1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



175 



another survey at some future time, aurl, may 

 be. a quarrel. 



THE EAKI.Y PIE PUMPKINS. 



Friend Root: — I don't think you half appre- 

 ciate the good points of the early pumpkins. 

 You speak of their being early, but they will 

 keep late too. We kept some until Feb. i this 

 wintei'. The best thing about them is their 

 tine grain, some of them equaling the Hubbard 

 squash in sweetness and texture. They will 

 cook as quick too. Our folks cooked some once, 

 and made pies and got them in the oven before 

 breakfast. Compared witli the old kind that 

 have to be cooked half a day to gi^t the water 

 out, this is a great advantage. Although small 

 there are nearly as many pies in each one, be- 

 cause you don't have to cook away so much 

 water, and there are more on each vine. I got 

 over 100 from about a quarter of a tive-cent 

 j)ackage of seed bought of you. They make the 

 most delicious pies that I ever tasted; but there 

 is just one trouble about them, they won't keep! 

 I wish some one would tell how to can them. 

 We have tried many times, but so far have al- 

 ways failed. It can be doiu'. I know, for the 

 canning factories do it. Chalon Fowls. 



Oberlin, O., Feb. :ll. 



FLORIDA GAKDENING. 



Our gardens nearly all have cabbages here. 

 We have plenty of new cabbages now. and will 

 begin to ship somrt about the first of February, 

 if the market is favorable then. We can keep 

 our cabbages several weeks after they head up 

 by taking a plow and tumbling tiiem out just 

 so as to stop the growth: and it will harden the 

 heads, making them heavier: or if they are un- 

 even in lieading. we go along the row with a 

 long-handlcil spade and turn partly out of root 

 the overheatlcd by putting the spade down near 

 the stalk, and pi'ving it over. In doing this, al- 

 ways turn to the north, so the sun will not burn 

 the heads. Radish, turnip, and onions, are on 

 our bill of fare. Peas, beans, and potatoes, will 

 be along soon. I could tell you several other 

 things that might not be new to you, but still 

 are worth thinking over, when we have time to 

 reason with nature and her laws and products. 



THE IMPOKTANCE OP GETTING GOOD CABBAGE 

 SEED. 



I read in Gleanings about Mr. Passage hav- 

 ing trouble with his pumpkins. Well, we are 

 having far greater trouble with our cabbages. 

 In the Early Summer (Henderson's), in my 

 field of three acres, beginning to head, I can 

 show all kinds named, all from the same i)ack- 

 age of seeds. The greater par? are true Early 

 Summer, but there are many like the Wakefield 

 and York varieties, and some like the tall 

 Drumheads. My seed came from James J. H. 

 (Gregory. I have some of his All Seasons. 

 They show very little of the sport; but my 

 neighbor's fields near me (who used the Early 

 Summer, from Peter Henderson & Co.), show a 

 great many varieties, or types, of them, or 

 sports. This "■sporting'' is very costly tons, 

 for many of the sports will not head up to be of 

 any use, for some of them will be several weeks 

 later; and, besides, there are only a very few 

 kinds of cabbage that will head up solid here. 

 I call this sporting "hybrids," or crosses of 

 various kinds. Could not our seed-growers 

 grow their .seed isolated, so there would be no 

 hybrids? J. Craycbaft. 



Astor Park, Fla., Jan. 27. 



[Frif'ud C, we have much the same trouble 

 (with the best cabbage seed we can get) here in 

 our locality. I think, however, that raised by 

 our good bee-friend H. A. March has less of 

 this sporting. Have you ever tried his Jersey 

 Wakefield and Fottler's Brunswick? A couple 



of years ago we had some choice seed sent us 

 from Holland, that I believe gave a greater 

 number of uniform heads of late cabbage than 

 any thing else we have ever grown. With the 

 wet seasons we have had, however, for two or 

 three years back, I Vielieve we have had more 

 trouble fi'om heads bursting than from sporting. 

 Of course, we cut off the roots with the spade, 

 and '' unscrewed " th«uTi in the ground, so as to 

 snap off most of tlu; roots. In some cases we 

 treated them so severely they began to wilt; 

 but with plenty of I'ain they started out new 

 I'oots, and in a week or two began to burst 

 again. If there is a strain of cabbage in the 

 world that will neither burst nor throw out 

 sports, such as you describe. I presume we could 

 pay a d<ill<ir an ounce for it. and make money 

 then.] 



RAISING STKAWBEKP.V-PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS. 



The strawberry may be inci'eased-very rapid- 

 ly by buds or cuttings, and this is the way I do 

 it: Frames, nearly four feet wide, and any length 

 desired, are made of common fence- boards six 

 inches wide. The soil within them is made fine 

 and level. Of course, it is rich. The surface is 

 then covered about half an inch deep with 

 sand, and moderately watered. Screens are 

 needed, and I provide them by making lath 

 frames, three feet by four, and covering them 

 with new cotton cloth, fastened on with carpet- 

 tacks. We are now ready for the cuttings. The 

 best time to take Them from the beds is when 

 the dew is on ; but if it can not be done then, it 

 may be done at any time in the day by putting 

 them into a pail of water as they are cut. They 

 are at the right stage when the I'oots are just 

 starting. If too young, failure will result; if 

 too old, the roots are in the way. Sometimes a 

 runner is prevented from rooting until it has 

 several leaves, and in such a case all but one 

 must be removed. In trimming, the runner is 

 cut off within two inches of the bud, or embryo 

 plant, and the cutting is thrown into water. 

 This work must be done in the shade. It is 

 not best to trim too many at a time. If they 

 remain in water over night they are apt to fail 

 to grow. When ready to put them in the frame, 

 place a lath, or other straight-edge, across the 

 bed, on the surface, and run a thick knife along 

 the side of it, making a straight cut, perhaps 

 three inches deep. The cuttings are thrust 

 into this cut until the points from which the 

 roots start are half an inch below the surface of 

 the sand. The cuts should be four inches 

 apart. The soil should be damp, but not wet 

 enough to be puddled. If the work is done 

 when the sun is shining, it is well to water the 

 cuttings as fast as the rows are finished, and 

 cover at once with screens. They must not 

 wilt. They should be set two or three inches 

 apart, according to the purpose for which they 

 are being rooted. If they are to remain in the 

 frame until sold, a month later, they need more 

 i-oom; if they are to be taken out and potted in 

 a week, less will answer. 



The frames need careful watching for a few 

 days. The shades are to be removed in the aft- 

 ernoon as soou'as the sun ceases to shine on the 

 beds, and replaced in the morning before the 

 dew is all dried off. It is usually well to give a 

 moderate watering when the screens are taken 

 off. and again before they are put on. If very 

 hot and dry, it is a good plan to spray or sprin- 

 kle tlie screens two or three times during the 

 middle of the day. If damp and cloudy, they 

 may be left off "all day. As the roots grow 

 deeper the tops can bear more sunshine, and in 

 a few days they will need shading only in the 

 middle of the day. Plants rooted in this man- 

 ner usually have longer roots, but fewer of 

 them, than those grown in the natural way, 



