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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1 



Here is a nut for such people to crack: In 

 advertising- a town it is quite customary to 

 say, of late (and they almost alwa^'s put it 

 first and foremost), " We have no saloons;" 

 and then they tell about the churches, 

 schools, manufactories, etc. But did any 

 body ever have the cheek — real-estate agent 

 or an^ bodj' else — to urge people to come and 

 live there because they had — well, say a 

 goodly number of saloons? How would it 

 look to sa3' something- like this? "We al- 

 ready have a population of 5000; new houses 

 are g"oing up all the time. We have five 

 saloons, all doing a flourishing business, 

 and we expect several more soon." Did 

 you ever see advertisements of that kind? 

 If not, why not? 



GROWING LETTUCE UNDER GLASS. 



As this is getting to be a g-reat industry, 

 especially during the dull months of the 

 year that are now before us, I have decided 

 to go over it brietl}', giving all the latest 

 methods and improvements I know of up to 

 date. It can be grown almost anywhere 

 and under almost any circumstances. You 

 can start in the business with very little 

 capital; and I hones,tl}' believe you can find 

 a market for it anywhere on the face of the 

 earth — that is, where there are people who 

 have money to spare for such luxuries. Of 

 course, the vicinitj' of towns and cities 

 would give us more convenient access to 

 more such people. If you grow the lettuce 

 a market can be worked up for it; for a 

 taste for it is, at least to some extent, an 

 acquired one. If it were sold simply be- 

 cause it is a fashion, I do not think I should 

 feel like encouraging it very much; but let- 

 tuce, celery, and perhaps we might add 

 cabbage, are very often conducive to health 

 — at least during the winter months. One 

 who has been deprived of these succulent 

 vegetables will feel a craving for them ; 

 and to preserve health this craving should 

 be satisfied. Even domestic animals show 

 this. When your hens stop laying in the 

 winter, and nothing seems to start them, 

 lettuce will do it every time; and if you 

 have never witnessed the waj' a lot of fowls 

 will run and fight for a lettuce-leaf when 

 they have been cut off for some time from 

 green food, it may be worth while for you 

 to try the experiment. It reminds me of 

 my description of the way Mr. Hilbert's 

 chickens chased after angleworms; and I 

 verily believe it would pay to grow lettuce 

 under glass for poultry alone. At any 

 rate, when you grow it for market be sure 

 to save all outside leaves not suitable for 

 market, and give to the chickens. 



For growing lettuce or almost any thing 

 else under glass, you need all the sunshine 

 that it is possible to get, especially during 



the winter months. Get away from the 

 shadow of buildings, and place your sashes 

 or greenhouses so they will catch the first 

 rays of the rising- sun and the last rays at 

 night. On this account I greatly favor 

 having a part of the glass slope toward the 

 east, another part toward the south, and 

 another part toward the west. You will 

 notice the little greenhouse I have recom- 

 mended and built on this plan — seepage 

 27, Gleanings for 1900. After you have 

 got some glass- covered beds, a greenhouse, 

 hot-beds, cold-frames, or any thing of the 

 sort, you are then ready to sow the seed. In 

 the Southern States, in the latitude of Ten- 

 nessee and further south, I am told they 

 grow beautiful lettuce without any artifi- 

 cial heat at all; and the same thing can be 

 done as far north as Ohio providing that, 

 when we have severe freezes, you could 

 have your glass protected with some extra 

 covering — straw mats or wooden covers, 

 sheeting, and the like. In this case you 

 could not get lettuce fit for market before 

 spring; but by having some heating manure 

 under the beds you can grow very nice let- 

 tuce in February — yes, even in January. 

 Banking up around the sides of the beds 

 with stable manure will also help. Where 

 you have a warm room, especially where 

 there is furnace heat kept going- every night, 

 you can start lettuce- plants very well in a 

 south window. Of course, they are inclin- 

 ed to grow spindling; and unless you turn 

 the boxes around they will lean over toward 

 the light. 



The material for starting seed should be 

 largely sand or sandy loam. Eugene Da- 

 vis grows his seedlings in pure sand in ©r- 

 der to avoid disease ; but I would mix the 

 sand with some muck from the swamps, 

 putting in a goodly quantity of old well- 

 rotted stable manure. Run it th ough a 

 sieve so as to get it all well mixed and 

 finely pulverized, then level off your bed or 

 box with a board; then scatter the lettuce- 

 seeds over the surface so they will be about 

 as near as you can get them, say half an 

 inch apart each way. Then sift on some 

 more of your compost until the seeds are 

 about % inch deep. Keep the temperature 

 right — not too warm — and have the bed just 

 wet enough and not too wet, and your seeds 

 will be up very quickly. If they should 

 trouble 3'ou by becoming too long and spin- 

 dling, it can be remedied by getting your 

 seed bed nearer the g-lass, or getting more 

 sunshine. It is true the l<mg-legged plants 

 will make good lettuce all right; but it is 

 more trouble, and they do not seem to do as 

 well. When the little plants get on their 

 second leaves and begin crowding each oth- 

 er, then you must make room for them in a 

 larger bed. Usually they are transplanted 

 only once; but there is quite a saving in 

 space by two or more transplantings. The 

 first time I would put them out with a spac- 

 ing-board like that figured on next page, 

 so as to have them stand two or three inches 

 apart. 



The next time, let them come four or five 



