1S94 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



lt)5 



And hojilthy grower. Tlie tomatoes are as large as 

 the Ttiuotuiii or Mikado, ami as liandsomo as the 

 Beauty. In fact, I do not belii've I ever saw a l)ad- 

 ^haped one; and even though they are so large, 

 Iheie seem to be about as iiiiiny to a vine as of any 

 )thtT kind. Tlie only fault we have ever heard in 

 regard to it is, thai it is rather soft for shipping 

 .ong- distances. As oui-s are carried direct to our 

 •ustomers as soon as they are picked, this does not 

 natier much for our trade. J would, however, rec- 

 )mniend that tomatoes t)e sold in baskets holding' 

 Kit more that a peck; and for our fancy grade we 

 ase only new clean holf-pcck baskets. I think every 

 me of our readers should have at least a 5-ceii"t 

 Jacket of JUickeye State tomiiio seed. As it is quite 

 lew the prices are necessarily ratiier hi^h. Per X 

 )/>., oUcts.; ounce, 50 cts.; ij lb., $1.60; 1 lb., $5.35. 

 \11 postpaid. 



EAKLY HUBY TO.MATO. 



Oh dear me! I don't see but we shall have to put 

 itill another tomato in our list. Last season we had 

 iorae choice stock seed of Early Kuby, saved Ijy 

 Christian Weckesser, of Niagara Falls, N. Y., and it 

 vas so much superior to tlie Early Ruby that we 

 lad of Peter Henderson that 1 gave a favorable 

 ■eport on it, and now orders are coming- in for the 

 seeds. We did quite a large business in selling extra 

 sarly plants last season. We put them out in plant- 

 )eds with the g-lass pretty high up from the soil, 

 ^lacing them about 7 indies apart, and the nice lit- 

 le plants actually blossomed right in the .seed-bed. 

 ifes, some of tliem even had small green tomatoes 

 in before they were tfansplanted. VVe set them out 

 n the field with tlie tomatoes on, many of them in 

 uU bloom, and they went right along and produced 

 lot only the earliest tomatoes, but they were of 

 ^ery much better shape than any Early Kub:es we 

 !ver had before. We have succeeded in g-etti ng from 

 riend Wecke.sser just 3 lbs. of the same kind of 

 ■eed; and you can have it, while it lasts, at .5c a 

 cicket, or ~'0c an ounce. We are going- to plant a 

 KKul-sized bed our.selves, this 13th day of February, 

 n that little g-reenhouse a-ross the way. 



GREENHOUSE CONSTKUCTION. 



This is a new book just from the press, by Prof, 

 raft, and published by the O. Judd Co. There are 

 ;i)8 pages and ever so many pictures— yes, there are 

 iver 100, and I think tlie book will save many times 

 ts cost to any one who has very much to "do with 

 greenhouses, hot-beds, and cold-frames. Prof. Taft 

 vas appointed liy the .Michigan Agrii-ultural College 

 -osuiHTintcnd huiidiug sunn- gi-ccnhnuscs for expor- 

 mentai work, and he lias also had years of experi- 

 mce in this line elsewhere. As nearly as we can 

 iee, the book covers every thing up to the present 

 ;ime. For instance, the use of the putty-bulb has 

 )een a big step over the old-fashioned way of setting 

 ?lass. Well, this book tells us that, by tying a little 

 ;amel-hair pencil to the nozzle of the putty-bulb, 

 :his pencil or brush will make the licjuid putty go 

 iown into the joint and smoi^th it down, making a 

 2iuch better job. The ditterent ways of setting the 

 ?lass are fully con.sidered, and illustrated with nu- 

 merous excellent cuts. The matter of heating by 

 lot water and steam is thoroughly gone over. The 

 uigle at which the glass should be placed to the .sun, 

 tor the different purimscs for which greenhouses are 

 ased, is also made verj- plain. There is not much 

 iaid about the matter of warming houses and hot- 

 beds by condensed .steam; but I do find just the fol- 

 lowing sentence bearing on the subject. After de- 

 scribing the plan of having a fi^-inch steam-pi()e 

 •allied inside oC a 4-inah drain tile, he adds: •' When 

 3\haust steam is at hand, it can be used without the 

 jteampipe by merely discharging- it into the tile." 

 It seems to me the aliove is giving but very little 

 sp.-ice to a matter which promises to be of much im- 

 |)oit,-ince. You may remember I have considered 

 Che subject of .supporting a family on a quarter of 

 ill acre by having this quarter-acre covered with 

 g-lass— that is, cold-frames and sash. A diagram of 

 the same arrangement is g-iven in the new book 

 sf)me of the friends may think we are having- a good 

 muiy books devoted to this matter of g-ardening 

 under glass. Greiner's book, however, was written 



).\- a practical gardener, and deals largely with the 

 -rops thatareto be rais.d under glass. This book 

 hoivever, treats the matter mo.stiv from a scientific 

 point of view— tells how the most effective houses 

 jan be built for the different purposes for which 

 they are desired; and it gives <-lear and plain rea- 

 sons for its suggestions. I consider the book a 



valuable contribution to our present literature 

 The price is U.M. We can mail it from liei-e if de- 

 sired. 



OUR CHEAP SPECTACLES AND EYE-GLASSES. 



For a long time J have been thinking I must make 

 mention of these little comforts to old age-esjie- 

 cially the eyeglasses. I am g 'iting- now to where 

 an eye-g-lass is almost as m i ii a necessity as the 

 airl breathe. Maybe that is a little extraviig-ant, 

 -after all; but, never mind. When I am around the 

 factory, g-oing through the office, or even tiie green- 

 houses, unless I can have a pencil and glasses at my 

 lingers' ends I am like a fish out of water. In fact, 

 1 can not do anything; and nothing wears on my 

 nerves more than to feel in every one of my iiockets 

 for either pencil or glasses, and not find any; and, 

 therefore, 1 get a nice pencil and cut it into four 

 piece.s, and put a piece in each pocket. Then I have 

 cheap ten-cent eye-glasses— enough so I can have a 

 pair in almost eveiy pocket. Sometimes they all 

 gee into one pocket in aheap; and then if I throw 

 off' my overcoat I sometimes ttnd myself down in the 

 greenhouse, without any glasses, and my overcoat 

 containing them all upstairs, hanging- on its peg. 

 By the way, the handiest place U) me, lor both pen- 

 cil and glasses, is my right-hand vest pocket— that 

 is, in the summer time, when my coat is off'. When 

 my coat is on and buttoned up, the next best place is 

 the small right-hand pocket in my coat; with the 

 overcoat on, 1 use the same pocket in the overcoat, 

 theoiie often called the "ticket-pocket." Thus equip- 

 ped I get along pretty well. I can not afford to be 

 liampered with a case for an eye-glass, because It 

 takes too much of my time. As ;i consequence, the 

 glasses get scratched after a while, espi^cially when 

 i am out in the garden and get gravel in my pocket 

 with the glasses. But as the nose-glasses l' ush cost 

 only 10 cts., it is much cheaper to get a new pair 

 often than to fuss with oases. 



Now in regard to the quality of these ten- cent 

 glasses. I have some gold-bowed ones for Sunday, 

 that cost between five and ten dollars; but really I 

 do not find them to be mucli if iiny better than the 

 ten-cent ones i am using while I dictate this. It 

 seems to me it is a shame to keep the prices upon 

 a thing- that needs to be so constantly used, by rich 

 and poor alike, as nose-glasses and spectacles. We 

 buj' them in large lots, so they cost us only from 6 

 to H cts. a pair; and 1 am sure ihat dealers might do 

 nicely in selling them at 10 cts , as we do. If they 

 can not do that, let them charjje 15. When I am 

 away from home, and want a cheap nose-glass be- 

 cause mine got left, I always have to pay 35 cts., 

 and sometimes 40 or 5'J. Why do not more people 

 go into business, with such a desire to do g-ood, and 

 accommodate, that they can afford to work for low 

 prices ? My opinion is, the.y would make more 

 in the end. Here is what a good friend away off in 

 California has to say in regard to our cheap spec- 

 tacles: 



Friend Root:— I should like to eontirni your stateiuent, 

 made some time agro, as to tlie value of those lo cent jjlasse.-*. 

 1 broke mine, and it would cost 25 oi- 3) cts. to get them iiirnd- 

 ed. A new pair could not be had here lor less than twi> dol- 

 lars, .so our jeweler told me. 1 concluded to write to you for 

 a pair each ot 10 an! 2.5 cent glasses of different numbers. 

 They soon came, and the lOcent ones were e.-cact.y right— No. 

 16, the others had no number, and the paper has to come 

 nearer, but they will do. Now, I have, durinsr the past ten 

 years, had glasses of all kinds and pc-ices, up to ten dollars 

 a set, and I can not see but thoe are as good as the best. This 

 is the second ni.rht in u-e on tine print. 



Los Gatos, Cal.. Oct. 2i. Isaac B. RcMKORb. 



Ernest here suggests that, if you would save your 

 eyes, you must have a good clear light. Every little 

 while I feel like shaking people because they will 

 sit down b.y a dirty lamp, with a greasy, dusty 

 chimney, and without any cheap Shade at all to 

 throw the light and concentrate it on the print, and 

 thus undertake to read. You may reinemlier what 

 I said about getting a nice bright clean lantern 

 when I was oft' in the night, on the way to a tem- 

 perance meeting. Well, it does seem to me as if I 

 could pick out a Christian liome by simply getting 

 a glimpse of the lamp and lamp-chimney that light 

 up saitl home. 



By some error oui- nose-glasses (which /use alto- 

 gether) never get into our catalogues, alt hough we 

 have had quite a sale on them by iioti(-ing them 

 editorially. They are 10 cts. each. If wanted by 

 mail, add 3 cts. additional for packing and postage. 

 If you want a case to put them in. which is by far 

 the better way when they are to bi sent by mail, 

 add 5 cts. more for the case. For prices on specs, 

 both wholesale and retail, seeour regular catalogue, 

 10 and 35 cent counters. 



