1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



909 



THE KUMEKLE LIMA BEANS. 



We have succeeded in saving a few seeds, 

 but not many. The principal trouble with 

 the bean seems to be the difficulty of getting 

 the seeds to ripen up dry. They just stay 

 fit to shell, for weeks and weeks. We cov- 

 ered them from frost quite a while, then 

 pulled the stalks and put them in the green- 

 house, but they kept green, even then. 

 Finally we placed the pods on trays, and 

 dried them by steam heat; but some of 

 them molded, even then, before they had 

 dried. Now, this is a splendid feature so 

 far as having the beans to cook is concerned ; 

 but it is not very splendid where you want 

 them for seed. In order to find out what 

 they would be w r orth another season, I ad- 

 dressed a card to Thorburn, the introducer. 

 Below is his reply : 



Dear Sir:— We shall not have any of Kumerle's 

 lima beans to offer this season. Yours truly, 



New York, Nov. 14, 1889. J as. M. Thorburn. 



Gleanings in Bee Culture, 



Published Semi-JHoutJtl tj . 



JL.. I. BOOT, 

 EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, 



IvIEDI^T-fi., OHIO. 



TERMS: $1.00 PER YEAR, POSTPAID. 

 i~*—i 



For Glutting Bates, See First Page of Reading Matter. 



2*j£JEIJDTJ<TJ^, DEC. 1, 1889. 



Then Saul (who is also called Paul), tilled with the Holv 

 Ghost, set his eyes on him and said, O full of all subtilty and 

 all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all right- 

 eousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the 

 Lord!— Acts 13: 9, 10. 



We have at this date, 9161 subscribers. 



EARLY CATALOGUES. 



The first catalogue for 1890 that conies to hand is 

 from Jno. C. Swaner, Salt Lake City, Utah. He ad- 

 vertises nursery stock and bee-keepers' supplies. 

 We have just printed catalogues of bees and sup- 

 plies for John H. Kundinger, Kilmanagh, Mich., 

 and for F. W. Lamm, Somervilie, O. We have also 

 just finished the annual catalogue of J. M. Jenkins, 

 Wetumpka, Ala., which all our Southern friends 

 will do well to send for. 



GLEANINGS AND THE ABC BOOK FOR COUNTY 

 INFIRMARIES. 



Mrs. Chaddock mentioned, at the close of her 

 article on page 951. the advisability of sending sam- 

 ple copies, etc. We will with groat pleasure furnish 

 & copy of the ABC book, and Gleanings regular- 

 ly, without charge, to any infirmary or asylum for 

 the insane, in Wisconsin, or any other State or 

 place in the world, where there is anybody interest- 

 ed enough in bee-keeping to care for it. 



r-OOK OUT FOR HlMl 



B. G. Luttrell, formerly postmaster of Luttrell, 

 Dekalb Co., Ala., is complained of by several bee- 

 keepers. He probably obtained credit by the fact 

 of his being postmaster. As a rule, postmasters are 

 supposed to be good straight square men; but we 

 find now and then an exception. Tt seems to me, 

 however, that there is a wrong somewhere, when a 



man who is not responsible is given such an impor- 

 tant position. 



HOUSE-RACING AND FAIRS. 



Two of the friends take me to task for recom- 

 mending fairs while so many of them encourage 

 horse-racing, gambling, lotteries, etc. I am well 

 aware of this; but it is not true that all fairs en- 

 courage even horse racing. Intoxicating liquors 

 are, 1 believe, ruled out from most of them. Games 

 of chance are fast following in their wake, and 

 quite a few counties are holding excellent fairs 

 without any horse-racing. If it is thought best I 

 can publish a list of these last. So long as fairs are 

 mainly for the encouragement of agriculture, the 

 arts, and industries, I am sure it is not best to turn 

 our backs on them, even though most of them have 

 these objectionable features. Let all the good peo- 

 ple attend, be present at the annual meetings for 

 discussing these matters, and let us work for these 

 reforms that are still under way. 



PRICE OF ALFALFA SEED. 



On page 954 we are told that alfalfa seed is worth 

 #3.00 per bushel in Kansas. In our catalogue the 

 price is given as ten dollars per bushel; and, in 

 fact, considerable quantities were sold a year ago 

 at $10.00 per bushel. This looks rather bad. Now, 

 if any of the bee-friends have alfalfa seed for sale 

 at any thing like $3.00 per bushel, please let them 

 speak out, and we will remodel our price list. By 

 the way, I think it will be an excellent idea to give 

 it a pretty good test on a small scale in a good 

 many localities. Of course, it will not pay for the 

 honey alone; but if it wili pay for the hay, even 

 though we should have to irrigate during a severe 

 drouth, it may thus indirectly be of great value to 

 our industry. 



JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT, AGAIN. 



Since my Special Notice on page 970 was put to 

 press, still larger lots of Japanese buckwheat have 

 been offered us in such quantities that the best 

 offer we dare make at present writing (Nov. 29) is 

 50 cents per bushel, of 50 lbs., in cash, or 60 cents in 

 trade, delivered here. This is for nice clean seed, 

 suitable to sow. We do not know how long we can 

 keep even this offer open, nor can we at present 

 state definitely what will be our selling price. It 

 will depend upon how much is sent in at the above 

 figures. Truly the Japanese buckwheat is one of 

 the greatest improvements, in a single line of grain, 

 of the present age. All other kinds of buckwheat 

 can well be thrown aside; and not only the bee- 

 keepers of our land, but farmers in general, can 

 unite in tendering a vote of thanks to our enter- 

 prising seedsman, Peter Henderson. Buckwheat 

 flour, first quality, York State, is now offered in 

 the city of Cleveland al $2.00 per cwt. 



FALSE STATEMENTS. 



There are quite a good many who hold persis- 

 tently to the idea that comb honey is manufac- 

 tured; and I am sorry to see in some of the papers 

 the absurd statements about artificial eggs Still 

 given. When we remonstrate, a good many say 

 that more wonderful things than making artificial 

 eggs and artificial honey-comb are being done every 

 day. True; but, my dear friends, the great prog- 

 ress that is being made in the arts and industries 

 is not in line with fraud at all. It is the reward of 

 honest, faithful, and persistent work. The man 

 who dares to perpetrate a fraud upon humanity, 

 especially in the line of food products, is bad and 



