678 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



away from them. Another hen brought out 

 18, and I think she will probably manage 

 that many just the same. 



Now, I fear there are many of us who are 

 so shiftless that we can not keep wheat or 

 corn exposed day and night without trouble 

 from rats and mice. There are no mice in 

 Florida- at least I never heard of any; but 

 there were a hoard of rats on the island when 

 Mr. Shumard's folks first came; but he open- 

 ed up such a warfare on them that now there 

 is not one to be seen. You see, by being 

 isolated on an island of your own, vermin of 

 this kind can not come on to you from shift- 

 less neighbors. 



You may think I have devoted considerable 

 space to this matter of chickens on the Flor- 

 i la keys; but I tell you, friends, it is a won- 

 derjul opportunity to have a place where 

 you can raise chickens every month in the 

 year, not only without an incubator or brood- 

 er, but without a structure or building of 

 any sort whatever, and where the chickens 

 can be weaned when three or four weeks 

 old without a foe to molest them. I have 

 taken all this pains to let you know that 

 such a thing is possible, and that there are 

 places on this beautiful world of ours where 

 it has been and is being done. 



DANDELIONS, AND WHAT TO DO WITH THEM 



WHEN THEY COME UP ON YOUR 



LAWN, ETC. 



At a certain time in the spring our lawn 

 is a bed of golden yellow for several days, 

 and oftentimes it is humming with bees in a 

 way that ought to make the bee-keeper's 

 heart glad. But it is a posy-garden rather 

 than a lawn, and Mrs. Root calls it a garden 

 of weeds. Several attempts have been 

 made in our neighborhood to dig out the 

 dandelions; but our experiment station has 

 discouraged such work by telling us that for 

 every plant you dig out or cut off you will 

 probably have half a dozen in just a little 

 while, equal to the parent, or pretty nearly. 

 Our Mr. Calvert gave the matter a test by 

 keeping a gang of boys at the job for quite 

 a spell on several different days. The re- 

 sult was, if I am correct, there were more 

 dandelions on that spot a little later on than 

 ever before. "Cultivation" seemed to do 

 them good. I believe our experiment sta- 

 tions have decided there is no way but to 

 turn the sod, grow a crop of potatoes or 

 something else, and give careful cultivation 

 until the dandelions are killed out. No plant 

 will live very long — not even the dreaded 

 Canada thistle— if it is cut off persistently 

 just as fast as it shows a green leaf. In one 

 case I killed out Canada thistles so they 

 have not been seen since. For a period of 

 three or four weeks I cut them off almost 

 daily. Perhaps you are well aware that, 

 down east, dandelions are grown as a choice 

 article »f food, and bring high prices in the 

 markets. In Florida they are not seen at 

 all; and although I sowed quite a little seed 

 to test the matter, not a plant came up. 

 Now, if anybo-iy knows of any better way 



to get rid of dandelions, we should be glad 

 to hear about it. Perhaps I should add that, 

 after the bloom is past, they disappear, 

 blossoms and leaves, so that we have a pret- 

 ty grassy lawn during the middle and latter 

 part of summer. They are, however, on 

 hand, and "up and dressed" before any 

 thing else, every spring. 



After submitting the above to Mr. Calvert 

 he says a good deal may be accomplished by 

 sowing grass seed very thickly over your 

 weedy lawn and then making it grow vigor- 

 ously by giving the lawn a good dressing of 

 fine old manure well rotted. The grass will 

 start with such vigor that it crowds out and 

 often exterminates to a considerable degree 

 even dandelions. Of course, the lawn-mow- 

 er is kept going, clipping the dandelion-buds, 

 just as they begin to push open, almost daily. 

 A lawn-mower does not hurt the grass, but 

 it injures almost all kinds of weeds. Mr. 

 Calvert also suggests that the above is a 

 pretty good plan to get rid of saloons- 

 drive them out, squeeze them out, starve 

 them out, by getting so many schools, 

 churches, and Sunday-schools established 

 that they can not exist. 



Temperance. 



HOW ONE WOMAN, ALMOST SINGLE-HANDED, 

 MADE A TOWN DRY. 



I suppose our readers, or a great part of 

 them, remember the story I told in our issue 

 for Dec. 15. with the above heading. Soon 

 after its publication, while I was in Florida, 

 the following letter came from Mrs. Florence 

 D. Richards. It would have found a place 

 here sooner had I been at home. The friends 

 of temperance will surely be interested in 

 something direct from this woman who has 

 done so much for temperance throughout our 

 land. 



Mr. Root: — I have just been reading the kindly "write- 

 up " from your pen. I wish to thank you for the many 

 nice things you have said, and to tell you how much we 

 appreciate men who take the brave stand on the whis- 

 ky and tobacco question you have for so many j ears. 

 You have been quite an inspiration to me in my work, 

 and I have mentioned your name many times in my 

 speeches, telling these things as a memorial of you. 



I think you have given me altogether too much credit, 

 though, in your article, for /certainly did the least of 

 any one there. I am afraid our people will think I have 

 been boasting of my ability to accomplish things. Our 

 good preachers all joined hands; our editors, both of 

 them, came out boldly against the saloon, and the W. C. 

 T. U. did the " house-to-house canvassing." I didn't do 

 any of that, and the good men of the town did the vot- 

 ing when it came to that. 



It was a few of our councilmen and the city solicitor, 

 instead of the mayor, who stood for the saloons. Our 

 mayor was one of the dryest of dry men, and helped us 

 bravely in our fight. I don't want any of the credit 

 which does not belong to me, and I think very little of 

 it does. Most cordially yours, 



Leipsic, O. FLORENCE D. Richards. 



In addition to the above, perhaps I should 

 mention that several letters have been re- 

 ceived, informing me that, instead of Leipsic 

 being a town of six or eight thousand inhab- 

 itants, as I gave it, its population is only 

 about half that. 



