290 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



are paying oO or 60 cts. per peck; and, judg- 

 ing from last year, they will be 75 cts. or a 

 dollar through May and June, and perhaps 

 July. Philo has started thousands in grow- 

 ing their own eggs in the back yard, and 

 the boys of America are doing wonderful 

 things in waking up their " daddies " by 

 growing more and better corn on an acre 

 than the world ever heard of before.* Now, 

 with the stimulus of high prices let us see 

 how soon we can have some new potatoes in 

 this same "back yard," and let us also see 

 how many bushels can be grown on a single 

 square rod of ground. The great world does 

 not even yet know of the possibilities in 

 potato-growing. Here in our Florida gar- 

 den we grew "great beauties" of the Red 

 Triumph, I think in about 50 days. We 

 pulled them out of the hills as needed to go 

 with our green peas, and the potatoes kept 

 right on growing. To get real early potatoes 

 you want to plant ivhole ones of pretty good 

 size,t one in a hill. Have the soil very 

 rich, and break the crust after every rain. 

 Before you plant, have the ground very 

 thoroughly pulverized a foot deep. Old 

 well-rotted barnyard manure worked liberal- 

 ly is the best fertilizer 1 know of; but where 

 commercial fertilizers are used they must be 

 used intelligently. As soon as I reach my 

 Ohio home (probably about April iOth) I 

 expect to show the Roots and Rootlets how 

 to grow iheir own potatoes I forgot to say 

 your ground must be well drained; and if it 

 was ridged away up during the winter, you 

 will be far ahead; then if a dry spell should 

 happen to come you want some way to irri- 

 gate intelligently. The "high cost of liv- 

 ing" and other obstacles before us is simply 

 God's plan of teaching his beloved children 

 important truths and lessons. Xot only 

 our prosperity but our hapjnness depends 

 on our being bright, and ready to help our- 

 selves, and in making "short cuts " from 

 "producer to consumer." Now, when you 

 have got an ideal little potato patch, write 

 to "Uncle Amos" and he may call round 

 to see it. 



EARLY POTATOES — IMPORTANCE OF HUMUS. 



When we reached our Florida home last 

 November our garden was a great mass of 



*The executive committee of the Boys' and C4irls' 

 Corn Club of Harrison Co., W. Va., recently per- 

 fected arrangements for the show at Clarksburg 

 this fall. Contestants for the production prize on 

 half-acre plots may use any seed corn they desire ; 

 but they are not eligible for any of the other prizes. 

 All other contestants must use seed corn sent out 

 from the experiment station at Morgantown or 

 some of their own corn entered in the show last 

 year. Handsome prizes of money and of merchan- 

 dise will be given. Last year 1.5 counties had corn 

 clubs and corn shows: 1800 to 2000 boys and girls 

 belonged to these clubs, and raised by scientific 

 methods enough fine seed corn to furnish the State 

 for the next few years. This year the university 

 hopes to extend this work to 40 or 50 of the 55 coun- 

 ties of the .State. The county superintendents of 

 schools are placed in charge of each county, and 

 they are taking up the work enthusiastically. The 

 university furnishes free of cost the seed corn and 

 instructions, and sends an expert to judge the corn. 



+Of course this will cost something for seed, but I 

 think it will pay for a few for extra early. 



weeds, mostly southern grasses. I said to 

 Wesley, "I suppose it won't be possible to 

 spade all this trash under?" "Mr. Root, I 

 can turn it all under if you say so; but it 

 w^ill be some work." 



I replied, "All right, Wesley, turn it all 

 under out of sight." 



He first cut it oflf level with the ground 

 with a sharp hoe. Then he spaded a deep 

 furrow and tramped the trash down and 

 covered it with the sandy soil, and left my 

 garden looking level and smooth. Now, 

 many Florida people make a big bonfire of 

 this trash from the garden; but our Florida 

 experiment station has recently stated that 

 trash and weeds turned under and rotted as 

 above is worth about nine times as much as 

 the ashes when the stuff is burned. But 

 this is not all. Potatoes seem to delight in 

 finding a mass of rotting vegetable matter 

 in which to grow and expand handsome 

 shapely tubers; and the beautiful Triumphs 

 I have spoken of were found right in this 

 mass of rotten hay, leaves, etc. Much has 

 been said and written about "growing po- 

 tatoes under straw;" but unless you have an 

 abundance of rain it will be a failure besides 

 being a deal of work. The better way is to 

 put the tubers in wet or rotten straw, and 

 cover them with rich soil. Well-rotted 

 stable manure, where lots of bedding was 

 used, is better still; and, in fact, any kind 

 of decaying vegetable matter to furnish 

 humus is the secret in getting large crops of 

 nice potatoes, and getting them quickly. 

 When wheat bran did not cost so much, 

 some astonishing results were secured by 

 putting bran right over the seed potatoes 

 before they were covered. If you can get 

 seed sprouted in the sunlight, as described 

 in the potato bonk, you will be very much 

 ahead in getting new potatoes quickly. 



Now "get busy," all of you, so as to head 

 off the "middleman" when potatoes area 

 dollar a peck. I see by the Plain Dealer 

 of April 6 that old potatoes are already 81.75 

 per bushel. See below: 



Chicago. April 3.— Potatoes to-day were selling 

 at 81.75 a bushel, wholesale, the highest price re- 

 corded In recent years. This is contrasted with a 

 price of 50 cents a bushel a year ago. 



Impassable roads, inadequate transportation fa- 

 cilities, inability to get at potatoes burled last fall, 

 and urgent shipping demand, are given as reasons 

 by merchants for the high prices. 



Housewives to-day were compelled to pay -50 cts. 

 a peck. 



THE EARLY JOB APPLE. 



Although there have been several inqui- 

 ries in regard to this beautiful and delicious 

 apple, I have been disapointed since my 

 return from Florida to find only one re- 

 sponse to the offer of a free advertisement. 

 It should have been published in Glean- 

 ings some time ago, as you will notice. 



Joseph H. Black Son .V- Co.. of Hightstown. X. J., 

 have the Early Joe apple-trees for sale. We have 

 them here probably 75 years old. and they bore 

 some last season. Frank Warino. 



Philipsburg, Pa., Feb. 13. 



Now is there another nurseryman who 

 has it for sale ? 



