690 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



ly believe it would prevent laying. I very 

 much regret your loss of the "sport" sweet- 

 clover plant. So far there seems to have 

 been but little attention paid to improving 

 varieties of sweet clover. I believe it is true 

 that the Carman No. 3 potato has the re- 

 markable property of keeping in good con- 

 dition when most other potatoes are unfit 

 to use. T suppose, of course, you keep the 

 sprouts rubbed off. Where potatoes of any 

 variety are inclined to grow too large, this 

 can be corrected by planting close together. 

 In order to get potatoes extra early, down 

 in Florida we plant good-sized tubers, and 

 plant them Avhole. So many stems come up 

 that this has the effect of growing a large 

 number of small potatoes. These small 

 potatoes are just right to cook whole with 

 green peas. 



FREEMAN POTATOES ; ALSO A KIND WORD 

 FROM AN OLD FLORIDA FRIEND. 



My good friend who writes below applied 

 to me for some Freeman potatoes; but I 

 was unable to find them at so late a date as 

 the last of June. The letter below explains 

 itself: 



Mr. Boot: — Your very kind letter of June 30 and 

 the letter of previous date in regard to Freeman 

 potatoes was dulj- received, and your eflforts, I 

 assure you, are very much appreciated. I had no 

 intention of putting you to so much trouble in the 

 matter ; but I did want that particular variety of 

 potato, and had the impression that it could be 

 obtained in Medina. I agree with you that so good 

 a tuber should be preserved. I regret to learn that 

 Mr. Green has passed on, of which I was unaware 

 until the receipt of your letter. 



As Maule, of Philadelphia, advertises them in his 

 catalog, I infer he usually carries a supply early in 

 the season, so don't make any further special eiifort 

 to iind them. My conscience troubled me a bjt when 

 I first wrote your company for fear the request 

 would be referred to you personally, for I am fully 

 aware of what a busy life you etill lead and the 

 many demands upon you. 



I read all that you write in Gleanings, and am 

 greatly interested in your Florida experiments in 

 different lines. I think, you are prolonging your life 

 and usefulness by spending the winters in that state. 

 My chief regret is that you did not select the south- 

 east coast, where my permanent home is, tho I 

 }>ought a little place here in Bye for a summer home, 

 and have some fruit-trees. I make a vegetable 

 garden and keep a few hens. I had a cow last 

 summer, but find it less work and more economical 

 to buy milk, butter, and cream since I am here only 

 half of the year. 



Rye, N. H., July 8. Wallace R. Moses. 



The Freeman is not only quite early, but 

 for quality I think it is equal to any. Our 

 good friend Moses, who writes the letter 

 above, has a northern home several miles 

 from any express office, and wants his po- 

 tatoes by mail — -something like our old 

 cabin in the woods, as I take it. 



SUNFLOWERS FOR BEES, AND SOME OTHER 

 THINGS. 



The following letter explains itself: 



Inclosed is an article on sunflower that I intend- 

 ed sending long ago. I am sure I read in Glean- 

 ings some time last year that very little honey is 

 obtained from the cultivated sunflower. Now, this 

 is ■ our main honey crop, and nice honey too. Is 

 that another case of locality, or is it on account of 

 fhe vast acreage? Seed is used for making salad o^. 



Manteca, Cal. Ernest E. Warkbn. 



MANTECA SHIPPED IjARGKR SEED CROP THAN U. S. IN 

 1909; E. POWERS SOLD 1275 TONS OF SUNFLOWER 

 SEED THIS year; WHOLE CROP OF UNITED STATES 

 IN 1909 WAS 1117 TONS ACCORDING TO U. S. 

 REPORT, WORTH $76,000 AT 3 CENTS PER POUND. 



E. Powers has shipped 1275 tons of sunflower 

 seed this season. The largest shipment of previous 

 years has been 215 tons. But preparations were 

 made to handle 600 tons this season, while the actu- 

 al output more than doubled the expectations. 



In 1909 California produced 120 tons of sunflow- 

 er seed, and the output for the whole United States, 

 as given by the year-book of the Department of 

 Agriculture for the year 1909 was 1117 tons, or 

 158 tons less than the Manteca section produced this 

 year. 



When reduced to a matter of dollars and cents, 

 figured at 3 cents per pound, the sunflower crop of 

 the Manteca section amounted to $76,500. Mr. 

 Powers paid out over $60,000 to sunflower-seed and 

 grape-growers during the month of October. 



My good friend, wherever sunflowers, 

 uuistard, or any other crop is grown large- 

 ly, as in the case you mention above, by all 

 means locate an apiary near by. A few 

 days ago a subscriber asked the best kind 

 of mustard to plant, especially for bees. 

 I told him it would not pay him to plant 

 mustard nor anything else exclusively for 

 honey ; but wherever there are large fields 

 or special localities devoted to growing such 

 things as sunflowers, mustard, etc., for the 

 general market, there is the place for the 

 wideawake beekeeper to start an apiary. 

 I am glad to know that the large amount of 

 oil in sunflower seed is being appropriated 

 as an article of food. 



THAT "pot OF GOLD/^ AND WHERE TO FIND IT. 



The following is clipped from the open- 

 ing article in Good Health for July: 



Somewhere in summer is health. It will not 

 come to you unbidden. You must search for it in 

 the great outdoors. 



You will find it in your garden — at the business 

 end of a hoe handle. 



Do not spend time and money at summer resorts 

 that will only disappoint you. The pot of gold does 

 not lie at the other end of the rainbow, but at this 

 end, in your garden. 



I wish to put in a good emphatic amen 

 after the closing sentence. 



The pot of gold is right near by ; and it 

 is in your garden or back yard. If you do 

 not find the gold you can most assuredly 

 find health, and this is of infinitely more 

 value than gold. 



