150 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15. 



Sweet clover grows spontaneously along tramped 

 roadsides, even to the wheel-ruts in abandoned road- 

 waj'S, and in tramped or sodden land anywhere. 

 When found in meadow lands it appears not to occur 

 except when the ground has been tramped by stock 

 when wet. It grows by preference in old brick-yards. 

 It may be grown in fields by proper tillage. 



The character of sweet clover niaj- be now determin- 

 ed. Viewing it in no other light we thus .see that 

 sweet clover grows luxuridUtly in places where few or 

 no other plants flourish. But it belongs to ihe great 

 cla.ss of leguminous plants, which are capable, by the 

 aid of other organisms, of fixing atmospheric nitro- 

 gen and storing it in the plant-tissues. It belongs with 

 the clovers, and it may thus be used to improve the 

 land upon which it grows, and this appears to be its 

 nii-ssion. It occupies lands that have become unfitted 

 for good growth of other forage-plants. Its rank, 

 then, is as a useful plant, capable of increasing fertil- 

 ity of land. 



How shall sweet clover be treated ? 



The character determined, the treatment to be ac- 

 corded this clover-plant is really settled. The plant is 

 the farmer's friend, to be utilized and not to be out- 

 lawed. The plant grows and spreads rapidly. ,So do 

 red clover, white clover, timothy, blue grass, and oth- 

 er forage-plants ; but sweet clover grows where they 

 do not : it indicates lack of condition for the other.s. 

 Viewed in this way it is to be treated as preparing un- 

 fitted lands for other crops. 



It may be mown a short time before coming into 

 bloom, and cured for hay. Stock will thrive upon it if 

 confined to it until accustomed to it. The road.sides, 

 if taken when free from dust, may be made almo.st 

 as profitalile as any other area in clover by cutting the 

 sweet clover and curing for hay. If this is regularly 

 attended to while stock is kept from other lands that 

 it invades, sweet clover will be found doing always 

 the good work for which it is adapted. 



THE THOROUGHBRED POTATO AND .SOMETHING 

 ABOUT VARIETIES IN GENER.4L. 



Ml . A. I. Root : — Sometimes reports of failures may 

 be as useful as reports of unusual success ; but they 

 are not so common. I notice you put the price of 

 Thoroughbred potatoes down to the price of others, 

 and assign as a rea.son that they are so well introduc- 

 ed. Perhaps there is another reason. Judging from 

 my experience with the Thoroughbred this year, they 

 are the nio.st thoroughbred humbug that I have ever 

 tried in the line of potatoes. I planted my patch with 

 Burpee's Early, Beauty of Hebron, and the Thorough- 

 bred, all the same day. They had the same treatment, 

 except that I hoed the Thoroughbreds a little when 

 small, to be sure no weeds hindered their growth. Of 

 the Burpees and Beauty of Hebrons I did not lo.se a 

 hill, and the crop was a fair one, at least for this year; 

 but the Thoroughbred made slow growth ; and when 

 a bug touched a hill the potato gave right up and al- 

 mo.st quit trying to grow. Then when I destroyed the 

 bugs and kept them off, the hot sun or something 

 else .seemed to kill the tops, so when the potatoes were 

 no bigger than hickorynuts half the hills were dead, 

 and only a few hills survived until digging-time, and 

 the b.est of them did not yield as well as the Beauty of 

 Hebron. I concluded tliat, when Terry fir.st tried them 

 with such good results, all conditions mu.st have been 

 very favorable. I expect to try them again, but have 

 little faith in them. My seed was from your stock. 



C. m" Whitney. 



Rootstown, Ohio, Dec. 24, 18117. 



Friend W., I am greatly astonished to hear 

 such a report of the Thoroughbred. It is true, 

 it has not done equally well in all localities. 

 In fact, there is no potato I know of, unless it 

 is the Rural New-Yorker, that seenis to suc- 

 ceed everywhere. I have noticed and prompt- 

 ly reported that the bugs troubled the Thor- 

 otighbreds, seemingly, more than any other 

 potato. But so far as the other points you 

 make are concerned, I have never seen or 

 heard any thing of the kind. On our ground 

 they are not nearly of as good shape as some 

 other potatoes; but those we bought of Maule, 

 and the crop rai.sed for me in Michigan, were 

 the smoothest and finest-shaped potatoes I ever 

 saw. I do not know that we ever had any 



complaint before of a poor yield compared 

 with other potatoes. Try them again, by all 

 means. I am inclined to think j-ou will have 

 a different result. I have noticed this fre- 

 quently, that the result one year with a cer- 

 tain potato may not agree at all with that of 

 the very next sea.son. In regard to novelties, 

 I am beginning to learn that we must go slow 

 about condemning. Since I published the 

 article on page<)3, in regard to novelties among 

 small fruits, I have had reports in favor of 

 almost every thing friend Chinn mentioned, 

 unless it is the Ma} berry. Nobod)' sticceeds 

 with this, that I know of. In Gregory's new 

 catalog I notice he says the Rocky Mountain 

 cherry from some plants is unfit to eat, while 

 from others it is very good. We have three 

 bearing bushes, and the cherries are all the 

 most disagreeable-tasting fruit I ever got hold 

 of. But some samples that looked very much 

 like them, sent in from the far West as " sand 

 cherries, ' ' were very fair eating. 



the OREGON EVERGREEN BLACKBERRY. 



Friend A. I. Root : — I want to say to R. Chinn, Jan. 

 15th Gle.anings, relative to the Oregon Evergreen 

 blackberry, that, if they are properly cared for, and 

 the climate does not kill the plants, they are a very 

 fine and delicious fruit when ripe, and are wonderful 

 to bear, and will continue for a period of t>vo months 

 with ripe and green fruit and blossoms all the time. 

 The price he paid was outlandish. If any of the read- 

 ers of Gleanings want any plants I can furnish them 

 for 2.") cts. each, or three for .")0 cts., postage prepaid. 

 I .send you by mail a few roots to plant. Put them in 

 a low piece of ground where the water will not stand 

 on them. Give them plenty of mulching — old straw, 

 chips, etc., and lots of water while fruiting, and I 

 think you will find them very fine, large, and sweet. 

 We have had clusters, or bunches, that I think I am 

 safe in saying yielded from eight to ten bushels of fine 

 rich berries. ' R. R. Ryan. 



Salem, Ore., Jan. 2(i. 



We will take care of the roots, and plant 

 them out as you suggest, friend R. My im- 

 pression is that they tlo not usually do as well 

 here in the East as they do with you. Your 

 point is a good one — plenty of water. In 

 fact, all blackberries must have plenty of 

 water to produce luscious fruit Now, Oregon 

 is the place where it not only rains every day 

 (as somebody has said), but some da3's it rains 

 t7vice. Very likely the reason why this berry 

 failed in the East is becatise it lacks its accus- 

 tomed stipply of water; and, by the way, how 

 will it work with blackberries in general to 

 ptit them on low grotmd thoroughly under- 

 drained, so no water can stand, and then give 

 them such a mulching as described ? That 

 would be a good deal after the plan that T. B. 

 Terry follows. He mulches with straw, and 

 puts it on so heavily as to keep down all 

 weeds, and at the same time hold the moisttire 

 for a long time if no rain comes. 



GOOD FOR THE WINEBERRY. 



Ml . Root . — Having read Mr. R. Chinn's account in 

 Gleanings, p. (K, about his wineberries doing so poor- 

 Iv, I thought it right to tell about mine. In the spring 

 of 1S!)6 I bought 12 plants, and in the spring of ISil" 3 

 of them were strong enough to bear, and gave me (> 

 qts. of very fine large berries, as large as the black 

 cap raspberry, with' very fine flavor. At the present 

 time the .stalks are in a very healthy state, and .stand 

 4 or .') ft. high after being trimmed, and some of the 

 stems are an inch thick. I should not be surpri.sed if 

 I should get .5 or (! bu.shels this year. They come up 

 to the description in the catalogs in every respect ; 



