642 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



bunching, for many years. Burpee's Extra- 

 early potato is almost a standard in many lo- 

 calities ; and the Matchless and Fordhook 

 Early tomato and Breadstone turnip are things 

 that seem to haye come to s/ay. 



On the way to the farm I told Mr. Earl, my 

 companion, how long I could stay in Philadel- 

 phia, and the places I wanted to visit. He 

 said, as did friend Selser, that my stay was 

 altogether too short ; but that, if I insisted on 

 carrying out my program, I had better leave 

 my wheel at the station, and he would get a 

 rig and give me at least a glimpse of what 

 the}' had to show, in the shortest time possible. 

 I do not know but I did express my surprise 

 that Mr. Burpee should leave his entire plant 

 in charge of a man so young as my companion 

 — a boy, almost. In fact, he told me he was 

 only 27 3'ears old. I soon concluded, however, 

 that Burpee's head was level in selecting a 

 general manager. By the way, in our own 

 work at home, a great many times old and 

 tnisty men have felt deeply grieved because 

 some 3'oimger one was promoted and put over 

 them. Dear friends, we who manage business 

 often think of this. But God has seen fit to 

 give some people special talents ; and, even 

 though it hurts to bow our head in submis- 

 sion, it is the right and proper thing to do. 



I w^as first taken into the office and shown 

 the books of record. Those who have under- 

 taken to test and compare new fruits and veg- 

 ■ etables know something of what a task it is. 

 Different foremen on Burpee's farm make it 

 their business to plant the seeds, watch and 

 care for the plant, stud}' its habits and pecul- 

 iarities, and note it down in an appropriate 

 book. This is not done for only one season 

 but a series of seasons. Nothing is put into 

 the catalog until it has stood the test, and 

 found to be beyond question superior to the 

 old sorts. You may inquire why it is that we 

 have fifty or sixty varieties of peas, and other 

 things accordingly. Well, it is a hard thing to 

 drop an old variety. In cutting down our cat- 

 alog I have several times decided to drop such 

 and such things ; but I have learned that there 

 is sure to come a wave of disapproval whtn I 

 decide to rule out almost any thing that has 

 been previously cataloged. If it is not some- 

 body in Florida who has found that very thing 

 just suited to his locality, it is somebody out 

 west or down east or up north. 



Of course, the flower business, which is the 

 great specialty at Fordhook Farm, was rather 

 out of my line, although I did greatly enjoy 

 looking at the beds of the new Sunset large- 

 leaved coleus. At Fordhook Farm, things are 

 arranged mostly for testing varieties or for 

 growing seed ; therefore I did not find much 

 that stirred me as did that ornamental bed by 

 the railway station. A field of mixed verbe- 

 nas, just in full bloom, was a most pleasing 

 sight. Just imagine a buckwheat-field, one of 

 the whitest you ever saw, with the flowers of 

 all colors of the rainbow, and you would get 

 the effect. Of course, sweet peas were a grand 

 sight, for Mr. Burpee is one of the greatest, if 

 not at the head of the sweet-pea growers of the 

 world. I greatly enjoyed looking over a field 

 of tomatoes grown expressly for seed and 



nothing else. Some of them were just begin- 

 ning to color at the time of my visit. I saw a 

 spring, or little n.in, w^here they wash the 

 seeds from the pulp, in getting the seed ready 

 for market ; and I smiled as I asked my friend 

 if that was where the ducks formed habits of 

 intemperance. 



"Yes, Mr. Root, that is where the ducks 

 got drunk ; and we were sorely puzzled for a 

 good while to know what ailed them, and what 

 made them die, until somebody suggested 

 that the pulp the ducks were feeding on had 

 fermented until it was intoxicating." 



Yes, it was indeed true. The ducks not 

 only learned to get drunk, but, instead of prof- 

 iting by experience, as soon as they recovered 

 enough to get back to the stufi" that was kill- 

 ing them they got drunk again and again un- 

 til they actually died. Finally their owner 

 was absolutely obliged to fence them off and 

 permit them to have access only to the fresh 

 tomatoes from which the seed had just been 

 taken. We may pardon the ducks, because 

 they are only dumb brutes anyway ; but what 

 shall we say of human beings, made in God's 

 own image, who follow their example ? Bur- 

 pee keeps abreast of the times by offering for 

 sale every thing worthy of being cataloged, 

 and I believe he sometimes offers for sale some 

 things that are not worthy of being cataloged, 

 were it not that they have already been widely 

 boomed. For instance, in his catalog for 1897 

 he says of sacaline, "It is compai-atively 

 worthless as a forage - plant in America." 

 However, he offers it to any who want it, for 

 10 cts. a package. After describing Lathynis 

 sylvestris, or flat pea, he says : " As a forage 

 crop it can not compare with Indian corn, cow 

 peas, etc." 



I was much pleased with another notice, to 

 the effect that visitors were always welcome 

 on any day exccpl Sunday. 



Burpee not only grows flowers, but he is an 

 enthiTsiast on fine poultry ; and his poultry- 

 houses and yards are the most perfect in the 

 way of cleanliness of any thing I have ever 

 fomid. Why, you could sit down and read a 

 book right where the fowls roost, and not 

 notice any unpleasant smell. I presume this 

 is managed by cleaning the hovises every day, 

 and by tlie proper use of dry dust as a deodor- 

 izer. His kennels for collie dogs are also 

 models of cleanliness and good taste. It 

 seemed really too bad, however, to keep the 

 intelligent little fellow's shut up when they 

 begged so piteously to get out. When I asked 

 the price of some of the good-looking little 

 puppies they said they were already sold at 

 something like ten or twelve dollars apiece, 

 and some of them are sold before they are born. 



Although I did not have the pleasure of 

 meeting Mr. Burpee himself, I was very agree- 

 ably entertained by Mr. B.'s bright and intelli- 

 gent sister, the manager's wife, Mrs. Earl, and 

 the little ones of their pretty home. And, by 

 the way, right by this home, and, in fact, with 

 its branches spreading clear away up above 

 and over the roof, is one of the largest bass- 

 wood-trees I ever saw in my life ; but, strange 

 to tell, they have never noticed any honey-bees 

 around it when it has been in full bloom. I 



