1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTQRE. 



681 



ALFALFA— ON THE WHEEL. 



There is not going to be much "On the 

 Wheel " in this issue, for the beefsteak diet has 

 sort o' knocked it out. I>iit that trip of twenty 

 miles that I made after suppi'r was to see a lit- 

 tle patch of alfalfa right ht-re in Medina Co.. 

 that stood a couple of feet hish. on the Kith of 

 August, and it has alrondy given two heavy 

 cuttings this season. The owner said it stood 

 fully three feet high when it was cut, and gave 

 the most feed, and about the bn'St fei d. of any 

 thing he had ever taken from a like piece of 

 ground. The seed was put in two years ago in 

 June, therefore it had stood two of our Ohio 

 winters, and the last one. perhaps, the worst in 

 fifty years. He said that, after our spring 

 frosts, he thought at one time it was entirely 

 killed: but tinally he could see a little green 

 shoot here and there, and finally it all started, 

 and grew and (jreir. This is on ordinary Medi- 

 na clay soil, perhaps with a little tendency to- 

 ward sand or gravel. But if one man can make 

 such a success as that on a quarter of an acre, 

 why can't somebody else do as well? I confess 

 it has given me the alfalfa fever already. 



WATER-WITCHIXG. 



Quite a good many communications have 

 come in, and several have invited me to come 

 and see the genuineness of the thing proved. 

 One man has been on our grounds. It is bnrely 

 2)0ssible there is some scienceaboutit. but there 

 is certainly a good deal of folly and supersti- 

 tion mixed up with it. For instance, one friend 

 claims it is due to electrical attraction, and 

 says that, if the peach-tree branch be wrapped 

 in a silk handkerchief, it will not work. Those 

 versed in electrical attraction or magnetic at- 

 traction will at once recognize that thi^ is a 

 mistake. A silk handkerchief has no power 

 whatever over magnetic attraction, as any one 

 can readily prove with a cheap magnet and a 

 common pocket-compass. Again, another friend 

 assures us that blindfolding the operator will 

 not answer, for he says the switch will not in- 

 dicate water unless the operator can use his 

 eyes and see his switch. We have heard of hu- 

 man beings who would not work unless you 

 kept your eye on them: but T do not know that 

 I ever before heard of a machine that refused 

 to "go" unless the owner kept it all the 

 time exactly under his sight. You see tiiis 

 runs us into the occult sciences again. Clair- 

 voyance is not yet recognized as a force in na- 

 ture or as one of the sciences. A. I. B. 



Special Notices. 



GARDENING FOR SEPTEMBER 



We are now having- rains quite freciuently ; and 

 on ground that is kept mellowed up, they seem suf- 

 ficient; but where tlie ground has once beconie 

 baked and hard, so the wuter runs off. tlie drouth 

 seems to continue: and on such ground ns this, 

 trees and small fruits arc siill dying-. The water 

 has not yet pot down to their roots. 



Our Best of All snap bean is proving to he true to 

 name as a shell bean. In f;i(t, some of the friends 

 pronounce it aliead of any of the big limas. The 

 only trouble with it is, it is a colored bean; but 

 ■when I was a juvenile I remember of eating baked 

 beans at my grandmotliers, said beans being spot- 

 ted or speckled; and it seems to me they were more 

 delicious and tootlisome tiian any thing of the bean 

 family I liave tasted since. And this Rest of All 

 colored bean looks very much like those spotted 

 beans of olden times that used to please us so much 

 when we were children. 



On looking the matter up, I find that, during a 

 favorable fall, turnips may do quite well, even 

 when sown in September. And, by the way, a few 



days ago, when we were sowing crimson clover in 

 the corn, with a little sprinkling of turnip seed 

 among the clover, a visitor who was present clapped 

 liis hand on liis thigh and declared : 



"Oh dear me ! why didn't I think to mix in just 

 a little turnip seed when I sowed that crimson 

 clover yesterday among the sweet corn ?" 



Now is the time to sow lettuce '^eed to be trans- 

 ferred later into the ereenhouse. Sow the seed and 

 push ahmg the plants out in the open air, exactly 

 as you would in the spring. Move them into the 

 greenhouse just before they might receive injury 

 outdoors. 



The latter part of this month is the time to sow 

 cabbage for cold-frame plants; and if you have 

 got the hang of it you can have cold-frame onion- 

 plants in tlie same way. We make it succeed to 

 perfection. The onions will stand fully as much 

 frost as the cabbage. 



Our new Craig Seedling potato is still booming, 

 and promises sometiiing almost unheard of. In 

 answer to many inquiries in regard to tlie forth- 

 coming prices of potatoes for fall shipment, I would 

 reply that the matter is under consideration, and 

 we shall be able to give reasonable rales, probably, 

 in our next issue. If you want to send in your or- 

 der we will guarantee that the rates all .around will 

 be a little lower, any way, than last year. 



Scarlet Globe, Early Frame, and Rose winter rad- 

 ishes will all succeed if put into the ground now; 

 and this is also the principal month for sowing 

 spinach. For prices see our fall price list just out. 



AU orders for strawberry-plants are tilled, and 

 we are ready to put them up and send them off the 

 day the order is received, excepting- the Parker 

 Earle and Edgar Queen. 



Our vineless yam, or bunch sweet potato, is also 

 promising a fine crop, even on our Medina clay. I 

 tell you. a nice thrifty patch of them look.s hand- 

 some, and the potatoes are said to bo superior to 

 the average "^weet potato in the market— no vines 

 to bother. The tops stand right up like an ordinary 

 Irish potato. 



To those who wish to try crimson or scarlet clover 

 during the month of September, I may siy we are 

 prepared to send 1 lb. by mail for 30 cts.; 3 lbs. for 

 .50cts. ;all postpaid. Ry freight or express we can 

 furnish a peek for 90cts. :i;2 bushel, $1.75; bushel, 

 $3.40: two-bushel sack, J6..o0. package included. 

 And, best of all. all the above is American home- 

 grown seed— a lot that we recently ran ai^ross. The 

 price is a little lower, as you will see, because it is 

 getting to he a little late in northern localities; that 

 is. it would be a little late in case we have a severe 

 winter. 



Seven-top turnip will grow all right if sown this 

 month. Remember, it does not have a root, but 

 only foliage for greens, and "posies for bees,'" early 

 in the sprina-. 



Last of all. now is the time to put out American 

 Pearl oinon-sets. For prices see last issue. 



KIND WORDS FROM ODR CUSTOMERS. 



T don't see how I could get along without Glean- 

 ings. L. D. COFFMAN. 



Clark, W. Va . June 17. 



The Crane smoker I ordered arrived in good shape 

 on the 38th. and I had an opportunity of trying it 

 the following dav. I found it equal to all it claims. 



Jefferson City, Mo., July 1. P. M. Sellers. 



r/(e A. r. Root Co. :— Bees are doing well at pres- 

 ent, but we are needing rain very mi7ch. I like 

 Gle.anings. It just suits me in eveiy department. 

 As long as you mantain the present standard of 

 your journal you can count me as a subscril^er. 



Patronville, Ind., June 16, 189.5. R. B. Larkin. 



The A. I. Rntit Co. .-—Accent thanks for the gener- 

 ous number of sample copies you sent me for ten 

 cents. I read them with some interest, some bene- 

 fit, and yet I am left somewhat " r.attled " over the 

 various discussions on the different kinds of hives, 

 frames, bees, etc. On one point I am certain: Men 

 don't gather "figs from thistles," and bees can't 

 gather honey from fence-rails; they must have 

 pasture, and that is rather scarce around here at 

 present. D. McCarthy. 



New Haven, Ind,, Aug. 1, 1895. 



