1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



529 



they could contain themselves no longer the 

 red-headed member asked in a serio-comic 

 voice, " Have you been applying mud for the 

 purpose of reducing the swelling ? " Just then 

 something dawned upon my darkened mind. 

 With a little help I arose to a sitting posture 

 and got my first view of that ankle since I had 

 given it its medicine early in the morning; and 

 of all the looking legs I ever saw, that one I 

 think was the worst. A freshly polished stove- 

 leg would look pale by the side of it. 



I at first thought it had been dead for several 

 weeks, and was unfit for further use; but the 

 family, between loud bursts of laughter, ex- 

 plained away my fears by saying that the 

 potato juice and soil rubbed on while cutting 

 potatoes had given it the high polish. While 

 the good wife removed the many coatings of 

 potato juice and soil, the remainder of the 

 family consoled me with such remarks as these: 

 "His ankle is swelled just awfully;" "It's 

 almost as large as a chair-leg; and unless the 

 swelling goes down his legs won't be mates;" 

 " He will either have to get the other one stung 

 or have it dipped." 



Now, Mr. Editor, my legs never were remark- 

 able for their size, and, of course, time, together 

 with the summer heat and wintry winds, has 

 not left them much larger than old-fashioned 

 churn dashers; but they never refused to do 

 duty when called upon in over fifty years that 

 I have had them in use until the afternoon of 

 the day when I first took a dose of bee-stings 

 for the cure of rheumatism. I occupied the 

 lounge till about 9 p. m., when I was taken with 

 a chill that shook me from center to circum- 

 ference. My teeth would have chattered like 

 a dilapidated corn-sheller; but time had kindly 

 removed a majority of them; and the remain- 

 der, having no connection with each other, 

 passed harmlessly by on the other side. I was 

 put to bed, packed between comforters, and the 

 family took turns drenching me with hot 

 drinks until I felt like a locomotive boiler with 

 steam up ready for a start with a run ahead 

 from Chicago to San Francisco. 



The night proved to be one of the longest I 

 ever knew; and long before the morning dawn- 

 ed I expected my wife to be a widow while I 

 would be peacefully resting within the shade 

 of those beautiful trees upon the meadows 

 green where rheumatism and bees had ceased 

 from troubling. The night, like all others, 

 passed away, and my wife was not yet a widow; 

 and, though inwardly groaning from the con- 

 stant pain that was making life almost unbear- 

 able, I really felt thankful that she still had a 

 husband. Though badly battered and time- 

 worn, she is still willing to minister to his 

 wants. 



As time wore on, the swelling and pain in- 

 creased. On the third day the doctor was 

 called upon; but the combination kept right on 



doing business at the old stand. Mr. Hart in- 

 forms us that on the third or fourth day his 

 patient was seen to jump and kick. Now, on 

 the third or fourth day after taking, nothing 

 on earth would have induced me to even kick, 

 unless it would have been to have had the 

 writers of those articles standing right in front 

 of me, facing in the opposite direction; but 

 possibly their articles were all right, only they 

 should have inserted a clause advising old peo- 

 ple, Invalids, and feeble-minded men not to 

 monkey with the buzz-saw until they found out 

 whether it was in motion or not. 



Now, Mr. Editor, this is the twelfth day 

 after taking, without even shaking, and I am 

 still occupying the lounge most of the time. 

 I owe no one a grudge; and after giving the 

 subject much thought I have decided to throw 

 no mud at the writers of those articles— at 

 least, until after I have written my friend Pop- 

 pleton to send me their size and disposition. 



Spring Green, Wis. 



[It is evident that too much of a good thing 

 is not a good thing in your case. Homeopathic 

 doses, in some instances at least, are better 

 than allopathic. Fewer stings might have had 

 a better effect. While your experience is ludi- 

 crous, it borders more on the serious than is 

 really pleasant. We shall all hope nothing 

 more serious will develop. — Ed.] 



BUCKWHEAT. 



SOME VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO 

 RAISING A CROP. 



By Edw. Smith. 



I believe that comparatively little is known 

 of its culture and usefulness. While it is a fact 

 that it takes away a great deal of the fertility 

 of the soil on which it is grown, if left to ripen, 

 it is as sound a fact that, if turned under green, 

 it is equal to clover as a fertilizer, only it does 

 not retain its fertility so long. I will say, for 

 the benefit of the inexperienced, that a good 

 way to grow it for seed is to plow a piece of 

 stubble ground, pulverize it nicely, and, if very 

 dry, a light rolling may be necessary. Buck- 

 wheat, like wheat, should be sown in a fine yet 

 somewhat firm soil. It is well to have the 

 ground smooth, as it makes it nice to harvest 

 it. Set the grain-drill to sow one bushel of 

 wheat. Then it will sow about 3 pecks of Jap- 

 anese buckwheat. This rule, of course, varies 

 with different-sized varieties, and must be 

 judged by the sower; but 3 pecks is about the 

 right amount to sow per acre. 



The way I harvest mine, I cut it with a 

 scythe or mower, and gather it up with a four- 

 tined fork into small heaps, say a medium 

 forkful in a heap. I work at it in the morning 

 while the dew is on it, as it sheds off easily 

 when dry. With the sun shining favorably, 

 these heaps will be thoroughly dry by the mid- 

 dle of the afternoon. I then drive up to them 



