1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



283 



:SPECIAL DEPARTMENT FOE A. I. ROOT, AND HIS 

 FRIENDS WHO LOVE TO RAISE CROPS. 



A WONDKRFUI. AND STAIiTMNG niSCOVERY, 

 EMANATING FHOM OUR EXPERIMENT 



(STATIONS. 



Just now WO have something that seems in- 

 deed too good to be true. I do not know who 

 first suggested the idea, but our Oliio Bulletin 

 gives the credit of the experiment to the Cornell 

 University, at Ithaca. N. Y. Like many other 

 great strides, it seems tliat sevei'al of the Ex- 

 periment Stations have had a hand in it. For 

 some time back, reports have shown that va- 

 rieties of strawberries that do not bear pollen 

 have grown greater crops and larger berries 

 than the perfect (or pollen-bearing) varieties; 

 and it was suggested that this was due to the 

 fact that it requires mucli of the energy and 

 strength of the plant to perfect the pollen. 

 Recently our Ohio Station discovered that as- 

 paragus-plants are both pollen-bearing and 

 non-pollen-bearing, or male and female: and 

 that, if we select only the male plants, or those 

 that produce no ])lossoms oi' berries, we shall 

 get much stronger shoots. And now Cornell 

 comes in and tells us that we may cut the tas- 

 sels from every other row of corn in our corn- 

 fields; and that those stalks or hills not allowed 

 to bear tassels will give — what do you suppose? 

 Why, not only lai'g(u- and better corn, but 50 per 

 cent more in quantity. In the experiments, 

 the tassel was snapi^ed olt just as soon as it 

 could be done handily, and the field was gone 

 •over three times. In the Bulletin, a full record 

 is made of the experiments. That there might 

 be no mistake in the conclusions reached, "•the 

 aggregate results of '?A distinct duplicate exper- 

 iments" were taken, "'each of which alone 

 showed the same thing as the aggregate of all." 

 If this is really true, it bids fair to be one of the 

 greatest achievements the world has ever 

 known in agricultural science: and, of course, 

 the same thing, or something similar, may be 

 applied to all plants that beai- pollen on one 

 plant and fruit on another. In oi'der to test it 

 early we have planted some corn in our hot-bed 

 across the way: and just as soon as the tassel 

 is visible, "amputation "■ is to be commenced. 

 Of course, enough pollen-bearing stalks must 

 be in the vicinity to insure perfect fertilization. 

 The success of the expei'iments is based on the 

 fact that nature furnishes a great surplus of 

 pollen, as plants are ordinarily grown and close- 

 ly cropped on our fields. A parallel case is the 

 restriction of drone pioduction in our bee-hives. 

 In their native state it is quite important that 

 every hive should rear many thousands of 

 •di'ones; but what would be thought of the api- 

 arist nowadays who would permit drones to 

 mature and issue by the thousands in every 

 hive of an apiary of 100 colonies or more? One 

 hive in a hundred could nearly if not quite rear 

 drones for them all: and the wonderful fact 

 that confronts us now is. that possibly one stalk 

 of corn can furnish pollen-dust enough for not 

 only two. six. a dozen, but may be tuienUj stalks 

 • of corn. Who knows? And is it not ])ossihle, 

 dear friends, that farming is going to pay after 

 all, when we just get the hanij of things, and 

 get acquainted with old Dame Nature? 



Now, friends, this is serious business. Farm- 

 ers are complaining bitterly already that their 

 crops do not pay cost. If in addition to this 

 they are paying out their hard earnings for 

 commercial fertilizei'S that don't pay, it is a 

 fearful thing to contemplate. The trouble 

 seems to be, that so many experiments are 

 made without testing alternulc rows with no 

 fertilizers. The use of phosphate on rye and 

 buckwheat, on oui'own grounds, pays, without 

 (luestion. But I have never lieen able to dem- 

 onstrate to my satisfaction that any of the 

 chemical fertilizers do any good whatever on 

 sweet corn and most other market-garden crops. 

 Stable manure, guano, ashes, and, in some cases, 

 lime, pi'oduce marked results. But I have for 

 years been coming to the conclusion that it 

 paid us to put our money into stable manure: 

 and for vegetable-plants in our plant-beds, 

 guano often pays, unquestionably. Lime or 

 ashes used with guano, or with stable manure, 

 often make it act more promptly. The lime 

 also destroys insects, and, where used in suffi- 

 cient quantities, it destroys angleworms by the 

 thousands. Now then: Before you invest" very 

 much money in any commercial fertilizers, ex- 

 periment by putting the fertilizer on strips clear 

 through your fields. After you have shown 

 conclusively, by experimenting in this way. 

 that it is woi'th what it costs, then invest, and 

 not before. Two or thi'ee years ago I saw so 

 much said in the papers about the nitrate of 

 soda that I got a bagful. As we had a very 

 pretty lawn in front of the house I thought I 

 would astonish the family and the neighbors 

 by showing them what it would do. So I mark- 

 ed out the letters on the lawn, "'A. I. R." Then 

 I sprinkled nitrate of soda along the letters. 

 As I did not know just how much to jnit on. I 

 put it veiy heavily on some lettei's, and lighter 

 on others, and watched anxiously for the extra 

 growth and color where the nitrate was put. 

 Well, the lawn. got to be very nice and green all 

 over: but during the whole summer I saw 

 nothing that enabled me to detect a particle of 

 difference in the growth or color of the gi-ass 

 where the nitrate was put on the letters. Then 

 I tried the nitrate on other things; but at the 

 present writing I have never found it to pro- 

 duce any benefit pei'ceptible to the eye or to 

 other tests, exci'[)t on a crop of spinach. Just 

 now I have been testing it on spinach in the 

 greenhouse; but even thei'e no one can see a 

 particle of difference where the nitrate was put. 



Since writing the above I have been reading 

 what "Joseph" has to say in the Furm and 

 Fircskle about the use of nitrate of soda. Here 

 is a sliort extract: 



I have repeatedly spoken of the really wonderful 

 effects often noticed from tlie use of nitrate of 

 soda. 1 shall never fail to use it larsrely on spinach, 

 onions, cabbajie, celei'y-phiuts, etc., Iiereafter. 



Other writers have spoken of it in the same 

 way. Now. there is something about this that 

 troiililes me. I wonder whether it is possible 

 that our poor success is on account of the heavy 

 rains we have l)een having for two or three 

 seasons back. Joseph speaks in the same ar- 

 ticle of thei]' severe and long- continued drouth. 

 Is it possible that nitrate of soda would over- 

 count to some extent a lack of moisture? Can't 

 our experiment stations explain these wonder- 

 ful differences in results? 



DO COMMEUCIAL FERTILIZERS PAY'' 



In the report on corn of the Ohio Experiment 

 Station for February, 1891, we find the follow- 

 ing: 



No practical benefit was received from the use of 

 commercial fertilizei-s. The increased yields from 

 the use of stalile manure probably repaid the cost 

 of the application, and left some piofit. 



SOME HINTS FOR SOWING CELERY AND OTHER 

 SMALL SEEDS. 



Cultivate your flower-g-arden ; 



All weeds and thorns subdue; 

 Neg'lig'ence is bard to i)ardon. 



And a ways will lx> cli;irg-ed to you. 



Localities differ. This should always be 

 borne in mind. For instance, when celery is 



