1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



789 



clared it was only a twig; but when said 

 "twig " was cut in two it proved to be a live 

 insect all right. Well, this "mimic" worm 

 didn't fool the keen sharp eyes of the But- 

 tercups. Not much they didn't. 



All the plants on our place came from Rea- 

 soner Brothers' Tropical Nursery, Oneco, 

 Fla. If you want to know more about them, 

 prices, etc., send for their catalog. When 

 one of Mr. Reasoner's men told me it was 

 possible to get oranges from a newly planted 

 tree in less than one year I thought it must 

 be a mistake; but a little tangerine-tree just 

 inside the poultry-yard gate has now on it 

 eight beautiful oranges, and the tree was 

 set out last February. Bananas in that same 

 poultry-yard, set out in February, are now 

 15 or 20 feet high, and one plant has a stem 

 of fruit that will make a pretty good load to 

 carry. The plants, when set out, were but 

 little more than a foot long; but now some 

 of the leaves are a foot broad, and six or 

 eight feet long. They are growing on the 

 bank of a ditch where Wesley planted oats 

 all last winter for the chickens to dig up. If 

 you want to get a piece of ground so it will 

 grow almost any thing, put 50 chickens on, 

 say, one-fourth acre, and dig it over and 

 over in planting oats for the fowls to dig 

 out. In this way you get the ground well 

 pulverized and fertilized at one and the 

 same time, and the chickens ought to pay for 

 doing the work. 



Now, friends, the letters I have on hand 

 (too many of them unanswered) indicate 

 that a lot of you want to know about Flori- 

 da; but I find I can not stand writing letters 

 as I did when younger. May I make this re- 

 quest? Before writing me, especially at 

 length, will you first look over the back 

 numbers of Gleanings and see if I have not 

 already answered in detail? If you do not 

 find what you want to know, say in the out- 

 set you have followed me in the journal, and 

 I will try to help you all I can. Below is a 

 letter that I have answered briefly as an il- 

 lustration. 



Mr. A. I. Root: — I want to see Florida before we lo- 

 cate a(;ain. I should like to have your opinion on 

 some things, for I am sure you will give it just as you 

 see it. I have been thinking of Koinc to Jacksonville. 

 I have never been in the South. My idea is to raise 

 fruit, vegetables, and poultry- What part of the State 

 do you think best to locate in? 



Can"t answer. 



How is it for health, both winter and summer? 



Very good In winter; have never spent a sumnier here. 



Can apples and peaches be grown that far south? 



Feachen but not apples, so far as I know. 



What kind of drinking-water do you get — hard or 

 soft? 

 Mostly soft water; b>it we drink rain water. 

 Is it extremely windy or not? 



Usually still at nl(fht; fair breeze In daytlnne. 



What do you think of the truck-farming and poultry- 

 raising there for a living? 



Very ^'.io<l here. See what 1 have written in back numbers. 



Is the colored population very troulesome? We have 

 never been among the negroes. 



Not at all troublesome here. 



Are the schools in Florida as good as they are in the 

 North? 



I think they averatre as jfood. 



I have lived most of my life in Kansas. I suppose 

 there are almost all kinds of churches where you are. 

 Are there any Primitive Baptists there? 



All kinds of Baptists ami almost every other denomination ; 

 too many " kinds," 1 think. 



What is land worth, improved or unimproved? 



Ijinil l.s worth from f.»c dollar an acre to SlOOO or more, de- 

 pendintr on the kliul ol land and nearness to railroad station 

 or steandioat laniilufjr. My neighbor across the way would not 

 sell his inipro\ed strawberry and lettuce land for one tlioiistnid 

 ilolldi-.s per acre. 



I should like to get any information that you think 

 would be of interest to me, or any literature that is re- 

 liable. 



The best advice I can give Is to get back numbers of (Jlkan 

 iNcs and read what 1 have written about Florida tor the past 

 three winters. 



What do you think is the best proposition for a man 

 to make a living at? 

 Lake Arthur, N. M., Nov. 7. M. C. Swinney. 



Cant answer without knowing the man. 



POULTRY 



Department 



By a. I. Root. 



IS IT EGGS AND MEAT WE WANT, OR IS IT 

 FANCY FEATHERS AND A GOOD- 

 LOOKING CHICKEN? 



For years past, the matter has been discuss- 

 ed in our journals, and thrashed over and 

 over again on the question, "Are we work- 

 ing for golden-colored bees, and bees nice to 

 look at, gentle to handle," etc.? or "Are we 

 working for bees that gather honey — bees 

 that 'deliver the goods?' " to use a slang 

 phrase. Years ago when a man paid a big 

 price for a queen he sometimes made an aw- 

 ful kick if she was not nice and yellow, and 

 a beauty to look at. I have not heard much 

 of this of late; but I believe bee-keepers gen- 

 erally have come to the conclusion that it is 

 the /zonej we are after rather than good looks. 

 After we have got the honey, gentle behavior 

 comes in next; and, last of all, or at least it 

 ought to be last of all, nice-looking bees. 



Well, the same thing comes up with poul- 

 try. Thirty or forty poultry journals, and 

 no end of poultry shows, are devoting the 

 greater part of their time to breeding stock 

 that scores according to somebody's stand- 

 ard. I came pretty near saying somebody's 

 notions. Then prices are fixed on the good 

 looks— not only $5.00, $10.00, $25.00, $50.00, 

 $100, but that pullet Peggy, that you have 

 all read about, is worth $10,000, and her eggs 

 are selling for $2.00 apiece. All right. Go 

 ahead if you want to. I prefer the hen or 

 the strain that lays between 200 and 300 

 eggs in a year. But you can not put any 

 very big price on such a hen, for the Maine 

 station has told us that she is "no good" 

 for a breeder. If you have her mother in 

 your possession it is reasonable to suppose 

 this mother's eggs will give us more pullets 

 like herself; and I think the tendency goes 

 that way. If you want a high-priced roos- 

 ter, get one that is brother to a hen that 

 makes the big record of eggs, and you are 

 all right. 



In our Sept. 1st issue I told you of a visit 

 to a Leghorn farm of something like 1500 lay- 

 ing hens. I said to my young attendant, 

 "Your father probably buys a high-priced 

 rooster or two every season, to put in his 

 breeding-pens, does he not?" 



