now have a clover-cutter, and cut the leaves, ribs, 

 and all, so there is nothing wasted. 



Lakeland, Fla., April 28. C. H. Tidd. 



Our friends, or some of them, at least, 

 will recall that this matter of starting eggs 

 under a hen came up some time ago, and 

 several communications have indorsed what 

 I said — namely, that a sitting hen would 

 produce more fertile eggs from a given 

 number than any incubator made. If I am 

 correct, even the Cyphers people were 

 obliged to admit that this is true, at least to 

 some extent. My experience would indicate 

 that letting a hen have the egg-s for just 

 three days is an advantage, for in three 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



days' time, with the egg-tester mentioned in 

 the above letter, the fertile eggs could be 

 readily picked out.* The suggestion of 

 having the pasteboard box lined with cloth 

 where it touches the face is a very impor- 

 tant one, for just a little light getting 

 through a crack or crevice will mar the 

 vision ; and the very best place to use it is 

 in a dark room where a single ray of sun- 

 shine comes through a knothole or crevice. 

 If you wish to be able to test out the fertile 

 eggs in three days, be careful to have every 

 thing just right. I am glad to see such a 

 good report from near my Florida home. 



HEGe=PEE§§lUEE GAMPEMNG 



THE DASHEEN ; KEEPING IT CLEAR FROM 

 WEEDS^ ETC. 



There is one important i^oint in regard to 

 this new vegetable that I think I failed to 

 mention. When it first comes out of the 

 ground, as perhaps hundreds of our friends 

 are now noticing, it has a single point, al- 

 most as sharp as a needle. This will push 

 its way through very hard and uninviting 

 soil. In spading our gTound over where we 

 had dasheens last year, many of the small 

 tubers were turned under; and as I directed 

 Wesley to go down a full foot with his 

 spading, many of these little tubers were a 

 foot under ground ; and although it was 

 some time before they got up to the top 

 they did eventually, almost every one of 

 them. I have mentioned this matter before 

 in speaking of the " dasheen asparagus." 

 The shoot or stalk will, of course, be bleached 

 white until it reaches the surface. Now, 

 when it once gets up to the light, if you 

 throw some dirt over it, it will keep right 

 on shooting up; and in this way you can 

 get these asparagus shoots, as we call them, 

 not only a foot, but even 18 inches long. 

 Now comes the point of my discoveiy : 



Many of you have weedy gardens ; and as 

 t he dasheen is sometimes three or four weeks 

 or more in starting, there may be quite a 

 growth of weeds. If so, you need not try to 

 pull them unless you choose. Just hoe some 

 nice mellow earth right over the dasheen 

 plant. The dasheen will shoot right up 

 through this soil, but the weeds cannot do 

 it. So here is a short cut in the way of cul- 

 tivation. Plant your dasheen tubers in a 

 moderately deep furrow, as we plant pota- 

 toes. Now, instead of filling up the furrows 

 Avith dirt, just fill them up about half way. 

 When the weeds and dasheens both get a 

 start, throw c:i a little more soil. In a few 



days tlie dasheen will get up through this 

 additional soil, and perhaps some more 

 weeds may start. If so, just turn on a little 

 more dirt, and in this way you can have a 

 clean field without any hand-hoeing at all. 

 The cultivation can all be done by a hand 

 or horse cultivator. 



THE AMADUMBE OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



Just before we left Florida we tested the 

 amadumbe by taking oif some of the side 

 shoots, tops, and tubers; and it is so viear 

 like the Trinidad dasheen we have been talk- 

 ing about, that we will call it all one and the 

 same thing. Thus it seems to transpire that 

 the dasheen that is so new to America has 

 for years past been one 'of the main prod- 

 ucts for human food over a large part of 

 the world. Once more, what is the matter 

 with our American seedsmen who have here- 

 tofore been so eager to find something new 

 and valuable for the home garden? 



THE DASHEEN IX ALADAMA. 



Dear Mr. Root: — I took pleasure in reading what 

 you had to say about dasheen in a recent issue of 

 Gleanings. The Bureau of Plant Industry was 

 kind enough to send me 24 tubers or bulbs last May. 

 These were planted about May 10. The tirst part of 

 the season was very dry ; but in August the rains 

 were plentiful. In October I used a common scoop 

 shovel and dug the crop. The ground was rather 

 wet, and I was afraid they would freeze if left long- 

 er. The entire roots, corns, tubers, and dirt, with a 

 portion of the rank necks, were banked in dirt. The 

 dirt was allowed to fall in between the roots so that 

 no two plants touched each other. 



To-day, March 17, I took these dasheens out of 

 the dirt, and every one of them was as sound as a 



* As to why a sitting hen is able to start the germ 

 in eggs that will not show any signs of life at all 

 when placed in an incubator, no one has so far been 

 able to tell, so far as I know; not withstanding, I 

 do believe it will pay to keep sitting hens employed, 

 especially the large breeds that want to sit so much, 

 in preparing eggs to be put in an incubator. My 

 experience agrees exactly with what our good broth- 

 er tells us. 



