1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



139 



and it would remember them every tivie. If 

 we were talking to a boy he would probably 

 forget a good part of my talk ; but an apple- 

 tree never forgets. The nurserymen who 

 sell apple-trees not only forget, but they 

 cheat and swindle folks. The apple-tree 

 itself never forgets, never tells a lie, and 

 never cheats nor swindles. It follows direc- 

 tions to the very dot. I picked this twig 

 from a Red Astrachan apple-tree as I came 

 to Sunday-school, and this little twig, insig- 

 nificant as it may look and seem, will carry 

 out the program exactly as I have directed. 

 It will not blunder, and produce a white 

 apple, and it will not blunder and produce a 

 sweet one nor a late one nor a sour one. It 

 will do just exactly as it is directed to do. 

 and that is more than you boys, many of 

 you, could do without forgetting, no matter 

 how hard you tried. Now, how is it, chil- 

 dren," and I held the little plant up in the 

 air, "that there can be packed in this little 

 twig, with only three or four green leaves, 

 the ability to produce a great big Red Astra- 

 chan apple and not make a single mistake 

 in the program ? * I have shown you some 

 of the possibilities packed away out of sight 

 in a little green twig ; but let me tell you 

 in closing that there are possibilities a thou- 

 sand times greater, and of more importance 

 to the world, packed away in the embryo 

 life of every little boy and girl who sits 

 before me. May God help you, each and 

 all, to make a good use of. these wonderful 

 gifts he has bestowed on you, and bring 

 good and not evil into this world of ours." 



AMERICAN VARIETIES OF LETTUCE. 



Did you ever! The Department of Agri- 

 culture, at Washington, has just put out a 

 pretty good-sized book, pamphlet form, 

 with 100 pages of reading-matter besides 27 

 pages of beautiful half-tone plates showing 

 the dift'erent kinds of lettuce grown in 

 America. As each plate contains two or 

 more cuts of lettuce, there are something 

 like 100 varieties illustrated, t What aston- 

 ishes me is that there is demand in this na- 

 tion of ours for so many different kinds of 

 lettuce. We have space to mention only one 

 —the lettuce that it was my pleasure to in- 

 troduce to the world, and name— the Grand 

 Rapids. This book tells us the Grand Rapids 



*That one little twig would not only make a big- 

 apple-tree, but it would produce an orchard of a hun- 

 dred trees or more; and the ability, "memory," or what 

 else you may call it, to do this unerringly is packed 

 away somewhere in that little twig: and with some 

 plants, even a little bit of one of the leaves, would 

 answer, in the hands of an expert florist. The begonia, 

 for instance, is propagated by cutting a leaf into many 

 little bits. Each leaf in the cutting produces a little 

 plant. 



t American seedsmen recognize UJ,U varieties, and Prof. 

 Tracy decides that of these at least 107 are distinct. 



is now listed by 164 seedsmen. Here is what 

 it has to say about it: 



Probably one of the ten most largely grown varieties of 

 the United States. The favorite for forcing in the 

 West and other markets where hothouse lettuce is sold 

 by weight and whose markets accept a bunching varie- 

 ty. It has largely replaced Black-seeded Simpson for 

 this purpose. At Washington it does not succeed well 

 outdoors, and is not recommended further South than 

 this latitude. More easily grown in greenhouses than 

 almost any other variety. Stands a great deal of neg- 

 lect in watering and ventilation. A splendid shipper, 

 and with many gardeners by far the best and most 

 profitable sort for growing under glass. One of the 

 coarser varieties, good in quality when grown outdoors, 

 but becoming more tender and sweet when grown in 

 greenhouses. More like Black-seeded Simpson than 

 any other, not only in appearance, but also in usefulness 

 and value. Its fringed leaves and general habit are 

 most like Boston Curled. The young plants are hardly 

 distinguishable from Hanson and Black-seeded Simpson. 

 Grown in greenhouses the variety is very tall and up- 

 right in habit, not as described in the above notes, 

 which apply only to outdoor specimens. 



I hardly need tell you that the advent of 

 the Grand Rapids lettuce introduced to the 

 world a great rural industry, and one that 

 was especially a boon to market-gardeners 

 and florists as well, inasmuch as it is an 

 industry that can be very easily managed 

 in the winter time when all other garden- 

 stuff is frozen up outdoors. There are just 

 now acres of greenhouses right here in Ohio 

 devoted to the growing of Grand Rapids let- 

 tuce. My impression is, the Department of 

 Agriculture forwards this book on receipt of 

 10 cents; but I do not find the price on the 

 bulletin. It was issued Dec. 23, 1904. If 

 you want it, write to the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 

 Do not write to us, for that will just make 

 additional work. 



AN APPLE STORY, AND SOMETHING ABOUT A 

 LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER AND HIS HIGH- 

 PRESSURE GARDENING. 



I read your articles with much pleasure, and note 

 that, like myself, you are a lover of good apples. Think- 

 ing you would like to try some others I send you three 

 of my favorite kinds. The bright red az-e Mcintosh 

 Red. The dark red are American Beauty, and the oth- 

 ers are Palmer Greenings. The Mcintosh is all right to 

 eat now, but the others are not ripe enough. I am not 

 an apple-grower on a large scale, but I grow a few of 

 the best. I do my own grafting, etc. I am a locomo- 

 tive engineer, but I spend most of my spare time among 

 my flowers and plants. I keep bees. I took $43.75 

 worth of comb honey from two hives last summer. I 

 grow rhubarb in the cellar all winter near the furnace. 

 I have just put in seven roots. I grow it in the dark, 

 you know. I get about ten pounds to a root. It is fine 

 when the snow is two or three feet deep. I have 

 onlj one-half acre of land, and two or three kinds of ap- 

 ples on a tree. I have to economize the room, but I en- 

 joy it just the same. F. P. Briggs. 



Ayer, Mass., Nov. 30. 



Soon after the above, came a box by ex- 

 press containing a dozen or more beautiful 

 apples. We have the Mcintosh Red in our 

 own orchard— at least the Pomological De- 

 partment at Washington pronounced them 

 so. Ours are a beautiful bright red, but they 

 are rather small, and one would almost call 

 them a sweet apple, while the Mcintosh sent 

 by friend Briggs was of good size, and nei- 

 ther sweet nor sour. But at the time they 

 were received I pronounced it about the fin- 

 est apple I ever tasted. Of course, I have 

 said this a great many times, but you may 



