874 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 



of respect to my pastor, to do what he ask- 

 ed, as well as I could, though I felt sure he 

 had made a great blunder, and that the re- 

 sponsibility would rest on his shoulders. 

 He laughingly declared that he would as- 

 sume all the responsibility providing I 

 would read a book he would lend me, about 

 the Sandwich Islands, before the following 

 Sabbath evening. I began to read the book 

 as I would take a sort of punishment ; but 

 before Sunday I was full of enthusiasm, not 

 only in regard to the Sandwich Islands, but 

 missionary work tlie world over. This en- 

 thusiasm got into Gleanings, and, without 

 thinking of what I was doing, I proposed 

 to send our journal free to anv missionary 

 in any land who cared enough for it to read 

 it. All at once it became apparent that, 

 among the readers of Gleanings, there 

 were quite a number wlio had friends in 

 mission lands. Stranger still, the mission- 

 aries to whom it was sent as a surprise be- 

 gan to take a kindly interest in bees. So it 

 has ti'anspired that it was one of the most 

 profitable investments I ever made, finan- 

 cially (letting my pastor guide me), for it has 

 opened up traffic in our supplies in foreign 

 lands that no other kind of advertising, per- 

 haps, could have done. When I did it, 

 however, I had no remote thought of get- 

 ting back the bread, which I by a sudden 

 impulse had commenced to cast upon the 

 waters. So you see I can echo your conclud- 

 ing words—" How strange and wonderful ! " 

 and I do believe that, if we do all to the 

 glory of God, we shall meet strange and 

 wonderful verifications of his promises day 

 by day, and especially " in every trying 

 hour." 



HONEY FROM THE MELISSA, OB BEE- 

 BALM. 



A GOOD REPORT FROM THE INTRODUCER OF IT. 



foe may expect iu a few days, by express, a 

 sample of "melissa" honey, which I think 

 you will pronounce as goo6 as any you ever 

 tasted. The yield this season from about 

 two acres was 1500 pounds, and without cul- 

 tivation, the seeds being simply sown broadcast on 

 as weedy land as I ever saw. It doesn't pay to 

 plant for honey alone— oh, no! The plants were 

 grown on land that is^worth $100 per acre. I sold 

 the honey for from 30 to 40 cts. a pound, at home. 

 Perhaps the honey is a little darker than that pro- 

 duced from white clover, but the comb is as white 

 as can be made from either basswood or clover. 

 Your honest verdict is requested. 



I take exception to your remarks in Gleanings, 

 in reply to the complaint of Mr. Baldwin, with ref- 

 erence to the result of his advertisement of bee- 

 balm seed. You say lie sold the seeds for more 

 than they are worth, or words to that effect. Who 

 regulates the price of melissa seed— the introducer, 

 who raises the seed by the bushel, or the person 

 who has but a small quantity to sell? It is a well- 

 known fa.jt, that yovir humble servant introduced 

 melissa, and I still sow a larger acreage and grow 

 more seed than all the bee-keepers in the U. S. 

 combined. I have sold hundreds of packages of 

 seed at 50 cts. per ounce. It is a well-known fact, 

 that there is no such thing as a uniform price for 



seeds or bulbs. There are reliable firms in Ohio, 

 Illinois, Iowa, and elsewhere, of whom I can pur- 

 chase good seeds much cheaper than of eastern 

 firms. Melissa is not generally known as "bee- 

 balm." This is the reason, perhaps, that Mr. B. 

 did not have better success in selling his seed. If I 

 remember correctly, Mr. Baldwin purchased his 

 seed originally of me. A. C. Tvrrel. 



Madison, Neb., Nov. 1, 1888. 



Many thanks, friend T., for your report, 

 and also for the sample of honey. The hon- 

 ey is, as you say, rather dark, but this ob- 

 jection would not be very much, providing 

 the flavor were equal to either clover or 

 basswood. Had you not told us the source, 

 I should have said at once that it was from 

 Spanish needle ; and if there is Spanish 

 needle in your vicinity, I should be very 

 much inclined to think that a large portion 

 of the honey was from this source. — I can 

 not agree with you in regard to your ideas 

 about the price of seeds. Demand and sup- 

 ply regulate almost every thing, and I do 

 not know how we can help it. More seed is 

 offered us at a dollar a pound than we dare 

 buy ; and such being the case, I do not see 

 how we can well expect to get more than 15 

 cts. per ounce, postage paid. We are well 

 aware that you have sold a good deal of 

 seed at 50 cts. an ounce ; but judging from 

 the facts given above, it does not seem to 

 me to be wise for you to charge more than 

 what others do ; for if you do, you will sure- 

 ly "get left." Neither do I quite agree 

 with you, that there is no uniform price for 

 seeds, bulbs, etc. If such is the case, the 

 bee-journals and agricultural papers are 

 certainly not doing their duty. My experi- 

 ence is, that when somebody offers a thing 

 for less than its market value, he is very 

 quickly sold out. When undertaking to 

 get more, he usually has his trouble for his 

 pains, and his stock remains on his hands. 

 The quickest way to settle on a definite 

 price for melissa seed, is for those who 

 have it to dispose of, to briefly advertise 

 it, both by the ounce and pound. 



HEART'S-EASE. 



J. A. GREEN TELLS US MORE ABOUT IT. 



FRIEND ROOT:— I see that there is still con- 

 fusion, even in the minds of bee-keepers, as 

 to what heart's-ease really is. I would send 

 you photographs as requested, but a very 

 hard frost oqly the night before Gleanings 

 arrived made it impossible to secure a good speci- 

 men; and as there is no photographer within four 

 miles, I will content myself for the present with 

 sending specimen branches to yourself and Prof, 

 Cook. Perhaps you can get a cut from them. 

 There are two plants known here as heart's-ease, 

 both varieties of polygonum. Polygonum Persica-. 

 ria, also known as " lady's thumb " and black- 

 heart, is the true heart's-ease. The name of black- 

 heart, and probably that of heart's-ease, is derived 

 from a heart-shaped or triangular dark spot which 

 appears in the center of the leaf. It is not always 

 present, and sometimes it may be found on the 

 other variety, Polygonum Pennsylvanicum, which, 

 otherwise, is usually without it. These varieties 

 seem to run into one another, so that sometimes it 



