April, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



245 



it must be a low voltage, altl:o t'.;ey have 

 never told me direct, I tliink that will please 

 mc best. We shall not want to send current 

 any distance. 



March 6. — We expect IMarukoski tonight. 

 It is pretty hot here now and no rain. 



IMarch 7. — Marukoski is here, and a great 

 big man he is, jjliysically, mentally, and- I 

 hope, spiritually. lie is away up on elec- 

 tricity, is prominent in the Y. M. C. A., and 

 it is a great privilege to know him. 



jVIarch 9. — Mill is running- and takes so 

 little wind. A scrap of paper dropped from 

 the tower fell almost straight down to the 

 ground but the mill was run by even so light 

 a wind as was then blowing. Roller bear- 

 ings and everything balanced, like a fine 

 steam engine, is the secret of it. 



March 11.— At 2:30 p. m. on this 11th 

 day of IMarch, our electric windmill started 

 whirling, and is now, while I write, charg- 

 ing the 28-exide storage batteries on my 

 electric automobile. Providentially we had 

 quite a brisk wind when we were ready for 

 the test, altho it was quite gTisty and is 

 almost constantly changing direction. The 

 result is that the ammeter shows 5 amperes, 

 then 10, and once in a while goes up to 20; 

 but this uneven rule seems to store the bat- 

 tery all right. The automatic switch board 

 is to be installed later. May the Lord be 

 praised for our success so far! The great 

 14-foot wheel, with the belt on its outer rim, 

 makes at present only about 18 revolutions 

 per minute, and it runs so quietly on its rol- 

 ler and ball bearings that not a sound is 

 heard even with your ear pressed against 

 one of the timbers of the tower. 



POTATOES AND BEES DOING FINELY. 



My potatoes, all planted since the freezes 

 (by tlie "hot-bed" method), are now (Feb. 

 20) covering the ground with their great, 

 rank, green foliage in a way that gives 

 pi'omise of a wonderful crop. For a brief 

 period every morning the bees are tumbling 

 in loaded with honey, probably from the 

 orange blossoms. 



SELLING THE RED TRIUMPH POTATOES. 



March 10. — Today we began digging 

 some of the potatoes, which were not out 

 of the ground so as to be injured seriously 

 by the freezes during the winter. I took a 

 half-peck basket to my good friend Burnet 

 at the grocery store and asked him what lie 

 could pay for such. 



" Mr. Root, what do you want for them f 



I said, " I thought thev ought to bring 

 35c." 



" We couldn't make it," he replied. 



" Well," said I, "you give me 30c, and sell 

 them at 35." 



"All right," said he, " bring them along." 



I went home and started Wesley to dig- 

 ging, while I sorted and placed them in 

 baskets and ran them up town. I did not 

 know it at the time, but it seems that on 

 account of the bad weather there wasn't a 

 n■e^v jjotato in Bradentown. They were 

 grabbed up almost as fast as I could unload 

 theni, and every basket sold was carried 

 a]-ound to let people see " the beautiful po- 

 tatoes." One of the crowd said : " Why, 

 Ml". Root, how is it possible you can grow 

 such fine potatoes every year, at a time 

 when nobody else has new potatoes of any 

 kincU" 



I replied : " My good friend, I ha^■e been 

 trying to grow more and better potatoes, 

 more or less, for full 70 years. 



This year there are fewer small potatoes 

 than ever before. The secret is the " singie- 

 ej'e " plan given the world by our lamented 

 friend, T. B. Teriy. Each potato hill, as a 

 rule, is one great thrifty stalk, and the re- 

 sult is, all large fine potatoes. 



After we had delivered 30 or 40 baskets, 

 tliat wei-e grabbed up almost as soon as 

 unloaded, Mr. Alderman (one of the firm) 

 said : " Mr. Root, we are sending a truck 

 down to your place with some com and 

 middlings for your chickens, and I wish you 

 would have a lot of potatoes ready, and, if 

 possible, load up the truck with them." 



Now, dear friends, when this reaches you, 

 you can " get busy " and do something sim- 

 ilar, right near, and in your own howe 

 town. 



DAPHKEN Tl'BERS FOR PLANTING. 



In reply to many inquiries, you can get dasheens 

 for planting of The Kilgore Seed Co., Plant City, Fla., 

 and their seed catalog will give you a lot of informa 

 tion about everything that can be grown in Florida 

 with profit. Dasheen will grow anywhere, but, of 

 course, it doesn't come to full maturity away up 

 north. As it is good food, however, at every stage 

 of its grovi^th, roots, leaves, and all, I think it pays 

 to plant it. Send to the Agricultural Department, 

 at Washington, D. C, for pamphlet, if you want 

 to know all about it. 



Farm, Garden and Orchard Tools 



Answer tlie farmer's big questions: 

 How can I prow crops with le.ss ux- 

 pcn.-5e and labor? How can 1 grow 

 fancy fruit at low cost t The 



IRON AGE ZVyfr 



Barrel Sprayer 



(horizontal ) solves the spraying 

 problem for the busy farmer. 

 Can be used in any wagon, 

 cart or sled. Reliable easy- 

 working pump placed outside 

 the barrel — prevents rusting— 

 all parts easy to reach. 100 to 

 125 pounds pressure with two 

 nozzles. 50 and 100 gallon sizes. 

 We make a full line of spray- 

 ers. Write today for our free 

 booklet. 



BatemanM'f'gCo., Box 20E,Grenlocli,N. J. 



