646 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



MrcM=PEE§§UME GAEPENENG 



THE SPINELESS CACTI OF THE ERUIT-GROW- 

 jNG VARIETIES. 



AVhen I first visited California 1 was a 

 good deal intei'ested in the beekeepers' 

 ranches. At that time the proprietors of 

 most of them were single men. I was espe- 

 cially pleased and attracted by the beautiful 

 home of G. B. Woodberry, of Glen dale, 

 near Los Angeles. Some of our older 

 friends may remember that about that time 

 I was particularly vehement about urging 

 these bachelor beekeepers to have a wife, at 

 least when they were, say, 25 years old or 

 more. Well, the next time I visited that 

 pretty little home I found a wife there. Of 

 course I do not know how much my advice 

 had to do with it ; and with this preface I 

 want you to read the nice letter below. 



Mr Root : — I read with interest your remarks 

 concerning the spineless cactus some time ago, and I 

 am sending: you by parcel post a cutting from the 

 variety called the Malta. It may grow in Ohio dur- 

 ing the summer, and it can be taken up and carried 

 to Florida in the fall if you wish to try it there. I 

 also send some of the literature of five years- ago 

 concerning the subject. 



I find it makes a good hedge-plant, and, with gar- 

 den culture, a remarkable growth. Without care, 

 however, the results are very much less — at least 

 with this variety. 



I had one plant in the garden that set over 200 

 new slabs the third year while a similar plant on the 

 ranch, ■without water, set only a few. 



I am told by the Los Angeles branch of the A. I. 

 Root Co. that you and Mrs. Root expect to be in 

 California this summer. You will, no doubt, remem- 

 ber me and the strawberries which you picked at 

 my place in the winter when you visited me over 

 twenty years ago. I was a bachelor then ; but now 

 I have a daughter who graduates from college this 

 spring. I .«.till have the ranch, a "mess" of bees, 

 and shall e.\pect a call from you and Mrs. R. when 

 you visit Los Angeles The Glendale cars run to 

 within 200 feet of our home in Glendale. 



Glendale, Cal., April 10. G. B. Woodberry. 



Fiefore this letter came I had been long- 

 ing for a sight of my cacti growing in 

 Florida; and I had really thought of trying 

 a leaf in my Medina garden, even if it 

 should cost me a dollar or more. Imagine, 

 then, my happy surprise on receiving a leaf 

 IP inches long, 8 inches wide, and weighing 

 4H lbs., and so smooth and free from 

 spines that you might give it to the baby to 

 play with. The variety is what is called the 

 Malta. Below is a description of it : 



MALTA. 



X good, hardy, rapid grower; leaves, medium size, 

 18 inches long by 8 wide; very few short, weak, 

 hair-like spines; bristles almost wholly absent; fruit 

 nearly 4 inches long by 2 in diameter; skin yellow, 

 turning to light red when fully ripe; flesh, salmon, 

 with crimson shadings; seeds small; bears abun- 

 dantly even when quite young. A most desirable 

 T»'-iety. 



"What do you think, friends, of a cactus 



fruit 4 inches long and 2 inches in diame- 

 ter, and more luscious than an orange? By 

 tlie way, perhaps I should say that Ernest 

 says he tasted of the fruit during his recent 

 trip in California, but did not like it very 

 well. 



I am sure our good friends will excuse me 

 if I digress enough here to say that ]\lr. 

 Howard R. Calvert, ray next oldest grand- 

 son, was married June 29 to a young 

 lady he met in California — a daughter of 

 Mrs. PI. G. Acklin, who for many years had 

 charge of our St. Paul agency. Howard and 

 his bride started immediately after the cere- 

 mony for their home in San Francisco, and 

 I shall now be able to get accurate informa- 

 tion in regard to spineless cacti, both fruit 

 and fodder, from California as well as Flor- 

 ida. 



You will notice that friend Woodberry 

 agrees with tlie statem.ent made by the 

 department of Agriculture on page 515, 

 June 15, in regard to growing plants un- 

 der culture compared with letting them 

 grow wild. Before I got this information 1 

 had pretty well satisfied myself, from the 

 way my plants grow in Florida, that, like 

 all other vegetation, it would respond to 

 thoi'ough culture and fertilization. 



As there has been some contradictory in- 

 formation in regard to planting, I copy the 

 following from one of Burbank's circulars. 



.SPFCIAI. DIEKCTIONS FOR SUMIVfER PLANTING OF THE 

 BXTRBANK CACTX'.S. 



1. Dry plant for a day or two in the shade. 



2. Plant cutting in the ground to the depth of 

 one-half. 



3. If the ground is moist, pack the earth about 

 Ihe cutting firmly, and water ,"ifter a few days. If 

 the ground is dry, water on planting. 



4. Shield the cnttiug from the direct rays of the 

 sun until rooted to prevent sunburn. 



•■i. Do not water too much. Never keep the soil 

 soggy. 



SPINEI-ESS CACTUS AND THE FLORIDA 

 GRO.WER^ ETC. 

 In our issue for June 15 I published some 

 of the claims of Samuel C. Kidder in regard 

 to tlie spinelass cactus. Well, our friend 

 Kidder has been in the habit of carrying 

 an advertisement for some time back in 

 the Florida Grower. It seems tliat the 

 Grower considers his claims almost too ex- 

 travagant, and, as a consequence, Kidder's 

 advertisement has been recently changed so 

 as to read as })elow : 



Spineless Cactus. — Certain varieties are very 

 valuable, notwithstanding some professional opinions 

 and chemical analysis. This paper refuses to pub- 

 lish evidence in its favor from a reliable resident 

 grower. Send stamp for catalog of varieties that are 

 right. Samitel C. Kidder, Monticello, Florida. 



