848 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



Special Notices by A. 1. Root 



OUR CORNFIELD UP TO DATE. 



I am happy to tell you that the cornfield mentioned in Homes 

 in this issue has now, under the influence of exceedingly favorable 

 weather and careful cultivation, the reputation of being one of the 

 best-looking fields in this part of the State. The second planting 

 came on nicely with favorable weather; but in order to prevent 

 having more than four stalks in a hill, some expensive thinning- 

 out had to be done. But I think it pays, especially at the pres- 

 ent price of corn. 



HA.SSWOOD-TREHS — growing them for honey, LUMIiER, 

 ETC. 



I would remind our readers who are interested in the matter 

 that we have a lot of leaflets to give away, with the above title. 

 Since this leaflet was printed in 1905, some of our basswood- 

 trees from seedlings that came up in 18<*7 are now in bloom, so 

 we can answer, at least to some extent, the question, "How long 

 before a basswood-tree may bear honey?" These I have men- 

 tioned are furnishing quite a little bloom in ten or eleven years 

 after the seed was planted. As the trees we send out by mail and 

 express are from three to five years old, 1 think you may get some 

 bloom from the larger size in five or six years. It will take, 

 however, fifteen to twenty years for basswoods ordinarily to get 

 large enough to furnish honey of any account. But as they are 

 beautiful trees for shade, and are getting to be every year more 

 and more valuable for lumber, I think it is an excellent plan to 

 put them out where you want shade-trees, or where the ground is 

 not particularly valuable for any thing else. We generally ex- 

 pect basswoods to be fairly in bloom by July 4, and more or less 

 honey comes in from basswood all through July. These dates 

 will be earlier in the South and later in the North. In Northern 

 Michigan we get some basswood honey even in August. This 

 year some of our early trees were opening their blossoms on the 

 18th and 19th of June, which is quite a little earlier than I have 

 ever noticed them before. 



A WATERING AND FEEDING DEVICE FOR LITTLE CHICKS. 



A good housekeeper, as you may have noticed, keeps her things 

 put up out of the way. When E. R. R. was a little chap his 

 mother had so diligently instilled into his mind the importance 

 of having his things all hung up neatly and in order that one day 

 he almost cried, and I do not know but he did cry, because he 

 could not hang up the cups and saucers; and from that day to this 

 the Roots and Rootlets have all been instnicted to hang their 

 things upon the wall instead of letting them lie around on the 

 floor. Even the extra shoes and overshoes must be put away 

 out of sight. When I remonstrated, Mrs. Root explained that 

 the work of sweeping and taking care of the room is very much 

 less when even the shoes and overshoes are hung up on their ap- 

 propriate nails; and if said shoes are to be some time out of use 

 it is a splendid plan to put them in a light cloth bag and hang 

 the bag up on a nail. This keeps them clean, bright, and shiny, 

 when they are wanted in a hurry when cold weather happens to 

 come unexpectedly. 



Well, I am not writing to-day about boots and shoes, nor even 

 about housekeeping, unless, indeed, my notes should come under 

 the head of " Housekeeping for Poultry." If you will look on p. 

 638, May 15, at that little poultry-house, you will notice there is 

 a stairway for fowls to go up into the loft. Well, under this stair- 

 way was a sitting hen; and when her chickens were hatched, to 

 prevent the older chicks from annoying the newly hatched ones 

 and their mother I shut them under the stairway with netting. 

 Now, there is but little room in this small inclosure. But I want- 

 ed to provide them with both food and water, and put it in shape 

 so it would take but little room and be protected from dirt and 

 litter. 1 succeeded admirably by making two little poultry-feed- 

 ers of pint tin pans after the plan shown in oiu book, "What to 

 Do," page 178. These pans hang up by appropriate rings, one 

 on each side of the doorway. Every chick has learned its loca- 

 tion so it can get water or feed at any time when it is inclined. 

 During the day time I let the hen out; but there is an opening at 

 the bottom to admit small chicks, but not the older ones or the 

 other fowls. Whenever these chicks get hungry or thirsty they 

 go back to their well-known home under the stairway and get 

 refreshment. These little pan feeders hang up so closely against 

 the wall that they occupy almost no room at all. They are put 

 high enough so the chicks can just reach the opening; and as the 

 chicks grow, the pans can be hung to another nail a little higher 

 up on the wall. These feeders have some advantages over any 

 of the other devices I have seen in any of the poultry-books and 

 journals. First, they are so close to the wall that they occupy 

 alrnost no room at all; secondly, these beveled tops prevent the 

 chicks from standing on them or from catching droppings. If 

 put up as high as the chicks can reach, no trash or filth will even 

 get into the openings; and after some little experimenting I am 

 glad to note that our tinners can afford them at the low price of 

 15 cts. each, or two for 23 cts. If wanted by mail, the postage 

 will be 6 cts. each extra. Of course, this price is for the smaller 

 sizes. For full-grown fowls we want something made of a good- 

 sized tin pan or washbasin. While the food and water are con- 

 stantly in sight, none of it can get out until the chicks use it out. 



I am so much pleased with this watering-device for baby 

 chicks that I want you all to see it; and so I have decided to 

 send one free to every one who sends $1.00 for Gleanings 

 (asking for no other premium) and includes 6 cts. for postage. I 

 will try to give you a picture of it in our next issue. 



Special Notices 



By Our Business Manager 



Customers of J. W. K. Shaw & Co., Loreauville, La., will 

 please note that, owing to an enforced absence from home, and 

 the want of competent help, they will discontinue sending out 

 queens for a month or two. Will report for duly later. 



SWEET-CLOVER SEED. 

 It is still early to gather seed from sweet clover; but we desire 

 to make the fact known early that we are in the market when this 

 season's crop is gathered, for several tons of white-sweet-clover 

 seed. We have already contracted for what we shall need of the 

 yellow variety. When you have any to furnish, send us a sample, 

 stating price you ask and quantity you can furnish. 



BEESWAX MARKET. 



From this date till further notice we will pay 28 cents cash, 

 30 in trade, for average wax delivered here or at our branch offices. 

 We drop the extra cent a pound we have been paying during the 

 month of June. Be sure to mark your box so it may be identi- 

 fied, and write, telling how many pounds you ship, sending ship- 

 ping receipt. 



DANZ. SHIPPING-CASES FOR 20 4x5x1^8 SECTIONS. 



We have about one hundred cases to hold 20 4x5 sections, all 

 nailed up and packed in reshipping-cases. They have been used, 

 but are clean and in good condition. We oflfer them as they 

 stand for $1.50 per crate of 8 cases, or the lot at $1.25 per crate. 

 This is a special bargain, as they are all ready to pack honey in 

 for shipment at less than the price of new cases in the flat. 



SFCOND-HAND 60-LB. CANS. 



We have on hand from one to two hundred second-hand five- 

 gallon cans, two in a case, in fair condition, which we offer at 

 $4.00 for 10 cases; 25 cases or over, at 35 cents. They are all 

 looked over, boxes put in good shape, and no cans included which 

 are lUSted on the inside so far as we can determine by careful ex- 

 amination. They ought to be worth this price, especially for 

 cheap grades of honey. 



JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT FOR SEED. 



The demand foi this has been so brisk that we have disposed 

 of our stock of nearly 200 bushels, and will doubtless receive 

 further orders which we shall not be able to fill if we do not suc- 

 ceed in finding a further supply. If any of our readers have any 

 surplus seed, or know of any for sale, we should be pleased to 

 hear from you with sample, stating quantity you have to furnish, 

 and the price, 50 lbs. to the bushel. 



NO. 2 OR B GRADE SECTION'S. 



We have plenty of this grade in all regular styles and sizes ex- 

 cept 4Kx4Uxl"'s 2 beeway. We have over a million of this 

 size in stock in A grade, and are out of B grade. If you want 

 this size promptly, do not order B grade. The lumber we are 

 working now is so nice that it does not produce very many 

 B-grade sections. For several weeks we have been working off 

 colored lumber to produce a larger proportion of B grade; but this 

 is all used up, and we are now using new stock cut the past win- 

 ter, which is very nice and white. 



FIRH AT ST. P.M'L BR.\NCH. 



Since our last I have visited our St. Paul branch to adjust the 

 fire loss with the insurance company. The damage to building 

 and goods amounted to about $2500, fully insured. In separate 

 warehouses there was over $2600 worth of goods untouched. 

 Many of those in the building where the fire occurred escaped in- 

 jury, while others were only slightly damaged by smoke and oth- 

 ers by water. Some goods were, of course, destroyed. On anoth- 

 er page we list some of the slightly damaged goods at special 

 prices. There are others which were not listed in time for this 

 issue. Those, especially in the Northwest, who are interested 

 will do well to communicate with our St. Paul office. There 

 are some rare bargains in the lot. The price was put low to close 

 them out quick and make room for new stock. They are sup- 

 plied with every thing needed in fresh goods, having received a 

 car before this paper is mailed, added to the good stock already 

 on hand. 



