480 



gLeanI^gs ii^ nkk cuLtuk*:. 



Jt^LY 



most as thougli I would as soon have my 

 combs destroyed by moth as to be covered 

 with spider-webs. This would not be a vei'V 

 rational conclusion, however, after all. for a 

 brush-broom would remove the spider-webs 

 in a moment, and ungainly holes in the 

 combs by moths can not well be remedied. 

 Is it true, tliat any sort of spider is a pro- 

 tection in this way, and that these spiders' 

 cocoons we find would, any of them, do the 

 business? A'ery likely it is ; but the matter 

 is all entirely new to me, and doubtless we 

 shall be able to take advantage of it.— 1 

 have often thought of it, friend L., even if 

 I have not talked much about it, and it is 

 wonderful how bee-keepers build up after 

 disastrous losses ; for, in fact, if a bee-keep- 

 er has every thing else in good trim, even if 

 his bees are all dead he is not so very badly 

 off. For a small amount, comparatively, 

 expended in buying bees in the fore part of 

 the season may put him almost where lie 

 was, before the close of basswood bloom. 



THE MANGROVE HONEY OF FLORIDA. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT THE "STAYING" QUAL- 

 ITIES OF THE CELEBRATED CALIFORNIA HONEY, 

 COMPARED WITH WHITE CLOVKU, ETC. 



N my late article on Florida, page 450, in the last 

 line on the page is an omission, either of my 

 own or of the type setter. The sentence 

 should read, "The Florida yellow pine makes 

 excellent lumber for hives, hut h ipiitr lifavy, 

 and for that reason, etc." 



You ask about the staying' qualities of mangrove 

 honey, as compared with California sage honey. 

 While the color, body, and peculiar aromatic flavor 

 of the sage honey is undoubtedly very fine, a single 

 glance at the market reports will show that it lacks 

 much of standing as high In general estimation as 

 it did when first introduced. For the past few 

 months, at least, California honey has invariably 

 been quoted in our leading markets at from one to 

 four cents less per pound than white-clover honey. 

 Our good friend Mr. Muth told me, some four or 

 five years ago, that he at one time made a deter- 

 mined, persistent effort to introduce California 

 honey to his trade, but utterly failed, his customers 

 preferring clover honey, even at a higher price. He 

 has also handled the Florida honej' more largely 

 than any other dealer, during the past three or four 

 years; ajid if you could secure a statement -from 

 him as to its quality, you would very much oblige 

 myself as well as others who are interested in this 

 matter. 



This honey has been on our markets only a short 

 time, and in very limited quantities at that ; and the 

 fact is, that none of \is, unless it may be Mr. Muth, 

 knows any thing about its staying (lUiilitics com- 

 pared with our Northern honey. 



I think the rule is, that none of our higher-fla- 

 vored kinds of honey, such as basswood, California 

 sage, etc., is as generally liked as is the more mild- 

 flavored kinds. If I am correct in this opinion, then 

 mangrove honey will probably prove valuable for 

 its staying qualities, as it is of an exceptionally mild 

 flavor, as stated in my first article. For my own 

 eating,! prefer it to white-clover honey; but the 

 likes or dislikes of one person prove little. 

 Wc have a little home down there at Hawk's 



Park; and when we get to living there, as we hope 

 to some time, just step in some morning and test 

 ourlioney for yourself; and perhaps, if we happen 

 to be a little e.vtra generous at the time, we may al- 

 low you to sample an orange or two also. 



O. (). POPPLETON. 



Williamstown, Iowa, .Tuly H1, 188."i. 



MRS. CHADDOCK TALKS TO US ABOUT 

 MARKET GARDENING AND BEES. 



SHE ALSO HAS SOMETHING TO SAY IN REGARD TO 

 PROMPTNESS AND ACCURACY IN BUSINESS. 



VERY time that you print an article ot mine, 



and then put one of those inimitable foot- 



notes after it, I feel as if I wanted to "answer 

 back." 

 I do not have the least doubt but that Mr. 

 Gates is a good man. I was not anxious to get the 

 money back; but I was suffering for some bees— or, 

 rather, the combs were getting moths in them, and 

 I was nervously anxious to put some bees on them, 

 and I wanted him to send nie some "right away;" 

 and if he could not do it, then I wanted him to say 

 so i)i!<t(t)iter, so that T could send somewhere else. I 

 beg Mr. Gates" pardon if I have done him an injurj-. 

 In fact, 1 supposed that if Mr. Gates was all right 

 you would put ray communication in the waste- 

 basket. 



You say that you sup))ose T have built up a large 

 business in the market-gardening trade. I have 

 not. In fact, 1 do not do any thing in the business, 

 worth mentioning. WhyV When I began raising 

 vegetables for market we had just bought this farm, 

 and had gone in <lebt for it. We paid *80no for it, 

 and all but thirteen hundred dollars was borrowed 

 money. We had no way of making money but by 

 farming. I was young and ambitious, and I thought 

 I could help along by raising tilings to sell. Mr. 

 Chaddock was never willing for me to do it. He 

 was willing for me to bind rye all day, or husk corn 

 day after day for weeks, but he thought jK'ddling 

 produce was "small business." He said we lived 

 too far from market (and we do), and that he could 

 not spare the horses in the working season. His 

 arguments were all good, and I felt the weight of 

 them; but we were so scarce of clothes and dishes, 

 and every thing, that I begged him to let me try it. 

 At that time the Rockford & Rock Island Railroad 

 was being built through Yermont, and the influx of 

 the railroad hands nmde a good time for the taverns 

 and boarding-houses, and that meant a good time 

 for the produce raisei-. After the railroad was 

 built, and the hands left, there was not so good a 

 nuirket; and as we had reduced our indebtedness 

 from near seven thousand to three thousand, and 

 were paying seven per cent interest, instead of ten, 

 I got inflated, and felt above the peddling l)usiness. 

 About that time I began keejiing bees, and writing 

 for pay, and I thought I had too much to do. Last 

 year I was sick; I never touched a hoe the season 

 through, and we never had a whole mess of lima 

 l)eans, nor a single green bean to eat, the whole 

 season. 



When Mrs. L. Harrison visited us in August, she 

 was very much worried because there was nothing 

 to sell. We took her to Vermont to the train; and 

 before we left her we bought a watermelon. After 

 she went home she wrote me, " I can not help think- 

 ing of that buggy going to town with nothing under 

 the seat to buy the 'gude mon ' a wuteriuelou." I 



