i889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



,S7 



Now about how to plant your orchard (query on 

 page 980). Make an equilateral triangle of straight 

 slats, whose sides equal the distance you want your 

 trees. Suppose A B, AC, 

 and B C, to be each 20 feet. 

 Drive your pegs at each in- 

 tersection, holding the tri- 

 angle level. Then by mov- 

 ing it Vi around you get 

 one new stake, and so on 

 throughout the orchard 

 _ — ground. That divides th<3 

 a/ \c whole field into exact equi- 



lateral triangles staked out. Now you dig a hole 

 and put your frame against two stakes, and put the 

 tree in the third corner. It will thus come just 

 where the stake was. In that way your trees are 

 in line in every direction, as you can see by match- 

 ing your equilateral triangles together on a stake, 

 marking the corners with a dot. This is called the 

 quincunx method, though erroneously, since they 

 are not squares with a center tree, but rhombs. 

 That does well where you have all one kind of 

 trees, but walnuts should be 50 feet apart; oranges 

 30; almonds 25; prunes 20, while some plums, per- 

 simmons, etc., are as good 12 or 15 feet. With the 

 variety I have, I am quite satisfied if they range 

 two ways, so I can cross-cultivate. The other does 

 look nice, but it hardly pays with mixed fruits. I 

 was sorry the weather prevented my meeting you 

 in Santa Paula. C. M. Drake. 



Springville, Ventura Co., Cal., Jan. 2, 1889. 



Friend D., I am exceedingly obliged to 

 you, and your letter makes me feel sorry 

 that I didn't take time to make you a visit. 

 When I take that next trip, you may be 

 sure I shall take in your ranch. I am aware 

 that there are a few localities in California 

 where things do not die, even if irrigation 

 is neglected. I believe I spoke of the corn- 

 fields near Santa Paula ; but I supposed the 

 corn was planted before the spring rains 

 were entirely over. In riding along, I was 

 continually asking questions about what 

 kind of trees would live without irrigation, 

 and what would not. Perhaps I have for- 

 gotten by this time ; but I believe that apri- 

 cots and walnut-trees in most localities 

 require no irrigation at all, after they are 

 well started. 1 believe I mentioned that 

 the eucalyptus grows almost anywhere, 

 no matter whether it is wet or dry, if it once 

 gets a little start. The point you make, 

 that " no one knows what will do well on a 

 piece of ground until he tries it," is true 

 with us here in Ohio ; but it is more espe- 

 cially true in California. The difference in 

 the changes from mountain to valley, from 

 sand to 'dobe, from one exposure to anoth- 

 er, near the seacoast or remote from it, and 

 ever so many other things taken all togeth- 

 er, makes the matter of gardening and 

 fruit-raising quite complicated. I believe 

 if I were you 1 would try one tree of a kind, 

 then gradually increase the number of those 

 that do well ; and the same sort of reason- 

 ing here will apply to good advantage. The 

 objection with fruit and nut bearing trees 

 is, that it takes so much time ; but while 

 the years are passing, we can do it often- 

 times as well as not to do it ; and if we nev- 

 er live to see the result worked out, our 

 children probably will, and be benefited by 



it.— Friend D., with all the advantages you 

 have for the chicken-business, I would 

 make a vermin-proof fence for the fowls, 

 and then I would fight the vermin with 

 traps, poison, clubs, dogs, and cats ; and, in 

 fact, our successful men here have to do a 

 good deal of this kind of work. — The mat- 

 ter of California names is one of great in- 

 terest to me, but it may not be profitable to 

 devote too much space to it.— Great num- 

 bers of devices have been sent in to us for 

 planting trees in regular order ; but I think 

 your triangle about fills the bill. It is the 

 very thing we used in shaping our hexago- 

 nal apiary here at the Home of the Honey- 

 Bees ; but for locating the different apiaries, 

 we had an immense triangle. Instead of 

 planting the grapevines in corners, as you 

 have it, we bored a hole through both pieces 

 of board that formed the triangle, and then 

 put in an iron stake. If your iron stake 

 has a ring in it at the top, large enough to 

 slip your hand in, the opening in the ring 

 being made about like the bow in a com- 

 mon door-key, you can force stakes into the 

 ground, and pull them out much more easi- 

 ly. I think 1 would stretch a line to one 

 side of the orchard, in commencing ; then 

 with the aid of the triangle and the iron 

 stakes we can, providing it is on level 

 ground, make the trees come straight, to a 

 dot. The device illustrated in "another 

 column will help to get the trees planted ex- 

 actly where they should stand. I noticed 

 in California many orange-orchards laid out 

 on this plan. Then the harrow was passed 

 through in three different directions, leav- 

 ing only a little triangular spot around each 

 tree to be fined up with a steel garden-rake. 

 I think 1 never saw ground worked so hand- 

 somely as were many of the California 

 orange-orchards. I fairly ached to get out 

 of the buggy and get hold of a rake, and 

 help do the finishing-up around the trees. 

 Most of the ground was of a kind that does 

 not easily pack, as our ground packs when 

 the horses walk over it. We, however, are 

 often troubled by being obliged to work the 

 ground when it is a little too wet. Where 

 irrigation is practiced, of course this never 

 happens. 



NOTES FROM THE KEYSTONE BEE- 

 FARM. 



PEDDLING HONEY, ETC. 



"T MUST tell a little of my experience in peddling 

 @K honey. I took a load to Wilkes Barre, just be- 

 W fore Christmas. I first offered it to the com- 



-*• mission merchants. I found they were well 

 supplied, and were selling basswood honey in 

 one-pound sections at 1354 cents by the case. I 

 next called on the leading grocer, Wm. M. Miller. 

 He wanted honey, and I had a first-class article, but 

 he thought it was too cold a day for me to get 16 

 cents, which was my price. I then concluded to 

 peddle out my load. I supplied nearly all the ho- 

 tels and some private families. I am acquainted 

 with nearly all the courthouse officials and law- 

 yers, and made many good sales among them. I 

 called on my old comrade, Major G. R. Lennard, 

 with whom I served four years during the war. I 

 sold him some fine clover honey at 18 cts., but he 



