342 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



the graham bread Mrs. Root makes of 

 home-grown and home-ground wheat.* I 

 applied to the Department of Agriculture, 

 and received an eight-page bulletin, put out 

 in 1914. From the last page I clip as 

 follows : 



SUMMARY. 



Feterita is a sorghum from the British Egyptian 

 Sudan, in Africa. It is a durra, related to white 

 durra and to milo. with slender stems 4 to 7 feet 

 high under varying conditions, erect heads, and 

 large, rather soft, white grains. 



Extravagant claims have been made for feterita 

 by uninformed or interested persons. Experiments 

 show it to be a good grain and forage crop, but not 

 in any way meriting extraordinary praise. It has 

 proved about equal to milo in yield. 



All cultural operations are much the same as for 

 milo and kafir, though certain differences are pointed 

 out. 



Feterita is newly introduced, and quite variable; 

 therefoi-e seed selection and improvement should be 

 practiced in each district where it is grown in order 

 to obtain adapted strains. 



Note. — Since the first edition of this circular 

 there has been considerable advertisement in Okla- 

 homa, Kansas, and Texas of a sorghum under the 

 name of " Schribar Corn." An examination of 

 samples submitted to the Department of Agriculture 

 has shown this to be nothing but feterita. 



This bulletin makes no mention of it as 

 a bread-making grain. Sixty years ago, 

 when mother and I were making garden, I 

 got from the Department of Agxiculture a 

 few seeds of " sorghum," the new Chinese 

 sugar-cane that would grow in the North. 

 In due time, with a home-made mill, we 

 had " sorghum syrup," Just as usual (even 

 at that early age), I was delighted with the 

 new sweet, and am yet, when I can find 

 some well made. Well, I have a dim recol- 

 lection that I ground some of the mature 

 and dried seed in the colTee-mill, and had 

 " cakes and syrup " made of the wonderful 

 new plant. The rest of the family, how- 

 ever, didn't seem to " enthuse " very much 

 over my " great discovery." 



* Since the above was in type we have been mak- 

 ing sour milk pancakes one-half feterita flour, and 

 I think them fully equal to buckwheat. 



In summing up, if feterita should enable 

 us to grow chicken feed here in Florida, to 

 take the place of wheat, it will be a great 

 thing for us. We are already using kafir 

 corn with good results, especially for little 

 chickens. 



Feterita can be gTown successfully in 

 Ohio, for The Livingston Seed Co., of 

 Columbus, have grown it, and think so well 

 of it they give a fine picture of a head of 

 grain on the cover of their 1915 catalog. 

 All reports seem to agree that it stands 

 severe and long-continued drouth better 

 than any other grain, and perhaps better 

 than any other plant. It yields from 25 to 

 75 bushels per acre. 



DASHEEN ; KIND OF SOIL NEEDED, ETC. 



Mr. Boot: — Last year I took home (to Glen Falls, 

 N. Y. ) a quantity of dasheens, but was not satisfied 

 with results. While they grew fairly well, by the 

 time the fourth leaf was growing the first one would 

 fail, and their color was never right. Can you tell 

 me what particular kind of soil and fertilizer they 

 need ? I cannot learn from any one here. They 

 seem to think they will grow " any old way," so, 

 like a multitude of others, I am troubling you. 



Orlando, Fla., March 22. May G. DeVine. 



My good friend, I regret that I cannot 

 tell you why yoiu' dasheens should act in 

 that way. We have no trouble here in 

 Florida, nor in our heavy clay soil in ]\Ie- 

 dina, Ohio. I think a rather damp sandy 

 loam is best, and there should be plenty of 

 humus in the soil — say plenty of old well- 

 rotted stable manure, and plenty of water, 

 at the same time providing good drainage. 



THE DASHEEN IN YORK STATE. 



The dasheens are received, also Rainbow corn. 

 One of the dasheens grew last year, and was fine. 

 I "harvested" it Oct. 26 and ate it all, and found 

 it very good. Manley E. Beush. 



HammondsiJort, N. Y., March 17. 



My good friend, you say " ■//." Was your 

 harvest only one tuber? You should have 

 had a dozen, big and little. 



HEALTH NOTE! 



OXYPATHOR DENIED THE USE OF THE MAILS. 



We clip the following from the Rural 

 New-Yorker of March 27: 



I am tormented by an agent for " Oxypathor," 

 which I have known to be a fraud for over 25 years. 

 New Jersey. De. C. 



The doctor will not be tormented any longer. A 

 fraud order has been issued by the Postmaster Gen- 

 eral denying the use of the mails to the " Oxypathor 

 Company " of Buffalo and allied companies with 

 offices at Columbus, Ohio, and Wilmington, Del., on 

 the ground that these concerns have been defrauding 

 the public on an enormous scale for the last six 



years. An appliance was offered by the company 

 which it was claimed transmitted oxygen into the 

 human body and was advertised to be a cure for 

 practically all forms of disease. The promoters were 

 held to bo " conducting a scheme for obtaining mon- 

 ey through the mails by means of false and fraudu- 

 lent pretenses." Postoffice inspectors find that in 

 six years, from 1909 to 1914, inclusive, 45,451 such 

 machines were sold at $35 each, aggregating $1,590,- 

 785. We have fre(iuently advised against the use 

 of this and similar appliances. Some three years 

 ago the Oxypathor Company gave us the privilege of 

 accepting oxypathy, " if you like, otherwise it will 

 wipe its feet on you." It seems the Postoffice De- 

 partment has made better use of it. nnd the Oxypa- 

 thor has become the door-mat. -I. J. D. 



