1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



323 



prepare our ground carefully, and sow the 

 seed in the way we sow other clovers, there 

 seems to be trouble in getting a uniform 

 stand. Will those who have had experience 

 kindly let us know about getting a stand by 

 sowing the seed ? We have not had any 

 reports along that line very recently. 



Perhaps I may remark that the govern- 

 ment has just sent me a package of the 

 "culture," sufficient to prepare an acre for 

 alfalfa. The bacteria-infected cotton could 

 be put in one's vest pocket without any 

 trouble. The chemicals that go along with 

 it would probably go in the other vest pocket 

 if it is a pretty good-sized one. See page 

 140, Feb. 1, and 261, March 1. 



LONG - RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS ; FAKE 

 ALMANACS, ETC. 



The Weather Bureau informs us that the 

 present month of February so far (the 20th) 

 is the coldest on record for the past 34 years. 

 May I ask once more why the weather- 

 prophet did not tell us, when he made his 

 almanac, that this would be the case ? If 

 "he has foreknowledge, divine or otherwise, 

 he certainly must have noticed that pecul- 

 iarity of February. If his friends urge that 

 he can not tell about temperature they will 

 also have to admit he can not tell us about 

 dry weather either; for he did not say that 

 last November would be the dryest Novem- 

 ber all over the Northern States since the 

 Weather Bureau was started. Now, if he 

 can not tell dry weather in the future, or 

 extreme cold either, what does he tell us ? 

 Storms and tornadoes ? Very likely ; for 

 he and his satellites can hunt up a storm, 

 and perhaps a tornado, every week in the 

 year by hunting the country over. Such 

 things go by localities more than dry 

 weather and low temperature. That excel- 

 lent periodical, the Country Gentleman, has 

 just been giving us some good articles on 

 this subject; and I entirely agree with them 

 that it is a disgrace to the science and civil- 

 ization of the present day that there are even 

 a few people defending "the St. Louis 

 astrologer," as they justly designate him. 



Since the above was written I have re- 

 ceived from the Weather Bureau a very 

 interesting bulletin of 68 pages, entitled 



LONG RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS, 



Prepared under the Direction of Willis L. Moore, 



Chief U. S. Weather Bureau. 



This bulletin sums up the work of all the 

 weather-prophets, and tells me something I 

 did not know before— that ourU. S. Weather 

 Bureau has carefully examined the claims of 

 all these weather-prophets, and with its 

 vast information regarding the weather of 

 the whole United States it has been enabled 

 to say better than any individual could pos- 

 sibly decide, whether there was any possible 

 chance to claim foreknowledge. In regard to 

 the St. Louis astrologer, or at least I sup- 

 pose they mean him, they write as follows: 



Aside from platitudes reg-arding average weather 

 conditions that prevail in April, he announced that— 



" One of the most decided, and perhaps violent, storm 

 periods of the month extends from about the 25th to the 

 29th." 



In the United States the period was a quiet one, and 

 the disturbances that appeared (and one or more surely 

 would appear within the area of the United States dur- 

 ing the period specified) were not attended by "very 

 general and violent storms, destructive hailstorms, and 

 abnormal downpours of rain," which, according to the 

 detailed forecast, should have been experienced. 



His forecast statement for May, 1904, ends as follows: 



"The fifth storm period will be central on the 29th, 

 and there will be violent disturbance. Watch the ba- 

 rometer, and if you have a trembling wife and children 

 clinging to you for protection, provide some place of 

 safety in which to resort in case of dang-er." 



Is it possible to soar to greater heights of nonsense? 

 In what particular continent or country will the storm 

 period be central on the 29th ? Is the entire population 

 of the United States, or of the world, expected to dig 

 cellars or caves of shelter in anticipation of a possible 

 occurrence of a tornado whose path of destructive vio- 

 lence would not cover an area represented on a large 

 map by a mark one-half an inch in length made with a 

 sharp pencil? Is it possible that a man who issues such 

 totally unwarranted, sensational, and harmful forecasts 

 is seriously considered by the intelligent portion of the 

 American public? I regret to say that he and others of 

 his kind have a considerable constituency. 



DUFFY S MALT WHISKY— MORE ABOUT IT. 



A. I. Root:— Enclosed I send you an ad't, cut out of 

 the Sioux City Journal, of Duffy's malt whisky, recom- 

 mended by a minster of the gospel, thanking God for 

 such a medicine. Dear Bro. Root, do you think there 

 is a minster of Christ thanking God for Duffy's malt 

 whisky? or is this a fraud such as you exposed last 

 summer in case of the old German ? 



Vermillion, S. D., Jan. 9. E. A. Morgan. 



Friend Morgan, I should say without hes- 

 itation that the testimony from this minis- 

 ter is a humbug. It ought to be called for- 

 gery. We have not investigated this case, 

 it is true; but several others were followed 

 up by temperance people, and it turned but 

 to be a pure forgery. The man 107 years 

 old never heard of Duffy's malt whisky— 

 never tasted it in his life. In fact, he is a 

 German and does not speak English; yet 

 the Duffy people printed a letter from him 

 in English and signed his name to it— see 

 pages 617,769, last year. Another, a woman, 

 over 100 years old. gave emphatically the 

 same testimony. They sent both parties a 

 case of whisky as a recompense for forging 

 letters and forging their name. But the old 

 people had no use for it, and did not know 

 what to do with it. I forwarded the above 

 facts to the Department, Washington, D. C, 

 asking if something could not be done to 

 stop such broadcast forgery of letters with 

 good people's names attached. They replied 

 in both cases with a printed sheet, saying 

 that, unless I personally had been injured, 

 or had lost money by the parties mentioned, 

 they did not know how they could do any 

 thing with them. If every periodical in our 

 land would show up this rascality (to call it 

 by no worse a name) it might prevent inno- 

 cent unsuspecting people from trying whis- 

 ky as a medicine because ministers of the 

 gospel and people over a hundred years old 

 recommend it. Everybody should help ex- 

 pose whisky frauds of this character. 



The Woman's Christian Temperance Un- 

 ion wrote to two if not more ministers who 

 had given them testimonials. One said it 



