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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1. 



ON THE WHEEL. 



After a busy day there are few things I enjoy 

 more thau sitting down at my secretary — yes, 

 it is r/iiy secretary — it is a particular one where 

 my agricultural books and papers are all to- 

 gether; and when it is too dark outside I can 

 just sit down there with a nice lamp and take 

 real solid comfort. Well, a few days ago I pick- 

 ed up the Practical Farmer for Oct. 5. I al- 

 ways read what Terry writes, whether it is on 

 clv.ver, wheat, or even cattle. Any subject 

 that interests Terry always interests me, for 1 

 find some practical hints that are worth money 

 in any kind of business whenever he undertakes 

 to talk to the people. Well, just about the 

 middle of his article I noticed hf- put in a head- 

 line— 



BLOOD WILL TELL. 



It interested me so much that 1 am going to 

 copy a part of it right here. 



Yes, blood will lell, no matler whether it is in 

 stock or seed. La.st spring, Wm. Henry Maule, the 

 great seedsman, sent me two small tuhei's of a new 

 early pjiaio to test. They weighed less than half a 

 pouna, the two together. i'liLTe was nothing in 

 their appearance to indicate that they were better 

 than any ordinary potatcjes one could pick up in 

 any farmer's cellar. I have a good many potatoes 

 sent me to test in this way, and often tlntl that tlu-y 

 are no better than old varieiiet.. We had a number 

 on trial this year. To make the trial mure com- 

 plete, 1 got two tubers of about the same size from 

 an old farmer's stock, and planted ihem b> ilie side 

 of the others. He said tliey were Karly iiosc. I 

 can't say about tnis, but they are an early kind that 

 he has grown a long time wiihout any change of 

 seed. All these potatoes were cut to one e^ e. and 

 planted precisely as the n st uf our field ciup was 

 planted. They were put right in the fleld, and 

 not on selected ground, but on average. No ma- 

 nuring or fertilizing whatever was done on the land 

 where they grew. Nov did they liave any extra 

 tillage. We dropped these pieces in diills made the 

 same as all over the field, and then treated all the 

 field alike till digging-time. 1 took a lork and 

 threw out the hillb pianled with Mr. Maule's new 

 early potato, and 1 never was so surprised in all my 

 life at any resuit.s obtained in poiato culture. In 

 every hill there were great, large, beautiful pota- 

 toes, such as 1 have never seen since the first year 

 the old Early Rose came around. There were prac- 

 tically no small ones, or medium sized ones -just 

 enormous ones, such as you migiit perhaps look tor 

 under very lavorable conditions in a wet st-ason. 

 Now, I am not e.vaggerating a bit. The first j'ear [ 

 grew the Early Rose there were a good many tubers 

 as tine and large ;i.s these. 1 have never seen any 

 early potatoes on my farm since, as one, until I dug 

 these. There were 45 pounds. They resemble the 

 Rose in shape, color, and quality very much. Tliey 

 are quite early, and were ripe entirely before the 

 rains came, so this great growth was made with 

 little chance. The tops were not large. They were 

 not as thrifty and promising as the Kreemans, 

 hence my great surprise when 1 dug them. 



The two tubers obtained from a farmer's cellar 

 gave me 15 lbs. of rather small potatoes. Therjwere 

 hardly any that you could call medium, and many 

 small ones. The two lots were each given about 

 three hills less than half a square rod to grow in. 

 The yield per acre of VViii. Henry Maule's potatoes 

 was over 240 bushels. The yield of the others a 

 little over 8U. Here was a difference ot IfiO bushels 

 per acre, due entirely and only to blood. In other 

 words, the vigor and vitality of the new seedling 

 enabled it, under precisely the same conditions, to 

 grow three times as many bushels Now don't 

 think this is an advertisement of VVtn. Henry Maule's 

 potato. He has never written me a word about it. 

 When I planted the tubers 1 thought in all probabil- 

 ity ] should never have any occasion to mention It. 

 But there is a great lesson taught by tins little ex- 



peiiment. Thousands of farmeis are using seed 

 that lias so run out that there is no profit m grow- 

 ing the crop. I would not be rash. 1 am pretty 

 careful myself. Hut you will make a mistake if 

 you don't ehai.ge seed occasionally and get the ben- 

 ettt of new blood. Jn tins line oi new potatoes we 

 are consiantly testing, and quick to change when it 

 will pay. we raiseu the Eai ly Rose largely lor 

 year;,; but careiui tests maue us change to karly 

 tJeauty of Hebron, rinowHake, Monroe Seedling, 

 etc., as inese newer varielies came out. Do you 

 know the night after 1 dug those 45 pounds of new 

 potatoes I hardly slept at all ? My potato blood was 

 so stirred up 1 couldn't cool down. 



Well, the above little story so stirred up my 

 "poiato blood '"that 1 couia hardly wait till 

 the next morning. Do you know why'.* Be- 

 cause 1 determined to make Terry a visit on 

 puiposc to see that 45 lbs. of potatoes. Fur- 

 thermore, I decided it was the potato I wanted 

 for some experiments 1 am getting ready for in 

 the way of growing early potatoes under glass. 

 1 could have ridden the whole distance on the 

 wheel; but it takes almost too much time, and 

 just now we are very busy here at the Home of 

 the Honey-bees. 1 accordingly took the tirst 

 train lor Akron, 20 miles away. Then I asked 

 if 1 could put my wheel on the electric cars. 



■■ Not unless you pay for the wheel also." 



"AH right. Hut how much must i pay for 

 the wheel ? " 



"Ten cents for yourself, and the same for the 

 wheel as far as the power-house, where our run 

 ends." 



■■ All right, and many thanks. Why, if you 

 will only carry our wheels along with us for the 

 small sum of 10 cts. additional, we will patron- 

 ize you often, and the wheel Dusiness and the 

 electric-car business will go right on lovingly 

 together." 



These electric cars are warmed by the same 

 subtle fluid that propels them. Under every 

 seat in the car there is a simple coil of wire. It 

 looks as if it might be galvanized iron. The 

 coil is open so the air can circulate all around. 

 The wire is of such a size that the amount of 

 current sent through it makes it hot; and this 

 diffuses the most pleasant and agreeable heat 

 you can imagine all through the car on a frosty 

 October morning. 



At the power-house the line from Silver 

 Lake to Cleveland starts out. l went into the 

 otiice and tried to make arrangements with 

 them to carry my wheel with me, but they ab- 

 solutely refused. They said 1 could have the 

 wheel sent on a freight-car that runs along 

 later, i explained that I should have to have 

 the wheel as soon as 1 stepped off the car. Eut 

 it was of no avail. Why will great corpora- 

 tions be so stupid "? Is a wheelman going to 

 patronize an electric road and then sit down 

 and wait for his wheel to come up after him, 

 waiting longer than to have ridden the whole 

 distance with the wheel? The cons.quence 

 was, i rode eight miles to get to Terry s, and 

 then a visit of only hfteen or twenty minutes; 

 for to reach home by night 1 must get back to 

 the power-house at just such a time. But I 

 saw that new early potato. They were down 

 in a dark cellar, in a bushel basket, with a big 

 tub turned over them so as to be sure nobody 

 got those precious tubers for dinner, by mis- 

 take. I wanted one of those potatoes very bad- 

 ly, i would have given a dollar for just a 

 little one; but 1 knew beforehand that friend 

 Terry would neither sell nor give away even 

 the smallest potato without Maule's consent. 

 He said that Maule had not told him any thing 

 about the poiato at all; neither had he told 

 him what to do with the product. He simply 

 asked him to test them. They had not tried 

 any of them for eating, for they are too valu- 

 able. I do not know what some of them might 



