1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



541 



July — sometimes better than when sown 

 later. White Plume celery, even if the seed 

 Is sown as late as -July, will give a nice crop 

 if the weather and soil are favorable. For 

 othei- kinds of celery, July is the month for 

 setting the plants in the;;field. All of the 

 early sweet corns will give a good crop, as a 

 rule, if plantt^d almost any time in July. 

 Cucumbers for pickles, are sown more in 

 July than in almost any other month. Let- 

 tuce, as a rule, does not ae.U much during 

 this mouth. lUit if you sow seeds now they 

 will make plants just right for lettuce to sell 

 in the fall. See what our fileud Terrell did 

 with lettuce in the fall, on page 80(>. Onion- 

 seed may be sown for sets. Parsnips will 

 do fairly as late as this. Pepper-plants may 

 be put out now, but it is too late to sow the 

 seed so as to get much of a crop. Early 

 Ohio potatoes planted during the fore part 

 of July will usually give a crop, if the soil 

 and weather are favorable. Radishes will 

 do splendidly if you can avoid the black 

 Ilea, mentioned in our remarks in regard to 

 rape. Oyster-plant and spinach will give a 

 fair crop if sown now. Summer squashes 

 will do well if you have a market for them 

 so late. Other kinds will hardly escape the 

 frost. Tomato-plants may be set, with the 

 prospect of a fair crop, especially if frosts 

 liold off. Last, but not least, come turnips. 

 The old adage runs — 



The 25th of July, 



IJe the weather wet or dry. 



But so much depends on the season that we 

 make sowings all througli the month. It is 

 quite an interesting experiment to sow a 

 great number of kinds, and see which does 

 best in your soil. Whenever a piece of 

 ground can be cleured off, get in turnips. If 

 you want to see them boom, plow out deep 

 furrows, and till them with manure. Then 

 with a shovel-plow throw the line earth over 

 the manure,* and sow your turnips right 

 over it. The more you mix the numure and 

 fine the soil, the better. liead friend Mar- 

 tin's instructions for sowing turnips, on 

 page 301. 



PUTTING OUT STRAWBERRIES IN .JULY. 



If any of you enjoy playing with straw- 

 berries as I do, now is the great month to 

 do it. Plants that are rooted during 

 this month, and set put in rich ground, 

 heavily manured, will do wonders. This 

 28th clay of June we are snipping off run- 

 ners, some of them being rooted slightly, 

 and some of them not. These we throw 

 into a pail of water, after which a small boy 

 is to clip the runner off. They are then 

 planted in our best ground for plants, exact- 

 ly as we have explained to you the way we 

 prick out our celery-plants, etc. We keep 

 them wet until they take root, and cover 

 them with cloth frames, when the sun 

 shines, and in two or three weeks we have 

 excellent well-rooted plants, to fill orders. 



*I have just this present season learned how to 

 use the shovel-plow so as to throw the dirt eithei- to 

 the right or to the left, as you may wish. Simply 

 tip it on its side, holdiiijj- it by one handle. You can 

 make it cover potatoes, bank up celery, ridge up 

 ground for sweet potatoes, or any thing of the 

 kind. The above arrangement works splendidly for 

 cabbages, celery, etc., when you are late in getting 

 them in. 



We expect to sell strawberry-plants from 

 now until the ground freezes. 



By the way, what do you think our plant- 

 gaiden (a piece of ground less than 100 feet 

 square), whicla I have told you about a good 

 many times, has brought us in during the 

 past spring? Why, something like .f;250 ; 

 and nearly all of the plants have been sold 

 to oui- immediate neighbors. When there 

 comes a rainy day we have our plant-garden 

 full of customers, and it has seemed to me 

 that the folks who buy plants are almost al- 

 ways iutelligent and nice-looking men and 

 women. Now, whenever you want your old 

 friend A. 1, Rout to tell you about his jilants 

 and garden-stuff, just indicate it when you 

 write to us. True, I have ended my book, 

 "What t" Do," etc., but it is a little hard 

 to stop talking on a subject I love so well. 



6n^ 0w]\[ ^Pi^^^Y. 



CONDUCTED BY KBNKST R. BOOT. 



THE PRESENT HONEY-Fl,OW. 



TT is now June 26, and there is but very 

 M little honey in the hives. Brood-rearing 

 W has been progressing quite extensively, 

 ■*■ and this, together with the fact that the 

 colonies are quite strong, has helped 

 somewhat to reduce the amount of honey in 

 the hives. In our locality, so far the usual 

 amount of "nectar does not begin to average 

 as well as it usually does. Conditions of 

 weather, hot days and nights, good rainfalls 

 about once in two weeks, have, tor some 

 reason or other, failed to cause the seci'etion 

 of nectar in the usual quantities. There is 

 an abuiulance of white clover in spite of the 

 drouth of last year and the predictions 

 that, in consequence, there would be litth^ 

 or no white clover. As nearly as I can esti- 

 mate, I should judge there is about live 

 pounds of honey to each of our colonies, on 

 an average. There is hardly a capped cell 

 in the apiary, to say nothing of thinking of 

 putting on surplus-receptacles. ' 



We hear people complain that the failure 

 of the honey-crop was owing to drouth or an 

 excess of rain, or some other cause beyond 

 our contiol. This year, so far as anybody 

 can tell, we have had all the favorable con- 

 ditions one could wish. During one or two 

 seasons we have had consideral)le dry 

 weather— soi much so that farmers and ev- 

 erybody began to coniplain, and yet the 

 season closed up with the usual amount of 

 honey. Now, the point I am getting at is 

 this: Do the conditions of weather really 

 make so much difference as we ha\e been 

 in the habit of supposing? 



LATER. 



June 2R. — The prospects are now consider- 

 ably more favorable. Strong colonies have 

 begun to whiten the tops of their combs, 

 and in some cases capped honey is found. 

 The weaker colonies have hot begun to av- 

 erage as much in proportion. If tlie weath- 

 er will only brighten up, we shall probably 

 get some more honey from clover. Bass- 

 wood has not opened just yet, and we may 

 get a good flow from this source. 



