930 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



DEC. 1. 



on less there was not so much of it ; and 

 where they did not have enough to reach, 

 there was none at all. 



Our older readers may remember that my 

 first glimpse of the Grand Rapids lettuce was 

 by the light of a lantern ; and ever since then 

 there is something exceedingly fascinating to 

 me in viewing a lettuce-house by lamplight. 

 The four houses are warmed by steam. The 

 steam is produced in two cheap second-hand 

 boilers — at least I think they were second- 

 hand. I told them their boilers were not very 

 economical of coal ; but as they are located 

 right in the coal regions where coal is very 

 cheap it did not matter so much. The boys 

 and their father did their own piping, thus 

 saving a great expense. Of course, they had 

 to learn some lessons by cutting and trying 

 before they learned the kinks of heating by 

 steam and hot water. 



I wanted to get over to the experiment sta- 

 tion bright and early ; but during the night 

 the ground was covered with snow. My 

 young friend generously volunteered to take 

 me and my wheel over to Wooster ; but I told 

 him I would first try and see if I could not 

 ride such a short distance in spite of the snow; 

 and I got on very nicely with my gear-case 

 covering the chain. Now, these good people 

 not only have a greenhouse to work in during 

 the winter, but they grow small fruit. I think 

 they have two acres of strawberries, three acres 

 of raspberries, as many or more of blackberries; 

 ten acres of peach orchards containing some 

 very nice good-sized trees. They have never 

 yet had a crop of peaches. They do not feel 

 troubled, however, for one fair crop will proba- 

 bly pay all the expense of the outlay. Of 

 course, I promised to call again when small 

 fruit is being harvested. And, by the way, 

 I do not think I ever saw a cleaner strawberry- 

 patch than I found here in November. 



After having had a very pleasant visit with 

 Prof. Green and Prof. Thorn, and a hasty look 

 through the greenhouses, I started off. I had 

 in my overcoat pocket, however, some slips 

 taken from the greenhouse, of a new weeping 

 Lantana and a new Ageratum and some other 

 plants. 



On top of the hill just north of Wooster I 

 found a beautiful new greenhouse just in pro- 

 cess of construction. It belongs to Prof. 

 Thorn's son, who is building it purposely for 

 growing Grand Rapids lettuce. It embodies 

 all the latest improvements, and will probably 

 be a model structure, especially as young . 

 Thorn has his father, and the benefit of the 

 near-by experiment station, to advise and sug- 

 gest. 



I hope our readers will pardon me for saying 

 that I look on this lettuce industry with a great 

 deal of pride and satisfaction, especially when 

 I remember that I not only introduced the 

 Grand P.apids lettuce and its method of culti- 

 vation to the world, but I also gave it its 

 name. 



I have thought for several years that the 

 business would certainly be overdone ; but 

 somehow or other I have never heard of any- 

 body who grew a nice crop and could not find 

 sale for it. Of course, the price sometimes 



gets down pretty low. It is an industry that 

 anybody can work at during odd moments, 

 and it is something, too, that the wife and 

 children can all share ; for if the temperature 

 of the house is right for the plants it is just 

 right for children, young and old ; and I think 

 growing plants under glass is just about the 

 nicest business in the whole wide world. 



I started from Wooster just about noon for 

 a ride of about 30 miles before dark. Pretty 

 soon it began to snow ; but as the soil in that 

 direction is more or less sandy I got along 

 very well. But it snowed harder and harder ; 

 in fact, the snow stuck to my clothing until it 

 made me so heavy I was obliged to get off the 

 wheel now and then and shake myself to get 

 rid of the surplus weight. I am afraid some 

 people who passed me thought I was to be 

 pitied. Bless your heart, I was having more 

 real solid enjoyment than anybody I passed, 

 indoor or out. At Creston the snow was so 

 deep, and my wheel slewed about so much, I 

 rounded up at a station ; but when I was told 

 I should have to wait two hours for a train 

 that connected with our own road, three miles 

 east, I concluded I could stand the snow better 

 than I could to sit in the waiting-room for two 

 hours. So I wheeled about and went three 

 miles further, straight northeast, to Seville, 

 through the mud and freezing slush. As the 

 rest of the ride was through a clay soil I con- 

 cluded I would have to wait for the train on 

 our road. I thus avoided the necessity of 

 changing cars, you see. I spent about half an 

 hour in slicking myself up, shining my shoes 

 where the mud was thrown on them, then 

 slept half an hour in a very pretty nice new 

 hotel in Seville. Let me say I went into the 

 hotel, asked for a drink of hot water, a place 

 to take a nap, and borrowed an umbrella, and 

 made myself generally at home all around the 

 premises ; and yet the obliging proprietor and 

 his wife would not take a penny. Now, when 

 you find fault with hotels because they are not 

 just perfect in every respect, you should re- 

 member the amount of service they do that 

 they do not get any pay for. Well, after my 

 nap I took the borrowed umbrella and hunted 

 up a greenhouse, and thus passed the time 

 very pleasantly until train time. 



A NEW BEAN. 



Last spring we received a very small packet 

 of beans for trial, from F. B. Mills, Rose 

 Hill, N. Y. The packet was labeled "New 

 Bean No. 6." The whole number, I should 

 think, did not exceed a tablespoonful, and 

 these were planted with a lot of other beans 

 for a test. I think it made a row perhaps two 

 rods long, and may be more. When they be- 

 gan to blossom we noticed the row was loaded 

 with pods away ahead of every thing else. 

 When these beans were ripe enough to shell 



