SEPTEMBER 1, 1913 



and taken from each blossom thus treated. 

 The consequence is, such seed as this, every 

 one grants, is superior, but it would cost 

 too much in the item of labor alone to be 

 sold at any tiling like usual prices. He said 

 he might be able to produce it for $5.00 an 

 ounce, or in small packets he might furnish 

 50 seeds for a dime. Now, I should be glad 

 to pay a cent apiece for what seeds I need 

 in order to get such plants as these I am 

 describing. First, it is the earliest tomato I 

 ever got hold of; second, it is almost of as 

 good a shape as the well-known " Beauty " 

 tomato ; third, it is the most prolific of any 

 thing I ever saw. Our tomatoes from these 

 plants lay in heaps. They were literally 

 piled up all around each one of the six 

 plants. In the fourth place, it is about the 

 hardiest tomato to stand frost and cold 

 winds of anj- tomato I have ever had. And 

 this, you know, is characteristic of hybrids, 

 plants as well as animals. My hybrid Leg- 

 horn Buttercup chickens are certainly hard- 

 ier, more robust, and a little larger, than 

 either parent. IBut the hybrids seldom if 

 ever reproduce themselves exactly in the 

 offspring. Poultrymen and seedsmen can 

 explain this matter much better than I can. 

 It has been discussed over and over again 

 in regard to bees for half a centuiy. The 

 general agTeement is, if I am correct, that 

 the first cross between Italians and common 

 bees will gather more honey than either of 

 the parent races. 



I persuaded friend Green to agree to fur- 

 nish about 50 seeds of this hybrid tomato 

 to the readers of Gleanings for ten cents. 

 He will have the seed ready in a few days. 



Of course the plant may be reproduced by 

 cutting's instead of seeds ; and I am plan- 

 ning now to raise a few nice plants from 

 cuttings to cany with me when I go down 

 to Florida in November. 



THE NEW CELERY CULTURE. 



A dozen years ago or more our good 

 friend Greiner, who writes for our agxi- 

 cultural i^ress, devised a new plan of gi'ow- 

 ing celery in a back yard or garden, which 

 he called the " new celery culture ;" and he 

 put out a book describing his new high- 

 pressure gardening. We sold quite a few 

 of them. Some people succeeded, while 

 others, as usual, did not. But the book was 

 well worth the 25 cents it cost.* It seems 

 now that, after all these years, somebody 

 has decided he could get some " dollars " by 

 calling the idea something new. Read the 

 following letter : 



* The whole thing is now embodied, with ample 

 illustrations, in Greiner's book, " Celery for Profit," 

 whirh we have advertised and sold for many years 

 for only 25 cents. 



ess 



Mr. A. I. Root: — I am a short-term subscriber to 

 GrLEANiNQS. I have a copy of your book, " What to 

 Do and how to be Happy while Doing it." It was 

 lent me by a neighbor. I read your articles in 

 Gleanings under the head of High-pressure Gar- 

 dening. I send you a clipping from Suburban Life. 

 Do you know any thing of the book spoken of in the 

 advertisement? Is it worth the price to a market 

 gardener of limited means? It says $50 from 5% 

 x5% yards, method simple, results sure. Do you 

 think these statements are facts? 



Gouverneur, N. Y., Aug. 4. W. G. Brainard. 



Below is the advertisement our friend re- 

 fers to : 



NEW CELERY CULTURE; A LIVIXQ FROM OXE-EIQHTH 

 ACRE. 



Nearly eleven hundred finest celery-plants may be 

 easily grown on a rod square of land. At five cents 

 per stalk, that means over $50 from 5%x5% 

 yards. Two crops in one season. This new under- 

 feed method grows e.xtra-choice, crisp, and tender 

 celery in eight weeks from planting. A fortune in 

 your back lot. Method simple. Results sure. A boy 

 can do it. Complete instructions, $1.00. Free copies 

 to Agricultural Colleges. 



Montvale, Va. Montvale Farms. 



As soon as I saw it I sent off a dollar; 

 and what do you suppose I received? No 

 book at all — just a single sheet of paper. 

 It made me tlunk of " The Natural Hen In- 

 cubator " that I have shown up several 

 times. All there is on this single sheet of 

 paper could easily be printed on two pages 

 of Gleanings. You are simply to make a 

 hot-bed and then put two loads of manure 

 on a space 8 x 16 feet. Tins would be about 

 the quantity of manure that market garden- 

 ers generally use for a hot-bed. Put a frame 

 of boards on top of the manure and fill up 

 with good rich soil. The author recommends 

 poultry manure as one of the best things 

 to make the soil rich. The plants are to be 

 set out six inches each way. The bleaching 

 is done by having the plants so close to- 

 gether (on very rich ground) that they 

 bleach themselves, aided by tying up with a 

 string. It is exactly the plan Greiner de- 

 scribed in his book. Of course the ground 

 is to be made very rich for this intensive 

 cropping; and then you must keep it well 

 watered if it does not rain. All this can be 

 managed very well if one will take the time 

 and pains. He says you can grow two crops 

 of celery in one season; but I fail to see 

 how two crops of celery are going to afford 

 " a living from an eighth of an acre." You 

 will notice there is no signature to the leaf- 

 let except the address. White Plume Celery 

 Farm, Roanoak, Va. 



I am going to submit the whole thing to 

 the attention of the Postoffice Department. 



SQUASH-BUGS AND — HOE-CAKES. 

 Dear Mr. Root: — I have just been reading your 

 papers in Gleanings, and notice your article on 

 raoth-balls for squash-bugs, etc. I presume, of course, 

 you have reference to the small striped beetle so 

 destructive to young Tines of squash, cucumber, etc. 

 The remedy referred to may do the business all 



