1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



345 



long one, I have read it over about four 

 times. Then I g-ave it to friend Hilbert, 

 who is planting- this spring 3000 peach-trees 

 on 30 acres of land much like my own, and 

 he said it was sound all the way through. 

 Morrill says you want j'our peach-trees on 

 a side-hill, and near a large piece of wa- 

 ter if possible. During- cold frosty nig-hts 

 the cold air is alwaj's running downhill. 

 It runs down as water would, but not so 

 fast ; and moving air does not hurt the 

 peaches nearly as much as still air. Plant 

 your trees in a hollow, between the hills, 

 where there is no outlet for the cold air to 

 run away, and they will freeze up sure — 

 not onlj' peaches but every thing else. We 

 had a tomato-patch on rolling- ground. In 

 one spot at the lower edg-e was a low place 

 where the air could not have a free outlet, 

 and all the tomatoes were killed by frost in 

 that low spot, and not one where the air 

 could run away. It is the same with 

 peaches. A body of water tempers the air 

 and prevents severe sudden changes. Do 

 not be fooled by paying ten times what you 

 should for j'our peach-trees to the tree- 

 sharks that are going around. Friend 

 Hilbert got his 3000 trees at 5 cts. each, and 

 they are nice ones. I g-ot mine in the same 

 lot at the same price. For smaller lots you 

 may have to pay 10 cents each; but if you 

 pay much more than that you are swindled. 

 But do not be fooled into buying poor trees 

 because they are cheap. If you are new at 

 the business, get somebody who is posted to 

 advise 3'ou. Do not plow deep in your 

 peach - orchard. Shallow cultivation with 

 modern short-toothed cultivators is all that 

 is needed. 



In regard to insect enemies, permit me to 

 quote from Mr. Morrill: 



I find tliat men who are thorough cultivators have 

 very little trouble with the curculib. By thorough cul- 

 tivation I mean cultivating every two or three days. 

 There is no chance for an insect to get through the 

 different stages of growth with a cultivator on his 

 back all the time. 



In fact, this frequent shallow cultivation 

 is a remedy for almost every thing. Do not 

 let traveling agents fool you into killing 

 your trees with something they have to sell 

 to keep the borers out. I think our experi- 

 ment stations all agree there is no safe 

 remedy for the borers aside from getting 

 down on your knees (with your spectacles 

 on), and looking your trees over frequently. 

 Pull away the dirt from aroutfd the roots. 

 See that every thing- is all right; then put 

 it back again. When the trees are small 

 you can grow some crop between them pro- 

 viding you keep it a yard (or, better still, 

 four or five feet) away from the trees. 

 Last spring I found the boys had planted 

 the Prizewinner beans I told you about, in 

 a row between the peach-trees. The beans 

 had made a perfect mat, and almo.st smoth- 

 ered a nice little tree just starting to grow. 

 I pulled away the beans by armfuls, and 

 mulched the ground around the tree for five 

 or six feet with green beans full of blos- 

 soms. After that, the tree took a start. 

 But it did not get over the shock during- the 



whole season. It seemed to have been rob- 

 bed of its nutriment by those rank, vigor- 

 ous Prizewinner beans. It is better to clear 

 off your woods ground so as to leave the 

 leaf-mold and trash to be plowed under, 

 rather than to burn it up, if you can. We 

 spent about two weeks clearing up say an 

 acre and a half on those steep hillsides; 

 but after the ground was put in nice order, 

 stones and roots carried off, and it had had 

 a thorough dragging- with a spring-tooth 

 harrow, we planted 50 peach-trees and put 

 them in nicely in less than half a day; and 

 just now I love to g-o off among those peach- 

 trees, prune them, rake over the mellow 

 ground, and fix things just according to my 

 notion, better than any thing else in the 

 world. Yes, that little greenhouse where 

 I spent so many happy hours during the 

 winter has lost its attraction — at least a 

 larg-e part of it — for the time being. 



By the time these pages are before you, 

 Mrs. Root and I expect to be living in that 

 cabin in the woods, where we shall stay 

 for the greater part of the summer. Provi- 

 dence permitting. We are so far back in 

 the woods we are not likely to have .many 

 visitors ; so if you should happen to get 

 around our way you need not hesitate about 

 dropping- in; and if you do not mind eating- 

 baked potatoes (roasted in the ashes), with 

 lots of nice milk to drink, I do not know but 

 we can refresh you as well as interest you 

 in the improvements we are making- in our 

 woodland home. 



COLOSSAL LADINO, OR MAMMOTH WHITE 

 CLOVRR. 



This clover is now up and growing nice- 

 ly' in the greenhouse— see page 251, March 

 12. The most of the plants look exactly 

 like white clover, or white Dutch clove^r, 

 perhaps; but we are a little surprised to 

 find there are two or three different kinds 

 of clovers. One of them looks exactly like 

 sweet clover; and on the other, the leaf re- 

 sembles crimson clover. Instead of having 

 one new kind of clover we may have three 

 or four — who knows? They will soon be 

 planted outdoors, each plant being allowed 

 about a square yard. Then we will try to 

 have seed to sell or give away another year. 



SOWING RED CLOVER IN AUGUST IN OHIO. 



Our friends will remember I spoke of the 

 success they make in Michigan by sowing 

 mammoth and medium clovers in August 

 among the corn. I said I was g-oing to give 

 it a test here. While I write, my mam- 

 moth clover, sown last August with crim- 

 son clover, is making a fine show; in fact, 

 there is going to be somewhat of a contest 

 between the two plants as to which shall 

 occupy the ground. I think we may safely 

 say this: That on good soil, well under- 

 drained and enriched, we can sow mam- 

 moth or medium clover in August and have 

 it come through the winter all right. The 

 idea is to sow it early enough to enable it 

 to make a sutficient root growth to with- 

 stand the heaving-out by frost on our clay 

 soil. 



