150 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15. 



ceive one pleasant feature in this new expe- 

 rience ; and that is, that my writings along 

 the line of flowers are getting me acquainted 

 with the mothers of our land, perhaps in a 

 way I never got acquainted with them before. 

 I am also getting in touch with some of the 

 fathers as well. In fact, we are just told that 

 the father of our country spent much of his 

 time, and found much enjoyment, in a little 

 greenhouse, and that this greenhouse is still 

 kept in trim out of respect to the memory of 

 George Washington. The paths and beds that 

 he made are still kept much as he left them. 



I want to say a little more about that forc- 

 ing-bed. It is a revelation to me. As it is 

 opened and closed so many times a day, the 

 3X6 sash is hinged on the back side. A coiled 

 wire spring is attached to the front edge, and 

 then overhead toward the back side, so it holds 

 the greater part of the weight of the sash. It 

 takes but little effort to raise it with one hand, 

 and when up it is caught by a latch that holds 

 it out of the way while I look after and care 

 for the plants. Not only can you make a 

 shoot of almost any thing take root in damp 

 or wet sand placed in this bed, but you can 

 start the most delicate seeds, and make them 

 grow, so far as my experience goes, without a 

 failure. We sowed a paper of Giant Rainbow 

 coleus seed. It was simply sprinkled on the 

 surface of sifted jadoo, and then pressed down 

 with a board. In a very brief time every seed 

 had germinated. About the middle of January 

 we had orders for every Grand Rapids lettuce- 

 plant we had in the house, and more too ; in 

 fact, we had to return money, and so it became 

 necessary to get some more lettuce-plants 

 just as soon as possible. Well, we put four 

 rows of lettuce seed in this forcing-bed. In 

 four days they were up, and in four days more 

 they had to be transplanted to a larger bed. 

 It is true, they did not have their second leaves 

 on ; but where seed is sown in jadoo, when we 

 take them up every little plant carries a lump 

 of jadoo on its roots ; and this enables them 

 to be transplanted with perfect safety. Of 

 course, we should give the seedling plants 

 more room if space were not so valuable. We 

 have at present only one forcing-bed, 3x6 feet 

 inside, so every square inch of room is pretty 

 well occupied with drooping plants or seeds 

 and cuttings. 



We have just been transplanting our Rain- 

 bow colei. I believe the usual way is to put 

 them into thumb pots ; but we are planting 

 them out with a little spacing-board similar 

 to what we use for cabbage, celery, and toma- 

 toes. We are not going to the trouble of put- 

 ting them into pots until we select the hand- 

 somest. Some may object to plants that are 

 started under the influence of such a high 

 temperature and such a constant damp atmos- 

 phere ; but from many experiments I am satis- 

 fied it does not make any difference how your 

 plants are started. In fact, the rankest and 

 strongest growth you can get while in the 

 seed-bed is all the better. When they are big 

 enough to move, lower the temperature, give 

 them more air, then transplant them into a bed 

 where the heat and moisture are considerably 

 less than where the seeds grew. 



Finally, when you get good roots by the 

 forcing process put them in beds outside, and 

 gradually give them the outside air whenever 

 the weather will admit, and also gradually ac- 

 custom them to the full blaze of the sun, with- 

 out protection. If you care enough about 

 them to watch them carefully and study their 

 wants, you can make the very best of plants 

 by the time they are ready to be put out in the 

 open air — that is, if you start them early 

 enough. A plant that has lots of roots, and 

 has got well down into the ground, will stand 

 a tremendous freeze without injury, compared 

 with a plant that is weak and feeble, and has 

 been so, all its life. 



Somebody asks me to tell how to harden off 

 rapid-growing tender plants. Well, the above 

 tells it as plainly as I can in print ; but you 

 will all have to learn it by practice. Move 

 your shutters off and on as the weather chang- 

 es ; tuck your plants up tight and warm dur- 

 ing frosty nights, and then give them all the 

 sun they will stand 'without injury during 

 bright days. Not all plants can be managed 

 alike. Tomatoes and colei require a very dif- 

 ferent temperature and treatment from cabbage 

 and celery plants. 



When the sun gets to be too hot in the mid- 

 dle of the day, do not try to remedy the mat- 

 ter by taking off the sash or sliding them back. 

 Let your sash remain down tight over the 

 plants to preserve the damp air inside ; but cut 

 off the sun temporarily with a shutter or strip 

 of cloth, or even a newspaper. A cloth or 

 newspaper is better than a shutter, because it 

 lets in some light ; but outdoors we are both- 

 ered by the newspapers blowing away. Inside 

 of the greenhouse they are just the thing 

 when the sun is too hot on the forcing-bed. 

 Since the above was written I have learned 

 that the dark coleus plant I have described is 

 " Crist Beauty. " 



GOVERNMENT SEEDS. 



We have been assured of late that the seeds 

 sent out gratuitously by the government were 

 to be new and novel varieties, such as people 

 would not usually get of seedsmen. A lot has 

 just been received, addressed to A. I. Root, 

 Medina, O. The packets are labeled as fol- 

 lows: Radish, Chartiers; Beet, Eclipse; Onion, 

 Yellow Globe Danvers, and so on all through. 

 Every variety mentioned has been on the mar- 

 ket, and well known, for ten years past at 

 least. In fact, we have cataloged them and 

 sold them for nearly all that time ; and yet 

 they send me, a seed dealer, all these things, 

 when I catalog and sell the very same seed in 

 quantities ! Whose hard-earned money is it 

 that the government persists in wasting year 

 after year in this manner ? 



TEMPERANCE AND THE ANTI-SAIvOON 



I.EAGUE. 

 Deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the 

 apostles of Christ ; and no marvel ; for Satan himself 

 is transformed into an angel of light. — II. Cor. 11 : 14. 



As the above league begins to push its way 

 closer and closer into the dens of infamy, the 

 brewers and the liquor-dealers are becoming 



