304 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 



by frequent applications of liquid manure. 

 Make the hills the size of a peck measure, 

 and work into it a handful of some com- 

 mercial fertilizer. Hen manure makes an 

 excellent fertilizer for melons, but it must 

 be worked into the soil. Keep the ground 

 loose, and free from all weeds ; trim the 

 vines for large fruit, as witli watermelons. 

 For the family garden we would recom- 

 mend the Perfection, which is a medium- 

 sized melon, growing in shape almost round; 

 tlesh, a bright golden yellow, and very 

 sweet and delicious ; and when eaten with 

 cream and sugar it equals the peach. 



The melon-vine is beset by a great many 

 pests, the striped bug being the worst, oft- 

 en destroying the plant in a few hours. 

 We find that an equal mixture of unleached 

 ashes and air-slacked lime, sifted on the 

 vines early in the morning, when the dew is 

 on, is a good remedy. 



The fruit should be picked in the morn- 

 ing when it is cool, and kept in a cool place 

 until wanted for use. Yoxi can not have 

 nice melons without some labor. Poor seed, 

 poor soil, and no care, produce poor fruit. 

 A great many complain about raising mel- 

 ons. The trouble is, they expect to plant a 

 few hills and gather large returns, with no 

 care. You will be disappointed every time. 

 We would recommend the Colorado preserv- 

 ing citi'on for preserves, but the rind of the 

 Iron Clad is almost if not quite as good as 

 the citron. To 10 lbs. of the fruit use 5 ll)s. 

 of granulated sugar and five lemons. Boil 

 the fruit until soft, then add sugar and lem- 

 on, and to the above add 3 lbs. of raisins, 

 and you have a preserve that is excellent. 



In conclusion, we would say to all, plant 

 a few hills of melons and see if you can not 

 surprise yourself and neighbors ; for what 

 is better in a warm, sultry day, as you come 

 from the field all dust and thirsty, than a 

 fine luscious watermelon? It cools the 

 blood, allays the thirst, and makes one feel 

 thankful and good-natured. 



I would add to the above, that v/e can 

 make a sure thing of warding off insect- 

 enemies by the use of the squash-boxes 

 described and illustrated in Chapter XXIV ; 

 see, also, the close of Chapter XXXVII. I 

 would also use the plant-boxes for getting 

 at least a few of the hills extra early. 



I now wish to give you another one from 

 a friend away off in Pennsylvania, with 

 whom I have had considerable deal in the 

 last few years : 



Brother i?oo(;— When you drew friend 

 White's picture in Chapter XLI., and spoke 

 about ills always having a hobby, I said, 

 " That's me exactly.'' I thought that you 

 and I were alone in extreme hobbyism. I 

 went through tiie strawberry-fever a dozen 

 years ago. I used to pick thirty bushels a 

 day ; but I must tell you about my last hob- 

 by' It is turnips. I have a secret to make 

 public. Any one can raise turnips if he 

 knows the secret. It is easy — very easy. 

 Turnip-seed is sown in July and August, 

 when the earth is nearly always dry one or 

 two inches deep, and the seed can't come 



up. The secret then is, sow the seed from two 

 to three inches cleep, so it is in the moist earth, 

 and you will succeed every time. I have 

 succeeded for years. The seed will come 

 up if in very deep. To plow it in with the 

 shovel-plow is the cheapest way. For ten 

 years 1 have raised turnips, and always im- 

 proved the seed all I could. I mark the seed- 

 turnips when the crop is growing, then I se- 

 lect again when I pull, saving me the cream 

 of the best. If you care to have an article 

 on turnips and how to raise and harvest 

 them so women and children can do the la- 

 bor, I will furnish you oiie, and you can 

 trim it to suit yourself. You see, brother 

 Root, I am nearly twoscore, and my father, 

 Tobias Martin, was a horticulturist before 

 me. J. M. Martin, M. D. 



Mercerville, Pa., Nov. 2, 1887. 



Of course, I asked friend Martin to tell me 

 all about turnip-raising. Like friend M., 

 my father before me was passionately fond 

 of turnips and turnip-raising. Whenever 

 we boys went off for a holiday, father would 

 get his cultivator and hunt up the best piece 

 of ground on the farm, and have his holiday 

 by fixing the land just according to his no- 

 tion to raise turnips. He never sold very 

 many, however, but he used to have plenty 

 for fanaily use, some for the stock, and some 

 to give to the neighbors. No wonder I was 

 ready to fall in with friend Martin's hobby. 



A slip from a local paper accompanying 

 the above informs us that friend Martin had 

 already received a crop of potatoes from his 

 four acres, which he mentions as giving him 

 a profit of 17 per cent, before he prepared 

 the ground for turnips. 



THE SECRET OF GETTING NICE TURNIPS, 



WHETHER THE SEASON BE WET OR 



DRY— BY DR. J. M. MARTIN, 



MERCBRSBURG, PA. 



I will gladly give you all I know concern- 

 ing the culture of the Russian turnip ; but 

 since you say that turnips have been one of 

 your hobbies I feel that I may come short of 

 giving you as much information as I expect- 

 ed. But, first, I will speak of the varieties. 

 I have the Purple-Top strap ; second, the 

 White strap-leaved, and the Pomeranian ; 

 but the former is by all odds my choice, and 

 the latter is better adapted for stock, owing 

 to its immense size when full grown. The 

 White Strap leaved is very pretty and good, 

 but it does not seem to be a distinct variety 

 with me, as it often produces purple or mon- 

 grel specimens. This may come, however, 

 by the very dangerous practice of having 

 several varieties seeding on the same place. 



Second, as to the time of sowing the seed, 

 the two first weeks in August is early 

 enough, so says my experience : if sown 

 earlier, the turnips are apt to get rough and 

 scabby. 



Third, the kind of soil. Sandy loom is 

 preferable, but I have succeeded quite as 

 well in black loam. I think more depends 

 on the location than on the quality of the 



