320 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15. 



wheels, and also the particular objections. 

 All together the testimony is pretty strong in 

 favor of the solid wooden wheel made by the 

 Handy Wagon Co. On account of this we 

 have asked the manufacturers to furnish the 

 cut as given on previous page. 



It seems to me that a farmer who has very 

 much use for a wagon should have, as I have 

 intimated before, two wagons — one with the 

 low-down wide tire, either wood or metal, and 

 another, the ordinary kind, so that, when the 

 time does come, even if not very often, that 

 wide tires are not just the thing, the other 

 wagon can be used I am quite sure that, on 

 a farm, something like the wagon we show 

 above will be found exceedingly hand}'. We 

 have one with small-sized rather wide-tired 

 wooden wheels, that I find very convenient 

 when the other wagon is away from home, 

 being repaired, or even if it should have a 

 heavy load on that it is not convenient to 

 remove just at that time. 



SOME OF THE STRANGE THINGS ABOUT POTATO- 

 GROWING, ETC 



The report of C. M. Whitney, in Gleanings, regard- 

 ing the Thoroughbred potato, coincides very closely 

 with our own experience with that variety. Our seecl 

 was obtained from you, and was given an equal chance 

 alongside of Earl\ Ohio, Polaris, and Carman No. 1. I 

 don't think a bug visited the vines, as it is doubtful 

 whether a dozen hugs could have been found in our 

 entire field during the season. It came up well; we 

 had a good stand, but it refused to stool, made almost 

 no growth, .set tubers shyly, and, when dug in the 

 fall, gave us comparatively nothing, either in quantity 

 or quality. On the other hand, the rest of the field 

 gave us splendid returns in large, clean, beautiful po- 

 tatoes. Now, please don't get the idea that I have 

 fallen into a towering rage, and am going to take re- 

 venge by ordering my journal stopped, all on account 

 of a potato. Not at all, Mr. Root. We have been in 

 the gardening business long enough to find out that 

 certain plants, be they vegetable or fruit, may turn 

 out verj' fickle on occasion. Season, locality, soil, and 

 trtatment create conditions fav'orable or otherwise. 

 We shall give the Thorougbred another sea.son's test 

 on different soil, with possibly a repetition on the 

 same soil. 



Three years ago this spring we bought a barrel of 

 the New Signal, then a much-lauded potato, which 

 was planted and given our usual good care. Right 

 alongside of them we planted Carman No. 1. The 

 former gave us an enormous crop of the largest, 

 smoothest, and finest-tasting potatoes I ever .saw or 

 ate Carman behaved most abominably — ill-shaped, 

 scrawny, a disgrace to any decent farmer. Both were 

 planted again the following spring on the Tery same 

 plat of ground, when, to our unbounded astonish- 

 ment, the ca.se was exactly reversed. Carman came 

 out with colors flying — bright, large, clean, of good 

 form, and excellent cooking quality; Init, alas for poor 

 Signal ! it retrograded at a rate 1 iiever heard of in a 

 potato or any thing else. 



.Still again, the best specimens from both were se- 

 lected for a third trial on the same ground, and 

 again Carman came nobly to the front, giving entire 

 satisfaction, while Signal dwindled down to — Jiolhing 

 — yes, that's the only way to describe it. 'We have 

 said, " Good by, .Signal, for ever." Can you explain 

 this, Mr. Root? 



While we are on the potato .subject I wish to touch 

 the Rural New-Yorker. It does not succeed every- 

 where nor with everybody. We tried it in 1803 aiid 

 1894, in Central Nebraska. ' In 1893 it gave us no yield, 

 no size; and in quality it was so watery and soggy 

 that we simply could not eat it. In 1894, Nebraska's 



year of overwhelming di.saster, it succumbed entirely 

 to drouth and heat. The vines actually seemed to 

 cook in the sun, while the little tubers withered and 

 shriveled in the soil. Right beside them Charles 

 Downing and Early Ohio gave us a little more than 

 one hundred bushels per acre. Bli.ss Triumph, ob- 

 tained from you two years ago, never gave us .satisfac- 

 tion. The foliage turned brown, and shriveled, re- 

 sembling leaf-lilight. We have discarded both it and 

 Howe's Premium, which was affected in the same 

 way. We regard the two as identical. 



Of the two new tomatoes purchased of you last 

 spring, Fordhook Early and Mill's Earliest, the latter 

 proved early and a fine variety; the former ripened 

 u'ith Poitderosa, and was badly affected with black 

 rot — not one healthy specimen in the patch. 



Just a word about that Rocky Mountain cherry, and 

 I am through. 



Do not be deceived. It is simply a sand cherry — no- 

 thing more, nothing less. Knox Co., Neb., is the 

 home of the .sand cherry. We have fruiting shrubs 

 here, anywhere from six inches to six feet in height. 

 We have two distinct grades — one is very fair eating, 

 fruit large as a tame cherry; the other, fruit smaller, 

 bitter, sour, and worthless. If you care to test some 

 of them for vourself I shall take pleasure in sending 

 you a box of the fruit next summer, free of all co.st. 

 The mountain sand cher'y may have the advantage 

 over ours in size of fruit, ju.st as the mountain service- 

 berry and Buffalo berry have over those grown here 

 or further East. By the way, that buffalo berry is a 

 much-abu.sed fruit. We think highly of it, and I 

 should like to ask you, Mr. Root, if j-ou ever tasted 

 any of its fruit; also if you are aware that its blos- 

 soms (those of the male "tree, I mean) find favor with 

 the bees. Mrs. I,. E. R. I„ambriggek. 



Niobrara, Neb., Feb. 23. 



We have had somewhat the experience our 

 fiiend mentions in regard to testing new pota- 

 toes and other things, but never before have I 

 had any thing so extreme. My first trial of 

 the Rural New-Yorker made me pronounce it 

 poor in quality ; but afterward, when we had 

 a dry season, it came almost up to the P'ree- 

 man ; but it has always proven to be a great 

 j-ielder in our vicinity. I am glad to have 

 further evidence that the Rocky Mountain 

 cherry is sometimes fit to eat. They are cer- 

 tainly large, fine-looking cherries, and they 

 call forth exclamations of astonishment to see 

 such large fruit growing on such small bushes. 

 Now, then, if we can have the quality added, 

 it will certainly be worth while. Our buflFalo- 

 berry bushes have blossomed twice, but I 

 think the fruit must have been killed by the 

 frost. They are now ready to blossom again, 

 and we hope for better results. Yes, I have 

 seen the bees on them, and they were kept 

 pretty busy. 



SWEET-POT.\TO CULTURE. — PREPARING THE GROUND. 



Continued from last issue. 



The custom of plowing the ground early in the 

 spring, and letting it lie idle till ready for use I find 

 does not suit me so well as plowing it early, harrow- 

 ing and cultivating it frequently, and ridging up some 

 two weeks before setting. I make the ridges 3"2 feet 

 from center to center, and run over them with a Z. 

 Breed cotton-weeder No. 9. The center fingers of this 

 weeder are so arranged that they can be lowered for 

 this work, and raised again for level culture. It re- 

 quires about 1.5 minutes to make the change. If the 

 ground has been properly prepared it will leave the 

 ridges in excellent order. I u.se the single-bar plow for 

 ridging, but presume the double would do just as well. 



Be sure to run over the ridges with the weeder after 

 every shower, and you will find that, when treated in 

 this way, they will hold moisture better than those 

 freshly made. 



SETTING THE PLANTS. 



The proper time is about May 1st in .Southern Ohio. 

 I prefer to wait for rain. One man can ea.sily set 5000 

 plants in a dav; and b5' hurrving a little he may reach 

 10,000. It reqiiires about 12,000 plants to an acre, rows 

 3;/< feet apart, and a foot between the plants. 



I have a small boy to drop the plants across the 



