472 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



that you get a small " bagful " of daslieens. 

 Your kind offer is one of my " happy 

 sui'i^rises," and 1 am also happy to think 

 that our missionary friends can help reduce 

 " the high cost of living." 



GETTING RID OP VERMIN; MOTH-BALLS FOR 

 SQUASH BUGS^ ETC. 



One of our new poultry-books recom- 

 mends naphthalene flakes dissolved in kero- 

 sene as one of the most efficient remedies 

 for all kinds of vermin about the poultry- 

 house; but although I did not find any 

 naphthalene flakes at either of our Braden- 

 town drugstores, I overheard the proprietor 

 telling the clerk that moth-balls owe their 

 virtue to these same flakes. As they cost 

 only 10 cts. per lb., and are so light, you 

 get a big lot in a pound; we use quite a 

 few of them, and thej^ seem to banish all 

 sorts of moth and other insect pests. Now, 

 here is a clipping that indicates a quick and 

 efficient remedy for bugs that infest cucum- 

 ber and squash vines. I give it to you be- 

 fore trying it, for I feel sure it will do the 

 business, and probably this will hit many 

 of you just about the time the bugs are the 

 worst. 



MOTH-BALLS FOR CUCUMBER-BUGS. 



Perhaps no reader of The National Stockman and 

 Farmer has escaped the depredations of the little 

 striped beetle. Many have become so discouraged by 

 its ravages that they have quit trying to raise mel- 

 ons and " cukes." I have farmed and gardened in 

 several States, and have had all kinds of trouble 

 along this line. Seeds would germinate, plants would 

 start nicely, and just about the time I would think 

 that all danger was past these little pests would de- 

 scend upon my plants and utter destruction would 

 follow in their wake. I tried every thing I had ever 

 heard of to prevent this destruction, but with only 

 partial results. Soot, ashes, lime, tobacco dust, am- 

 monia, etc., were all given a thorough trial; but 

 never did I find any thing which gave assurance of 

 success until I tried the " moth-balls " or " camphor 

 balls," as they are called. When I plant my "cukes" 

 or melons I place three or four of these balls in and 

 around each hill, pressing them into the ground 

 slightly so that they will not roll around. If these 

 disappear before the vines are past danger I replace 

 them with others until I am certain that all danger 

 is past. Do not allow them to touch the plants while 

 they are young and tender, as they may do some 

 damage. This is a simple, cheap, and effective way 

 to avoid damage from these little striped pests. I 

 have used it for a number of years, and have rec- 

 ommended it to many others, and always with suc- 

 cess. A. L. Gbpfoed. 



Later. — One of the poultry booklets sug- 

 gests that 2 lbs. of pulverized moth-balls 

 stirred into a gallon of crude carbolic acid, 

 before you use it for painting the nest- 

 boxes, roosting-poles, etc., will make it very 

 much more effective and lasting. 



Xemperance 



" Lord, now indeed I find 



Thy power, and thine alone. 

 Can change the leper's spots 

 And melt the heart of stone." 



Some years ago I mentioned in these 

 pages an address delivered by the mayor of 

 Barnesville, Ohio, before a convention of 

 the Anti-saloon League at Columbus, Ohio. 

 Barnesville was a wet town; and, if I re- 

 member correctly, it was very wet, and con- 

 sequently it was a nest of gamblers. The 

 people, however, put in a good man for 

 mayor, and they were lucky in having a tem- 

 perance man who was not afraid, and who 

 was about as much a born fighter as some of 

 the gamblers. He undertook to enforce the 

 law and to put the saloons out of business. 

 But some of the wets clubbed together and 

 defied the law. Mayor "White had them ar- 

 rested and fined. But they paid the fine 

 and went at it again. One particularly 

 desperate character locked the doors against 

 tlie law-enforcement committee and declar- 

 ed that he would shoot any man who would 

 come on his premises. The mayor had him 

 arrested and fined; but he had able coun- 

 sel, and escaped the clutches of the law, 

 just as we have seen it done in times past. 

 Now, this happened so long ago that I can 



not remember all the i^articulars, but I give 

 what I can remember, subject to correction. 



This desperate character put up a sort 

 of saloon barricade made of railroad ties, 

 and he had it ironed off so it required some 

 big stout men with suitable tools to break 

 in and arrest him. I think he passed the 

 di'ink through a small hole in that barri- 

 cade, and the money was passed through 

 in the same way. Mayor White sent word 

 to the man that he would have to submit, 

 no matter what it cost. If I am correct, 

 he was once fined $800 and at another time 

 $1200. After paying the $1200 fine he told 

 the mayor if he would let up on imprison- 

 mnent he would quit the business and go to 

 some other town. He said he had a chance 

 to sell out. The mayor inquired who was 

 the purchaser; and when informed it was 

 another desperate character he refused, 

 and said something like this: 



" Mr. DePew, if you will sell your place 

 at a reasonable price to a man who wants 

 to i-un a groeei-y on the premises we will 

 let you off." 



He accepted the offer, and left the town. 

 He went to Cambridge and carried on the 

 same business for years. Most of our Ohio 



