1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



507 



money almost ruined by a drivings storm, 

 of wind and rain. Now, this bed or little 

 inclosure can be protected perfectly in an in- 

 stant from thing's of this sort; and whenever 

 there is more rain than is really good for 

 the plants, the cloth cover will keep off the 

 g-reater part of it. 



For the market-gardener and lettuce- 

 grower this cloth- covered bed or lean-to af- 

 fords an easy means of growing most beau- 

 tiful white crisp lettuce right through the 

 months of July and August. Of course, we 

 can do the same thing with the cloth rolled 

 up on a pole as described in the tomato- 

 book; but this arrangement does not shed 

 rain like our heavy sheeting drawn tight 

 on a frame. It sheds rain much better be- 

 cause there is considerable slant to the roof. 

 Perhaps I should have said in the first 

 place a single window opens from the base- 

 ment of that big cellar right into this cloth- 

 covered structure. This equalizes the air 

 so it is not apt to be too hot nor too cold 

 when the cloth is let down. The whole 

 thing is made of refuse pine strips, planed 

 on both sides, of course, but just as the 

 buzz-saw left it on the edges. By the use 

 of a little sandpaper these strips could be 

 painted. It is all made of one-inch lumber. 

 And, bj' the way, there are many plants 

 besides lettuce that do ever so much better 

 with a little shade from the fierce sun dur- 

 ing the middle of the day. When there is 

 a very hot dry spell even strawberries are 

 greatly improved by shade cloth during the 

 hottest hours. Two years ago our experi- 

 ment station at Wooster, O., had quite a 

 variety of plants kept perminently under a 

 structure covered top and sides with cheese- 

 cloth. During a severe drcuth, when every 

 thing was suffering outside, this cheese- 

 cloth protection not only cut off the fierce 

 rays of the sun, but the air was quite a 

 little damper inside than out. The contrast 

 in the looks of a great vai iety of plants with 

 the same things outside was just wonderful. 

 Of course, when we have cloudy days and 

 plenty of rain, there is no need of any 

 thing of this sort; but where one has plants 

 that are worth a great deal of money I 

 think such protection can be made to pay a 

 big interest on the amount invested. 



HOW TO MANAGE SO THE PLANTS YOU BUY 

 WILL NOT DIE. 



Somebody told me that one of the largest 

 nurserymen in the United States once made 

 the statement that not one tree in five sent 

 out from the nurseries ever bore any fruit. 

 Now, may be I have made a mistake in the 

 figures. It may have been only one in ten 

 that lived. But this is one thing that keeps 

 up the nursery business throughout the 

 United States and the rest o\ the world. 

 People get in a craze for beautifying their 

 homes, and buy trees, plants, shrubs, and 

 flowers. These all die; then the following 

 year, when spring comes, they get the fever 

 again, and buy some more. Perhaps this 

 time they get a few of them to live; but it is 

 only after a long experience that they learn 

 to manage stuff of this kind so it does any 



good. Another class of well-to-do people 

 make out their order for a lot of stuff and 

 when it comes they hire Tom, Dick' and 

 Harry to set it out. Now, if the above 

 Tom, Dick, and Harry do not know 

 how to do such work properly, and their 

 employer does not know any better, no won- 

 der the money is wasted. If you have not 

 had experience in this line of work you 

 have seen neighbors who buy stuflF reckless- 

 ly—yes, foolishly — and let it die. Last 

 Saturday I saw a lot of stuff shipped in 

 from some nursery, standing right out in 

 the hot sun in front of our electric-car de- 

 pot. Sunday, in going to church I saw the 

 stuff still there in the sun. Monday after- 

 noon it was there in the sun still. I might 

 have asked the agent if he could not put it 

 somewhere in the shade; but I am afraid he 

 would think I was meddling. 



Now, one great trouble why the stufiF you 

 buy from the beautiful catalogs never does 

 any good is that the shock in moving from 

 the nurseryman's grounds, or, worse still 

 from the florist's greenhouse, is too great 

 when put out in the sun in the average 

 home garden or front yard. The florist or 

 nurseryman can set the things out himself 

 and make them live; and in the cities well- 

 to-do people often employ a florist to make 

 a nice bed and put out the plants, especial- 

 ly the ornamental foliage plants. If he does 

 notmakeanicebed and havethe stuff live he 

 does not get any pay. Th is is a very good pl'an 

 but he generally gets pretty big pay when 

 he makes a bed that is really a success 

 Let me now digress long enough to tell a 

 story, and I think you will see where mv 

 moral comes in. ^ 



When I was in Columbus a few days ago 

 in reference to temperance legislation etc 

 I found out in the afternoon about half past 

 three that I would not be needed any more 

 for that day, nor till about ten a. m. the 

 next. Just as soon as I could catch a train 

 I went down to Xenia, Greene Co , to see 

 my eldest sister; but I stayed there only a 

 couple of hours. FYom Xenia I took the 

 electric line to Springfield, O. I had been 

 getting some very pretty plants from a 

 greenhouse there, for a very small sum of 

 money; and I was very anxious to see the 

 establishment where they could grow rare 

 and valuable plants for a few cents, that 

 used to cost almost as many nickels I 

 asked at the hotel how soon I could have 

 breakfast. They thought six o'clock was 

 early enough for anybody. Not so for A 

 I. R. when he is in quest oj greenhouses. 

 It was light enough so I could see at half- 

 past four A little after five I had finished 

 my breakfast at one of the "open-all-night" 

 restaurants; and almost before anybody 

 was stirring I was two miles out of the city 

 at the establishment of Messrs. Good & 

 Reese. Just as the sun was coming up I 

 was going through the hot-beds and cold- 

 frames. Then I managed to get into the 

 greenhouses, and I can hardly tell you what 

 a happy time I had for three or four hours 

 This IS said to be the largest establishment 



