302 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



who sold celery from a single acre to the 

 amount of $3300. This was on Terra Ceia 

 Island, near Braidentown. This island is, 

 almost every foot of it, under " high- pres- 

 sure gardening. " Wouldn't this sum war- 

 rant a pretty good outlay? 



Later, through the kindness of friends 

 Rood and Lathrop (brother of Harry La- 

 throp), of Braidentown, I saw some more 

 "high pressure." Six yeais ago, when I 

 visited E. B. Rood he was experimenting 

 with strawberries; and a few days ago I 

 found him "still at it." In a region where 

 nobody supposed that strawberries could be 

 grown, until he showed to the contrary, I 

 saw more green and ripe berries on the 

 plants than I ever saw before in any State 

 in the Union— that is, for the size of the 

 plants. In the North, where we plant 2X4 

 feet, and keep the runners off, of course we 

 have in time immense hills; but here in 

 Florida they plant much closer- 2 feet by 8 

 inches- and, if I am correct, set new plants 

 every year. With this close planting the 

 plants can not be of great size; but the ber- 

 ries on some plants literally hid the foli- 

 age. As mulching to keep the berries out 

 the dirt "s a rather hard matter, the most of 

 friend Rood's three acres is not mulched; 

 but his berries are all carefully washed be- 

 fore being put into baskets. They are then 

 taken right to the fruit- stores and sold at 

 once. I was with him when he took in one 

 lot, and his customers were sold out and 

 waiting for his morning installment of fresh 

 berries. Of course, mulching must be fol- 

 lowed with berries that are to be shipped. 

 The variety grown mostly by friend Rood is 

 the Excelsior. It is rather tart, but a little 

 sugar fixes that. I asked him how it was 

 that he had the only strawberries in that re- 

 gion. He answered something like this: 



' ' Friend R. , the rest of the people have not 

 learned how I have been years studying ard 

 experimenting. I once sent north for 2000 

 plants, and did not get a quart of berries 

 from the whole lot. I had so many failures 

 I was about to give up, and should have 

 done so had it not been for my wife. I 

 think I could now grow strawberries any- 

 where in Florida." 



Now, friends, there are two or three big 

 morals in that speech. His good wife had 

 more sense and grit than he had, and the 

 trouble with a whole lot of you is, you have 

 not any wives. 



Again he (and his wife) learned the trade 

 by slow and gradual steps just as my friends 

 the Wright Bros, learned how to fiy. (I 

 have got a lot to tell you about them soon. 

 They have sold to the French nation the 

 right to France, but not to the whole United 

 States, as many of the papers have it.). 



Friend Rood has done the same with 

 peaches as with strawberries, and the 

 peaches are so fine he sells his whole crop in 

 strawberry bjxes at 10 cts. per quart in his 

 home market. I saw more peaches on one 

 tree than I ever saw in the North. This 

 year the tree got puzzled to know when to 

 bloom, and they commenced in December, 



and have kept it up more or less until now; 

 consequently he has peaches of all sizes on 

 the same tree, and blossoms too. Some of 

 the fruit is nearly the size of an egg, and 

 some just out of bloom. With his nice 

 double-seated buggy and big stout horse he 

 took us all over the suburbs of the brisk 

 and growing cou'ity seat of Manatee County. 

 Braidentown has grown so much in six years 

 I should never have recognized it. Out in 

 the suburbs we found guava trees loaded 

 with fruit; some just ripening, Feb 14. 

 We found also loquat, or Japan plums, load- 

 ed with luscious ripe fruit; oranges, grape 

 fruit, kumquats, etc., were so plentiful I 

 hardly need mention them. 



When a friend and I walked up from the 

 railroad station we found our overcoats and 

 grip rather burdensome, and I suggested we 

 leave them until we hunted up Mr. Rood, at 

 a baker-shop near by. As we opened the 

 door to go out I thought the proprietor's 

 face looked familiar. Sure enough, it was 

 my old friend Trueblood, who used to be a 

 bee-keeper, and took Gleanings years ago. 

 Well, friend T. and his good wife have built 

 up quite a business in the growing town, 

 and one of their specialties is a 15-cent 

 lunch— coffee, sandwich, and a little pie. 

 Should you ever go there, tell them you want 

 a 5-cent pineapple pie, such as A. I. Root 

 wrote about. When pineapples are plenti- 

 ful and cheap they put them in cans, and 

 use them for pies as wanted; and I think 

 pineapple is the very best " pie timber" in 

 the world. The pies are not only delicious, 

 but, as they make them, they are whole- 

 some. I know, for every meal I had in 

 Braidentown was at the bakery, and at my 

 special request it was cereal coffee, beef 

 sandwich, and pineapple pie. Mrs. True- 

 blood was at one time a missionary in Alas- 

 ka for four years. 



In the afternoon, under the guidance and 

 courtesy of W. U. Lathrop, a comfortable 

 carriage with color, d driver took us over 

 the truck-farms and orchards round about 

 Palmetto. Our older readers will remember 

 I have always been a good deal of a lettuce 

 crank; but on this trip I saw more acres of 

 lettuce than I ever saw before in my life. 

 There are not only acres, but miles of let- 

 tuce. It seemed to me there could hardly 

 be people enough, who loved lettuce, in the 

 whole United States to take all this great 

 crop. But I was still more astonished to 

 learn that just now, owing to the large 

 amount that was drowned out by the ex- 

 cessive rains in December and January, the 

 price is away up. It is packed in tall bas- 

 ket-looking crates, holding about IJ bushels, 

 and the demand is such that growers are get- 

 ting betw een $5. 00 and $6. 00 per crate. The 

 variety is Boston Market, or something very 

 near like it; and for fear of a decline in 

 prices, a good deal is being shipped that is 

 not headed up so as to make really first-class 

 heads; but such is the call that growers are 

 surprised at the size of the remittances, and 

 ro complaint is made. I am inclined to think 

 the craving for lettuce, celery, etc., in the 



