396 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



June 15 



thoroughly digested and out of the way. 

 There is a general fleaning-uj) of all odds 

 and ends in the uhole digestive apparatus. 

 Before I go to sleep nature has a chance to 

 mend, and close up and clean up everything 

 in the whole machinery, for there is no 

 trash lying around in the way to breed ap- 

 pendicitis, fever, and other ills. 



Perhai)s I should not omit saying that at 

 just live o'clock I have tliree or four good 

 nice ajiples. I sjjoke to Terry about it. He 

 said that good raw ap])les can be so easily 

 digested that they are taken care of and ovit 

 of the way within an hour or two after eat- 

 ing them; and I tell you I enjoy my apples 

 every day of my life as I never enjoyed ap- 

 ples or any other fruit before. 



OATS FOH PEOPI.K AS WELL AS FOR CHICKENS; 

 ROLLED OATS VERSUS ROLLED WHEAT. 



Mr. A. I. Root: — I have given some thought to nu- 

 trition, and read what you and Terry write on the 

 subject. Have you read BuUetin No. 207, from the 

 Ohio Experiment Station? I believe you will find 

 It of great interest, and will wish to call the atten- 

 tion of your readers to it. 



I have eaten Pettljohn's rolled wheat, and also 

 rolled oats, and like the oats much the better, 

 while the cost is only about half. I use the oats 

 without cooking^ with cream or goat's milk, to 

 dampen them slightly. I chew them well, and find 

 them very good fcjod. 1 have been using them 

 thus for three years, and am now heavier than at 

 any time before in my life. I ,am five feet ten inch- 

 es in height, and weigh 166 lbs. I have a boy of five 

 and a girl of three years, and have not paid ten 

 cents for medicine during their lives for either 

 them or their parents. They usually have cocoa to 

 drink, or goafs milk, and nearly always ask for 

 some rolled oats (uncooked) to put into the last 

 few spoonfuls of their drink; and nearly all the 

 bread we eat is made with one-third rolled oats to 

 two-thirds flour. Give this a trial, then advise all 

 your readers to go and do likewise, and for ever 

 after thank you and me, 



I buy rolled oats in flO-lb. bags of Montgo.nery 

 Ward & Co.; and when the peoijle know their val- 

 ue the price will be very much higher than they 

 now are. The price for May and .Tune is 82.18 per 

 S)0-lb. bag, while the cheapest flour is S2.90 for 98 

 lbs. I see no reason why any one should need a 

 roller to roll wheat at home when these oats may 

 be bought for little more than the price of wheat, 

 and are far better in every way. Compare the 

 analyses of food stuflfs below: 



Notice how well oats compare with wheat In eve- 

 ry element, and particularly in protein and fat, the 

 two Important ones. And the oats are about one- 

 half richer in protein than flour, and more than 

 seven times as rich in fat. It is well known that 

 the Scotch live largely on oatmeal, and they are 

 good examples of brawny, healthy, and vigorous 

 men. It is little less than (•riminal to feed growing 



children largely on white bread and potatoes. They 

 need more protein and fat than do adults, particu- 

 larly the aged or idle. Notice bread and crackers. 

 The latter have .seven times as much fat and but 7 

 the water. Eggs and oysters make a poor showing, 

 considering price, while cocoanut, pe.anuts, cocoa, 

 and chocolate show u|) well. The high cost of liv- 

 ing and the cost of hii/h liriny have made people 

 "sit up and take ncjtice " as never before. 



The prices given in the table .are, of course, only 

 approximate, as the.v vary greatly in different sec- 

 tions and with different merchants, 



I also use rolled oats almost exclusively as feed 

 for my young chicks, so far as grain Is concerned, 

 and find it an excellent feed, 



I should judge that the fine meal that might be 

 sifted from these oats would be equal or superior to 

 most meals as a substitute for pollen (for bees), as it 

 Is more highly nitrogenous. Peameal might be an 

 exception. 



Packerville, Ct., May 7. E. P. Robinson. 



The above letter came to hand some time 

 ago. Since then we have been using a good 

 deal of rolled oats; and the nicest gems I 

 think I ever ate were made by mixing rolled 

 oats with graham flour. The oats were first 

 soaked in sour milk over night before being 

 stirred into the graham flour. And, by the 

 way, it never occurred to me before that roll- 

 ed oats are not only cheaper than wheat or 

 wheat flour, but cheaper for chickens, espe- 

 cially baby chicks, and, in fact, for chicks 

 of any age, than any of the chick foods on 

 the market. No matter where you buy 

 your baby chick food, or prepared chick 

 food of any sort, if you feed it in a pan or 

 tight box you will find with the very best 

 samples quite a per cent of some stuff that 

 the chickens will not eat. Some of it they 

 wall consume if they are starved to it; but it 

 certainly does not i>ay to force chickens to 

 eat what they do not seem to want. Well, 

 this rolled oats is, every particle of it, nour- 

 ishing food, and the chickens will eat it up 

 perfectly clean. The dust or fine flour, what 

 little there is of it, if mixed up with water, 

 or, better still, with milk, makes the best 

 tvet mash in the world, I do believe, for 

 chickens of any age. 

 The table Bro. R. has given above is some- 

 what startling; but comparing it with 

 other tables furnished by the De- 

 partment at AVashington I think it 

 is about correct. 



Now, just one thing more about 

 no suppers. The meal that suits me 

 best just nou' for breakfast and din- 

 ner (and, in fact, I have told Mrs. Root 

 I feel as if I should like it winter 

 and summer) is oatmeal mush bak- 

 ed slowly in an oven until it can be 

 sliced up like bread. 



Put several slices on your plate, 

 right warm from the oven. Cover 

 them well with butter; then put on 

 some good thick honey, say thedrain- 

 ings from the uncapping-can. Now 

 with a small pitcher of milk right by 

 your plate (I rather prefer cold milk if I 

 can get it. especially in summer) it makes 

 a repast fit for a king, or better still, perhaps, 

 for a laboring man who works out of doors 

 every day. T verily believe I would consent 

 to be a vegetarian if I could have plenty of 



