1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



181 



trie." offered by Tillinghast, to be just a little 

 earlier than Eclipse or Egyptian, and considera- 

 bly better in sliape. and sui)erior for outdoor 

 culture. It makes better beets for marketing 

 in the winter. I have grown this variety in a 

 small way beside the Eciii)S('. Egyptian, and 

 Lentz. for three years, and shall grow it exclu- 

 sively this season. Last year I had one-eighth 

 of an acre of the Electric. 

 Oneida, N.Y. Edward B. Beebe. 



[Thanks for the point you give us. friend B. 

 We tested the Electric beet, but unfortunately 

 did not put any Eclipse or other kind out at the 

 same time so as to tell which was best. We 

 shall this season give the corn and the beets a 

 trial with other varieties.] 



A PLACE FOR SIFTED COAL ASHES. 



Here is an item which may be of use to your 

 "high-pressure gardeners" who have a heavy 

 or sticky soil when wet. Early in the season, 

 after the ground is made ready for small seeds, 

 there will frequently be a wet spell, when it 

 may be possible to open a drill, but almost im- 

 possible to cover the seeds after they are in; or 

 after seeds have been put in, heavy rains may 

 compact the soil so they can hardly get through 

 it. I have found the following plan will over- 

 come this dif^culty: Open the drill and cover 

 the seeds with sifted coal ashes: firm well, and 

 the seeds will come up nicely: then. too. the 

 ashes clearly mark the location of the drill, 

 making cultivation easier. I have tried this for 

 three years with beets, cabbage, lettuce, radish, 

 and other small seeds. I think insects dislike 

 ashes. Joseph F. Barton. 



Chicago, 111., Feb. 6. 



[Many thanks for your suggestion, friend B. 

 To tell the truth, I have just been using sifted 

 coal ashes for covering onion seed in the green- 

 house. They do not bake or crust over as do our 

 clay soils, and the onions seem to have a pecu- 

 liar bright look as they come up through the 

 ashes. Perhaps I should explain, that the 

 ashes I am using is a materfal that drops down 

 at the back end of the flues of our boilers. We 

 have several wagonloads of it in the course of 

 the year. It is about as tine as wood ashes, but 

 considerably heavier. As we burn all our saw- 

 dust and shavings, there may be some wood 

 ashes among the coal ashes; but the amount is 

 so small that, when I put them in my mouth. I 

 can not detect any potash by the taste. It 

 .seems like so much sand. And. by the way, we 

 have for some time been covering the seeds in 

 our plant-beds with sifted sand, and it makes 

 the beds look nice, and the seeds have no crust 

 to break in coming up. I think sifted coal 

 ashes will be an improvement; and I am pretty 

 sure, too. that it will improve hard clay soils. 

 For sowing seeds in the greenhouse and cold- 

 frames, it is almost as easy to cover them with 

 sifted ashes as with soil: and then if you pat 

 down the surface of the bed with a board after 

 the sowing is done, it gives your work a work- 

 manlike appearance; and our small boys seem to 

 get the weeds out easier where they have a level 

 surface with a white background, so they can* 

 see the weeds easier. Another thing, the weeds 

 seem to come up more readily out of either sand 

 or ashes than out of hard clay soil; and when 

 you come to water the plants, there is no bak- 

 ing on the surface. We can not afford to have 

 a crust forming on the surface of the plant-beds 

 after the heavy waterings we give the beds 

 when they get dry.] 



BERRY-BOXES AM) SCANT MEASURE. 



What is the right size of box to use for ber- 

 ries — wine or dry measure? The wine measure 



is used here entirely, and folks all the time 

 grumble because they don't get a full quart; so 

 I went to using the dry measure, and you can't 

 make them believe they are getting a good 

 measure. They say. " Your box is a little larger 

 around, but the bottom is up higher." Now, 

 what would you do? I am willing to do the 

 right thing: but I do not like to have peo|jle 

 say I am cheating tliem. One man said to me, 

 " You are selling a |)int of berries for a quart." 

 I said, " No," and Ijet him S.i.OO I was giving 

 full measure, and had the box measured right 

 on the street, and it was all right. Then he 

 tried to crawl out of it. I did not want his 

 money, and would not have taken it if he had 

 offered it to me. I have about made up my 

 mind to buy the wine measure, and let people 

 have something to grumble about. 

 Brodhead, Wis. P. H. Fellows. 



[Friend B.. I would purchase such boxes as 

 are most commonly used. Of course, however, 

 I should ])refer boxes that hold a full ])int or a 

 full quart, if this can be definitely settled. 

 Then I would tell my customers that the price 

 is so much a boxful, and I would give good 

 rounding measure every time. Sometimes the 

 boys say we mnst come down on the price of 

 our berries, to meet competition. But I tell 

 them, " No, don't come down on the i)rice — 

 at least, not just now; but give heaping mea- 

 sure." I su|jpose you know we sell our straw- 

 berries and raspberries in pint boxes. Some- 

 times when customers tell how low others sell, 

 we say, '"Well, others must do as they think 

 right and proper. What we do is to give you a 

 box like this, so full, for 8 cts." The above 

 would be when we were getting 15 cts. a quart 

 — 8 cts. a box, or two boxes for 15 cts. These 

 remarks refer, of course, to retailing from the 

 wagon. When it comes to wholesaling, it 

 would be very desirable indeed that all i)urchas- 

 ers use one kind of box. If they do not do it, 

 however. I would try to make up in quality 

 and good full measure, so that my product 

 would bring as much, or, better still, more, than 

 that which is sold by those who are not con- 

 scientious.] 



THAT EVERBEARING RASPBERRY. 



After my mention on p. 781. 1892, the following 

 letter came to hand in due time, but we have 

 only just now found a place for it: 



Bro. Root: — I am the one who sent you the 

 "Everyday" raspberry — that is, if you have 20 

 or more bushes. One bush won't ripen berries 

 every day. I don't know the name of this berry, 

 but I suppose it is of the Earhart type. It has 

 been growing here for 30 years. I procured two 

 plants five years ago. and now have about 4000 

 plants. I could spare 1000 or moie. as I am un- 

 able to work, having had rheumatism for a long 

 time. I could sell them for 15 cts. each, or four 

 for .50ct'5.; S^l.25 per dozen. I see Dr. Miller 

 dosen't like this kind of berry. I suppose he did 

 not know how to handle them. If you pinch 

 them back you lose your fruit, as thf new wood 

 is the bearing wood. I have had as high as 500 

 berries on one cane. M. L. Hobbs. 



Middleport, Meigs Co., O., Nov. 12.a 



[We do not'usually permit advertisements in 

 the reading-pages; but I feel so sure that a rasp- 

 berry-plant like my own will give satisfaction 

 I have decided to let the above go in. In one of 

 our seed catalogues we find the following in re- 

 gard to the Earhart raspberry: 



An everbearer. introduced by Hale Bros., of Con- 

 necticut. It is a g'ood grower, and produces fruit 

 from June till Octdber; and when a market can be 

 liad at a liiprh fig-ure, it will pay. It is also valuable 

 for the liome garden, as it g-ives fruit throughout 

 the fall. 



