1897 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



25 



people around here will tell you stable manure 

 won't answer—" no good in this climate." This 

 may be to some extent true, without water. On 

 the station farm, McHenry makes a 13-foot 

 windmill water about three acres very well; 

 but I think the wind is more regular every day 

 here than in the North. The canagarie root 

 does finely here, as, in fact, do all roots, pretty 

 nearly. Sweet potatoes and yams (including 

 the vineless) are right in their home, and, of 

 course, no irrigation (as a rule) is needed. They 

 bring .50 cts. a bushel now. Irish potatoes can 

 be grown only in early spring, and they must 

 be used pretty soon, for they won't keep through 

 the summer. McHenry made last spring 87.5 

 from an acre of early potatoes. The variety 

 that did best was the Triumph— the same I 

 have placed at the top of the list for an early 

 potato in the North. The numerous varieties 

 of non-saccharine sorghum, kafir corn, and all 

 the rest, would puzzle a botanist, let alone a 

 farmer. The chicken- corn sorghum will grow 

 two crops in a season. Just cut it when the 

 seed is ripe enough for chickens, and another 

 full crop springs right up from the suckers. If 

 you break the stalks down, the chickens will do 

 the harvesting. Eggs are 20 cts. a dozen, and 

 chickens can be hatched every day in the year. 



Now, you need not all move down here, for 

 both McHenry and Mr. A. assured me there are 

 any quantity of folks here, just as there are up 

 north, who are going about complaining they 

 can't find any thing to do. Apples won't do 

 here, but plenty are grown in the northern part 

 of the State. W. C. McDowell has a very pretty 

 irrigated garden right in th<^ town of Beeville. 

 I was pleased to see a beautiful stand of trans- 

 planted onions. They are red Bermudas. He 

 says they will mature in April, and he often 

 gets a nickel apiece for onions averaging 1 lb. 

 each. 



A great variety of hardy vegetables stand out 

 all winter. Cabbage was considerably injured 

 by the freeze, but this does not often happen. 

 Cotton cloth is used over the plant-beds, but is 

 more to keep oii' the hot sun than to protect 

 from frost. Winter cabbage brings 5 cts. per 

 lb. at retail. We saw a few heads ready lo cut, 

 and fresh cabbage brings the above price this 

 month. McDowell scatters fresh manure, both 

 stable and poultry, very liberally through his 

 cabbages; then he cultivates it in thoroughly, 

 turns on water, and says the manure never hurts 

 his cabbage. When I was introduced to the 

 manager of the experiment station he said he 

 had just purchased our tomato book, so you see 

 we received a warm welcome, both from him- 

 self and his good wife. The State has given 

 him 100 acres of beautiful land, and his work is 

 to see what can be grown on it profitably. 



Beeville is a town of windmills. They get 

 water at about 50 and also at 100 feet deep. 

 The deep vein washes nicely with soap, but is 

 somewhat alkali, after all. The price for drill- 

 ing wells here is only 50 cts. per foot, the owner 

 paying for all pipe needed to case off the surface 

 water. 



I must not forget the fireflies of South Texas. 

 One warm night they were scattered over the 

 ground so that it literally sparkled with twin- 

 kling jewels. When I tried to catch them they 

 either " went out " or hopped like a cricket. I 

 am told they are a sort of snapping-bug fire- 

 flies. 



Somebody brought Mr. Atchley some grape 

 cuttings from California. They were planted in 

 his garden in front of the house, and in less 

 than one year he had a few bunches of ripe 

 grapes, and these were cuttings only— no roots 

 at all to st_art the^. 



Dec. i2. — Here I am at Tempe, Arizona, 



among the grand old mountains once more. If 

 the chap who wrote — 



I love thy rocks and rills 

 had taken a trip through Arizona he could have 

 found lots to love, especially as far as "rocks " 

 are concerned. Next to the mountains come 

 the great alfalfa-fields, kept as green and bright 

 with the sparkling water as was ever a clover- 

 field in May or June. It made me think of the 

 words of Scripture, " He maketh me to lie down 

 in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the 

 still waters.'' I really do not know of a more 

 refreshing and reviving sight than a field of 

 alfalfa in the month of December; and then to 

 see droves of cattle, sleek and happy ! In cross- 

 ing the Texas plains, somebody told me they 

 figured it wanted five acres to a cow on those 

 ten-thousand-acre pasture-lots. My impression 

 is that some of the alfalfa-fields well irrigated 

 might reverse the proportion, and put five cows 

 on one acre. 



By the way, the past season has been a grand 

 one for alfalfa honey. Mr. J. P. Joy, Secretary 

 of the Bee-keepers' Exchange, produced from 

 500 colonies, in only two apiaries, 50,000 lbs. of 

 honey. Mr. J. Nippert and others have done as 

 well or better. This organization has been for 

 some years past purchasing the cans for their 

 members by the carload, and in the same way 

 the secretary makes sales and ships the com- 

 bined product of all its members: and from 

 what I gathered at the convention I think it 

 has been of great benefit in both ways. They 

 have regular meetings foar times a year. 



SUPERSTITIOUS MOUNTAIN. 



Dee. 14.— Before daylight my brother, J. H. 

 Root, Mr. John Nippert, of Phccnix, and myself, 

 started out — I on mv new Columbia wheel, and 

 the others in friend Nippert's buggy. Jess (my 

 brother) and I rode the wheel alternately; but 

 toward noon I went on ahead so as to get my 

 nap before dinner, and be in good trim for the 

 mountain climb in the afternoon. The day was 

 most beautiful, like all the days so far in Ari- 

 zona, although the morning was rather cool. 

 After passing the beautiful town of Mesa, and 

 getting clear out on the wild desert, I found the 

 most beautiful wheel-riding I have ever found 

 in the world. It is true, I have seen gravel 

 pikes, shell roads, and asphalt pavements 

 equally good, but never before have I seen the 

 whole wide country so I could go where I would 

 and find it equally good everywhere. There had 

 been just rain enough to form a crust on the 

 surface of the sand, and this seemed to leave 

 hardly a trace to show where the rubber tire 

 had passed. There were bushes, but so scat- 

 tering they made one think of a tastily arrang- 

 ed garden; and the broad, constantly curving 

 walks between the shrubbery made an ideal 

 ground for the wheel. 



As we neared the mountain, beautiful flowers 

 began to appear, of varied colors and of differ- 

 ent form from any I had ever seen. At differ- 

 ent points along the way the song of birds 

 rejoiced my heart, and with it all the fascina- 

 tion of the beautiful weird mountain that came 

 nearer and nearer every moment caused me to 

 sing again and again, "Praise God, from whom 

 all blessings flow." 



It is 35 miles from Tempe to the mountain, 

 but the latter seemed so near about 10 o'clock I 

 felt sure I should soon be there. But the near- 

 er I came the more the road seemed to unwind, 

 or lengthen out, until I began to think there 

 was some ground for giving the mountain its 

 name. I was always almost there; and the 

 road seemed always dipping down into a ravine 

 just at the foot of the mountain; but the 

 "downhill " didn't seem any easier, and finally 



