lOB 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Fkb. 1. 



hollow. In fifteen minutes morf, dark inky 

 streams were coming down almost every fur- 

 row, showing that the strength of the manure 

 that had been put on so lavishly was going 

 down to the roadside, and mingling with the 

 torrent which was fast hastening on to Cham- 

 pion Brook. Not only did the dark water go 

 down to the roadside, but several loads of my 

 finest and richest composted soil wei-e piled ni) 

 in the ditch: so you can understand why I do 

 not want my furrows to run straight down hill 

 any more. Witii the furrows arranged so as to 

 cross the underdrains at nearly right angles, 

 with just a gentle slope. I believe I can avoid 

 wash and losing the strength of my manure, 

 unless the rain should be so excessive that the 

 manure-water should come out at the month of 

 the underdrains. Where these drains are not 

 less than 30 inches deep. howev(>r, and a deep 

 loose soil over them. I do not believe that the 

 water that comes out will be colored by the 

 manure. lam going to watch carefully, how- 

 ever, and see. 



HEDUCIXG THE NUMBER OF VAKIETIES OF GA1{- 

 DEN SEEDS, ETC. 



Frl€)ul Root: — In Gleanings for Jan. 15. a 

 person whose name is not given, but who. for 

 convenience" sake, I will call " Seedsman,"' 

 gives the oth(>r side of the question of reducing 

 the number of vegetables in a seed list. I can 

 agree with him in n<'arly all he says; but I 

 think that he has made a mistake as to the ef- 

 fect of cutting down the list or varieties in a 

 seed catalogue. While he does not say so in so 

 many words, yet it is plain to be seeii that he 

 thinks the object in the seedsman in not reduc- 

 ing the number of kinds of seeds in the list is 

 because it will reduce his sales — that is. the ob- 

 ject of the seedsman in cataloguing a large 

 number of varieties is to sell the greatest 

 amount of seed and thereby put the greatest 

 amount of money in his own pocket. I do not 

 think that Seedsman will dispute me in this 

 point: and if he did, a glance at the seed cata- 

 logues would convince one of the fact. Take 

 the point of locality, which Seedsman makes a 

 good point, and look in the catalogues and see 

 whether you can find it mentioned: and yet he 

 says that "seedsmen are constantly receiving 

 reports from different parts of the country, that 

 certain varieties do well there."" But, now. 

 Seedsman, if you"ll look at Gleanings for Aug. 

 15, 1890, you will see that A, I. Root as a buyer 

 and ni^er of seeds sees the i)rotit and pleasure, 

 the economy and satisfaction, of planting and 

 selling fewer varieties of vegetables; and then, 

 as a seller of seed, he is trying to have his cus- 

 tomers do the same thing, not to increase his 

 sales of seeds, but for the benetit of the custom- 

 er. This, perhaps, may seem to some a rather 

 unbusinesslike way of doing things; but if 

 more business were done on this plan, the world 

 would be better; and it may, and I sincerely 

 hooe will, largely increase the sales of .seeds by 

 Mr. Root. 



i can see many reasons why a catalogue can 

 not be cut down to the extent that has been 

 suggested, especially for the good of the seller; 

 but for the buyer, the reduction would be a 

 great saving. 



Now, the objection tiiat Seedsman makes to 

 my saying that "the new kinds and sorts are 

 mostly made by the seedsmen in order to have a 

 novelty to introduce."" I will say that I said 

 what I meant in that, and still hold to it, and 

 hope that during the coming season I shall 

 have proof of my assertion, for the garden de- 

 partment of the Experiment Station will make 

 special tests of varieties, and perhaps issue a 

 bulletin on them. 



But to think that Seedsman thinks that, foi- 

 a seedsman to send out a novelty that was an 

 old thing, would hurt his n>putation, makes 

 me laugh. Why. bless your soul, that is the 

 very way some of them take to make a reputa- 

 tion, taking for their motto the oft-repeated 

 saying of Barnum, that " Americans like to be 

 humbugged."' If all of the seedsmen who have 

 sent out a novelty that was not a novelty 

 should have their reputation blasted, we should 

 have a sorry set of seedsellers. And it some- 

 times happens that the introduction of an old 

 thing for a novelty is not a bad thing, for some 

 of oiu" older varieties are ovei'looked, and are 

 good things in their place; as, for instanc,e, 

 Henderson"s bush lima bean, or Maule"s Prize- 

 taker onion. E. C. Green. 



Columbus. (). 



[Friend G.. the point you nuike. about seeds- 

 men not saying in their catalogues what things 

 are suitable for certain localities, is one that 

 ought to be emphasized. We are continually 

 testing things that may do somewhere, but they 

 will not for us — John Lewis Childs" Pepino. or 

 Melon pear, for instance. Thepicture and de- 

 scription are exceedingly taking, especially 

 when he says it is as easily grown as a tomato. 

 W^hen he first announced it I sent 50 cents at 

 once for a plant. I gave it the very best culti- 

 vation I knew how, but nevei' got even a blos- 

 som. The next year I tried again; and as I got 

 a larger plant I succeeded in getting blossoms, 

 but not a sign of fruit. And now somebody 

 tells us that they do not bear fruit aiiyichere, 

 except in Florkld or some tropical climate! 

 Notwithstanding this, the advertisement in the 

 catalogue reads just as it has for the past three 

 years — "As easily grown as a tomato." Last 

 season we had a watermelon that really " as- 

 tonished the natives." It was so large I could 

 hardly carry it. and it readily found a purchaser 

 at a good figure. When he came to cut it, how- 

 ever, it was so green that it hardly had .seed.v 

 inside, and yet it was growing the whole season, 

 and we covered it with a carpet until after one or 

 two frosts. It was a California watermelon, and 

 not adapted to our season and climate. I won- 

 der how many others have paid out money for 

 the Melon pear. Now, in regard to bringing out 

 old and well-known varieties under a new 

 name; Among the catalogu<'S before us I find 

 seven different names for the Shoepeg corn, and 

 two or three different catalogues i)ictiu-e it and 

 describe it as a wonderful "'novelty."" If the 

 Experiment Stations will tell us just how many 

 of the things advertised in our seed catalogues 

 are veal novelties, and what are old things un- 

 der new names, they will save our people who 

 love gardening, thousands of dollars. Just an- 

 other point: Some new thing is so near like 

 something well known, that nine out of ten 

 people pronounce it exactly the same thing. 

 Where something is brought out with a differ- 

 ence so very trifling from some old well-known 

 vegetable or fruit, is it right to coax people to 

 buy it without telling them that it is almost 

 like the well-known so and so? The Ontario 

 strawberry was advertised and scattered far 

 and wide until the universal decision was that 

 It was just our old well-known Sharpless under 

 a new ncunc. Our real honest and upright 

 seedsmen not only have no objection to allow- 

 ing the Experiment Stations to do this work, 

 but many of them furnish the seeds gladly, and 

 free of charge, and offer them to the public only 

 after the Experiment Stations have given them 

 their recommend. May the Lord be praised 

 for our Experiment Stations, and for the fear- 

 less, faithful, hard-working young men who 

 have these matters in charge.] 



