1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



475 



times on celery culture. But the descriptions are 

 exceedingly brief, and one would he hardly likely to 

 understand a great part of it unless lie was familiar 

 with the methods used for growing celery on a large 

 scale. For the average novice, Greiner's little bools, 

 "Celery for Profit," at 25 cents, will be worth very 

 much more than this $3.35 book. There is arf idea 

 in chapter 46 that may bewortli the price of iiie 

 book, in regard to making a machine to mark a 

 place for tlie plants, to be used in the soft muck. 

 As there is no picture of the device, however, to 

 guide the reader, it is not very clear after all. I 

 will explain it briefly by asking the reader to notice 

 the marking boards we have several times pictured 

 and described in Gleanings— in fact, there is one 

 on page 43T of our last issue. Now, on damp earth, 

 when you lift up the board the soil sometimes sticks 

 to the pins. The new arrangement is to have a 

 hoard with lioles where the plants are to be set. 

 Lay the board on top of your celery-bed, and step 

 on it. Now have a marker made so that the proper- 

 sized pins go down through the holes in the board 

 you are standing on. In this way you can make a 

 large number of holes at once. When you lift out 

 your board or machine holding the pegs or dibbles, 

 the soil is not broken up and the surface made un- 

 even, because the board you are standing on keeps 

 it in place. This board also compacts the soil, and 

 answers much the same purpose as tramping with 

 the feet. 



There are 63 chapters in the book; but when we 

 remember that some whole ihapter.> contain only 

 eight lines of print, we see the book does not cover 

 so very much ground after all. I know a good many 

 people object to my plan of judging the value of "a 

 book from the amount of matter it contains. Not- 

 withstanding. I am quite sure the average gardener, 

 when he pays if3.25 for a book on celery, or on any 

 other subject, will expect more than what can be 

 easily put into a 25 cent pamphlet. The book may 

 be had of the Union Seed Co., Kalamazoo, Mich. 



NEW BBULLETINS ON AGRICULTURE. 



First we have Bulletin No. 39, from the TJniled 

 States Dep:irtment of Agriculture, entitled "Onion 

 Culture." This is exceedingly valuable. It is of 

 special value to me bei^ause it is written with the 

 sole view of informing the people; and the author. 

 R. L. Wiitts, has treated tlie whole matter in a most 

 masterly and unbiased way. All the new varieties 

 are noticed. The descriptions are carefully given, 

 and the methods now employed where onions are 

 raised by the square mile are fullj' described. He 

 also gives a fair, unliiased opinion of the plan of 

 growing onions by tratisplantlng. Our readers will 

 remember that I have asked in these pages whether 

 anybody could tell me what the real difference is 

 between tlie white multiplier, potato onions, and 

 shallots. Well, friend Watts sttaigh tons it out. He 

 says the yellow and white multipliers are only vari- 

 eties of the potato onion. The large yellow potato 

 onion, however, seems to be (juite distinct from the 

 comparatively small white multiplier. He defines 

 shallots as follows: "They differ from the potato 

 onions in the fact that they throw up an occasional 

 seed-shoot, and also that the bulbs nlwagx multiply, 

 which is not true of the small potato onions." Let 

 me explain further: Potato onions divide only when 

 you plant a large one. If you plant a small onion, 

 it simply grows large; but the shallots always split 

 up and maltiiJly, whether you plant large ones or 

 small ones, or whether you i)lant in spring or fall. 

 Shallots are also the best keeper of any thing I 

 know of in the onion family. They may be kept dry 

 and hard clear over winter, awa.v into June. The 

 white multipliers keep a good deal the same way, 

 but they are not equal to the shallots in this respect. 

 The Whittaker onion tliat I have spoken of several 

 times seems to be a very large-sized and exceeding- 

 ly hardy potato onion. It winters far better than 

 any other onion I have seen, short of the Egyptian; 

 at the same time it makes a bulb about as large as 

 the Yellow Globe Danvers. 



This onion bulletin may le had on application, by 

 addressing the Secretary of Agriculture, Washing- 

 ton, D. C. Ask for Farmers' Bulletin, No. 39, Onion 

 Culture. 



Another valuable bulletin. No. 43, comes from 

 Urhana, 111. It is entitled, "Composition and Diges- 

 tibility of Corn Ensilage, Cow-pea Ensilage, Soja- 

 bean Ensilage, and Corti Fodder." From the sum- 

 mary at the end of the book we find that ensilape 

 made from the cow pea furnishes " more protein 

 and total energy than tlie clover hay." 



SEED POTATOES TO BE GIVEN AWAY. 



Since our last issue we have given away some- 

 thing over half of the .500 bushels. But we have yet 

 remaining 15 bushels each of the State of Maine 

 and Beauty of Hebron; Monroe Seedling, 43 bushels; 

 Freeman, 73, and Snowflake. 5. The above are all 

 $1 00 per barrel; and we will give one barrel, either 

 whole or made up as you wish, to any person who 

 sends us $1.00 for Gleanings, past, present, or fu- 

 ture, and Gleanings will be sent to any address 

 you choose. Besides the above we have 65 bushels 

 of the new Craig at $3.00 per barrel. You can have 

 half a ban el for every dollar you send us for 

 Gleanings, or a whole barrel for every $3.00 sent. 

 Seconds are all gone except 18 bushels of Leeta 1 

 Favorite. These are .50 cts. per barrel. Two barrels^ 

 given for every dollar sent us for Gleanings. 

 These are not strictly seconds; but they are so badly 

 sprouted, and so soft in consequence of being early 

 potatoes, that we put them in at the price of sec- 

 onds. They will, however, give very good crops if 

 planted at once— whole, sprouts and all. We have 

 done this so many years successfully that we know 

 whereof we write. We also have small lots of the 

 following: White Bliss Triumph, second crop, 1 

 bushel; price *2.50 per bushel. Livingston's Banner, 

 '•2 bushel; Burpee's Extra Early, 3 bushels; Everitt's 

 Six Weeks, X bushel; price of the three latter, $1.00 

 per bushel. 



Last, but not least, 1V4 bushels of Manum's Enor- 

 mous. This last barrel reached us somewhere 

 about June 1st, in the best order, flim and solid, 

 almcist without sprouts, of any potatoes we ever 

 saw at this season of the year. I do not know how 

 friend Manum manages, or whether it is the pofai^o 

 rather than the management. But for a tal le 

 iiotato in June they stand almost at the head. 

 Price $3 00 per bushel. With each dollar's worth of 

 tlie potatoes will be sent Gleanings for one year, 

 ^e can send small lots by mail, of any of the vari- 

 eties mentioned. Prices are given in our table pub- 

 lished in our issue for May 1, iiage 366. 



Maule's Early Thorougbred, for second crop, is now 

 read.N to plant. Price, 1 lb., by mail, postpaid, $1.00; 

 3 lbs., postpaid, $2.00; Va peck, by express or freight, 

 $2.00; peck, $3 00; V, bushel, $5.00; bushel, $8.00; 

 barrel of 11 pecks. $15.00, and Gleanings sent one 

 year f I »• every dollar you send us for Maule's Thor- 

 oiigJihred potatoes. Of course, demand and supply 

 will have to fix, to a certain e.xtent, the price of this 

 new potato. I wish every one who sees this, who 

 has Maule's Thorougbred new potatoes from seed 

 furnished by ourselves or by Wm. Henry Maule, 

 would tell us how many they have, and say what 

 they will take for them. If any other reliable party 

 offers (any quantity of any account) them for sale 

 at any lower figure than 1 have fixed above, I will 

 meet their prices; but it must be clearly under- 

 stood that they are Ma:ule's, and not any other. 

 Now, if you are sorry you did not plant some of 

 these beautiful potatoes early in the spring, so that 

 you might have some to sell by th's time, you can 

 make up for it partially even yet; you can plant 

 them now and get a good crop, without any trouble, 

 before frost— tliat is, unless you are in a teirihly 

 frosty locality. 



^ SPRAY-PUMPS. 



While it is rather late to use spray-pumps for fruit- 

 trees, it is not too late for other purposes, such as 

 spra.ving potato-vines for l)ugs. On the second and 

 third cover pages of this issue you will find our line 

 of spray-pumps. Note our low prices on well and 

 cistern i)umps As we have an extra stock of Little 

 Giant and Moherman brass spray-pumps we offer 

 these at the following special prices from now till 

 Aug. 1: 



Little G iant at $2.25 e.ach : 3 for $6.00. 



Mdliernian at $2.00 each: 3 for $5 40. 



This is without piix' extension, but with two noz- 

 zles, both s])ray and sprinkler. This is an excellent 

 pump for washing l)uggies, whitewashing chicken- 

 houses, and catching runaway swarms, as well as its 

 legitimate use in spraying trees, slirul)S, and vines. 

 Here is a chance to get a bargain. 



.JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT. 



Now is the time for sowing Japanese buckwheat, 

 and we have a liood supply of seed which we will 

 sell at the following special prices while the supply 

 lasts: Peck. 3.5c; ii bush., .50c; 1 bush.. 80c: 3 bush, 

 bag, $1.50; 10 bushels, $7.00. Bag to ship in included 

 in each case. 



