546 



Gleanings in Be€ Culture 



very glad indeed to receive critieisms in re- 

 gard to our methods of doing business, espe- 

 cially when they come with such good na- 

 ture as the following protest. 



Gentlemen:— X few weeks ago I wrote you about 

 buckwheat seed, asking you some questions. You 

 replied with a circular printed some 22 years ago. 

 Instead of a brief, scientific, modern treatise, gotten 

 up in snappy, interesting, concise style, I am treat- 

 ed to a mossback of a circular, that, even In the 

 year of our I^ord 1889, was none too creditable a pre- 

 sentation. To-day it is positively funny. Now, 

 even so ancient and honorable and substantial a 

 concern as yours might with profit get within 22 

 years of this day and age. Times change and the 

 world moves, and there has surely been an increase 

 in knowledge, even with regard to buckwheat. No 

 doubt those farmer-authors did their best. They 

 drew from their storehouse of knowledge, and yield- 

 ed up their wisdom even for such as I. But, alas! 

 mayhap the mold is growing over the last resting- 

 place of most of those contributors, and the grand- 

 sons and granddaughters are treading the old famil- 

 iar paths that shall know those ancient ones no 

 more. But out of the dead and buried past there 

 arises, through the medium of the A. I. Root Co., the 

 words of wisdom and counsel— aye, the testimony of 

 truth indestructible regarding silverhull and .Japa- 

 nese. Believe me, this pamphlet is a gem. 



Canton, O., .June 8. The Keith Mfg. Co. 



In answer to the above, permit me to say 

 that every little while our clerks were telling 

 us that we were out of buckwheat pamphlets, 

 and finally I said, "Print a great lot of 

 them," and, as a consequence, we have had 

 enough to give away right and left, as our 

 friend declares, for A years, although it does 

 not seem to me hardly a dozen years. 1 

 have one of these old pa'mi)hlets now in my 

 hand; and my verdict, after looking it over, 

 is that it is still a very good and valuable 

 pamphlet to be given away. I know there 

 has been great progress made in growing 

 corn, wheat, and perhaps oats also. Many 

 new and valuable varieties have been 

 brought out; but, so far as I know, no im- 

 provement worth mentioning has been made 

 in growing buckwheat, for 22 years. May 

 be I say this because 1 am not posted; but 

 if this is true, I am sure that, among the 

 50,000 or more of those who read (J leanings, 

 there are some who can keep us posted. 



Now, friends, we want to get out a new 

 buckwheat pamphlet, up to date; and we 

 are willing to pay for information on the 

 matter that is not already contained in our 

 old pamphlet. We will send any of you one 

 on application; and if any of our various ex- 

 periment stations have made buckwheat a 

 subject for experimentation and test we shall 

 be glad to hear from them. By the way, 

 why is it that our Department of Agricul- 

 ture at Washington has never put out any 

 sort of pamphlet or bulletin in regard to 

 growing buckwheat? We will gladly pay 

 for information along this line That is, as 

 I have said before, for information not con- 

 tained in our little pamphlet. Of course, 

 there have been many articles on buck- 

 wheat-growing in our journal during the 

 past 22 years; but I can recall now only a few 

 points brought out that are strictly new. 

 Buckwheat is much inclined to sport, and 

 specimens have been sent us with colored 

 flowers that made them jiretty enough for 

 a flower-garden; but nothing has been done 

 in the way of getting an improved grain of 



larger size since the .Japanese, brought out 

 by Peter Henderson something like thirty 

 years ago. 



Since the above was in type I have writ- 

 ten to the Department of Agriculture, at 

 Washington, and they inform me that no 

 bulletin has ever been pviblished in regard 

 to buckwheat. I believe a leaflet was pub- 

 lished by Cornell University some years 

 ago; but they inform me that they are un- 

 able to furnish me at present e\ en a single 

 copy- 



THE AEROPLANE, AND HOW MILLIONAIRES 

 ARE MAKING A PL.WTHING OF IT NOW. 



Of course every reader of this journal 

 knows W. Atlee Burpee, the seedsman who 

 has given the world good honest seeds for 

 so many years. Well, it seems he has be- 

 come a millionaire, and I am glad to hear of 

 his prosi)erity, for I think he has worked 

 hard for it. VVell, Bro. Burpee has just start- 

 ed out on an ocean voyage. After he had 

 got down to the outlet of New York harbor, 

 as a joke on his friend .John Wanamaker 

 (who is also a millionaire, as you may know) 

 he sent a messageby wireless, ordering some 

 stock — a toothbrush, stationery, etc., of 

 course meaning it for a joke. But Wana- 

 maker, in order to carry out the joke, tele- 

 phoned an aviator, then making flights near 

 I*hiladelphia, asking him how much he 

 would take to deliver a package on board 

 the steamer Olympic, then just starting 

 from the piers in New York. The terms 

 were soon concluded. A clerk rushed into 

 the store, got the stock required, and an au- 

 tomobile whirled him to the biplane. The 

 package was received, the flying-machine 

 started, and soon found the ship wanted, 

 then over twenty miles from the city. Skim- 

 ming down within 200 feet of the vessel he 

 dropped the package on deck among a crowd 

 of people. It happened to strike a boy and 

 knock him down; but, notwithstanding, the 

 passengers cheered, and waved their hand- 

 kerchiefs; and before he was out of sight the 

 said boy got up and waved his handkerchief 

 also. iSIay God be praised for the possibili- 

 ties that are coming to pass in the way of 

 making these wonderful agencies do the 

 bidding of the creatures he has created in 

 his own image. 



HONEY VERSUS CANK SUGAR. 



On page 448 x'ou advise the eating of frviit without 

 sugar. That is right; but do you know .vou can 

 sweeten it all you like with good extracted honey, 

 and no bad effects follow? Cook the fruit; set it off 

 the stove; then stir In honey to suit your taste, and 

 see what a benefit It is. Children will eat It sweet- 

 ened, but not without. Try it. 



Arden, Neb., July 28. W. II. Mills. 



Friend M., I entirely agree with you that 

 honey is very much more wholesome than 

 sugar, and doubtless many peojile can eat 

 honey in the way you indicate, where sugar 

 would make trouble. I have found it bet- 

 ter, however, to eat lioney rather sparingly, 

 and not any at all for ihe closing meal of 

 the day, with my apples or other fruit. 



