790 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



Attention is called to the advertisement of the Sav- 

 ings Deposit Bank Co., of this place, in this issue. Our 

 readers may rest assured this is an entirely reliable 

 company. It is also one of the banks with which The 

 A. I. Root Company is doing business. 



HOW TO KEEP BEKS. 



This delightful little volume is sure to have a wide 

 sale among those beginning bee culture. We have 

 arranged to supply the bee supply trade. Wholesale 

 and jobbing prices on application. Retail price $1.00, 

 postage 10 cts. extra. 



SECTIONS AND FOUNDATION FOR PROMPT SHIPMENT. 



We have a larger stock of sections than we ever had 

 at this season, and are prepared to make prompt ship- 

 ment of sections, foundation, and most other goods. 

 There has been very little delay in orders all season 

 except in a few cases where something special has held 

 some orders longer than usual. Our agents generally 

 are also in a position to make prompt shipment. If the 

 bees get lot s of honey, and you need more goods quickly, 

 remember we are in a position to furnish them by first 

 train. 



CAUCASIAN QUEENS. 



We can spare a limited number of imported Caucasian 

 queens, received direct from the best breeders in Cau- 

 casus. Prices as follows: 



Extra select Caucasian imported queens, - $15 00 

 Select Caucasian imported queen, ----- 10 00 

 Extra select untested Caucasian-Italian queens, 

 from Caucasian mothers mated with Italian 



drones, 3 00 



Select do. 2 00 



Orders filled in rotation. Delivery begins about 

 July 15. 



Special Notices by A. I. Root. 



On page 778 I omitted to say that many house-plants, 

 when put outdoors in summer, should be on the north 

 side of the house so as to be in the shade during the mid- 

 dle of the day. 



CRIMSON OR SCARLET CLOVER. 



This has been tested quite generally throughout the 

 United States; and where it is put in through July and 

 August, with any kind of care, anAsoil at all favorable, 

 it is pretty sure to stand the winter. But even if it 

 does not stand the winter, the Rural New-Yorker 

 thinks it benefits the land enough to pay all expenses. 

 The fact that the demand for the seed is such that the 

 price is constantly coming up would seem to indicate 

 that it is generally a successful crop. The best price 

 we can make at present is $6.00 a bushel; $3.10 per half 

 bushel; peck, $1.60; pound, 15 cts.; by mail, 25 cts. If 

 you are not acquainted with it, I would earnestly advise 

 every one of you to put a little in your garden— a five- 

 cent packet if you do not care to invest any more, and 

 your garden test will plainly show you whether it will 

 winter over safely in your locality. It would be an 

 excellent thing to sow a little seed at different times- 

 say June, July, August, and September. That put in 

 first will probably stand best. It is an excellent honey- 

 plant, probably equal to any of the clovers, and it is 

 also a nitrogen-gatherer equal to any. If you can not do 

 any better, sow some of it broadcast in your corn just 

 before the last time you run your cultivator through it. 

 You can do it with any common broadcast seed-sower 

 while sitting on the back of a gentle horse. 



BUCKWHEAT FOR BEE-KEEPERS— SILVERHULL, JAPAN- 

 ESE, ETC. 



Once morf> buckwheat for seed is very scarce, and the 

 price is running up rapidly. We are nearly sold out of 



Japanese, and do not know where we can buy any more 

 seed. But we have quite a nice stock of silverhull. This 

 has been grown by bee-keepers for twenty years past, 

 and quite a few claim it yields more honey and more 

 bushels of grain than the Japanese. The silverhull is 

 also known as the " gray " buckwheat. In 1882 we sowed 

 four acres of silverhull as late as the 15th of August, 

 and got 92 bushels of nice seed in 65 days from the date 

 of sowing. I do not mention this to encourage sowing 

 as late as that, for that year the frost held off unusu- 

 ally. It is true, however, that the best yield of grain 

 usually comes when the buckwheat is sown as late as it 

 can be without being caught by the frost. Ordinarily, 

 in our locality, it is considered unsafe when sown later 

 than the latter part of July At the present prices it 

 seems as if it ought to be a good crop for bee-keepers, 

 not only for the honey but for the grain, especially 

 when the price is more than $1.00 a bushel. 



Just now the best price we can make is $1.25 per 

 bushel, bag included; half bushel, 65 cts.; peck, 35 cts.; 

 pound, 8 cts.; by mail, 15 cts. 



Be careful about oi-dei-ing small quantities of buck- 

 wheat by express to be sent long distances. The ex- 

 press charges may be more than the value of the grain. 

 Better order a bushel or more and have it sent by 

 freight. 



AGRICXTLTURE, HORTICULTURE, ETC., TO BE TAUGHT IN 

 OUR SCHOOLS. 



The O. .Tudd Co. have just put out a very valuable 

 book entitled "Agriculture through the Laboratory and 

 School Garden." It is clear up to date, and is intended 

 as a manual and text book on elementary agriculture. 

 The book contains 402 pages, and is beautifully illus- 

 trated from beginning to end. The paper and printing 

 are of the very best It treats of the nature and forma- 

 tion of soils; preparation of soils; principle of feeding; 

 rotation of crops: propagation of plants, with some 

 greenho'ise work that I read over with much interest. 

 " Enemies of Plants " occupies a large part of the book. 

 As I have said, the book is intended for the use of 

 schools; but it will be found to be of immense value to 

 anyone who wishes to get a primary general knowledge 

 of agriculture. Cows, milk, butter-making, are includ- 

 ed. Toward the last there is an excellent chapter on 

 beautifying homes; also quite a little in regard to prun- 

 ing. Finally there is a list giving the addresses of all 

 the experiment stations belonging to different States. 



In order to have the book cover the ground from all 

 parts, it is the joint work of a man and woman— C. R. 

 Jackson, teacher of agriculture and botany. State Nor- 

 mal School, Kirksville. Mo., and Mrs. L. S. Daugherty, 

 assistant in physical geography and zoology, of the 

 same school. The book also contains a full description 

 of the nitrogen-forming nodules on leguminous plants, 

 a subject which has recently received so much attention 

 from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



The price of the book is $1.50, postpaid. It can be 

 mailed from this office. 



CONSTRUCTION OP COUNTRY ROADS. 



Our own State of Ohio has just done a fine thing in 

 sending out a bulletin with the above heading. It was 

 issued in June of this year. I suppose it is for free dis- 

 tribution, but I can not find out any thing in regard to 

 it in the bulletin itself. If you want it, address Ohio 

 Department of Highways, Columbus, and call for bulle- 

 tin No. 2, on good roads. The whole subject is treated 

 in a masterly way. My impression is it is sound in 

 every particular. It considers all the points that have 

 been brought up in regard to road-making, even the use 

 of oil, as they do in California. Oil is all right in a local- 

 ity where it does not freeze. Where there is heavy 

 alternate freezing and thawing it is not a success. 



The most important discovery in road-making, of a 

 recent date, is the plan of keeping our country roads all 

 the while in such condition that the water will all run 

 off— every "spoonful" of it— after every heavy rain. 

 This is easily and cheaply done by means of a common 

 wooden drag or "floater." But the work must be at- 

 tended to at exactly the proper time after every shower, 

 or heavy rain. The difficulty of having it done by the 

 average farmer is that his work is not of such a nature 

 that he can stop at just the right time. Some farmers, 

 however, who have caught on to this wonderful inven- 

 tion—for it is an imi'ention—Sire keeping the highway 

 in front of their farms in beautiful order themselves; 

 and it takes only a very little time if the road is always 

 kept in good" order. Whenever there is a cavity any- 

 where in the road that will hold water after a rain, 

 get out the scraper and fill up said cavity, keeping the 

 road at all times rounding, and highest in the middle. 

 Of course, there must be good ditches on each side so 

 the water can run off promptly. 



