202 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1. 



the largest berry I rather think it would be the Nick 

 Ohmer. If you want the firmest for shipping, it 

 would be theBrandy wine. The handsomest beiry is, 

 pei haps, the Marshall. So > you see there are many 

 things to be considered in sajing which is best, all 

 around. 



KENDEL'S GIANT SWEET CORN, ETC. 



As a single customer offered to take the whole four 

 bushels I advertised at 83.50 per bushel in our last is- 

 sue (but 1 did not let him have it all) we have been 

 obliged to advance the price to 20 cts. per quart ; $1.25 

 per peck; 84.50 per bushel. It looks now as if those 

 who grew some choice sweet corn for seed last season 

 did about as well as those who raised seed bean*. By 

 the »av, we have just secured some home-grown 

 beans. 13 bu-hels in all, of Navy, York State marrow, 

 and while kidney. Price will be given on application. 

 Wax t eatis, both green and yellow podded, are going 

 to be practically out of the market, and I am afraid 

 they will be gine before it is time to plant them here 

 in the North. We have been sending north, east, 

 south, and west, but the reply comes evtry time, 

 " Sold out "—that is, where anybody wants a bushel 

 or more. 



A PORTABLE ELECTRTC LAMP. 



I have been for years waiting and watching for two 

 things that I was sure would come, and now they are 

 both here. The first was a dry battel y that would 

 give a good strong current, and which could be sold 

 for a nickel. This 5-cent battery weigh- only 4 oz., 

 and yet it gives quite a strong current that may be 

 used for a great variety of purposes. The second was 

 a portable electric lamp to be worked with these cheap 

 dry batteries. I have had one in use for a year, in a 

 square form, that cost $5.00. Recently an apparatus, 

 represented in the cut below, has come out for only 

 $3.50 ; smaller size, §2.50. 



A DRY-BATTERY ELECTRIC LAMP. 



The whole apparatus is 14^ inches long, and about 

 1J4 in diameter. >t contains four cells of the cheap 

 battery I have been speaking about. On one end is 

 an electric globe well protected, and on the other a 

 cap that can be turned on or off. Turning it on pro- 

 duces a light, and the opposite way extinguishes it. 

 This apparatus will give 20,000 flashes of brilliant 

 light ; or it will give a steady light for ten hours ; or 

 you can use it a second, a minute, or fifteen minutes, 

 until you have used up the whole ten hours. The dry 

 batteries themselves are good for from 60 to 90 days. 

 The apparatus weighs just 1% lbs. It can be used as 

 a bicycle-lamp, or for exploring caves, tunnels, dark 

 closets, etc. It is a splendid thing for plumbers who 

 are obliged to work in dark corners, especially where 

 leaking gas might induce an explosion with any com- 

 mon lamp ■ r lantern. When making connections for 

 our pip^s to carry steam fiom our factory over to my 

 home « e had got almost through one night- but it was 

 growing d rk, and there was too much wind to use 

 any sort of lamp. The men thought they would have 

 to give it up, although it was in the dead of winter, 

 and a storm was coming. I told them I could put a 

 strong light right on the pipes and connections. They 

 had but little faith; but I ran for my electric lamp, 

 and soon made their work plainer down in that muddy 

 ditch than it would have been in open daylight, and 

 the work was finished. At another time when a hot 

 box shut down our whole factory it was desirable to 

 have a strong light down between the raise- d-up shaft 

 and the box of babbitt metal. My electric lamp hit 

 the spot exactly. When Mrs. Root wakes up in the 

 night, and wishes to see the dial of the clock, just one 

 flash of my little lamp nifikes it plain. If she were to 

 scratch a match it would wake me up. You press the 

 button, and a beautiful light shines on the spot you 

 wish to see, and nowhere else. Release the button, 

 and it is gone. The lamp I use can be made to give a 

 tolerable light for from 15 to 20 hours. When your 

 light is gone, a new battery costs 20 cts.; so you see 

 the light costs onlv about a cent an hour, and you can 

 have it in installments of a second at a time if you 

 wish. Some of our people think I make a big fuss 

 a rout a little matter; but I tell you this is one of the 

 achievements of modern science, and sooner or later 

 is destined to play a great part in the machinery of 

 life. For further particulars address the The Acme 

 Electric Co., 1659 Broadway, New York. 



CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF CANNED MEATS. 



The above is the title of a bulletin just issued from 

 the Department of Agriculture, and this bulletin is 

 from our good friend Prof. Wiley, U. S. Chemist. 

 Samples of all the canned meats in the open markets 

 of the United States, as well as samples furnished by 

 the War Department, show that our canned meats are 

 honest, straight goods. Not a single can has been 

 discovered that showed that the nutritious part had 

 been extracted to make extract of beef. The canned 

 corn beef contained a very small amount of common 

 salt, and also a little saltpeter; but the quantity was 

 no larger than that found in the average farmer's 

 beef or pork barrel. It makes one think of the silly 

 stories of a year ago about the comb honey produced 

 by honest bee-keepers being manufactured out of glu- 

 cose and paraffine. At the time the statement was 

 made through the papers that our canned meats were 

 unwholesome I felt sure it was a mistake, for I have 

 frequently partaken of them freely in traveling, wheu 

 I have found myself unable to get fresh meat; and 

 the contents of the cans have always been good and 

 wholesome. Prof. Wiley further states that they found 

 the cans made of good tin, and the soldering was d>ne 

 in such a way that not a trace of any thing unwhole- 

 some was found in any can that might have come from 

 either the solder or the metals forming the can. I re- 

 joice at this, because it is a fearful thing to spoil the 

 confidence of our peop'e in wholesome food products 

 by any such unwarranted and untruthful statements. 



Now, another big point comes in right here : Prof. 

 Wiley says very positively what our medical men have 

 been repeating for years pa-t, that using borax, sali- 

 cylic acid, or any such chemical, for pre-erving fruits, 

 veg tables, or meats, is a thing that should be con- 

 demned. Not a trace of any thing of this sort was 

 found in any of the canned meats on our markets. I 

 believe our government is justified, not only in arrest- 

 ing parties for selling "preserving-powders," but I 

 think our periodicals should be restrained from adver- 

 tising any such pernicious compounds. Of course, 

 they preserve fruits and vegetables so as to have them 

 look very wholesome and appetizing ; but the same 

 powerful chemical that arrests decay prevents diges- 

 tion and injures the stomach. 



PADI IFCT QUEENS reared in U. S.; increased 

 CrViVLIUOl facilities 



guaranteed. 



for promptness; all queens 

 Write for prices from half dozen to 100 

 J. B. CASE, Port Orange, Fla. 



Gleanings for the 

 rest of the year 

 for 50 Cents. 



For the rest of the year — that is, from the 

 time you send in your subscription till Janua- 

 ry, 1900— we will send Gleanings for 50 

 ets. The sooner you send your 50 cts. the 

 more numbers you will get. 



Our Low Clubbing Offer, 

 or Two Papers for the 

 Price of one. 



For SI. 00, sent in advance, we will send 

 Cleanings one year, the American Agricul= 

 turist, and the Farmer's Almanac. In place 

 of the Agriculturist, with no addition in 

 price, may be taken the O. Judd Farmer or 

 the Prairie Farmer. 



For $1.10 we will send Gleanings one year, 

 and either the Ohio Farmer or the Michigan 

 Farmer one year. Send in your orders 

 early. 



The A. I. Root Company, 



Medina, Ohio. 



