1907 



GLEANINGS.IN BEE CULTURE. 



856 



If you do not happen to have a thermome- 

 ter, get the water just as hot as you can hold 

 your hand in it, then drop the ants or insects 

 on top of the water and see that it eventual- 

 ly kills them. This seems a little cruel, I 

 know: but for that matter it is cruel to kill 

 rats or mice; but we do not often stop, how- 

 ever, on that account. You want the water 

 hot enough so that an ant will wiggle about 

 a little and eventually die from the heat. If 

 the temperature is high enough to kill the 

 ants it will make sure work of the green tiy 

 or the different aphides, mealy ln;gs, red spi- 

 der, etc., and it really makes the plants grow 

 thriftier. If your temperature is too high 

 you will see the effect on the tender new 

 growth of your plants after a little time. 

 With a little practice you can get the water 

 just right so it will kill the pests and not 

 harm the tender plant. Now, the ants that 

 spread the mischief in the way I have ex- 

 plained are usually in the ground under the 

 plants. The pots in my little greenhouse are 

 all plunged in the soil up to their rim. This 

 saves a great amount of watering. The soil 

 is made very rich with manure, and this 

 rather encourages the plants in pushing their 

 roots down through the hole in the bottom of 

 the pot. Whenever I see a plant doing ex- 

 tra tine I find the roots have found the hole 

 through the bottom and have gotten down 

 into the manure that we put under the sur- 

 face of the bed every spring. Well, the ants 

 usually get into the pots through this hole in 

 the bottom, and there locate in the rich soil 

 right under the pot. As there is nothing to 

 kill down there that we care for, when you 

 lift the pots out of their respective holes in 

 the bed just drop a little boiling water into 

 said cavity. It will kill the weed seeds and 

 embryo weeds at the same time that it kills 

 the ants. 



When you put your plant in the pailful of 

 hot water you should plunge it down to the 

 rim of the pot. Now, if you find your plants 

 so badly infested that insects go clear down 

 to the surface of the soil, just knock it out of 

 the pot and push the plant down into the wa- 

 ter until the water strikes the surface of the 

 soil. The only objection to letting it touch 

 the dirt is that it will soon make your pail of 

 water muddy, and you do not want dirty 

 water on the foliage of your plants. 



Now, the above plan will enable you to 

 make every plant absolutely clean in just a 

 few seconds; and if you keep a careful watch 

 on your plants, and kill the first greenhouse 

 fly or aphis that is visible on the young 

 shoots you will not have very much ti'ouble. 

 A stitch in time saves nine with a vengeance 

 in fighting insect pests. Plants out in the 

 open ground are not apt to be affected in 

 this way. There are, however, some excep- 

 tions. Last summer I found a Baby Ram- 

 bler rosebush literally covered with the green 

 aphis. I took my hot water in a big dish- 

 pan and bent the bush over so I could plunge 

 it under the water. In that way I got rid of 

 every green fly; but after awhile some more 

 gathered on the same bush. I was in a hur- 

 ry at this second treatment, and did not stop 



to test the temperature, and it made my rose- 

 bush look sorry for a few days. I have tried 

 pouring hot water on plants that can not 

 very well be immersed; but it does not seem 

 to work so well. The insect ought to be kept 

 exposed to the heat, under water, for as 

 much as ten seconds. The older the animal 

 the longer it will need to be kept submerged. 

 Of course, my plan would not be very profit- 

 able for the green bug that has been afflict- 

 ing wheat-growers to such an extent as to 

 raise the market price of wheat during the 

 past spring. I hope our experiment stations 

 will, however, give us a remedy in due time. 



GROWING STRAWBERRIES IN BRADENTOWN, 

 FLORIDA. 



Our readers will remember that I have 

 several times mentioned the name of E. B. 

 Rood, of Bradentown, Fla., a prominent bee- 

 keeper and strawberry-grower; and they 

 will, therefore, be interested in the following 

 clipping from The Strawberry for June, this 

 year: 



I have found the growing of strawberries in Florida 

 both pleasant and protltable; but as I have been 

 largely the pioneer in this section, I have had to blaze 

 the way, and often without a compass or chain, and, 

 as a result, in the earlier stages the course was zig- 

 zag. 



I did not know the varieties to plant, and experi- 

 mented with about fifteen before I found the one best 

 suited to my conditions; viz., the Excelsior, a plant 

 that will fruit and ripen early, even in cool weather, 

 and produce a highly colored and firm berry. I com- 

 mence picking about Thanksgiving, and continue to 

 pick till May or even June. 



I began to grow berries with the idea of shipping, 

 and I am satisfied that I could ship profitably; but I 

 found that few berries were grown in this county, and 

 our own city of Bradentown and all the surrounding 

 towns consume large quantities of berries at 2.5 or 30 

 cents per quart— your money in your fist, no berries 

 to spoil on the way to market, and no commission 

 man to fall out with. 



I believe there are many such places in Florida 

 where hundreds of dollars' worth of berries could be 

 grown and sold profitably. This is because the same 

 skill required to make a success of strawberries yields 

 handsome returns in growing winter vegetables, $500 

 to $1000 per acre not being very uncommon. A thou- 

 sand dollars per acre Is my mark for strawberries; 

 and while I have not yet reached it I believe it can be 

 done. At any rate I intend to stick to berries as one 

 of my specialties for a reasonably sure and remunera- 

 tive crop. 



One of my first serious difficulties was when to set 

 out my plants. September and October, especially 

 the latter month, were recommended, but I have 

 found, after a dearly bought experience, that July 

 and August, and up to September 15 possibly, are 

 much preferable, and I must grow my own plants, I 

 think, from plants imported from further north the 

 spring previous. However, I am not sure of this, and 

 am now doing some experimenting along this line. 



Then I suffered from cut-worms. If I had had the 

 remedy The Strawherrij now gives. Paris green, 

 shorts, and honey (I am a bee-keeper), it would have 

 been worth hundreds of dollars to me; but the book I 

 had, written by a man claiming to be an expert, said 

 the only remedy was previous clean culture, and so 

 the cut-worms nearly ate me up. 



What a wonderful advantage there is in beginning 

 in any calling where the other fellow left off I and, 

 with the splendid strawberry literature you are giv- 

 ing us, this is largely possible for the growers of the 

 finest fruit in the world. 



I think that strawberry-growing has a fine future 

 in this section, as we can produce magnificent crops 

 of fruit for many months when the greater part of 

 our country has gone into winter quarters. 



Bradentown, Fla. E. B. Rood. 



1 might mention the fact that I have re- 

 cently purchased an acre of land adjoining 



