and inconspicuous flowers, amounting to about one half of the whole number. It must be borne in mind that we have now considered the relative proportion of colored flowers only in reference to the kinds of plants, and not to their quantity.
Caution - long sentence ahead! Our writing style today is so different. I've grown to enjoy the ride of long sentences after reading works from the 1800s all the time. Reading them is like you are being supported by a breeze of varying intensities that keeps you aloft within the idea as you glide up and down.
Then again, it sure is tempting to edit them for clarity!!!
When we consider how universally the white clover ( Trifolium repens) is spread over the inhabited countries of the temperate zones, and how important a place it holds as a bee plant, when we bear in mind the extent of cultivation of the different members of the Rose family composing the list of our commonly cultivated fruits and their wild congeners, when we think of the millions of acres in the corn and cotton crops of this country, of the large extent of buckwheat annually raised, of the innumerable blooms of the wild and cultivated Maples, Willows, Poplars and Grape vines, having inconspicuous or apetalous flowers, we are able to form something of an idea of the vast excess of the amount of bloom of white and inconspicuous flowers over that of colored ones.
We have thus given a pretty complete list of plants suitable for bee pastures, commonly called honey-producing plants, to which our readers can at all times refer. We have been induced to furnish this list mainly on account of the number of inquiries received seeking information on the subject.
It will be observed that most of our garden flowers are honey-producing, as well as many of our wild plants and weeds. The main question is, what can we plant to produce the most food for bees, at the least expense.
It would not be wise usually to raise crops of weeds, and it is, of course, best to cultivate plants of value for other purposes, and that the bees can feed on to their hearts' content without depreciating their value.
Perhaps no plant will furnish more bee honey to the acre than Mignonette, and yet it will possess no other value, except in the seed.
The Sweet Clover, Melilot, is a great favorite with bees, but it is a perennial weed and likely to become a great nuisance. The Alsike and White Clover are valuable plants, both for hay and pasturage. We have often been surprised to see the great love bees have for the Onion when in bloom.
(His first name was Charles, but he was known as C.C..)
This brief summary of the rise and fall of the Chapman Honey Plant was written by Dr. C. C. Miller. While he slams it for bee pasturage, it will still make a great plant in the garden for you to observe the nectar gathering of honeybees and other local pollinators. By chance I just learned who he was in the history of beekeeping this morning. His Fifty Years Among the Bees, is a well-known memoir/bee how-to book that documents the life of a man who found his bliss was to follow honeybees for his life's work rather than be a physician.
I don't know why people thought Echinops sphaerocephalus was introduced to the United states so late as Grant Thorburn had it in his seed catalog in 1827. CHAPMAN HONEY PLANT (Echinops sphaerocephalus).
The Chapman honey plant was introduced from France about 1885. The bee journals of 1886 and 1887 devote a large amount of space to a discussion of this plant. It was brought prominently to the attention of American beekeepers by Hiram Chapman, of Versailles, New York, who planted about three acres of it at that place. He made such glowing reports of the plant at the National Beekeepers' Convention that a committee of prominent men was appointed to visit the Chapman home and report on the new plant at the convention of the following year. They made a lengthy and very favorable report, which is published in full on page 28 of the American Bee Journal for January 5, 1887.
Numerous beekeepers secured seed, and so attractive did the plant prove to the bees that favorable reports appeared frequently in the columns of the journals for the next few years. However, the great expectations were not realized, for it soon disappeared, and is seldom mentioned in current literature.
The following quotation from Dr. C. C. Miller, which appeared in Gleanings, in December, 1918, is probably a correct estimate of the value of the plant:
"After reading the British Bee Journal of September 26, I should have made a vigorous effort to secure a supply of seed of Echinops Sphaerocephalus, if I had no previous experience with the plant. No bee plant that I have ever grown was so attractive to the bees. Whenever the weather was favorable the heads were crowded. I have counted fourteen or fifteen bees on one at the same time."
This is the Chapman honey plant that had a big boom in this country a number of years ago; but it is not heard of now, and is not included among the honey plants in the bee books. Upon its introduction I planted quite a patch of it, and like Mr. Harwood, I never saw the bees so thick on any other plant. But close observation showed that the bees were not in eager haste in their usual way when getting a big yield, but were in large part idle. It looked a little as if the 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 furnished free.
Now here is a plant I am familiar with already, although I don't grow it...yet. Connecticut is certainly within its range of zones 3 to 7. I have a hard scrabble hill property on glacial sand so I am always looking for plants that don't have to go in rich soil. The globe thistle named the Chapman Honey-plant is Echinops sphaerocephalus. It is also referred to as Chapman's Honey-plant.
The following is text from A.I. Root's 1888 catalog's Bee Plant section, with Root as the writer.
Chapman Honey-plant (1888)
This is called in European countries, "globe thistle". It was introduced by Mr. H. C. Chapman, of Versailles, N.Y., who cultivates it extensively for honey, and claims it is a paying investment. His seed has been turned over to the government, and may be obtainable free by any bee-keeper. Where it is more convenient to get it of us, however, we can furnish it in 5-cent packages.
Isn't YouTube wonderful? Remember the world before the internet? I do.
By the way, Hiram Chapman, member in 1885 of North American Bee-keepers' Society, died in 1890 at age 80.
The following articles, from Gleanings in Bee Culture, Vol. 15, 1887, speak to why the plant created such interest.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE
CHAPMAN HONEY-PLANT
WRITTEN OUT BY PROF. McLAIN
AS considerable space has already been given to reports in regard to this plant, we thought it hardly worth while to go over the ground again; but as friend Chapman particularly wishes a full report from all the members comprising said committee, we subjoin the following:
The committee appointed by the North-American Bee-Keepers' Society, at the annual meeting held in Detroit, Mich., December, 1885, to investigate the merits of a honey-bearing plant now being cultivated by Mr. Hiram Chapman of Versailles, N. V., met at that place July 28, 1886.
One member of the committee, Mr. Manum, of Bristol, Vt.,was not able to be present; but as each member of your committee was furnished with a sufficient number of plants to afford opportunity for observing their growth and habits, and also to gain some information concerning the value of the plant as a honey producer, a letter from Mr. Manum, in which he gives the result of his experience and observation, is herewith appended. This plant, which Dr. Beal, of the Michigan State Agricultural College, and Mr. Scribner. Asst. Botanist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, tell us is Echinops sphaerocephalus, is an imported perennial, native in Central France, and, like all of the family to which it belongs, very rich in honey.
This plant will probably be popularly known in this country as the "Chapman honey-plant", so named on account of Mr. Chapman being first to cultivate it,
and being first to bring it to the notice of bee-keepers. We found three acres of the plant in bloom. The height of the mature plant is from 3 to 4 1/2 feet, and each root bears from 5 to 15 round balls, or heads, from one inch to 1 7/8 inches in diameter. These heads stand upright, and the entire surface is covered with small white flowers having bluish stamens.
The stalks and leaves so nearly resemble those of the common thistle, that, were it not for the head, the difference would not be easily noticed. There is, however, in this particular, a very marked difference, the appearance of the head being aptly described by its botanical name, which signifies roundheaded, and in appearance like a hedgehog. The flowerets on top of the head open first, then they open later along the sides of the ball, continuing in the order of nature around the entire surface of the sphere. Near to the stem the last flowerets open after the blossoms on the tops of the heads have disappeared, and the seed-capsules of the first blossoms have hardened.
Unlike the thistle, the seeds are provided with no balloon by which they may be borne by the wind. The seed is, in weight and appearance, very much like a small grain of rye; is inclosed in a capsule, and falls directly to the ground, if not seasonably gathered, not spreading more than oats, if left to fall without harvesting.meeting held in Detroit, Mich., December, 1885, to investigate the merits of a honey-bearing plant now being cultivated by Mr. Hiram Chapman of Versailles, N. V., met at that place July 28, 1886.
One member of the committee.Mr. Manum, of Bristol, Vt.,was not able to be present; but as each member of your committee was furnished with a sufficient number of plants to afford opportunity for observing their growth and habits, and also to gain some information concerning tho value of the plant as a honey produeer, a letter from Mr. Manum, in which he gives tho result of his experience and observation, is herewith appended. This plant, which Dr. Heal, of the Michigan State Agricultural College, and Mr. Scribner. Asst. Botanist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, tell us is Echinops sphaerocephalus, is an imported perennial, native in Central France, and, like all of the family to which it belongs, very rich in honey.
This plant will probably be popularly known in this country as the "Chapman honey-plant", so named on account of Mr. Chapman being first to cultivate it, and being first to bring it to the notice of bee-keepers. We found three acres of the plant in bloom. The height of the mature plant is from 3 to 4 1/2 feet, and each root bears from 5 to 15 round balls, or heads, from one inch to 1 7/8 inches in diameter. These heads stand upright, and the entire surface is covered
with small white flowers having bluish stamens.
From the time of the appearance of the bloom upon the tops of individual heads until the fading of the last blossoms upon the lower part of the head near to the stalk, is about eight days; the continuance of the blooming 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 degree and size, so that the natural term of blooming and honey bearing may safely to reckoned at from 20 to 30 days. The term of blooming may also 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 propagated, perennial, and appears to flourish in all kinds of soil, and there is no danger of its becoming a pest or a noxious weed. It does not bloom until the second season; and as it does not spread in seeding, its extirpation would be easily accomplished. Its seed may be scattered 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 the three acre plot observed.
A ten-acre field, sown broadcast and harrowed in like rye, has also made a vigorous growth, and seems to be taking possession of the soil, in opposition to quack-grass and weeds. As to the value of the plant to the honey-producer, there appears to be no room for doubt, whether quantity or quality, or both, be considered.
Within reach of Mr. Chapman's apiary, no other resources were accessible for honey-gathering. The severe and prolonged drought destroyed all other honey-yielding blossoms, and yet in some instances the trees were making an excellent showing in the hives. No definite conclusion could be reached as to the probable returns in pounds of honey from a given area. That the returns would be satisfactory, was evidenced by the fact that the entire area was "alive with bees," and they visited the flowers from daylight until dark, and sometimes eight or ten bees were upon a single head at one time.
Mr. Hubbard, who cultivated some of these plants obtained from Mr. Chnpman, represented that he had counted the number of visits made by bees to a single head from 5 A. M. to 7 PM. He reported the number as being 2135, actual count. In order that the committee might have some idea of the quantity of nectar secreted in the flowers of a single head, the day before our arrival Mr. Chapman had wrapped a thin paper about a head, the . half of which was in full bloom, and tied the paper around the stem with tape, thus preventing the bees from appropriating the nectar for 24 hours. Upon removing the paper on the forenoon of the day of our visit, the flowerets were found to be dripping with nectar, and the drops sparkled in the morning sun. Each of us have made similar tests with like results since that time. We cheerfully and confidently recommend this plant to the beekeepers of North America as a most valuable acquisition to the list of bee-forage plants.
We believe that a trial of the plant will, better than any further words of approval from us. publish its own commendation.
Respectfully submitted,
N. W. McLain.
A. I. Root.
L. C. Root.
The following is a report in regard to the plant, from Mr. Manum, who was absent at the time the other members of the committee assembled at Mr. Chapman's:
L. C. Root, Chairman of the Committee on the Chapman Honey-Plant—
Dear Sir:
—As I failed to put in an appearance when the committee met at Mr. Chapman's, in July last, it is not only due you, but to Mr. Chapman and the convention as well, that I make a short report of my experience with the Chapman honey-plant, 50 roots of which Mr. Chapman so kindly sent me last spring.
The plants thrived well through the summer, under moderate cultivation, and planted on light sandy soil. I did not take extra pains with them, as I wished to test their hardiness. The plants commenced to bloom July 14, and continued to bloom until Aug. 21, making 39 days that they continued in bloom; and from the first day of their blooming until the last, the little flower-balls were covered with bees everyday from early morning until dark, rain or shine (we had no very heavy rains during this period), the bees constantly going and coming. I have counted 16 bees on one ball at one time, all sucking the sweet nectar from the richly laden flowers of the Chapman honey-plant.
At Mr. Chapman's request I covered of the balls with tissue paper, and 2 with muslin. On the following day there were several bee-keepers here. I removed the paper from the balls, and, lo and behold! the flowers were filled—yes, covered, as it were, with honey. We found, by holding the hand under one of the balls, and jarring it the honey dropped in the hand enough to make several drops. In a moment a bee alighted on one of the uncovered balls, and never moved until its sack was filled, when it flew away.
On timing them I found that the bees filled themselves and flew away in two minutes and twenty seconds from the time the first bee alighted on the plant. The two balls that were covered with muslin were now uncovered; but the honey seemed to have evaporated, as there was but little visible, although I had noticed bees alight on the muslin, and try to suck honey through the cloth. This fact was conclusive to me that the bees could smell the honey through the cloth. I find that by cutting back the plants in June, they will bloom later in the season. This would be of advantage, perhaps, to those who are favored with an abundance of buckwheat for their bees to work on during August, as, by cutting it back, it would then commence to bloom the last of August, thereby affording good pasturage for bees in September.
In conclusion, I must say that I am well pleased with the plant, judging from this first year's trial; and I venture to say that the time is not far distant when it will be extensively cultivated for its honey-producing qualities. I expect to plant an acre next spring. Were it possible for me to meet with you at the convention, I would move a vote of thanks to Mr. Chapman for having introduced this valuable plant.
It is valuable, not only to beekeepers, but to the florist as well, because it is a very beautiful plant, and so very rare withal.
A traditional green down south, the Seven Top Turnip was, and is, appreciated by many people as a sign of spring and a good meal. The following description is from A. I. Root's 1887 seed catalog's bee plant section: Seven-Top Turnip. This plant, although not equal to the spider plant and Simpson honey plant, is entitled to a place next to them, because it bears its crop of honey in the spring, between fruit blossoms and clover. It should be sown in Aug. and Sept. It bears no root like the ordinary turnip, but only foliage that is used for greens.
Price of seed. 10c per oz., or 50c. per lb. If wanted by mail, 18 c. per lb. extra. From A. I. Root himself the following praise for the Seven Top Turnip.
TURNIP. The turnip, mustard, cabbage, rape, etc., are all members of one family, and, if I am correct, all bear honey, when circumstances are favorable. The great enemy of most of these in our locality (especially of the rape), is the little black cabbage flea. The turnip escapes this pest, by being sown in the fall, and were it not that it comes in bloom at almost the same time when the fruit trees do, I should consider it one of the most promising honey plants.
In the summer of 1877, Mr. A. W. Kaye, of Pewee Valley, Ky., sent me. some seed of what is called the "Seven-Top Turnip," saying that his bees had gathered more pollen from it, in the spring, than from anything else. I sowed the seed about the 1st of Oct., on ground where early potatoes had been harvested. In Dec, they showed a luxuriance of beautiful green foliage, and in May, following, a sea of yellow blossoms, making the prettiest "posy bed," I believe, that I ever saw in my life, and the music of the bees humming among the branches was just "entrancing," to one who has an ear for such music. I never saw so many bees on any patch of blossoms of its size in my life, as could be seen on them from daylight until dark. Friend K. recommended the plant particularly for pollen, but, besides this, I am inclined to think it will give more honey to the acre than anything that has heretofore come under my notice. We have much trouble here in raising rape and mustard, with the small turnip beetle or flea, but this turnip patch has never been touched; whether it is on account of sowing so late in the fall or because the flea does not fancy it, I am unable to say. The plants seem very hardy, and the foliage is most luxuriant, much more so than either the rape or Chinese mustard, which latter plant it much resembles, only having larger blossoms. As our patch was sown after the first of Oct., and the crop could easily be cleared from our land by the middle of June, a crop of honey could be secured without interfering with the use of the land for other purposes.
Friend K. also recommends the foliage for "greens," and says that he sows it in his garden for spring and winter use. We tried a mess of greens from our patch, in Dec, and found them excellent. Our seed was sown very thickly, in drills about one foot apart. This turnip bears only tops, and has no enlargement of the root. If I could get a ten-acre lot covered with such bloom during the month of August, I should not hesitate an instant to hand over the money for the necessary expenses. If we cannot get the blossoms in August, we can certainly have an abundant supply between fruit bloom and clover.
Turnip flowers
In 1909, Gleanings had this to say about the Seven Top, their enthusiasm not having flagged in two decades.
...If you have had no experience in the way of green manuring, just try a little plot in your garden first; and while I am about it there is still another plant—one that will stand thewinter more surely than any thing else I know of unless it is rye—the seven-top turnip that we have advertised in our seed catalog for so many years.
This plant does not make a turnip at all. It is grown simply for the top for feed, and for turning under, for bees and for seed.
We see by the Columbia State (South Carolina) that our old friend J. D. Fooshe, of Coronaca, S. C, has, during the past season, sold 9000 lbs. of this seven-top-turnip seed. Some of the older readers of Gleanings will remember friend Fooshe as one of the pioneers in queen-breeding. He has furnished The A. I. Root Co. queens for more than thirty years, and we have never had a complaint of them, and we do not know that he has ever complained of us.
I wish he would tell us about now much honey he got from his seven-top turnip in growing that 9000 lbs. of seed, and any thing else he may have to suggest from his long experience in growing seven-top turnip.
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Who was Mollie Large? Her name just rolls off your tongue! If a current horticultural business rule of thumb, that the name of a plant has a HUGE effect on its popularity, held true over a hundred years ago this bee plant had a leg up on the competition.
This illustration is from A.I. Root's 1882 ABC of Bee Culture, and he sold it in his seed catalog.
The first hint I found was the following from a 1909 Gleanings in Bee Culture.
MOLLIE O. LARGE'S HONEY-PLANT... Dear Friend:—Yes, such you seem to me, for I have read Gleanings, especially Home Papers, for years. I am a sister of the late G. G. Large, and was boarding with him when his wife (Mollie O.) sent you the spider-plant seed. In fact, he got the seed from me. ... Susie H. Megan, Owaneco, Ill.
The second source I found from 1884 clued me in she was a beekeeper!
IS HONEY FROM HEART'S - EASE UNFIT FOR WINTERING I find, in reading GLEANINGS and other journals, that “bees are doing well,” “bees booming,” and but very few discouraging reports, while I am making bee-keeping a failure this spring; and I ask myself the question, “Why is it?” There are several theories that come up; it may be this, that, or the other; but it is a genuine spring dwindle. I should like to have it solved, to avoid a repetition in the future. Some one in the A. B. J. states that heart's-ease honey is unfit to winter on; if that is a fact, it will give some clew to the trouble, as the great part of their stores was from that weed. MOLLIE O. LARGE, Millersville, Christian Co., Ill., May 16, 1884.
Finally, I went and looked where I should have known to go first thing, the ABC of Bee Culture by A.I Root himself. He tells the whole story.
The spider plant is Cleome pungens.
Henry Dobbie, in 1884, says:
Spider Plant (Cleome pungens)
American beekeepers speak in glowing terms of this plant for bee forage. The secretion of honey is described as enormous, and unlike most bee flowers, the blooms open early in the morning and the afternoon, thus pre-venting the evaporation of the nectar. In hot weather the evaporation of nectar from flowers is considerable; indeed, more so than is generally thought by bee-keepers. Therefore, honey-secreting plants that do not open their petals until after the scorching heat of the day is past, will be invaluable to the apiarist, especially as inthe case of the spiderplant, which produces honey in such abundance. Mr. Root says, in speaking about the spider plant (page 221,“A B C ”) : “ Not only does a single floweret produce a large drop, but some of them produce a great many drops.Last evening we made observations by lamp-light, and before nine o’clock the globules of honey were of the sizeof large shot.
The crowning experiment of all took place this morning. I was up a little after five o’clock, and with the aid of a teaspoon I dipped honey enough from three or four plants to fill a two-drachm phial, such as we use in the queen cages, a little more than half full. The honey in some of the flowerets had collected in a large quantity, so large that it spilled out, and actually streamed on the ground.
I have called this honey, but in reality it is raw nectar, such as is found in clover and other flowers. The taste is a pure sweet, slightly dashed with a most beautiful, delicate flavour, resembling somewhat that of the best new maple molasses. The honey will be as white as the whitest linden, so far as I can judge. With the aid of a lamp, I evaporated the nectar down to thick honey. You can see something of what the bees have to do, whenI tell you that I had in bulk only about one-fifth part as much as when I commenced. You can also see that we now have some accurate figures with which to estimate the amount of honey which may be obtained from an acre of honey plants.” The seed should be sown in April in a pan or box, using fine soil. Give the protection of a frame or greenhouse(see chapter on the raising of plants from seed).Plants raised from seed in April and grown on, will flower in August. Plant these two feet apart each way.
This wonderful photo of a bee on the spider flower is from the blog, It's Not Work, It's Gardening! There are more bee and flower photos for the spider plant. One clearly shows the HUGE droplet of nectar that forms at the center of the petals. Look closely at this photo and you may see a blur...that is the droplet.
Below is an ad from our old friend Samuel Wilson, not for Mollie O. Large, but for the specie. I just like the bees. Plus my favorite horticultural engraver, Albert Blanc, did the art work!
Jacob Ruch, Jr.
