570 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



worth a dollar for seed; but as a rule he 

 sends only one ear of corn, and, as I take 

 it, not always that. 



WTiat about the book on corn-raising? It 

 contains just 12 pages. Nearly one-fourth 

 of the book is devoted to advertising his 

 strain of White Leghorn cliickens. The 

 rest of the book, as I understand it, is 

 about as follows: 



Most corn-gTowers are in the habit, when 

 shelling corn for seed, of discarding the 

 small kernels on the tip and the bad-shaped 

 ones on the butt of the ear; and I think 

 our experiment stations have recommended 

 this more or less. I can not now recall just 

 what Professor Holden says about it; but 

 I think that he also rejects these small ill- 

 shaped kernels; and it noAV occurs to me 

 that I have somewhere seen it stated that 

 these kernels on the tip of the ear should 

 not be thrown out when planting, for the 

 reason that, if you plant these as well as 



the others, you will be more likely to get 

 a strain of corn with the grains all around 

 the tip as thick as they can stand. Well, 

 Blanchard's "new system" consists of saving 

 and planting these tip and butt kernels, 

 and not throwing them away; and this in- 

 vention, so far as I can make out, is sim- 

 13ly going contrary to what the experiment 

 stations have advised. I am miable to find 

 any thing in the entire book worthy of 

 mention (aside from the above) that will 

 enable the farmer to increase his yield 

 from ten to twenty-five bushels per acre, 

 as advertised. Once more, who is my neigh- 

 bor — the man who writes kind letters and 

 sends us advertising matter, or the 30,000 

 at least mostly honest people who subscribe 

 for Gleanings with the understanding that 

 I am expected to be neighbor to each and 

 all of them alike f May God help me to do 

 my duty, even though it may offend at 

 times. 



Health Notes 



THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND ITS 

 RAID ON MISBRANDING, ETC. 



I have just received from the United 

 States Pure Food and Drug Commission 

 a great heap of leaflets in regard to the 

 work the Department of Agriculture is do- 

 ing. Let me mention briefly a few of them : 



Dr. Caldwell's rheumatism cure. This 

 was alleged to be "A certain cure for acute 

 and chronic rheumatism in all its forms. 

 . . . This medicine cures by expelling 

 the acids from the blood . . . restores 

 the liver, kidneys, and skin to a healthy 

 condition, . . . thus effecting a per- 

 tianent cure." 



The Department sentenced him to pay a 

 fine of $200 and costs, particularly as the 

 medicine contained 141/2 per cent of alco- 

 hol, which was not mentioned on the label 

 according to law. This amount of alcohol, 

 like "Duffy's malt whisky," made the 

 natient feel better for a brief time, but 

 does not effect any such cures as claimed. 

 This same doctor puts out anti-pain tab- 

 lets, but does not mention the amount of 

 acetanalid contained in them. This, too, 

 was a fine of $200 and costs. A confec- 

 tionery called "whipped maple cream" 

 contained no maple sugar nor syrup what- 

 ever. This incurred a fine of $100 and 

 costs. 



"Wood's sootliing syrup" is advertised 

 to cure a lot of things, but it contains 

 opium. The Department decided the cir- 

 cular was misleading and deceiitive. 



Absinthe is ruled out of our trade and 



commerce, being pronounced "dangerous 

 to the health of the i:)eople of the United 

 States." 



In conclusion, I hope the Department 

 of Agriculture is supplied with men and 

 money to go through the entire list of drugs 

 advertised, and for sale in our drugstores ; 

 and may they not "be weary in well doing." 



THE TRUTH ABOUT POKEROOT. 



Mr. Root : — I have been scanning your pages 

 for some time, expecting that some one would 

 present the facts about pokeroot ; but as confusion 

 of ideas seems to continue I venture some addi- 

 tional information upon the subject. The botanical 

 name of the weed commonly called pokeroot, some- 

 times "skoke," is Phytolacca decandra. Doubtless 

 it has other popular names in different localities. 

 In the New England States I have heard it called 

 "garget root," because it is believed to cure a 

 disease of the udders of cows, which causes bloody 

 milk, and is termed "garget." This plant grows 

 almost everywhere in the United States east of 

 the Rocky Mountains. Whether it flourishes on 

 the western slope of the continent I have not 

 informed myself. Avoiding technicalities it may 

 be described as follows : 



The stalk is thick and spongy, growing from 

 three to eight feet high, and putting out many 

 oval-shaped lance-pointed leaves about three to six 

 inches long, one to four inches wide; smooth, 

 edges sligbtly wavy, and a dull green color above and 

 lighter below. The whole stalk is killed to the 

 ground by wintry cold, and shoots up afresh 

 every spring. The flowers are arranged along 

 slender amber-colored stiff stalklets often eight 

 inches in length that spring directly from the 

 main stalk and not from the point where leafstalks 

 occur. They are very small, white, sometimes 

 tinted with green, each floret having its own tiny 

 stem, about a quarter of an inch long, and five 

 roundish petals or flower-leaves. The centers are 

 pea-green. 



The root is branched, fleshy, somewhat fibrous 

 in texture, and nearly white on being cut open. 

 The sizes range from that of a finger to that of 

 the arm. The flowers drop off, leaving a string 

 of beautiful purple berries the size of a whortle- 

 berry (huckleberry), which adhere firmly to their 



