GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



way of " God's gifts."* With the ax I cut 

 from the root (it was five inches in diameter 

 and weighed 18 lbs.) several cylinders and 

 stood one on end in the chicken-yard. Pass- 

 ing there half an hour later it had disap- 

 peared. I gave them another, and pretty 

 soon the ducks came up from the canal and 

 there was quite a noisy combat as to who 

 had the " best right " to the new delicacy. 



Well, if cassava will take the place of 

 corn for ducks, or even partially replace 

 corn, at 35 cts. a dozen for duck eggs (hens' 

 egg's are 45), we shall have a bonanza here 

 in Florida.! 



Now, the above isn't all of my story. The 

 cassava-tree that had grown two summers 

 had three other roots, for there was a clus- 

 ter of them, though not as large, and several 

 roots were taken from it when it had grown 

 only one summer. If you want to know more 

 about cassava, send to the Department of 

 Agriculture for a bulletin. See page 280, 

 April 1, 1914, in regard to cassava as a 

 food product. 



GOLDEN APPLES AND DELICIOUS APPLES FROM 

 OHIO TO FLORIDA BY PARCEL POST. 



Prof. W. J. Green, of the Ohio Experi- 

 ment Station (a lifetime friend) was kind 

 enough to send us half a peck each of two 

 noted apples by parcel post. When our Ohio 

 station was established in Wayne Co. years 

 ago they took an old run-down orchard and 

 made it a wonderful object-lesson for rising 

 generations. By trimming, fertilizing, and 

 grafting, they have not only made it " a 

 thing of beauty " but it almost promises to 

 be " a joy for ever."t In the nearby zones 

 such apples by mail may be, without ques- 

 tion, a big success. Below is what I wrote 

 friend Green : 



Friend Green: — Many thanks for the beautiful 

 apples you have so kindly sent me. They are not 

 only beautiful to look at, but the finest-flavored 

 apples, I do believe, I ever tasted. If the postage 

 were not so much this long distance there would 

 certainly be a great opening for apples by parcel 

 post. The " container " you used brought them in 

 splendid condition. Not an apple was bruised or 

 injured in any way. The " Delicious " apples you 

 send are certainly more delicious than the samples 

 sent me some time ago by the Stark people in Mis- 

 souri ; and the Grimes Golden, even Mrs. Root ad- 

 mitted were pretty near the best apple she ever 

 tasted. The postage on the Grimes was about 2 cts. 

 on each apple; the Delicious, on account of its size, 

 about 3 cts. 



Bradentown, Fla., Dec. 17. A. I. Root. 



A REAL " DUTCH CHEESE " FROM A REAL 

 " DUTCH FARMER." 



I am sure the following will be read with 

 much interest, especially as it comes from a 

 point so near the seat of war: 



Mr. A. I. Boot: — Your 

 dasheen bulbs came July 

 22. I am sorry to say that 

 the most of them were rot- 

 ted. The rest I planted, 

 but they are rotten also in 

 the ground. Notwithstand- 

 ing this, I thank you very 

 much for your kindly deed, 

 and I am sending to you 

 with this letter a real 

 Dutch cheese, a so-called 

 Edam cheese. I hope you 

 may receive this cheese in 

 good order. I read in 

 Gleanings that you like 

 cheese very much, and 

 therefore I wanted you to have a real " Dutch 

 cheese." 



We have here in the Old World a bad time; yet 

 Holland is at this time neutral. My wife is gather- 

 ing gifts here in our village for the poor Belgian 

 children and women who are leaving their country 

 and coming to Holland to save their lives. 



I send you a small portrait of myself in order that 

 you may see if I am a real " Dutch farmer." 



Oosterleek, Netherlands, Oct. 5. P. Balk. 



It would seem from the above that it is 

 rather uncertain about getting dasheen bulbs 

 to stand so long a trip. The cheese, how- 

 ever, came to hand by mail in perfect order ; 

 and if it were not for the fact that Mrs. 

 Root objects, I think I should say it is "the 

 nicest cheese I ever tasted." I do not be- 

 lieve we make any thing equal to it here in 

 America, and I fear we clo not often get 

 from the old country any thing equal to this 

 sample. May God bless the good wife and 

 all other good wives, wherever they live, in 

 their efforts to give at least a little help to 

 the poor suffering Belgian women and cliil- 

 dren 



* Mrs. Root came to me later with a slice of raw 

 cassava and a sprinkling of salt, and she said she 

 was surprised to find it so good. 



t After giving the ducks all they wanted we got 

 9 eggs from 12 ducks next morning. 



t If I am not mistaken it has been claimed our 

 Ohio hills produce better-flavored apples than any 

 of the fancy apples from the far West. 



SWEET CLOVER, AND WHAT IT IS DOING FOR A 

 MOUNTAIN-RANCH FARMER. 



We clip the following from the Country 

 Gentleman of December 26, 1914 : 



On a farm at the foot of a mountain one must 

 e.xpect to find some rough land. Rush has forty 

 acres to be so classed. It is sharply sloping land, 

 somewhat rocky, cut by gullies, and, in spite of all 

 his efforts, overlaid after freshets with rocky streaks. 

 He determined to put this stretch into alfalfa. 



Being ignorant of bacterial re-enforcement of his 

 seed he did not secure a good stand. His alfalfa 

 plants were individually strong enough, but they 

 were far apart in location and endowed with a 

 perversity to creep along on the ground. They did 

 well enough for limited pasturage, but furnished not 

 even one cutting of hay. 



" The spring following planting I discovered in 

 the middle of my alfalfa patch a strange growth," 

 he told me. " I did not know what it was. I did 

 not know whence it came. It looked like alfalfa, 

 although of rounder leaf and a lighter green. The 

 seed, I concluded, had smuggled itself into my pur- 



