30 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



ries away the drip from the condensed steam, 

 and rmist have a good outlet. By the way, this 

 drainage outlet will also be warmed up all its 

 length by the hot water; and we have quite a 

 pretty hot-bed near the evergreens warmed en- 

 tirely by the hot drip water from the condensed 

 steam. 



My impression is, that all hot-beds heated by 

 exhaust steam pas cd through tiles should have 

 this sort of arrangement, or something equiva- 

 lent, to prevent healing the center of the bed 

 too much, also to prevent the sides of the bed 

 from getting too cold; and I think any hot- bed 

 or cold-frame would be greatly improved by 

 double boarding, and having an air-space be- 

 tween the boards. With such an arrangement 

 there would be much less need of extra cover- 

 ing, such as shutters or straw mats, over the 

 sash during very severe weather. 



Now, then, if you visit me in February or 

 March I think I can show you some strawber- 

 ries that are neither cooked nor frozen. Very 

 likely it would be better, in arranging beds (i 



is for. I wrote them that I considered Bulletin 

 61 worth its weight in gold to a lettuce-grower. 



THE CELEKY MABKET. 



All of the celery farms in our vicinity are sold 

 out. Most of them disposed of their own crop 

 some weeks before Christmas time. We were 

 finally obliged to send to Cleveland to get celery 

 for Christmas. Last evening, Dec. 24, a single 

 box came by express. It cost .50 cts. per dozen 

 roots, and the dozen weigh 5}4 lbs. With the 

 enormous increase in acreage that has been put 

 in every year in our locality, I have been think- 

 ing all along that the celery business would soon 

 be overdone; but here it is, not yet Jan. i, and 

 very little celery is to be found at any price: 

 and when you do get it it costs more than 4 cts. 

 each for a single root; and these roots, when 

 trimmed up. weigh on an average less than 8 

 oz. each. Hadn't you better get some celery 

 seed and start it in a box in the window— that is, 

 providing you have no better place? That 

 bright little book, "Celery for Profit," by T. 



DGROWN BY SUB-IRRIGATION. GROWj; BY ORDINARY SURFACE WATERING.fi 



GKAND KAPIDS LETTUCE. 



feet wide, to be warmed by exhaust sioam, to 

 have two lines of tile to convey the steam. But 

 even with this, I think there should be double 

 walls. Why is not ray arraugenieni sub-irriga- 

 tion in the open air? It is sub-inigation in the 

 open air; but beds made on this principle must 

 be covered with sashes during a very severe 

 rain. If not, tliis tin bottom water-tight hot- 

 bed would get soaked full of water, and the 

 plants would be all drowned. You may suggest 

 that an arrangement should be made for letting 

 off thK water during a very wet linie. Yes, we 

 have done this; but when we put such quanti- 

 ties of valuable manure into a bed it does not 

 pay to let the water run oft' so as to leach out 

 the strength of the manure, much in the same 

 way you would leach ashes in order to get lye. 

 By the kindness of Profs. W. J. and E. C. 

 Green it is also my privilege to give you the 

 best picture of Grand Kapids lettuce that ever 

 appeared in print. The engraving above 

 was taken from the above bulletin. The title 

 under the cut fully explains what the picture 



Greiner, isj^now in its fifth edition. The new edi- 

 ition is just out, and a big lot of the books are 

 pileo up on our counter. If you have any no- 

 tion of raising celery, even a patch in your own 

 garden, it will pay you to have the book. The 

 price is only 25 cts., if sent with other goods, or 

 30 cts. if sent by mail. 



We are now selling beautiful spinach — in 

 fact, the finest I think I ever grew. It went 

 through the freezes during the fore part of De- 

 cember without harm. We managed to have it 

 just about as large as it could be without run- 

 ning up to seed, when winter set in; and during 

 the very warm rains just before Christmas it 

 has made a tremendous growth. We get 5 cts. 

 for a lib. package. We Eire also having quite a, 

 little trade in watercress grown in a sub-irri- 

 gated bed in the greenhouse. We get a nickel 

 for a2oz. package. This package is put up in a 

 little paper bag. just so the tops show above the 

 paper. These bags of cress are then packed in 

 a market-basket. Some of our customeis. who 

 used to be fond of watercress in their childhood 



