1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



265 





tell us whether or not the braula is doing 

 any damage in its own home. 



THE ITALIAN OK SCARLET CLOVER. 



May 12//;. — To my surprise, this plant 

 was in full bloom just as the apple blos- 

 soms were fading, and it now bids fair 

 to be the much sought for plant that is 

 to fill the vacancy between fruit bloom 

 and white clover. I can scarcely imagine 

 a more beautiful sight than would be 

 a field of this scarlet clover. Everybody 

 that sets eye on the blossoms falls into ex- 

 clamations of praise. Best of all, it is per- 

 fectly hardy ; our plants have wintered with- 

 out a particle of protection, and friend 

 Hasty says, on page 268, his have done the 

 same. 



THE BASSWOOD PLANTATION. 



May 24th. — The basswood orchard is now 

 in its glory, but the trees that are sheltered 

 by the large oaks, are making much the 

 finest growth. Were I to start another bass- 

 wood plantation, I would go into a forest, 

 cut out the large timber, and plant the 

 young trees among the underbrush. In a 

 part of our field where wild blackberries 

 have got a hold, the basswoods are thriving 

 most splendidly. It seems as if they want- 

 ed something to cover the ground, and pro- 

 tect it, from the hot sun. If they were 

 planted very thick, say 6 or S feet apart, and 

 thinned out as they got crowded, perhaps 

 that might answer as well. Mine were set 

 16 feet apart, and it will be many years, be- 

 fore they will cover and shade the whole 

 ground. ' They have now been out about 10 

 years ; many of them will blossom this sea- 

 son, and we shall soon begin to think of lo- 

 cating an apiary on the ground. 



THE COMMON LOCVST AS A HONEY PLANT. 



The bees are now doing so well on the 

 locust, that I have had serious thoughts of 

 an acre or two of locust trees. They are 

 rapid growers, and come into bloom when 

 not more than 6 feet high. For several 

 years, the locust yield has been a pretty sure 

 thing, and the honey is of fine quality. An 

 acre of thrifty trees, to come into bloom just 

 before white clover, could not be otherwise 

 than quite a help to an apiary of 100 colonies. 

 Who can tell us more about their propaga- 

 tion? and who will furnish trees, say from 

 3 to 5 feet high? It is said they are worth 

 for posts enough to pay all expense of set- 

 ting them out. 



THE SIMPSON PLANT IN MAY. 



The plants from the old roots of last year 

 are growing with a robustness and vigor that 

 promise something wonderful, to one who 

 saw what a few plants did last year. They 

 are now half as high as my head, and the 

 great stout stalks measure fully a half-inch 

 square. The 1000 roots purchased last fall 

 are but little behind, and stirring the earth 

 about them by running the cultivator both 

 ways is giving them a start that is truly 

 wonderful. AVhenever I want something to 

 make me feel happy, I just go over to that 

 corner of the farm and look at the melilot 

 and Simpson plants. The melilot, too, is 

 beginning to stand up so that one could al- 

 most hide himself in the rich, dark-green 



foliage. Friend Irish, who lives in an ad- 

 joining county, has just brought me a load 

 of Simpson roots. He says he shall never 

 more plant any seeds, tor, by breaking the 

 great brittle roots in pieces and planting 

 them, they will grow as readily as horse- 

 radish. 1 have tried a lot of them, but can 

 not report as yet. I would say to those rais- 

 ing plants from the seeds, that, to winter 

 over, they must make a good root the first 

 season. If planted now in the open ground 

 they would be sure to make strong roots for 

 next year, even if they did not bloom any 

 this season. Those we raised in the open 

 ground in August last, all winter - killed 

 without an exception. 



%k "WW 



ft] HE goods I ordered were received in good order, 

 f\ and are entirely satisfactory. It is a pleasure 

 to deal with a man that is prompt and honest. 

 The same day I sent my order to you, I also sent one 

 to B. K. Bliss, and not the scratch of a pen have I 

 had from him yet. The freight on goods was only 

 30c. to Bridgport, Ohio, and 25c. for wagon over to 

 Wheeling. Wm. Bitzer. 



Wheeling, W. Va., April 30, 1880. 



Friend B., do yon know that the above 

 makes me feel like dodging, or getting some- 

 where out of sight? I should not usually be 

 afraid to have it said before you all ; but the 

 experience of the past month has been such, 

 that I am afraid there are a good many of 

 the friends who will think it conveys an aw- 

 fully erroneous idea. There is one point 

 from which we may draw a very important 

 moral. A great many of you are now doing 

 business, and getting money, more or less, 

 by mail. Be sure you send a receipt for 

 every copper you receive the day you re- 

 ceive it, even if you have to sit up nights to 

 do it. If you cannot do it yourself, you can 

 teach a boy or girl 10 years old, if you can do 

 no better, to do it accurately and well. In a 

 very little time, they will like it, and be 

 proud of their ability to do business. I am 

 now buying goods from almost all parts of 

 the world, and we are annoyed beyond meas- 

 ure, by waiting weeks, or even months, be- 

 fore getting a single scrap of reply ; some- 

 times the first intimation we have of the 

 receipt of our order is the goods themselves 

 so long afterward that we had given them 

 ui>, ail( I ordered elsewhere. I have some- 

 times wondered if some of the large firms 

 did not do it because they thought it an 

 aristocratic way, to preserve this sort of 

 lofty silence when they have been favored 

 with an order. I do not believe in long 

 stories, but I do like to get a speedy ac- 

 knowledgement of some kind, even if it is 

 no more than u O. K." scrawled hastily 

 across a postal. 



When ordering sections of odd sizes, please be 

 sure to tell us which dimension is for top and bot- 

 ioiii, and which is for sides. Many and many a time 

 have we been obliged to delay orders, and write 

 back to our customers, to ask this simple little ques- 

 tion, even though the bees were swarming at the 

 time. 



