1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



209 



Each boy had a stick sharpened to a point, 

 something like a lead pencil. Huber watched 

 them as they whittled their sticks, prepara- 

 tory to commencing their work, then bor- 

 rowed a knife of one of the men (his own 

 knife was lost, just as you might expect 

 would be the case with any boy four or hve 

 years old), and whittled a stick which was 

 almost a fac-simile of theirs. Then he 

 wanted to know if he couldn't help set out 

 plants. I gave him instructions, and he 

 worked very busily the greater part of the 

 afternoon. Now, when I come to look at 

 my plants to see how they are doing, he is 

 greatly interested in noticing that his cab- 

 bage-plants arc growing just as well as 

 the others, although we have had almost 

 zero weather since they put them out. 



At another place in Utica we found a 

 beautiful lettuce-house. The father was 

 away when we called ; but a boy of twelve 

 or fifteen showed us all over the liouse, and 

 told us all we wanted to know about it. He 

 himself transplanted the plants, and had 

 pretty much all the care of them. He 

 showed us one place where they got seed 

 that was not true. They meant to have 

 Black- seeded Simpson ; but their seeds- 

 man, by some inaccuracy, gave them a lot 

 of seed that produced several varieties of 

 mongrel plants. Their time was wasted, 

 and the valuable space under the green- 

 house sashes was also gone to waste by 

 carelessness about the seeds. I tell you, my 

 friends, you can not afford to take any risks 

 on poor seed for greenhouse work. In this 



same greenhouse a couple of urchins were 

 having a gay time doing — what do you sup- 

 pose? Why, by blowing soap-bubbles. The 

 family home was small, and no doubt mam- 

 ma was greatly relieved to have her children 

 away for a little spell. Although it was a 

 fearfully cold and stormy day outside, these 

 little ones had thrown aside their outer cloth- 

 ing, and sat bareheaded with their sleeves 

 rolled up, having a big time in the bright 

 sunshine that struggled through the blasts 

 and storm-clouds of winter. Who would 

 not have a greenhouse for the children to 

 play in, even if for nothing more V Some of 

 the little greenhouses 1 have mentioned be- 

 fore, that we found in the out skirts of Utica, 

 didn't cost five dollars, all told. In fact, I 

 could build a better one for five dollars; yet 

 in these rude, homely structures they pro- 

 duced some very nice and beautiful plants. 

 The stove to warm the greenhouse might 

 cost five dollars more ; but if it be bought at 

 second hand from the pile of old iron to be 

 found at almost every stove-dealer's, one 

 that does not cost over a dollar might an- 

 swer the purpose very well. Mr. W. A.Treen, 

 who owned the celery-plant house, informed 

 me that one stoveful of coal, put in at six 

 o'clock at night, would keep the plants per- 

 fectly safe until nine o'clock the next morn- 

 ing. Of course, the coal was banked and 

 arranged specially to keep a long while. 

 The pipe passed with several turns just 

 high enough to be out of the way of the 

 head, so that most of the heat was given out 

 before the smoke passed into the open air. 



CHAPTER XLA^l. 



Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser.— Prov. 9: 9. 



Dear friends, we are approaching the close 

 of our book ; and as nearly two years have 

 elapsed since my first chapter was written, I 

 thought best in this chapter to make some- 

 what of a review of the chapters that have 

 gone before. Some of the things I then 

 wrote I wish to modify a little ; and other 

 things liave pleased me so well that I wish 

 to give them additional emphasis. 



In Chapter VII. 1 had considerable to say 

 in regard to earth-closets ; and in the same 

 chapter I suggested the plan proposed by 

 father Cole. Well, now, although the plan 

 answers excellently so far as disposing of 

 the refuse matter is concerned, especially 



when we have plenty of rain, it has not ans- 

 wered completely to my satisfaction in car- 

 rying the sewage, etc., to our growing plants. 

 Deep-rooted plants, clovers, parsnips, and 

 rank-growing vines, seem to get down into 

 the reservoirs, and flourish finely. We 

 have been especially pleased Avith a row of 

 rhubarb-plants placed directly over a series 

 of reservoirs near one of the out-buildings. 

 But for our factory, we have come back to 

 the plan suggested in the fore part of Chap- 

 ter VII., dry dust, and carrying it out, say 

 once every two weeks, to be forked into the 

 compost-heap. We use a large box, or tank, 

 and move the accumulations with a horse. 



