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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1. 



and Electropoiso," that I now address you. This 

 subject is important to me, for two members of my 

 family liave been intense sufferers from chronic 

 rheumatism; and when one sees his friends suffer- 

 ing- he will make great sacrifices for them. 



My uncle has rheumatism— can not walk a step. 

 All winter he used the Electropoise, and received 

 no benefit from it. It is true, we rented it; but if 

 we bad been more flush in money matters we would 

 have bought it. Our pliysiciau brought it to us say- 

 ing he had no faith in it, because it professed to 

 cure too raucli. But another physician. Dr. Buck, 

 of Leetown, W. Va., had been using it with varying 

 success. One of the worst features about the whole 

 thing is, they recommend it for the most dangerous 

 and rapid diseases, and ask you to not take any sort 

 of medicine wliile using it. I take the New York 

 Chiirchmait. M. H. Mallory & Co., 47 Lafayette Place, 

 New York, and it has whole pages of advertise- 

 ments, praising- and recommending the Electro- 

 poise. I also take Minisin/'g yiagnzutc, and the May 

 number has two wliole pages devoted to Electro- 

 poise. The address is Frank A. Munsey, 151 Fifth 

 Ave., New York 



If you please, I should like three copies of Glean- 

 ings and a few slips to send to those two publica- 

 tions. Mrs. W. H. Seibert. 



Kerneysville, W. Va., May 20. 



If It Is indeed true that our regular physicians 

 are recommending, or even suggesting, to their 

 patients that charms and baubles may, cure 

 disease, things are getting to a rather bad pass, 

 especially when they recommend such a trap 

 for chronic rheumatism. I would inform our 

 good friend that both the Churchman and 

 Munsey have been warned again and again of 

 the fraud they are helping to push, and yet 

 they keep on. By the way, our readers may 

 not know that the instrument (?) is rented out 

 at $1.5 for three months. Just think of it— .^'5 

 per month for a senseless trap that does not 

 cost half a dollar in the first place! What are 

 we coming to? I stated this plainly to the 

 editor of a prominent religious paper; and his 

 defense was, that people nowadays are getting 

 great profits for almost every thing. Great 

 profits indeed! How about the farmers, mar- 

 ket-gardeners, fruit-growers, and other people? 

 Besides, what would be the effect on the rising 

 generation to let them see instances, right be- 

 fore their eyes, where people who stand high 

 are getting $:J.t for what costs them but little 

 more than 25 cts.? Yes, I know I have been 

 going over this thing a good deal; but it will 

 surely be the ruin of our nation if thi^ and 

 other work of a similar kind is not put down 

 and stopped. 



THE RECENT FROST. 



In our last issue we spoke of covering our 

 tomatoes with pie-plant leaves. Well, we have 

 been doing this for almost two weeks. The 

 tomatoes were all saved, but they look pretty 

 sick on account of being covered up so much; 

 and, even though they did not get frosted, they 

 are a good deal stunted from the continued cold 

 weather. We saved all the plants under glass, 

 except that the frost was so severe tomato- 

 plants were frozen where they came up against 

 the glass. On Monday night. May 20, the frost 

 was so severe that cabbages and cabbage-plants 

 were more or less injured. It made me think 

 of the gardens in Florida after the frost of Feb. 

 7; and when I saw the mulberry-tree in front 

 of our back door, with the leaves and half- 

 grown berries all cooked, it made me think still 

 more of Florida. We all have to take our turn 



with disasters and disappointments, sooner or 

 later; but if we are working right along in 

 harmony with the plans of the great God above, 

 we may feel sure that adversity as well as pros- 

 perity comes from a kind and loving Father. 



It is interesting to note what varieties of veg- 

 etables and fruits stand the frost best. While 

 all of our common raspberries have been more 

 or less injured, even before the fruit-buds were 

 open, the buds of the Gault raspberry, even 

 those down on the creek-bottom ground, seem 

 to be uninjured. They are a little later than 

 some of the others, which may account for a 

 part of it: but the plant is certainly exceedingly 

 hardy. We shall have no more plants for sale 

 until next season. 



Among the strawberries I was much surprised 

 to see our old friend the Haverland loaded with 

 green berries as usual, while nearly all the rest, 

 both green berries and open blossoms, are dead 

 and black. The Warfield comes next to the 

 Haverland in this ability to withstand frost — 

 at least, so it has seemed during this last frost. 

 Our wax beans are all ruined except some that 

 were not yet up. And here is a good reason for 

 putting your early plantings in to a pretty good 

 depth, and for putting in. also, a great plenty 

 of seed. If the frost injures the first to get up, 

 you still have the last. In Florida I noticed 

 that those who had beans almost up were the 

 gainers. You see they would be several days 

 ahead of those who had to plant after the frost 

 was over. Our early corn had also to be re- 

 planted — at least, we thought best to replant it. 



As usual, a good many people borrowed trou- 

 ble more than they needed to do. For instance, 

 our apples are almost uninjured: a great part 

 of the cherries still hang on the trees, and are 

 growing larger every day. even though they do 

 look brown and blistered: the same with plums 

 to a certain extent; and this morning I found a 

 peach-tree that had, by some hook or crook, 

 got through, and the peaches looked as fresh 

 as if there had been no frost at all. The tree 

 was close to a building. Our grapes are all 

 destroyed except some vines tacked on to the 

 brick walls of our house. The wall is a pro- 

 tection: and, besides, it holds the heat during 

 the night. 



We are gathering beautiful strawberries, that 

 were in our plant-beds, protected by glass. 

 With a very little protection you can have 

 them two weeks earlier, and absolutely safe 

 from frost. In fact, the cloth covering for beds 

 will protect strawberries perfectly. I feel pret- 

 ty sure it will pay to grow strawberries pro- 

 tected by glass, say in February and March; 

 by cloth in April, and in May if it should be 

 needed. Thev will bring a much bigger price 

 than the berries shipped from the South; and 

 after you get your beds, sashes, and cloth 

 covers, it is not so very much expense to keep 

 them perfectly safe: and if you sell plants you 

 can in this way have runners and new plants 

 for sale during June and July, when nobody 

 else is prepared to fill orders; and early plants 

 put out in the above months will do wonders 

 in the way of getting a stand for the next sea- 

 son. Of course, water should be handy where 

 one plans to put out plants during these hot 

 summer months. ,_ ■_ . 



^MICHEL'S EARLY STRAAVBERRY. 



This has again given us our first picking 

 to-day. May 28. and they have stood th3 frost 

 almost if not quite as well as the Haverland. 

 The berries are of a good size for an extra early, 

 splendid color and shape, and exquisite in taste, 

 only perhaps a little tart. If they bore as many 

 berries as the Haverland they would be an 

 acquisition indeed. The Haverland, with its 

 great handfuls of berries on a single stem, will 



