501 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



July 



" Yes, it is a good one— that is, fairly 

 good. Come and see." 



He parted the leaves, and there, to my 

 great astonishment, was an immense fruit 

 that I should hardly have called a strawber- 

 ry had it not been for the surroundings. 

 Instead of being like other strawberries, it 

 was much the shape of a very badly scallop- 

 ed tomato ; and 1 declare, the berries were 

 pretty close in size to some tomatoes. I 

 picked a great big one and took a bite. The 

 quality was very much like that of the Bu- 

 bach ; but there was not a single specimen 

 but that was knotty and gnarly, with 

 protuberances growing out of one side or out 

 of another. At first I declared I would 

 make a planting of it ; and then it occurred 

 to me that everybody would object, and pre- 

 fer something a little smaller, of good 

 shape, and firm enough to ship— something 

 like the Gandy, for instance. If one want- 

 ed, however, a great lot of berries, and 

 something that could be picked very quick- 

 ly, I rather think this would be the berry. 

 My companion told me that he had found 

 ten of them that would make a quart, and 

 he thought it very likely that he could do it 

 then and there. As its shape suggested to- 

 matoes, I asked : 



" Friend C, why is it )iot probable that 

 some time we shall have a single strawber- 

 ry combining so many of the desirable 

 qualities of others that only one variety will 

 be needed — like the tomato, for instance ? " 

 " I have thought of it a good deal, Bro. 

 Root ; and, by the way, I am very much re- 

 joiced to know that we have finally one to- 

 mato summing up all the good qualities to 

 such an extent that no other is needed. 1 

 am myself, at present, planting only one 

 kind of tomato, and it seems now that I 

 may never care to plant another kind." 



I almost held my breath as I asked, 

 *' Why, friend C, you astonish me. "Will 

 you please tell me the name of that one to- 

 mato that you put in place of all the long 

 string of tomatoes known to seedsmen and 

 catalogue-makers ?" 



What do you think he said ? He smiled 

 just a little as he replied, "■ The Ignotum." 

 I did not at the time know whether he 

 was aware that I first gave it to the public, 

 but he said he had heard it so stated. 



''Now, Bro. Root, I have something to 

 tell you that will greatly please and interest 

 vou. I do wish you could meet friend 

 . Louden, \^iho gave us the great big straw- 

 berry you hold in your hand, and he has 

 given us almost numberless other valuable 

 strawberries. You will notice that I have 

 numbered them in different places over my 

 ground — No. 4, No. 8, No. 75, etc. Well, 

 friend L. is a Canadian. Some years ago he 

 was very low with consumption, and his 

 case was pronounced by nearly all the physi- 

 cians incurable. There was nothing before 

 him but to get ready to die. As he was a 

 good man, his friends could not bear the 

 thought of losing him, and his children 

 could hardly give him up. A sou of his was 

 interested in strawberries, and he begged 

 his father to stay outdoors and get interest- 

 ed in berry-growing, suggesting that, if he 

 should get as full of enthusiasm as some of 



them did, it might make him well." I be- 

 gan at once to think of our good friend Mrs. 

 Axteil. " The father very quietly assented, 

 and placed himself as pupil under the son. 

 In a little time he became deeply interested 

 in the matter of perfecting new varieties. 

 At present he has done more work of this 

 kind than perhaps any other man in the 

 world; and this season," so our friend 

 Crawford went on to say, ''he has a whole 

 half-acre covered thickly with plants, and 

 each plant is a different seedling from its 

 neighbor. These are to be tested, with the 

 hope that they may furnish the world some- 

 thing better than we have already." Those 

 who have made experiments in this line can 

 conceive how much of an undertaking is 

 such a project; and the outcome of it has 

 been that he has regained his health, and 

 although he is quite an old man now, he 

 will probably live for some years yet. So 

 you see it is not only worldly gifts which 

 shall be given to those who seek first the 

 kingdom of God and his righteousness, but 

 the promise seems to include health; for 

 friend L. has found a new lease of life in 

 propagating new and better varieties of 

 strawberries for his fellow-men. I do not 

 know whether he is rich or not. It may be 

 that, like Terry, he does not care to be rich, 

 but holds fast to the text of our talk to-day. 



Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where 

 neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where 

 thieves do not break through nor steal. — Matt. 6: 20. 



EDITORI^Ii. 



GtiEANINGS TEN THOUSAND STRONG. 



Wb are happy to announce to our readers that 

 we have now on our books 10,000 subscribers, the 

 exact number being 10,002. There is such a call for 

 sample copies that we are now printing nearly 11,000 

 journals each issue. In fact, we have been doing 

 this right along through the year. While we have 

 been slow in reaching 10,000, we are glad that we 

 have been able to hold our readers. Somehow or 

 other they stick by us, and we hope to stick by 

 them. AdvertiEers will please take into considera- 

 tion our large subscription-list. Three thousand is 

 usually a large list for a trades journal; but ten 

 thousand is almost phenomenal. 



GARDENING IN JULY. 



If you have fine soft mellow ground, well manur- 

 ed and well drained, you can get a good crop of al- 

 most any thing, pi-oviding your seeds or plants are 

 got right into the ground without a moment's de- 

 lay. One of our agiicultural papers suggests that 

 the 1st of July is generally about the best time to 

 sow buckwheat in any iMtriotic neighborhood. Do 

 you open your eyes and mouth at the latter re- 

 mark? Well, his explanation is, that the bombard- 

 ment universally carried on is almost always pro- 

 ductive of a thunderstorm; and that, if it does not 

 rain on the 4th, it surely will the next day, and this 

 will give your things a start that will be pretty 

 sure to make a crop. 



