Part 61 (2/2)
The single mums have of late been used successfully out-of-doors when early blooming varieties have been chosen.
Of these Elsa, Gladys Duckham and Mensa are the earliest whites: Ivor Grant, Mrs. Southbridge and Mrs. Buckingham the earliest pinks; Josephine, Golden Mensa and Marion Sutherland the earliest yellows; and Silvia Slade, Ceddie Mason and Brightness the earliest crimson and bronze shades.
As soon as it is warm enough in the spring the plants should be set out about twelve inches apart in rich garden soil, and kept pinched back during May and June to insure a stocky growth. If one has old clumps in the garden, they should be taken up and divided and set in new earth just as any old perennial plant would be treated.
During the hot summer weather they should be well watered once a week and sprayed in the cool of the evening. This will keep down the black and green aphis, the worst enemies of mums. In case these pests become a menace a spray of tobacco water will end the trouble. A little bone meal or well rotted manure dug about the plants in August will help to produce fine blooms.
A gardener who has never yet lost a plant through winter-killing treats them as follows: After they have finished blooming he cuts them down to about eight inches above the ground and lets the leaves blow in on the bed, covering to a depth of six or eight inches. Then he lays pine branches over the beds to prevent the leaves from blowing away. So treated, the plants will remain frozen all winter. They should in all cases be set in a well drained position, as they will not stand ”wet feet.” Uncover with the other perennials in the spring.--Mrs. E. W.
Gould.
BEE-KEEPER'S COLUMN.
Conducted by FRANCIS JAGER, Professor of Apiculture, University Farm, St. Paul.
The Minnesota honey crop of 1916 will probably be a record breaker. This brings up the question of how to market this crop to the best advantage.
Let me state at once that the greatest obstacle to free and easy selling of honey is the careless, untidy, sometimes unsanitary way some bee-keepers put up their honey for the market--spoiling the appet.i.te of the public for this most delicious of nature's foods not only for themselves but also for progressive and up-to-date bee-keepers. The result of this big honey crop will be to eliminate the No. 2 and No. 3 bee-keeper and his honey from the market until No. 1 has sold out his product.
A short article like this cannot make a good bee-keeper out of a poor one, it can only serve as a reminder to those who know how ”lest they forget.” Moreover, the most careless and backward bee-keepers imagine that they are crackerjacks at their trade, thus putting themselves beyond the possibility of becoming anything. It takes a thousand hammer-blows to drive home a truth or a useful idea.
If comb honey is your specialty observe the national grading and packing rules. They are printed in all bee papers and magazines, and have been given all possible publication to reach you.
To obtain fancy comb honey your sections must have been made over strong colonies in No. 1 white, new sections with extra thin top and bottom starters. After the honey flow is over in your locality (which you can detect by the tendency of bees to rob and be cross) remove your comb honey at once. By leaving it on, travel stained and propolis spotted sections will result. The snow white finish of the comb will be discolored, the wood will a.s.sume that ”used and handled” appearance which is not attractive to the buyer. The sections must be graded fancy, No. 1 and No. 2. Every section must be sc.r.a.ped around the edges and all propolis removed. Some bee-keepers even polish the wood of the section until it looks as clean as if it just came from the factory.
After cleaning and grading put up your honey into standard s.h.i.+pping cases. Do not s.h.i.+p it in the super where it was raised nor in a soap box. If s.h.i.+pped to a distant market by freight or express, eight s.h.i.+pping cases must be packed together into one honey crate provided with handles. The tendency of late is to put up each comb in a separate paper box with transparent front to keep the honey free from flies and finger-marks. This practice deserves universal adoption.
If you produce extracted honey you may leave your honey with bees for a week or two after the honey flow is over. Extracting should be done in hot weather, during August or early part of September. A modern hand or power extractor is an absolute necessity. There are still a few old timers who ”butcher” their bees late in the fall, and render the honey by the ”hand mash and sheet strain” method, but they are only relics of a poetical past and going fast.
Honey to be extracted must be well capped over. If extracted too thin it will ferment and get sour. If left with bees too long it will be too thick and hard to extract. Extracting ought to be done in a bee-tight room to keep out robber bees. Extracted supers may be returned to the bees in the evening or piled up at a distance in a safe place for bees to clean out. Extracted honey must be left to stand in a settling tank for about a week, or until all air bubbles and wax particles have risen to the top. It should be put up into five gallon cans or barrels for wholesale trade. For retail trade it should be bottled when needed, else it will candy in the gla.s.s. Bottling it hot or heating it after bottling will delay crystallization for a considerable period. The bottles ought to be white, clean and labeled with your name. Each kind of container should be well packed in a wooden s.h.i.+pping case. Do not make it a practice to sell a large amount to a customer at once, sell rather smaller amounts at frequent intervals.
ORCHARD NOTES.
Conducted monthly by R. S. MACKINTOSH, Horticulturist, Extension Division, University Farm, St. Paul.
Once in a while it is well to pause for a few moments to consider some of the results of past efforts. We have been growing apples in Minnesota in large quant.i.ties. Insects and diseases are causing more damage each year, and this has lead us to pay more attention to the prevention of these pests. A regular spraying program has been outlined, and many persons have adopted it. What are the results? It seems to us that the results of spraying at West Concord, Minn., should be made known to the readers of the MINNESOTA HORTICULTURIST. It indicates very clearly the value of spraying and how someone in a community can take charge and diligently push for better methods. In this case the instructor in agriculture, with the aid of his superintendent and board of education, secured a power sprayer and began to spray the orchards in the vicinity. At first it was necessary to ask the owners if they might spray their trees. After three years, however, the owners appealed to Prof. Updegraff to have their trees sprayed. This year he had more work than he could manage. Demonstrations of this kind show the value of the work so vividly that the most skeptical gradually becomes convinced of its value.
Several schools have purchased spraying outfits. We hope that we shall hear from more of them in the future. In many cases the spraying outfit is used for whitewas.h.i.+ng the interior of barns and other buildings.
Reports that come to the Agricultural Extension Division indicate that there will be a surplus of apples in some sections this year. We want to a.s.sist in the distribution of the surplus and shall continue the Apple Clearing House again this year. If you have more apples than you can sell locally please let the division know what you have to sell. Address the Agricultural Extension Division, University Farm, St. Paul.
Apples for market must be graded and packed properly if they are to be sold through the regular trade routes. The barrel is the standard package in most parts of the country. The bushel basket is being used for early fruit in some markets. All fruit for sale should be _hand picked from the tree_ (not from the ground) and allowed to cool. Grade according to size and freedom from insect and other injuries. Pack carefully so as to avoid bruising. When cover is put on press firmly in place. Do not allow fruit to shake about while in transit. Pick early maturing fruit while more or less green. Ripe fruit will not keep well during hot weather. (See page 321 of this number.)
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