54 



GLEANINGS IN BKE CULTl'RK. 



J 



15 



GLEANINGS FROM OUR 

 EXCHANGES 



By W. K. Morrison 



SHAFTAL (a NEW CLOVEB). 



Secretary Wilson, of the Department of Agri- 

 culture, in his annual report for last year makes 

 the very interesting announcement that Prof. N. 

 E. Hansen, one of his plant-explorers, has discov- 

 ered in the valleys of the Himalayas a promising 

 new species of clover which, it is hoped, will form 

 a crop rotation for cotton. The department has 

 under consideration other promising new species 

 of clovers from Siberia and Central Asia, adapt- 

 ed to the climatic conditions of the Northwest. 

 Among them are two new species of alfalfa. 

 * 



VERY INTERESriNG. 



According to reports in the daily newspapers a 

 case of peonage has been discovered at Argo, 111. 

 It is said that over one thousand men were held 

 as quasi prisoners while at work there inclosed by 

 a fence 15 ft. high. One man was shot while es- 

 caping from the stockade ; six, however, effected 

 their escape and reported to the United States 

 District Attorney. An investigation will be 

 made by the grand jury. Argo is fifteen miles 

 Irom Chicago, and is said to be the property of 

 the Corn Products Refining Co., who manufac- 

 ture glucose on a vast scale. 

 * 



SUNFLOWERS FOR BEES AND CHICKENS. 



It is true, as Mr. Crane states, sunflowers are 

 heavy pullers on the fertility of the land on which 

 they are grown. But many poultrymen are so 

 situated they can secure very easily great quanti- 

 ties of manure, as they are near cities or towns. 

 Sunflower seeds should not be compared in value 

 with corn, oats, wheat, and other common grains. 

 They take the place of beef scraps, and are safer 

 to use; and, besides, they cost less The reason 

 why our turkeys "run out" is due very largely, 

 I think, to the want of the very rich diet which 

 they get in a wild state. The wild turkeys nat- 

 urally get a large amount of insects and rich 

 oily nut food. 



They require food such as sunflower seed, and 

 also hempseed, to make good the loss of their 

 natural food when they are kept in a domestic 

 state. Of course, in summer time they get many 

 insects in roaming over a farm; but they still lack 

 the rich nuts of their native woods in fall and 

 winter, and it is here where the sunflower comes 

 in. For chickens I would rather feed sunflower 

 seed than meat meal. 



THE RECLAMATION SERVICE ATTACKED 



That wonderfully able and excellent agricultu- 

 ral periodical. The Country Gentleman, of Albany, 

 N. Y., has allowed itself the luxury of a tirade 

 against the irrigation work now being executed 

 by the United States government. It makes the 

 grievous error of stating that the irrigation works 

 are built at government expense, when it is a fact 

 that the settlers bear all the expense, binding 

 themselves to repay the cost in ten years. Fur- 

 thermore, the funds which are being used as 

 floating capital are obtained by the sale of public 



1 mds, so that the government is not out a cenr. 

 In addition, the farmers who reside on these irri- 

 gation projects live under almost ideal condi- 

 tions, both as regards remuneration for their 

 work and also socially If the New York farm- 

 ers could devise a similar plan for making them- 

 selves comfortable, doubtless Uncle Sam would 

 be glad to step in and do the work in the same 

 thorough manner he has thus far executed his ir- 

 rigation works in the West. The Country Gentle- 

 man asks for ihe repeal of the irrigation law; 

 but that would hardly do the Eastern farmer any 

 good. 



The object of President Roosevelt's "uplift" 

 commission is to devise some plan for improving 

 the farmer's condition, and it is quite possible a 

 way may be found. Possibly the Eastern farm- 

 er would find a cheap supply of electricity on the 

 farm a great benefit. If so, currents could be 

 distributed in the same way water is supplied in 

 the West. It is easy to see that several motors 

 could be very usefully employed on a farm of 

 ordinary size. 



* 



A BOOK ABOUT HONEY. 



Mr. T. W. Cowan has supplied us with a book 

 on the subject of beeswax. Now Dr. Alfred 

 Hasterlik, of Munich, has undertaken to supply 

 us with one on honey and its substitutes. Un- 

 fortunately it is written in the German language, 

 and, though many Americans know that tongue 

 fairly well, the most of us would prefer it in 

 English. The title of the new book is Der Bie- 

 nenhonig und seine Ersatzmittel (Honey and its 

 Substitutes), and it goes quite extensively into 

 the whole subject of honey and its adulteration. 



It is published by A. Hartleben, of Vienna and 

 Leipsic, who has issued quite a number of other 

 books of a technical nature, many on chemistry, 

 and, true to that mission, the present book is 

 very strong on the chemical analysis of nectar 

 and honey. 



It also discusses the extraction of honey, and 

 gives illustrations of the very latest designs in 

 honey-extractors and honey-packages. The author 

 has not hesitated to draw on the best American 

 authorities, and shows illustrations of power- 

 driven automatic honey-extractors. He also 

 delves into the subjects of aroma, ripening, fla- 

 vor, density, and other matters of importance 

 where fine honey is desired. Adulteration is a 

 leading subject, and the author seems to be well 

 acquainted with all the tricks of the adulterator. 

 There are a great many honey recipes, and he 

 quotes freely from the pharmacopoeias of the 

 leading European nations. Any one in quest of 

 information relative to foreign drinks, vinegar, 

 honey-bread and honey-cakes, will find this book 

 a very good guide. Books of this kind deserve 

 high praise, for the information given in them is 

 not easily collated; but the author of this, being 

 a doctor of chemistry, and a bee-keeper at the 

 same time, we have the opportunity of profiting 

 by his researches at very little expense. 



The price of the book is 3 marks, in Germa- 

 ny, which is equivalent to 75 cents in our mon- 

 ey and 3 shillings in English currency. For a 

 book of 232 pages, packed with technical infor- 

 mation, this is a very reasonable charge, and we 

 hope the publisher will be liberally encouraged 

 with orders. 



