GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



house is in the center. Four double houses 

 sun'ound the granary, and every flock has a 

 yard running out like the spokes of a "wheel. 

 Now, four houses and yards are enough for 

 50 hens, so there are four more vacant until 

 the chicks begin to hatch, then every hen 

 with her brood has a house (really half a 

 house) all to herself. No big chickens get 

 at their bread and milk ; and as they gTow 

 she can take them further and further every- 

 day out among the palmettos and other un- 

 derbrush. If a storm comes up she is pretty 

 sure to make for the central shelter. All 

 feeding and egg-gathering, as a I'ule, is in 

 this central gr-ou^D of houses. 



After they had all got located (a rooster 

 with his dozen hens to eat;h yard) I tried 

 opening the gates and letting the adult 

 fowls all run together on Stoddard's colony 

 plan, and it works nicely. At night they 

 all go to their own roosts, and each flock 

 goes away off in its own yard except when 

 they come home for feed and water, and to 

 lay. It is true a few hens have stolen nests 

 out in the undei'brush; but Wesley so far 

 has " spotted " them very soon by their 

 cackle, and brought in the eggs for home 

 use. 



Well, when each hen with her brood has 

 a big yard all to herself she finds quite a lot 

 of bugs and worms, to say nothing of green 

 stuff for her brood. If she knows where to 

 get wheat and water every hour in the day 

 she almost cares for herself and brood. 

 Each hen and chicks has a big head of let- 

 tuce every morning, and the grown-ups have 

 a heaping bushel in the wire-cloth basket I 

 have described. 



I told you that,' when we arrived here in 

 November, I got only four or five eggs a 

 day. Well, with all I could do the flock 

 came up very gradually; but now we get 

 close to three dozen every day. Until Feb. 1 

 we had 40 cts. a dozen; but all at once it 

 seemed " everybody's hens " began to lay, 

 and the price dropped to 25 cts. in about 

 one week. 



THE INDIAN RUNNER DUCKS. 



Early in November we got one day 17 

 eggs from 24 ducks; but through December 

 and January they didn't average a dozen, 

 and one or two days only three or four eggs. 

 This is so different from former winters I 

 hardly know how to account for it unless it 

 is true with ducks, as with hens, that small 

 flocks always lay better than large numbers. 

 Still, 25 should not be called a large flock.* 

 I gave them mustard liberally from that 

 barrel I told you about, but it does not seem 



* Later. — It is tiott March 3, and the ducks Iiavf 

 been doinsc very well all this February : but duck 

 eggs brought only 20 cts., while hens' eggs were 25 

 cts. 



to work with ducks (at least not this win- 

 ter) as it does with hens. We feed ground 

 bones and meat scraps two or tliree times a 

 week to all, big and little. Next to this they 

 all seem more fond of lettuce than any thing 

 else, and we are now growing lettuce just 

 for the fowls. It does finely on ground that 

 has once been a " chicken yard," and I be- 

 lieve the chickens' heads are " level " on 

 lettuce. It is God's medicine and food, both 

 together, and good for people as well as 

 cliiekens. 



FLORIDA PESTS ; CASSAVA, ETC. 



T have been reading this journal for 21 years, and 

 my sympathy is all with Mrs. Root in her efforts to 

 curb your fervor in description of " discoveries " and 

 in following you in your wayward career through 

 life and into the wilds of the west coast of Florida, 

 where I can easily believe the trials imposed by in- 

 sect pests, if not warded off properly, will induce 

 the same results as they do on this east coast: viz., 

 profanity, disgust, and strong drink. However, if a 

 person will consider the matter calmly, and study 

 the ways of the pests, it is possible to beat them at 

 their own game of torment. For sand flies and mos- 

 quitoes, use a bee-smoker. Rotten heart pine is the 

 best fuel. A rotten railroad tie is the stuff. For 

 roaches (common palmetto roach) Palma tosilpha 

 Floridiana, I make traps of tumblers baited with 

 honey. Just grease the inside of the glass. A strip 

 of paper is pasted to the outside from bottom to top, 

 and then put in a dark place, and left alone until it 

 needs to be cleaned and rebaited. 



Whitewash with common lime all dark places that 

 are their harbors, and let spiders, lizards, chame- 

 leons, and harmless snakes have the privilege of pur- 

 suing their prey in and about the premises, and kill 

 all you see. 



Poison is dangerous, and not necessary. I can 

 draw on 27 years and 10 months of life spent in 

 southern Florida for experience to prove my theories. 

 I am 54 years of age, a native of New Jersey, and 

 Jack at many trades. I am not much of a gardener, 

 growing some things only for my own use and learn- 

 ing the reason why they have failed in the past to 

 produce any vegetables for home use, except by lucky 

 accidental planting; however, it is not by lucky acci- 

 dents that I can dig 20 and 30 lbs. of sweet potatoes 

 from one hill and runners, or gather 150 to 250 

 pods of okra from a single plant. It is soil, season, 

 and knowing how, supplemented by sub-irrigation 

 that naturally is found in low lands bordering rivers 

 and lakes. 



If you care to try out my variety of sweet potato 

 I w^ill send you seed and cuttings at any time. 



As to the dasheen, I wish to compare it with the 

 sweet potato in quality and quantity. 



About your cassava, you wiU find the roots under 

 ten inches, when grated as horseradish is grated for 

 use, and then made into pudding as rice is used, have 

 something more than " chicken feed " in them. The 

 Bahama negroes use it as a staple article of food. 



Grant, Fla., .Jan. 30. L. K. Smith. 



In regard to cassava there are many in- 

 quiries as to where cuttings can be pro- 

 cured, as I do not find them advertised anj^- 

 where. If some Florida friends will under- 

 take to furnish canes for planting, say by 

 parcel post, I will give their names free of 

 charge. We are now getting " rooted cut- 

 tings " in a bed in the garden, to be put in 

 the field later, so as to have a perfect stand. 



