294 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15 



his quotation from Director Thorne (sup. 29) is mis- 

 leading — likely to leave a wrong impression concern- 

 ing the teachings of the Station. In Bui 94 June, 1898 

 page 325, the Director said this: The point insisted 

 upon was that the price of fertilizers was too high in 

 proportion to the value of the crops produced — not 

 that the fertilizers did not produce increase of crop. 

 On the contrary, this station's experience constantly 

 showed a larger increase of crop from certain artificial 

 fertilizers than from barnyard manure." Again, in 

 Bui. 71, April, 1896. page 18.5, " When fertilizers have 

 been used on potatoes there has been a good profit, 

 with ordinary yields and average prices of potatoes." 



FARMERS' WIVES. 



The reason which you give for fo many farmers' 

 wives going insane is amusing, and reminds me of the 

 story of the wise men who gave long scientific reasons 

 for a fact — a fact that wasn't so. Tie report of the 

 State Board of Charities of Pennsylvania, as quoted in 

 the Stockman and Farmer. Jan. 6. 1898, shows this con- 

 cerning the patients admitted the p'evious year: Of 

 1060 male patients. 139 had been farmers: and of 806 fe- 

 male patients, 32 were farmers' wives; 28 were farmers' 

 daughters, and 6 were farmers' widows— 66 in all 



Ohio statistics for 1885 and 1894, the only copies 

 which I have at hand, show that men constitute a ma- 

 jority of the patients in Ohio, as in Pennsylvania, but 

 do not tell what their avocation had been. Better 

 make sure that it is so before you worry any more 

 about farmers' wives being neglected. 



East Springfield, O. R. M. Reynolds. 



Friend R., I am exceeding-ly obliged to 

 you for your facts, especially for the criti- 

 cisms. I think you must have had poor 

 seed of the Giant Gibraltar onion. The 

 crop of seed has been short for several years, 

 and on this account almost every thing- has 

 been saved. The first small lots of seed I 

 had for tests gave very much better results 

 than that for two years back. As they are 

 very much larger than the White Globe, I 

 hope we may be able to get a strain of seed 

 that will give a good big onion from every 

 plant. During my visits to the Ohio Exper- 

 iment Station I had reports like what you 

 have mentioned, in regard to fertilizers for 

 potatoes; and at the price potatoes are 

 worth now — almost a dollar a bushel — it 

 will probably pay many farmers to use the 

 right kind of chemical fertilizers. Last, 

 but not least, I rejoice to know that farmers' 

 wives are not all "going crazy." The 

 statement I saw was given in a daily paper, 

 and I did not look for any statistics to cor- 

 roborate it. We can well rejoice that it is 

 not true. 



WINTER VETCH. 



The report below, clipped from the Cotm- 

 try Gentletnan, comes from our old friend 

 M. M. Baldridge; and his concluding sen- 

 tence would indicate that, in many places, 

 it might be a wonderful help — that is, if 

 one seeding can be made to give a crop for 

 fifteen years. 



I am greatly interested in the winter vetch, having 

 grown the same in an experimental way for several 

 years past. It is a wonderful plant to stool when giv- 

 en a proper chance. One peck (15 lbs ) of seed is 

 plenty to sow to the acre. This vetch should be grown 

 with wheat or rye in the North as a support to hold 

 the plants up and off the ground. One-half bushel of 

 either grain is ample to the acre. This variety of 

 vetch may be sown either in the spring or fall; but 

 when wanted to produce seed, it must be sown in the 

 fall 



My experience says that the plant must be grown so 

 late in the year that it will not bloom until it has pass- 

 ed through the winter. It will then produce seed 

 freely in the following June or July. 



In Mississippi the vetch is grown with winter oats, 

 both being sown in the fall. The crop there is pas- 



tured from December to March. The live stock is then 

 taken off and the double crop is permitted to grow for 

 hay or seed, after which the land is flatbroken and 

 planted immediately with cow peas. When the vetch 

 is grown tor grain or seed, the land is found to be 

 nicely reseeded with oats and vetch when the cow 

 peas aie ready to be cut for hay or harvested for peas. 

 One of my correspondents in Mississippi has grown 

 this double crop for about fifteen years, and from only 

 a single seeding, and each year has secured a good 

 crop of cow peas besides. He grows this double crop 

 on a large scale — 100 acres and upward per year. His 

 average crop of oats and vetch is about forty bushels 

 per acre, and this is sold, without separating, and for 

 seeding purposes, at 11.00 per bushel. 



THE NEW DISEASE OF THE POTATO — THE 

 ROSETTE. 



For several years past I have noticed on 

 our Medina soils here and there a hill of 

 potatoes with the foliage curled and twist- 

 ed up, something like the curl-leaf of the 

 peach-tree, but with the potato the whole 

 hill was dwarfed. One of my reasons for 

 changing my potato-growing to Northern 

 Michigan was that I might escape this 

 trouble (and scab) by starting on new 

 ground that had never grown a crop. But 

 I was a good deal discouraged to find more 

 or less of this trouble with the potatoes in 

 Michigan. It was probabl}* carried in the 

 seed. Some years ago I called the atten- 

 tion of our Ohio Experiment Station to the 

 matter. Below is the result of their experi- 

 ments: 



.treat'seed potatoes for disease. 



Recent investigations made at the Ohio Experiment 

 Station show that a disease, heretofore but partially 

 recognized, injures potato-tops severely at times. 

 This is the potato rosette, and this disease appears to 

 be general Seed treatment in 1903 has increased the 

 yield, where the disea.'e prevailed, from 25 to 125 per 

 cent on a light crop. Bulletin 145, just published, gives 

 the second series of results in treating for this trouble. 

 Formalin at the rate of 1 pint in 30 gallons of water is 

 the solution used. Immerse the seed potatoes in this 

 for 2 hours, after which the tubers may be dried and 

 cut for planting. This bulletin will be sent to all citi- 

 zens of the State who may apply for it. Address The 

 Ohio Experiment Station, Wooster, O. 



This treatment is also a remedy for scab. 

 An increase of from 25 to 125 per cent makes 

 it well worth while to tre it the seed with 

 formalin as above. Tomatoes are also 

 sometimes affected with the same disease, 

 and a similar one is found at times on Grand 

 Rapids lettuce. 



THE ROASTED-CHESTNUT POTATO. 



We are exceedingly glad to get something 

 from one of the old veterans in growing nice 

 potatoes, and I can heartily indorse every 

 point friend Manum makes. I think I shall 

 have to send him a potato or two so that he 

 can see what he can do. 



Friend A. I. Root: — In Gleanings for Feb. 15 you 

 ask if some one can advise you how to grow your 

 '■ roasted-chestnut potato so they won't be hollow." 

 Now, were I to try to breed out the hollowness in a po- 

 tato 1 would try late planting say from June '25 to July 

 12. I have succeeded in growing fine potatoes from 

 hollow seed by planting July 12 on an old strawberry- 

 bed just turned over My nicest potatoes the past 

 year were grown by planting July 7. These were set 

 aside for family use. Then if the season proves favor- 

 able for potato-growing when planting thus late we 

 may expect a fair yield of fine table poatoes. What I 

 call a favorable season is one with a moderate rain- 

 fall. Too much washing of the soil by frequent heavy 

 rains is not what the potato requires, but, rather, the 



