A B C OF STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 227 



Gleanings in Bee Culture. I was much attracted by it when it 

 first came out, and made quite a lot of experiments with it in 

 our greenhouse for growing various plants. Later I used it for 

 filling the pots for growing potted strawberry-plants. Now, if 

 I am correct, florists in general have not taken very kindly to 

 it. Some of them recommend it as an ingredient for potting- 

 soils. Very few adopted it as recommended by manufacturers 

 as an entire substitute for potting-soil ; but for the strawberry- 

 grower who grows and ships potted plants it has one great 

 thing to recommend it. This is that the plant, soil and all, in 

 which the root is growing, weighs only about a half or perhaps 

 a fourth as much as the heaviest potting-soil. In fact, beauti- 

 ful growing plants can be sent by mail, and the entire contents 

 of the pot undisturbed, for less than one cent per plant for 

 postage. This could not be done with any kind of soil or dirt. 

 Jadoo is exceedingly light, and it will hold water longer than 

 almost any thing else I know of. I do not now understand 

 why it is that florists do not recognize this fact, and send valu- 

 able plants by mail or express, rooted in jadoo fiber. I for one 

 was very sorry when the Jadoo Co. went out of business, and I 

 have never been able to find out why it is no longer on the mar- 

 ket. The article is simply a very nice light muck or peat from 

 swamps, sterilized by being boiled in certain chemicals ; and 

 those chemicals, they claim,' are a fertilizing agent. A compost 

 of swamp muck or peat and old well-rotted stable manure 

 would, I think, answer as well ; and our Ohio Experiment Sta- 

 tion thinks it is even better than jadoo. Jadoo was sold at 

 wholesale for from $15 to $20 a ton. Now, an excellent com- 

 post of old manure (perhaps cow manure would be better), 

 and some very light peat, could easily be furnished, I think, 

 for $10 a ton ; and it seems to me there is an almost unlimited 

 demand for such an article not only for potting strawberries 

 but for the benefit of everybody who grows house-plants. I 

 know our florists advertise potting-soil by the barrel, and it is 

 all right, except that it is heavy, and expensive to ship, and 



