1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



975 



should bother with a veil — at least not many 

 days in the year. I am going to try to get 

 this picture to show to you in Gleanings. 



One of the diffi:ulties with the girls in re- 

 gard to helping in the home is the matter of 

 its not being as respectable as some other call- 

 ings ; and much of it hinges on the fact that 

 the hired girl seldom sits down at the table 

 with the family. Out in the country, on the 

 farms, the hired men usually sit down with 

 the rest, even if company is present. As some- 

 body must wait on the table — at least where 

 there is a large gathering — the hired girl often 

 waits on the guests. Now, I am just old-fash- 

 ioued enough to want to see everybody in the 

 house sit down when I do. Bring the food 

 all to the table in the old-fashioned way, and 

 then let us all sit down, ask a blessing, and 

 have a merry time by zvatting on each other. 

 Pass the things around. May be I am old- 

 fashioned, and may be I am mistaken ; but I 

 would have the colored girl and the colored 

 man take their food with the rest of the house- 

 hold. If they are uncouth in manners and 

 dress, fix the manners and dress, and lift up 

 Africa, and every other nation in the same 

 way. Yes, I would have the Chinaman and 

 the Japanese too at my table if they helped me 

 on my farm or in my own home ; and I think 

 this thing alone would make an American of 

 either, quic/ter than any thing else. I may 

 not, during my life at least, be able to make 

 the black man's skin white ; but if we should 

 succeed, through Christ Jesus, in making his 

 heart as pure and clean, say, as Booker Wash- 

 ington's, what would it matter a.ho\x^. the color 

 of his skin ? Yes, and I would have the Amer- 

 ican Indians eat at my table too. There are 

 quite a number of them up in the Traverse re- 

 gion, and I confess I have watched them many 

 times while my heart felt drawn toward them. 

 Ma\ God help us in our efforts to bring tor- 

 ward that glad time when all kindreds and all 

 nations shall sit down together, forgetting col- 

 or and nationality, at the feet of " the Son of 

 God who taketh away the sin of the world." 



a corn-marker to be drawn by two horses. 

 This marker has three runners. After describ- 

 ing the corn marker they explain and illustrate 

 the chain arrangement as follows : 



MARKING OUT POTATO GROUND BY MEN IN- 

 STEAD OF HORSES ; MORE ABOUT IT. 



When I described the method used in the 

 Traverse region, on page 807, Oct. 15, I said if 

 any of our agricultural papers had ever describ- 

 ed thi^ method I should be glad to know it. 

 Well, I a-n glad to be able to tell you that one 

 agricultural periodical did describe and give a 

 picture of the operation as long ago as 1864. 

 It appeared then in that old standard period! 

 cal, the Cultivator and Country (,'cntleinan, 

 and is now figured in their " Annual Register 

 of Rural Affairs," page 34. They have kindly 

 permitted us to use the cut, which we take 

 pleasure in giving above. Permit me to ex- 

 plain that they gave at the same time a cut of 



For cross-marking, employ the chain marker, shown 

 in the cut. It consists of a light pole, with trace-chains 

 suspended from it, at distances for each row, or 3 or 

 3"3 feet apart, as may be desired. Two men take the 

 pole near each end, and one of them, acting as guide, 

 and ranging accurately, they walk forward, dragging 

 the chains in the soil, making a fine smooth line for 

 each chain. The figure tepresents only five chains. 

 Six or seven may be employed without inconvenience, 

 and the field marked off with great rapidity. By the 

 i^rst of these implements, a man and team will mark 

 more than an acre ; and by the use of the second, two 

 men, or a man and boy, will mark 25^ acres in walking 

 a mile. 



In order to make the machine lighter for 

 the men to carry, I would suggest using cords 

 with half a dozen or a dozen links of chain at 

 the end of the cord. The chain must be large 

 enough, and there must be links enough, so 

 that their weight will sink them into the soil 

 sufficiently to have them pull a straight line. 

 My impression is, the ground should be har- 

 rowed and floated until it is comparatively 

 smooth. Here in Medina we use a roller just 

 before marking. In the Traverse region I be- 

 lieve rollers are not very much used. The 

 difference, probably, is on account of the soil. 

 There are not many lumps to mash up, but 

 there are cavities to fill. The ground should 

 be made as smooth and level as possible by 

 whatever means you find most convenient. If 

 you wish to cultivate your crop both ways, 

 then you will need to mark and cross-mark. I 

 would suggest having the cross- marking near- 

 er together ; and I am pretty well satisfied 

 that many times, where potatoes are cultivated 

 both ways, the hills are so far apart the pota- 

 toes not only grow too large, especially the 

 Rurals and Carmans, but average good land 

 would stand having the potatoes enough near- 

 er to give half as many more bushels to the 

 acre. All potatoes that are in the habit of 

 growing too large for nice cooking size should 

 be planted closer until the size is reduced ; 

 and on our soil I have many times thought 

 there was a positive gain in having potatoes 

 so close to each other that the foliage soon 

 covers the ground and keeps off the hot sun. 

 Of course, to do this you must use manure or 

 turn under heavy crops of clover, or, better 

 still, turn under clover in the fall and sow it 

 to rye, and then turn under the rye in June, 

 and plant your potatoes. 



Permit me to say again that this chain meth- 

 od of marking must be cheaper than marking 

 with a horse, besides avoiding the tramping of 

 the ground when it is in fine condition to re- 

 ceive the potatoes ; and when used in connec- 

 tion with the hand potato-planter we shall 

 picture and describe later on, it is certainly 

 the plan. I was talking with a boy of eighteen 

 in regard to this method of marking and plant- 



