1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



275 



%, to 1 inch apart, parallel over the bed, not letting 

 them touch anywhere, splitting those that are V-A 

 inches or more in diameter, placing the split side 

 down. Cover about three inches deep, with good 

 mellow soil. After the plants appear, which will be 

 in 18 or 14 days, give water as needed. If placed 

 closer than above, it is a hard matter to remove the 

 plants without destroying too many young ones. 

 About 4 or 5 weeks from the time of bedding, the 

 plants will be ready to draw. As to varieties, Yel- 

 low Jersey and Yellow Nansemond seem to give the 

 best satisfaction here. I usually get from 6000 to 

 8000 plants from a bushel of seed from the above 

 varieties. I formerly tried saturating my canvas 

 with linseed oil, for the purpose of making it water- 

 proof, more transparent, nnd durable. I soon dis- 

 carded the practice, as I found it utterly useless, 

 as, after that time in the spring, we are not apt to 

 have very long-continued cold weather, and the bed 

 should be protected by shutters or plank to keep 

 out cold and heavy rains. In no case should it re- 

 ceive a heavy cold rain early in the season. The 

 oil has a tendency to rot and cause the canvas to 

 break, thus proving an injury instead of a benefit. 



Any one who has had experience in making hot- 

 beds will soon learn that, the fresher the litter the 

 more violent the heat, and sooner it will need fork- 

 ing over to prevent fire fang, which will be in from 

 two to three days, four at most, from the time of 

 first hauling. W. H. Graves. 



Duncan, Til., Feb. 18, 1889. 



RAISING SWEET-POTATO PLANTS, ETC. 



About twenty years ago I was a grower of the 

 plants quite largely, sending plants one sea 

 son into 23 different States. Greenhouses are 

 too damp; as a general thing Are heat other- 

 wise. At least I did not make a success of it, 

 though I believe it has been done on quite a large 

 scale. The simple hot-bed, that there has been 

 so much written about, yet no one ever made two 

 that were just exactly alike in all their workings— 

 too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry, weather not 

 just to our liking, something the matter, that noth- 

 ing but the best judgment could get along with and 

 bring out the best results— as I was going to say, 

 the simple hot-bed is the best, just as you would 

 make it for any purpose, with three or four inches 

 of good compost on top; then take the potatoes, if 

 not over one inch in diameter, without cutting; 

 spread them over the bed about as far apart as the 

 size of the potatoes, keeping away from the edges 

 of the bed four to six inches; then cover one to two 

 inches with the same rich compost, screened so as 

 to be uniform in consistency, and of a material that 

 will not pack. Now cover the bed with boards (I 

 have seldom used either glass or cloth for sweet 

 potatoes); watch close; the temperature wants to 

 be just about the same as for tomatoes, cucumbers, 

 etc. As soon as the plants appear, which should be 

 in about ten or twelve days, add one to two inches 

 more of compost, so that the entire depth will be 

 three to four inches. Now you can commence to 

 give a little water— very seldom any is needed on 

 the bed until the plants appear. They must now 

 have plenty of air; and as the time is supposed to 

 be some time in May, they will need but little cov- 

 ering except nights. 



The upuaT time for putting the potatoes in the 

 beds is from the 10th of April to the 1st of May; 

 and for setting the plants, from the 20th of May to 



the 10th of June, in this climate. I have raised ex- 

 cellent plants in a very mild hot-bed on a sheltered 

 hillside slopiDg south, putting in the potatoes the 

 last days of April, without using any covering what- 

 ever over the bed, and had the plants ready for set- 

 ting the first das'S of June. 



Potatoes larger than an inch in diameter 1 cut 

 lengthwise through the middle. They will bring 

 more plants, and quicker, than whole potatoes; but 

 there is more danger of their rotting in the bed 

 than whole potatoes. The rotting of the potatoes 

 is caused by cold-dampness, and lack of air when 

 the bed is too warm. 



To keep the potatoes over winter, harvest care- 

 fully before frost kills the vines; spread in some 

 drj/ place a week or so, then pack quite tightly to- 

 gether in dry barrels— old flour or cracker barrels— 

 up to two inches of the top, then put on clean dry 

 sand that will shake in and cover the two inches 

 left; store in a </?•?/ place, and keep the temperature 

 at 60 to 65 all the time. 



You know enough about the management of hot- 

 beds and every thing else, for that matter, to know 

 that no amount of instruction either written or 

 verbal will bring success. Nothing but experience 

 will bring- the needed knowledge, and that to a few 

 only. D. Cummins. 



Conneaut, O., Feb. 18, 1889. 



Friend Cummins also incloses a copy of 

 one of his old circulars. As it contains 

 much additional information, we give it be- 

 low : 



CULTIVATION OF THE SWEET POTATO. 



Light sandy or loamy soil is best, but heavy soil 

 well drained, with plenty of coarse manure well 

 worked in, will do very well. Plow and harrow 

 well; and if your land is poor, plow light furrows 

 about three and a half or four feet apart; scatter in 

 them a quantity of partly rotted manure, throw 

 two furrows together over the manure so as to 

 have the ridge quite high, and not- very broad on 

 top. Unless rain has fallen within twenty-four 

 hours, or the soil is quite wet, it will pay to water 

 when setting out, which may be done as follows: 

 Thrust the right hand into the ridge (a mason's or 

 garden trowel would be better), draw it toward 

 you, and with the left drop the roots at the back of 

 the hand or trowel; draw the soil around the roots; 

 pour in about half a pint of water, then All up with 

 soil so the plant will be an inch or so deeper than it 

 stood in the bed, so the stems of the lower leaves 

 will be covered, as then it will sprout again if cut 

 by frost or worms. Set the plants from fourteen 

 to sixteen inches apart; keep clean from weeds, 

 and the soil mellow with cultivator and hoe. 

 Raise the vines with rake or fork to prevent root- 

 ing at the joints; the more moist the weather, the 

 more frequently it will need be done. Dig if pos- 

 sible before severe frosts; store in a warm dry 

 place— a damp cellar will not answer. With good 

 cultivation the crop will average three hundred 

 bushels per acre. Plants will be ready by the 15th 

 of May, and can be set from that time until the 1st 

 of July. One year 1 set a small patch the 25th day 

 of June, in very rich soil, the yield of which was at 

 the rate of over six hundred bushels per acre. My 

 plants are grown entirely without glass, and are 

 very hardy; they will be carefully packed so as to 

 go hundreds of miles in good condition. 



THE FOLLOWING IS FROM THE FRIEND WHO TOLD 



US HOW TO RAISE #10.80 WORTH OF GRAND 



RAPIDS LETTUCK ON 12 FEET SQUARE 



OF GROUND. 



Raising sweet-potato plants for sale has been 

 right in my line of business for the past 14 years. 

 I have always raised them in hot-beds. My frames 

 are 6 feet wide by 12 long; front of frame, 8 inches 

 high; and back, 12 inches high, covered with four 

 3x6 sash. For heating material I use fresh horsp 



