122 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1. 



Special Notices in the Line of Gardening, Etc. 



By A. I. Root. 



RURAL, NEW-YORKEll WINTER OATS. 



At this date, Jan. 20, our winter oats are a perfect 

 stand. The two -freezes, from 5 to 10 degrees belo^v 

 zero, and the repeated bard fteezing and Miawing-, 

 without anj' snow on the ground, seem as yet not to 

 have injured them a particle. 



STOWEW/S EVEKGHEEN SWEET CORN. 



We have a very choice lot of seed, grown in our 

 own neig-hborhood, from the finest crop of Ever- 

 green seed corn I ever saw. Per quart, 10 cts. ; 

 peck. 50 cts.; bushel, $1.7.5. If wanted by mail, add 

 15 cts. per quart for postage. At this e.xceedingly 

 low price it should go off rapidly. 



DWARF ESSEX RAPE. 



This seems to be one of the new forage plants, 

 and no mistake. Without advertising it we sold 

 quite a quantity last season of the seed, and were 

 finally unable to get it. We are now prepared with 

 a stock of fresh se^d, which we can furnish at the 

 following low prices: Trial packet. 5 cts.; 1 lb., by 

 mail, postpaid, 30 els. ; 10 lbs., by freight or express, 

 8 cts. per lb.; 100 lbs. for $7 00. The above prices 

 are for immediate orders only. 



SEED OF THE CHAPMAN HONEY-PI.ANT. 



For some time we have been out of the seed, and 

 were unable to find any. We have now, however, a 

 pretty fair supply, and can mail itinr)-cent packets, 

 or at 30 cts. per ounce. For a description of the 

 plant, see our A B C book. When the globular 

 Ijlossoms are inclosed in a paper bag, the honey 

 exuding from the flower will collect all over the 

 large blossom, so that it will be a dauby and sticky 

 mess, much as if it had been dipped in honey. The 

 honey also is as thick and well ripened, almost, as 

 that taken out of the sealed honey-comb. Where 

 the blossoms are not covered as above, bees visit 

 the plants so constantly that they take it off as fast 

 as it exudes. Now, please do not imagine, dear 

 friends, that I recommend this plant as profitable 

 to raise for honey alone. The originator, friend 

 Chapman, and the Michigan Agricultural College, 

 have both tested it thoroughly. It is very pretty as 

 a curiosity in a bee-keeper's garden, but it certainly 

 will not pay to raise it for honey alone; neither will 

 it pay to undertake to raise any plant unless it is 

 some that will pay aside from the honey it yields. 



PRICES ON TARM AND GARDEN PRODUCTS FOR 1896. 



It always gives me pleasure to see good prices 

 offered for any thing produced by tillers of the soil. 

 I have not had very much encouragement in that 

 line, however, for some little time back, unless it 

 is to see the large prices that are offered for hay 

 and all kinds of feed. There is a sad feature to this, 

 however, for a good many farmers and stock-raisers 

 have been obliged to hny at the high prices, instead 

 of having stuff to xfll. 



Of late I am glad to see cabbag-e quoted at 2X cts. 

 per lb., for good hard heads. Celery now brings 40 

 cts. per lb. in the cities, and there is no question 

 that it is going to be a valuable greenhouse product. 

 Ours is selling faster than we can get it blanched. 

 Apples are also bringing very fair prices now. In 

 fact, if I am not mistaken, a good many of the 

 friends became discouraged, and even neglected to 

 gather'their apples, or sold them at a very low price. 

 At the present time there are no good apples offer- 

 ed anywhere for much less than a dollar a bushel. 

 In our town lettuce has sold quite well, and now 

 the demand is beyond the supply. At the present 

 time there is a good opening — at least it looks that 

 way— for lettuce-growers, celery-growers, and for 

 the first early cabbage; and I think that we may 

 all go to work and fix our orchards in good shape 

 for a crop of nice fruit this coming season. 



Last, but not least, everybody everywliere wants 

 to do his best toward getting, at the earliest possi- 

 ble moment, something in the shape of grass or for- 

 age crops to take the place of hay. 



experiment stations declared there was nothing 

 ahead of the Early Ohio. In the catalog of seed 

 potatoes from J.M. Smith's Sons, of Green Bay, Wis., 

 we find they list the Ohio Junior as about ten days 

 t ai licr than the Ohio; and then they add that the 

 lUiss T] iumph is ahead of the Ohio Junior, and they 

 recommend it especially as "desirable for first early 

 to put on the market green; color is a reddish 

 pink." Oiher catalogs seem to agree in giving the 

 Bliss triumph a place in the front rank of extVa- 

 early poiatdfs. Well, the above makes the follow- 

 ing from dur old friend A. L. Swinson of interest to 

 us jusi now: 



Friknd Ro(iT;— I want to call your attention to a potato 

 that we have heie in North Carolina, and that 1 liave grown 

 tor two seasons two crops of, and have known of for three 

 seasons. It is a white extra early potato that 1 call White 

 Bliss; that K.W.Wood & Sons, Richmond, Va., call " Wood's 

 Earliest:" and say of it. " testing twenty kinds. They "-ere 

 all dua: June 6. and Wood's Eailiest weielied 22 per cent heavi- 

 er yield, and by count averaged 33 per cent larger in size:" 

 " found it earlier and more prolific: produces nearly all large 

 potatoes." 



Johnson ct Stokes, Philadelphia, in their winter catalog, on 

 page 18, give a cut of theii- field in Aroostook Co., Me., of this 

 potato, where it yielded ."i.'jd liu^lu'ls ))er acre, and the.y call it 

 the " Pride of the South." and say, among other things. " It is 

 not only the earliest, but produced more bushels to the acre 

 than aiiy other first early potato we have ever grown. It is a 

 quick strong, and vigorous grower, and in cooking qualities 

 very superior " 



Tfiere is no potato known in North Carolina equal to this. 

 Planted Mar. I. 1894, 1 dug matured potatoes and shipped to 

 New York :Vlay 28. and we had frost up to May 1st that year too. 



Planted Aug. 8 to 20. 189.i. That year my fall crop matured 

 Nov. 1. It is easy to grow two crops a season with this potato. 

 The most remarkable trait in this potato is the ease with 

 which the spring-grown ones can be got to sprout, over all 

 oi her varieties in fall, when planted for second crop. 



Gold-boro, N. C, Dec. 9. A. L. Swinson. 



1 have become so much Interested in this " Wliite 

 Bliss Triuinpn," "Wood's Early," or "Pride of the 

 Souih," that 1 have had friend S. pack for me a bar- 

 rel (^f these, and had thi m shipi)eci to me in the mid- 

 dle of the winter, and 1 nave given tht m a place in 

 our potato list. 1 liopethe friends will please notice 

 that 1 hese are not only e.xtra early, but stc<in<l crop. 



THE EARLIEST POTATO KNOWN, 



Perhaps there has been enough about potatoes in 

 Gleanings already; but nothing has been said 

 in regard to the very earliest. Some time ago our 



POTATOES FOR 1896. 



For description of each variety, see our special 

 potato circular, sent on application Season of ma- 

 turing in order of table, the first named being the 

 earliest. 



Second size of Early Ohio, Freeman, Lee's Favorite, 

 and New Craig will be ' « above prices. Above prices 

 include packages for shipping. Potatoes will be 

 shipped at any time, but we can not be responsible 

 for loss by freezing until after April 1st, We can, 

 however, spe<ially prepare for southrrii shipments 

 at an earlier date by special agreement. 



* One pound of these potatoes (worth ifl.50) will be 

 given to any subscriber to Gleanings who gets one 

 new subscriber; that is, who sends Gleanings one 

 year into some family where it has not been taken 

 heretofore, 



"HOW TO GET WELL AND HOW TO KEEP WELL." 



In our issue for Nov. 1 1 gave this book a notice, 

 and a large number have been sold. The best part 

 of it is. the book has been loaned from one neighbor 

 to another, and reports keep coming in of the mis- 

 sionary work it is doing. It is, most emphatically, 

 doctoring without medicine. You get well by eating 

 wholesome food, and after that you keep well by 

 avoiding that which you know by experience does 

 you harm. The book was written by Mrs. Blma 

 Stewart, in such a bright and attractive way that 



