1068 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



D^c. 15 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



[Established in 1873.] 



Devoted to Bees, Hoaey, and Home Interests. 



Published Semi-monthly by 



The A. I. Root Co., - - Medina, Ohio. 



A. I. ROOT, Editor of Home and Gardening Dep'ts. 



E. R. ROOT, Editor of Apicultural Dept. 



J. T. CALVERT, Bus. Mgr. 



A. L. BOYDEN, Sec. 



TERMS. $1.00 per annum ; two years, $1.50; three 

 years, $2.00; five years, $3.00, in advance; or two copies 

 to one address, $1..50 ; three copies, $2.00 ; five copies, 

 $3.7.5. The terms apply to the United States, Canada, 

 and Mexico. To all other countries 48 cents per year 

 extra for postage. 



DISCONTINUANCES. The journal is sent until 

 orde s are received for its discontinuance. We give 

 notice just before the subscription expires, and further 

 notice if the first is not heeded. Any subscriber whose 

 subscription has expired, wishing his journal discon- 

 tinued, will please drop us a card at once; otherwise 

 we shall assume that he wishes his journal continued, 

 and will pay for it soon. Any one who does not like 

 this plan may have his journal stopped after the time 

 paid for by making his request when ordering. 



The National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association. 



Objects of The Association : 



To promote and protect the interests of its members. 

 To prevent the adulttration of honej'. 



Annual Membership, $1.00. 



Send dues to the Treasurer. 



Officers : 



W. Z. Hutchinson, Flint, Mich., President. 



J. U. H.^RRis. Grand Junction, Col., Vice president. 



George W. York, Chicago, 111., Secretary. 



N. E. France, Platteville, Wis., Gen. Mgr. and Treas. 



Board of Directors: 



E. Whitcomb, Friend, Nebraska. 

 W. Z. Hutchinson, Flint, Michigan. 

 W. A. Selser, 10 Vine St.. Philadelphia, Pa. 

 R. C. AiKiN, lyOveland, Colorado. 

 P. H. Elwood, Starkville. N. Y. 

 E. R. Root, Medina, Ohio. 

 Udo Toepperwein, San Antonio, Texas. 

 G. M. DooLiTTLE. Borodino, N. Y. 

 W. F. M.\rks, Chapinville, N. Y. 

 J. M. Hambaugh. Escondido, Cal. 

 C. A. Hatch, Richland Center, Wis. 

 C. C. Miller, Marengo, Illinois. 



BASSWOOD-LUMBER SUPPLY. 



I hope none of our readers have received the im- 

 pression from various lecent editorials on the failing 

 supply of basswood for making sections that there is 

 an actual shortage at present. If you have, I wish to 

 disabuse your mind of such a thought. We have usu- 

 ally calculated our annual needs in basswood at about 



114 million feet, while we have bought during the past 

 year 2^ million feet. We have a larger supply of dry 

 lumber on hand, both of pine and basswood, bv many 

 thousand dollars' worth, than we ever had before. 

 Don't you worry about our not having basswood lum- 

 ber to make sections of as long as there is any to be 

 had for any purpose. The amount of basswood used 

 by all the manufacturers of bee-keepers' supplies com- 

 bined is not more than two ptr cent of the total 

 amount of basswood used for all purposes, and I doubt 

 if it is one per cent. It is the enormous use of this 

 timber for other purposes, increasing every year, that 

 bids fair to exhaust the supply within a few years. 

 The con'itant increase in value of other woods is what 

 stimulates the demand for basswood, and forces the 

 price of this up as we' 1. The general level of lumber 

 prices must be sixty to seventy per cent higher than 

 they were five or ten years ago, figuring the per cent 

 on the prices ruling then. Some grades have doubled 

 in price ; and this advance can not be wondered at 

 when we consider the enormous annual consumption 

 and the narrowing limits of the available supply. 

 There may come slight reactions in price, but we shall 

 never again see the low level of a few years ago. 



Special Notices by A. I. Root. 



PRICE LIST OF CLOVER SEED. BUCKWHEAT, AND OTH- 

 ER HONEY- PLANTS, ETC. 



As I have mentioned before, we shall is.sue no list of 

 garden seeds this season. You can get the same seeds, 

 however, of E. C. Green & Son, Medina, O., and they 

 will furnish ycu a price list We shall, however, issue 

 a price of seeds of honey-plants, hand p )tato- planters, 

 strawberry-planters, etc. These will probably be rea- 

 dy to mail by the time this reaches you. 



SEED POTATOES FOR 190-1. 



In vievy of the rapid advance in the price of potatoes, 

 I think I must have got my prices prettv low on page 

 980, Nov. 1.5. In fact, some of them are now worth the 

 price, $2.50 per barrel, for table use. As it is. we are 

 sold out of all the early potatoes except Early Trum- 

 bull, Early Harvest, Hammond's Sensation, Freeman, 

 and New Queen. The late potatoes we are sold out of 

 except L,ee's Favorite and State of Maine. All prices 

 after this date will be, for the earlies 81.50 per bushel 

 or $3.50 per barrel ; for Lee's Favorite and State of 

 Maine, $1.25 per bushel ; per barrel, $3.00. 



THE HAIRY WINTER OR SAND VETCH — VICIA VILLOSA. 



We have just succeeded in getting a very low rate on 

 the seed of the above plant, so we can furnish one 

 bushel for $6 00 ; % bushel, $3 25 ; peck, $1 75 ; 1 quart. 

 '25 cts. ; pint, 15 cts. ; 14 pint, 8 cts. If wanted by mail, 

 add 8 cts. per pint or 15 cts. per quart extra for post- 

 age. I am very anxious that this new legume be tried 

 extensively. I have never had any report from it in 

 regard to its value for honey ; but as it bears immense 

 quantities of blossoms, something the shape of a lo- 

 cust-blossom, it must furnish large quantities of hon- 

 ey, and it begins to bloom just after fruit blossoms. 

 We will send along with the seed full particulars, so 

 far as we can learn, in regard to its cultivation. See 

 articles in regard to it in this issue. 



GINSENG AND ITS CULTURE. 



Just now I am receiving more letters of inquiry con- 

 cerning ginseng than any other one thing. The writ- 

 ers want to know if I would advise embarking in the 

 industry. If so, what advertisers of plants for sale are 

 reliable, etc, ? So far as my experience goes, ginseng 

 is the hardest plant to make grow of any thing I have 

 ever tried. It is true it grows very well among my po- 

 tatoes in Northern Michigan — that is. in newly cleared 

 ground where the plants come up themselves. But I 

 can not have a garden up there, because I am absent a 

 great part of the year, and ginseng hunters are roam- 

 ing through the woods almost all the time. I would 

 not advise anybody to go into the business with the 

 view of making money unless he expects to sell plants 

 and seeds at the prices dealers are now asking for 

 them. I do not know of anybody as yet who has made 

 monej' by growing the roots for sale. The pamphlets 

 and advertisements are all very misleading, and some 

 of them are gross exaggerations. I have carefully ex- 

 amined the editorials of our leading agricultural pa- 

 pers, and they nearly all agree with me. And last of 

 all, but not least, there is no demand for the roots for 

 any ,^ood purpose. When the Chinese are converted to 



