1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



937 



or suranipr. Now, then, you who raise lettuce 

 lor market, wliat do you think of a string of 

 hot-beds that carry an even, steady lieai, ail 

 along, without costing a cent for manure or any 

 thing else in the way of heating-material, after 

 they ai'e once started ? Do you say everybody 

 can not have exhaust steam ? Well, my frii'uds, 

 exhaust steam is spouting out and wasting its 

 heat in the wintry air. in almost every neigh- 

 borhood and community throughout our land; 

 and I believe that, as a rule, men who run en- 

 gines will be very glad to have you take their 

 exhaust steam oft" out of their way, providing 

 you give it sufficient I'oom to move so it does 

 not back up on the engine. 



ONION GROWING, KTC. 



I have had considerable experience in grow- 

 ing onions by the difl'erent niethods. and have 

 also grown many different kinds; but I'm not 

 certain of having any thing new to ofi'er. 



Of the difterent methods of culture, I prefer 

 the new one — that of transplanting the young 

 seedlings from the hot-bed— especially so if it 

 were not for one trouble — that of the plants dy- 

 ing down in the beds. I have studied hard to 

 find out the cause, but haven't fully succeeded. 

 I believe the vitality of the seed has much to do 

 with it. I have tried several different strains 

 of the Pi'izi'taker variety from different seeds- 

 men, and find quite a difference. Three years 

 ago was my first experience with the new tneth- 

 od, and 1 had no trouble whatever. We raised 

 an excellent crop, an average of nearly 900 

 bushels per acre. on a rich clover gar ien-patch; 

 but the last two years we have not been as suc- 

 ce-!sful, owing to the trouble inentioned. I have 

 raised some seed of my own, and taken special 

 <>arf' of it, and I hope to overcome the trouble 

 fully. 



We have been troubled a good deal with 

 worthless onion seed. The White Victoria has 

 turned out every time to he a worthless flat 

 onion of no vulue at a'l We did not pull them 

 thi-J year. We let them stay in the ground, and 

 pulled thf^ni early in the spring for bunch 

 onions. This is the only way we ever derived a 

 cent's worth from these onions. I will sow no 

 more of this variety. I like the Southport 

 White Globe pretty well as a white onion for 

 transplanting. It is a late onion, and grows to 

 a fair size. It is the best white onion I have 

 tried so far. But I don't think there is any 

 thing ahead of the Prizetaker for the main 

 crop. It is not as good a keeper as the South- 

 port White Globe. 



We grow a good many the old-fashioned way. 

 "The good old way of yesterday" is not so 

 slow; and. a> a rule, it is the safest. 



I like the Southport Yellow Globe a little bet- 

 ter than Y(!llow Danvers. It is a little heavier 

 yielder. of a better shape, and nearly as early. 

 It is an excellent keeper. 



The Southport Red (Jlobe is a good onion, but 

 not a good yieldor for a red variety. It is near- 

 ly as enrly a- Yellow Danvers, wliich is its 

 chief point. Prizetaker is a heavy yielder, but 

 must be sown very early or it will not mature, 

 and must be put on the market early. We 

 bought some seed of our local dealer lasts[)ring. 

 We bou'^ht it for Yellow Danvers; but it turn- 

 ed out to be some other vrry late variety, and 

 was ahoMt a fourth scullion-i. I never saw any 

 thing like it. and never want to again. 



We have not found any thing better for 

 bunching than the old Egyptian Potato onion. 



I have not much room to speak of commercial 

 fertilizers: but for the benefit of any who are 

 thinking of listing them I will say that I have 

 tried sr-veral kinds, including M apes' " special 

 onion "" manure, at the rate of SOO lbs. per acre: 



and by very careful measurement we have not 

 found them of any value whatever, nor nnleach- 

 ed hard-wood ashes from our sugar camp. 

 Give me plenty of composted stable manure and 

 a rich clover sod, and I can grow onions prolita- 

 blyat?.") cents per bu-hel, if I can get tirst- 

 class .seed, which is of vast importance. I 

 know by experience that poor seed is dear at 

 anv price. E. S. Mead. 



Olivet, O. 



[Friend M.. I am surprised to liear you say 

 that you never iiad any nice Victorias. Surely 

 you do not mean to say that seed you bo\ight of 

 us has turned out in the way you mention. By 

 the way. is it not true that every new strain of 

 onions when first sent out produces a much 

 better crop than the seed to be had in the mar- 

 ket two or three years later? It may be that, 

 like potatoes, a new variety is needed every 

 two or three years. My opinion is. however, 

 that somebody is needed constantly who will 

 grow seeds as carefully after the onion has a 

 reputation as he did when he was selline sam- 

 ple packets of a new variety. Oh what a 

 chance there is foi' seedsmen, or, rather, for a 

 real honest, earnest seedsman ! A few days ago 

 our veteran friend A. W. Livingston luade us a 

 visit. He asked me if I did not want some 

 Yellow (ilobe Danvers onion seed. I told him 

 the price was too high; but when he said they 

 grew the seed themselves I made an order at 

 once. If Mr. A. W. Livingston saw the onions 

 selected for this crop of seed, and supervised 

 the growing and saving of the seed. I would 

 n-adily pay a dollar a pound extra for it. It 

 seems that you too, friend M., do not get any 

 help from commercial fertilizers. Now, then, 

 who does get any help — that is, where they put 

 the fertilizers on, say, a dozen rows and then 

 a dozen rows without any '?] 



SHALLOTS, CHIVES, ETC. 



Friend Root;— By this mail I send you two 

 white shallots (in German, Schallotien) and 

 two red ones. We are raising them since com- 

 ing to this country (8 years), and consider them 

 the best keepers, if they are taken out of the 

 ground about the 4th of July. I can not get at 

 chives now; will send you some later if you do 

 not get any elsewhere. In German it is called 

 SrhniWauch. B. Geis.slek. 



Basco, 111., Dec. 8. 



[Now, friend G., we are ever so much obliged 

 to you for those beautiful, firm, pearly-white 

 onions; but they have got us into trouble 

 already. You call them white shallots. I 

 thought shallots meant something like Egyp- 

 tian onions for spring bunching only. Now, I 

 should call these White Multipliers, except 

 that there is nothing to show that they multi- 

 ply or divide. Will you please tell us the dif- 

 ference between a shallot and an onion? akso, 

 how do you get these beautiful shallots that 

 are ready to pull in July? Do you plant seed 

 or sets? Thank you for your offer of chives; 

 but we have received several lots already; and 

 the perplexing thing is, they are not all alike. 

 Those sent us by friend (Joldsboro are some- 

 thing lik(^ a leek, and are as large as your finger. 

 Somebody <>lse sent us some that looked like 

 potato onions, and yet all call them chives. I 

 am the more glad to get the communication 

 from you. friend G., because you are a minister: 

 and if you don't know about these things you 

 can doubtless get us on the right track. I want 

 to see shallots, chives, potato onions, multipliers 

 — yes. and perhaps even leeks and garlics^ 

 siraightetied out and put where they belong. 

 Now, who is going to help?] 



