1887 - Horsemint: #10 of Root's Bee Plants

If you are thinking about what honeybees consider a delightful flower - think any mint family plant.  I suppose there might be one they shun, but I haven't heard of it yet. 

Bee balm

A. I. Root's horsemint is Monarda fistulosa.  The flower shape is familiar to anyone who has the more common (in New England) garden plant, Monarda didyma, bee balm.


Horsemint is more of a southern plant in the United States.  In 1882, Mrs. Jennie Atchley was describing the bee plant year in Texas when she said,  

"...after May 20th, horse mint begins to bloom. Then we can holloa out, Eureka, all is safe; just about the same as apiarists in the north when white clover and basswood comes in."   

 In Texas, "the dearth", when bees have a hard time finding anything in bloom, comes just before the horsemint blooms.  A gentleman from Carthage, Missouri  in 1883 commented that horsemint was usually the richest honey harvest of the year.    

Frank Chapman Pellet writes, in his 1920 book, American Honey Plants: Together with Those which are of Special Value to the Beekeeper as Sources of Pollen :

HORSEMINT (Monarda)

There are several species of horsemint, known also as bee balm, wild bergamot, etc. Some of the species are represented from New England to Texas. Figure 77 (not shown) shows M. fistulosa, the wild bergamot of the North. The corolla tubes are so deep that, as a rule, the bees are unable to reach the nectar. In some cases it is reported as yielding freely and the author has seen times when the bees were apparently getting considerable nectar from this species. 

Whether the nectar secretion is unusually abundant or the corolla tubes shortened more than is commonly the case, the author will not venture an opinion.

 In parts of Wisconsin, M. punctata, according to D. L. H. Pammel, can be depended upon to yield an abundance of nectar every season. This is probably the most important species to the beekeeper. It is found more or less commonly on sandy soil from New York to Minnesota and south to Florida and Texas. 

In Texas it is the source of very large quantities of surplus honey in seasons following wet winters, and springs. The honey is a clear light amber with a decided minty flavor. It is one of the most important sources in Texas, where, together with M. clinopodioides, it is regarded very highly. In the Arkansas Valley of southern Kansas horsemint is also important, yielding as high as fifty pounds of surplus per colony.

This lovely watercolor sketch by Miss Helen Sharp.  I can't find any information on her beyond what she notes on her drawings - where she is when sketching  and the date.  Her works date between 1888 and 1910.  This sketch was done in Taunton, MA in 1910, I think. Hard to read date.

Here is another, from 1895.

And here is another artist in a book from 1800, Zorn, J., Oskamp, D.L., Afbeeldingen der artseny-gewassen met derzelver Nederduitsche en Latynsche beschryvingen, vol. 4: t. 316  (Images of the physician's crops with their Dutch and Latynian writings)

1887 - Melissa (Lemon Balm): #11 of Root's Bee Plants

This year, the first spring I have been retired from teaching, I filled the porch with seed trays.  I stole the shop lights from the basement, bought some more, and had quite the jolly display of green out there during a wretched cold early spring.  

That's a cosmos intruding on the lemon balm :-)

One reason I did this is A. I. Root's catalog of seeds which offered them as bee plants.  I am a fledgling beekeeper  
Anything I grow will probably be ignored by my bees as they look for large, economical to visit, patches of bee friendly flowers.  (My yard does not lend itself to large patches of anything, being a glacial hillside of oaks and pines...)  But maybe the plants I am growing will occasionally be at least an amuse-bouche!

Source

Woodville, W., Medical botany, (1793)

Beekeepers around the late 1800s, were interested in identifying great bee plants as the idea of establishing bee pastures was being considered and tried.  Just as you have pastures for cows, the bees could have pasture land devoted to their nectar and pollen plants.  Later the beekeeping community decided it would not pay unless there was also money to be made from selling the pasture crop after the bees were done with it...like buckwheat.

Here is the info that made the beekeeper's ears perk up!

The Melissa honey plant is a very sweet mint, which grows about a foot high and bears a beautiful white blossom. It did well at the Michigan Station (B. 65), blossomed freely, and was very generally visited by the bees, blooming from early in July for a month or more. Unfortunately it is an annual, does not seed itself, and must be planted each year. It is considered doubtful if this would pay. On 3 acres of Melissa the bees had swarmed in early August—a thing unprecedented in the State.                             1891 - American Bee Journal

The period of bloom of bee balm, July, August, is when there is generally a dearth of nectar and pollen, a time when beekeepers around me (New England) nowadays have to feed their bees to keep the numbers up to be ready to go out in early fall to gather the nectar available from fall flowers.  If the hive is large enough they will gather in the fall the honey they need to live through the winter plus extra which the beekeeper harvests!  Spring is a honey gathering season, summer is pathetic, and fall might be a honey gathering season.  

  

But here is the kicker... the darn stuff now is NOT considered a bee plant especially!!  And I thought I'd treat my bees to a patch of something nice.  Sheesh...

Bee Culture - Volume 124 - Page 363  1996 - ‎Snippet view                                        Bee balm, Lemon balm or Bee-herb - these names all refer to the plant Melissa officinalis, an aromatic, perennial herb that has been associated with bees for centuries. This plant is native to regions of the northern Mediterranean, and the ancient Greeks called it Melissophyllon, which means "beloved by bees."   Despite claims in many older books, the white flowers of Bee balm do not attract honey bees to any great extent, as the flower tubes appear to be too long and narrow for them ...

On the bright side, it makes a nice herbal tea.   I'll treat me to something nice!

This manuscript from about 500 AD looks very much like my seedlings, doesn't it?

Here is some fun stuff about lemon balm: 

The name "Melissa" has a long history with roots reaching back to even before Ancient Greece. For this reason, in part, there are several versions of the story surrounding the mythological character Melissa, especially in how she came to care for the infant Zeus. In one version, Melissa, a mountain-nymph hid Zeus from his father, Cronus, who was intent on devouring his progeny.[9] She fed Zeus goat's milk from Amaltheaand fed him honey, giving him a permanent taste for it even once he came to rule on Mount Olympus. Cronus became aware of Melissa's role in thwarting his murderous design and changed her into an earthworm. Zeus, however, took pity and transformed her into a beautiful bee.     Wikipedia

1887 - Turkey Tangle Frogfruit!: #9 of Root's Bee Plants

OK, I'll confess, A. I. Root's seed list called it lipia nodelfolia. 

But when I read its alternative common names I could not resist Turkey Tangle Frogfruit! Sawtooth fogfruit (yes, fog...that is not a typo) and plain frogfruit aren't bad for interesting common names, but you have to admit Turkey Tangle Frogfruit wins :-)

I really like the looks of the plant.  The ring of white flowers climbing the bract are fun and look absolutely yummy from a honeybee's point of view, while the low foliage is a good ground cover or edging for a casual garden.  It is really for warmer zones, but I was wondering if I could treat it as an annual.  It is becoming the ground cover of choice in warmer places, working really well in urban areas as it does not need mowing and supports pollinators.   The blog, The Illustrated Plant Nut posted a nice piece on it focusing on how people deal with names.

Back to past opinions, my reading showed that the plant was heralded in 1891 as a ground cover of choice as well.  I wonder why it didn't become more common.  The University of Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station in 1891 was very enthusiastic reporting the plants did great in Tucson with only 2 inches of rain over 8 months!!  

Sibthrop, J., Smith, JE, Flora Graeca, Vol. 6: p. 43, t. 553 (1826)

I did not find any mention of it for bees before 1900, however.

The next report I read mentions it being fond in moist soils  (?? ) but also dry places. 

The Western Honey Bee: Devoted to the Interests of the Beekeepers, 1918, ...

Lippia (nodiflora), commonly called carpet grass or mat grass, is becoming a prominent honey plant along rivers and in low, overflowed land.

It is a low creeping plant, covering the ground with a dense mass of foliage, smothering out other weeds and grasses and gradually taking entire possession of the ground. When desired it can he destroyed by cultivation. It is being used along the river fronts to protect levees against erosion and is spreading slowly over much of the overflow country in these counties.
...
Lippia blooms from May until October, yielding a large amount of honey of good quality. It favors moist soil, but may be found growing on dry roadsides throughout the summer. Starts readily from cuttings except during cold weather.

Lippia nodiflora, mat grass or fog fruit, is native to California, and, according to Richter, is the principal source of surplus honey in the vicinity of Sacramento. Three-fourths of the surplus honey from Sutter County he reports as from this source. There it begins to bloom in May and lasts till frost. ... The honey is said to be light in color, mild in flavor, and to granulate readily.

American Honey Plants

Frank Chapman Pellett

1838 - Mr. Cuthill's Advice on Sowing and Raising Mignonette in Pots

On the Culture of the Mignonette

By James Cuthill


MIGNONETTE is considered a very simple plant to grow, and so it is in fashion. We generally see it during winter; but a celebrated grower of forced flowers for Covent Garden told me that he never had but one really good crop of mignonette, and by it he made a good sum of money. 

After four winters' sowing, without the least failure, I consider my system established; and by it I have had, without the least variation, forced mignonettein flower by Christmas, and as strong as border mignonette. 

On the 20th of August, I sowed 100 pots of 32's, filled with the following compost: half sandy loam, the other half made up with leaf mould, and road sand, not sisted, but very dry when used, and pressed into the pots up to the brim. When the seeds are sown, a little of the compost is sifted over them. The pots are then put into a pit or frame, and set very near the glass. 

The lights are kept off at all times, except during rainy weather, when they are always put on; as, above all things, a drop of rain is never allowed to fall upon the pots, for several reasons. The first of these is, because rain is often very heavy, and washes the seed out of the pots; secondly, the rain is often too little, and only moistens the surface; and, thirdly, after the 1st of October, rain is too cold, and chills the plants. 

I water the plants with a very fine rose, and always twice over, but never until they are upon the point of flagging; and, after the 1st of October, I either warm the water, or use it out of the stove. I remove the mignonette to the front of the green-house, about the 1st of November, for fear of damps. 

If a succession is wanted, I cut down as many as may be necessary, about the middle of December; and these will make a better blooming and thicker pot of mignonette, than a second sowing, and will save trouble. 

In thinning, I leave only six or seven plants in each pot; five of them about 1 in. from the rim, and one or two in the centre. In order to show gardeners how wrong it is to let rain fall upon their frame plants during winter, I had two pots of mignonette put on the bare flue of an empty pit in November, giving them no water and no covering; and, upon the 1st of February, brought them into the green-house; and now (Feb. 5.) they are looking well. 

This speaks volumes: if mignonette will stand 30° of frost, merely because it is kept dry, what will cauliflowers, lettuce, radishes, &c., not stand 2 The above may appear a simple story to many; but I am obliged to be more particular with winter mignonette in pots, than with the finest stove plant. 

Dyrham Park Gardens, Feb. 6, 1838.

The Gardener's Magazine and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement, Volume 4

1887 - Mignonette: #9 of Root's Bee Plants (with a charming history)

Reseda odorata

Mignonette, besides being a bee plant, has a fascinating history that includes a love story, chasing away headaches, and perfuming stinky neighborhoods.

As a beekeeper in Connecticut I am interested to see mignonette, while not a native, has naturalized.  Reseda odorata, Sweet Mignonette, is the escapee here, but one that has been long grown in gardens.  

A.I. Root comments it might not pay to grow it for pasturage for bees, but they do like it and it often blooms into October which honeybees appreciate.  He also mentions it is not sensitive to frost.

I was looking around for a source of seeds and found it first at The Shop: Monticello.

They comment:

"Mignonette was introduced to ornamental gardens in Europe about 1725, and because of its sweet fragrance both as a garden plant and as a cut flower, its popularity grew steadily on both sides of the Atlantic through the 19th century.  

Thomas Jefferson recorded sowing seeds for this annual at Monticello in 1811. The tiny, pale green and white flowers emit a fresh, fruity scent in summer and are attractive to bees and butterflies."

The photo below is from their seed. 

The Vermont Wildflower Farm catalog adds a great suggestion, saying that grown in a pot for a sunny windowsill mignonette is a  delight.  What a nice scent to come home to on a sunny porch!

However, getting focused on what people thought of it back in the 19th century I found a wonderful article from The Floricultural Cabinet of Joseph Harrison, a "Florist's Magazine" from 1849.

Step, E., Bois, D., Favourite flowers of garden and greenhouse

MIGNONETTE.—RESEDA ODORATA.

It is only one age since this fragrant weed of Egypt first perfumed the European gardens, yet it has so far naturalized itself to our climate as to spring from seeds of its own scattering, and thus' convey its delightful odour from the parterre of the prince to the most humble garden of the cottager.

In less than another age we predict (without the aid of Egyptian art) that the children of our peasants will gather this luxurious little plant amongst the wild flowers of our hedge-rows.

The Reseda Odorata first found its way to the south of France, where it was welcomed by the name of Mignonette, Little-darling, which was found too appropriate for this sweet little flower to be exchanged for any other. 

By a manuscript note in the library of the late Sir Joseph Banks, it appears that the seed of

the Mignonette was sent in 1742, by Lord Bateman, from the Royal Garden at Paris, to Mr. Richard Bateman, at Old Windsor; but we should presume that this seed was not dispersed, and perhaps not cultivated beyond Mr. Bateman's garden, as we find that Mr. Miller received the seed from Dr. Adrian van Royen, of Leyden, and cultivated it in the Botanic Garden at Chelsea, in the year 1752. 

From Chelsea it soon got into the gardens of the London florists, so as to enable them to supply the metropolis with plants to furnish out the balconies, which is noticed by Cowper, who attained the age of twenty-one in the year that this flower first perfumed the British atmosphere by its fragrance. The author of the Task soon afterwards celebrates it as a favourite plant in London—

"the sashes fronted with a range, Of orange, myrtle, or the fragrant weed."

The odour which this little flower exhales is thought by some, whose olfactories are delicate, to be too powerful for the house, but even those persons we presume must be delighted by the fragrance which it throws from the balconies into the streets of London, giving something like a breath of garden air to the " close-pent man," whose avocations will not permit a ramble beyond the squares of the fashionable part of the town. 

To such it must be a luxurious treat to catch a few ambrosial gales on a summer's evening from the heated pavement, where offensive odours are but too frequently met with, notwithstanding the good regulations for cleansing the streets and the natural cleanliness of the inhabitants in general. We have frequently found the perfume of the Mignonette so powerful in some of the better streets of London, that we have considered it sufficient to protect the inhabitants from those effluvia which bring disorders in the air. 

The perfume of Mignonette in the streets of our metropolis reminds us of the fragrance from the roasting of coffee in many parts of Paris, without which some of their streets of business in that city would scarcely be endurable in the rainy season of the year.

The Sweet Reseda or Mignonette is now said to grow naturally in some parts of Barbary, as well as in Egypt. Monsieur Desfontaiues observed it growing in the sands near Mascar in the former country, but it might have been accidentally scattered there, or have escaped from the gardens of the Moors.

This genus of plants, of which we have twelve species, was named Reseda by the ancients, from resedare to assuage, because some of the species were esteemed good for mitigating pains; and we learn from Pliny, that the Reseda was considered to possess even the power of charming away many disorders. He tells us, that it grew near the city of Ariminum, now Rimini in Italy, and that when it was used to resolve swellings, or to assuage inflammations, it was the custom to repeat the following words, thrice spitting on the ground at each repetition :—

"Reseda, cause these maladies to cease: knowest thou, knowest thou, who hath driven these pullets here? Let the roots have neither head nor foot."

We notice these absurd superstitions of the ancients, which are scarcely yet extinct in many country villages of this and other countries, to show how much the minds of the ignorant have always been prone towards the marvellous, and not that we "Hold each strange tale devoutly true."

Although it is so short a time since the Sweet Reseda has been known in Europe, we find that it has crept into the armorial bearings of an illustrious family of Saxony; and, as Cupid does not so frequently bestow honours of heraldry as his father Mars, we cannot avoid relating the romantic tale which introduced this fragrant and modest little flower to the Pursuivant-at-Arms.

The Romantic Story

The Count of Walsthim was the declared lover and intended spouse of Amelia de Nordbourg, a young lady possessing all the charms necessary for the heroine of a modern novel, excepting that she took delight in creating little jealousies in the breast of her destined husband. 

As the beautiful Amelia was an only child of a widowed mother, a female cousin, possessing but few personal charms, and still less fortune, had been brought up with her from infancy as a companion, and as a stimulus to her education. The amiable and humble Charlotte was too insignificant to attract much attention in the circles in which her gay cousin shone with so much splendour, which gave her frequent opportunities of dispensing a part of that instruction she had received to the more humble class of her own sex. 

(Warning: LONG sentence...)

Returning from one of these charitable visits, and entering the gay saloon of her aunt, where her entry or exit was now scarcely noticed, she found the party amused in selecting flowers, whilst the Count and the other beaux were to make verses on the choice of each of the ladies. Charlotte was desired to make her selection of a flower; the sprightly Amelia had taken a Rose; others a Carnation, a Lily, or the flowers most likely to call forth compliment; and the delicate idea of Charlotte in selecting the most humble flower, by placing a sprig of Mignonette in her bosom, would probably have passed unnoticed, had not the flirtation of her gay cousin with a dashing colonel, who was more celebrated for his conquests in the drawing-room than in the field of battle, attracted the notice of the Count, so as to make his uneasiness visible; upon which the amiable Charlotte, who, ever studious of Amelia's real happiness, wishing to amuse and to call back the mind of her cousin, demanded the verse for the Rose. 

The Count saw this affectionate trait in Charlotte's conduct, took out his pencil, and wrote for the Rose,

"Elle ne vit qu'un jour, et ne plait qu'un moment,"
"She only saw one day, and only enjoyed a moment,"

which he gave to the lovely daughter, at the same time presenting the humble cousin with this line on the Mignonette :—

"Ses qualites surpassent ses charmes."

Amelia's pride was roused, and she retaliated by her attention to the colonel and neglect of the Count, which she carried so far as to throw herself into the power of a profligate, who brought her to ruin. The Count transferred his affections from beauty to amiability; and rejoicing in the exchange, and to commemorate the event which had brought about his happiness, and delivered him from a coquette, he added a branch of the Sweet Reseda to the ancient arms of his family, with the motto,

"Your qualities surpass your charms."

The Mignonette is one of the plants whose unassuming little flowers never weary our sight; it is therefore made the image of those interesting persons whom time cannot change, and who, although deficient in dazzling beauty, attach us for life, when once they have succeeded in pleasing without its aid. 

—Flora Historica.

Flora Historica is a small book with a big name - 

Flora historica, or, The three seasons of the British parterre historically and botanically treated : with observations on planting, to secure a regular succession of flowers, from the commencement of spring to the end of autumn : to which are added, the most approved methods of cultivating bulbous and other plants, as practised by the most celebrated florists of England, Holland, and France

The above article on mignonette was taken, in part,  from Flora Historica by the Florist'd Magazine.

1887 - Honeypea: #8 of Root's Bee Plants

The honeypea is a cowpea which is a bean.  A large variety of useful types, bush and vine, make it a popular legume in warm climates.  Black-eyed peas are cowpeas.  It took me a while to work all that out.

I have looked around the web and find beekeepers think it makes a good light honey.  Not all beans are cowpeas, though, so you can't assume a field of beans will attract bees.

The Bee Journal commented:

The bloom of the cowpea is of such formation that the proboscis of the hive-bee is too short to reach down to the nectaries; but just beneath the bloom are a number of little glands that secrete a sweet substance that is largely sought after by the bees. I have seen them work on it from morning to night.

In 1920 Frank Chapman uses testimonials in his American Honey Plants: Together with Those which are of Special Value to the Beekeeper as Sources of Pollen:

The cowpea is widely cultivated in the warmer regions of the old world and in our own Southern States. It is grown for forage and for green manure. The plant is more closely related to the beans than to the peas. 

R. A. Nestor reports that it yields freely in east Texas, and where planted in sufficient acreage yields surplus. The honey is very dark in color, but of mild flavor, according to his report. 

 

The nectar from cowpeas is secreted by extra floral nectaries and beekeepers are often mystified because the bees are working at the "joints" instead of on the flowers. Some report that bees gather nectar from the flowers, also. 

The following reports indicate the value in different localities: 

"There is no finer honey plant than the cowpea, while it lasts, but it blooms only about a week. During this time, if the weather is fair, the bees swarm over the fields from early morn till dewey eve."

—J.D. Rowan, Tupelo, Miss. Gleanings, Sept. 15, 1909. 

"The cowpea is one of our most abundant sources of honey for late summer. The crop is planted here from May 1 to August 1, and furnishes nectar through a considerable period of otherwise scarcity. Unlike other plants, the stems, and not the blossoms, secrete the nectar as the young pods are forming. These the bees work upon excessively. The honey is of good body, thick, deep, approaching dark yellow in color, and of strong taste like that of tulip-poplar, only stronger, with a somewhat slight, wild-green-bean-like flavor."

—C. C. Gettys, Hollis, N. C. Gleanings, Sept. 14, 1909. 

"A small patch of peas was covered with bees from morning till night. Nearly all of them were working on the stalks, as usual; but here and there I saw a few Italians pushing their tongues down into the blossoms. I have never noticed any pollen from the field peas."

— Mrs. Ameda Ellis, Fremont, Mo. Gleanings, June 1, 1910. 

"The peas bloom when there is a honey dearth and the bees gather honey from them. However, I notice they do not work on them much if there is a better honey plant blooming at the same time. My bees get a good deal of nice honey from them."

—G. H. Latham, Jr., Rapidan, Va. Gleanings, May 15, 1910.

Below a bumble is nectaring on those floral nectaries at make the cowpea family useful to beekeepers.

source

1888 - Humbug? - Free Seeds from the Government

I have to admit this posting was prompted partly by wanting to share this illustration.  

Weinmann, JW, Phytanthoza Iconographia -  Echinops sphaerocephalus -Artist unknown.

A. I. Root's influential journal, Gleanings in Bee Culture, covered many agricultural and scientific topics. This opinion of the government free seed program was widely held.  While the program started with the admirable intention of exposing farmers and the general family gardener to superior varieties being developed, it grew over time into a politician's give-away to curry favor with their constituents. 
More often in my reading I come across strong opinions from reputable seedsmen who were outraged at the poor quality of seed that was sometimes accepted by the government, as well as the fact the government was competing unfairly with their business as they saw it.

Feb. 1889 - Gleanings in Bee Culture
CHAPMAN HONEY-PLANT SEED; CAN IT BE OBTAINED OF THE GOVERNMENT?

I saw the notice last spring In Gleanings, stating that the Agricultural Department at Washington had obtained seed of the Chapman honey-plant, for distribution. I applied to our representative, and be notified me that he had never heard of such a plant, but said that he had sent my application to the department, since which time I never heard from it. Were any of your readers more fortunate?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friend L., I can not help you any about procuring seed of the Chapman honey-plant, opposed the measure of asking the Government to buy friend Chapman's seed, at the National Convention held in Chicago; also at the Michigan State Convention at Saginaw, a year ago.

Some of the friends who were in favor of it admitted that the Government Seed Bureau was a big humbug anyway; but they gave, as an excuse, that friend Chapman might as well have some of the humbug money as anybody else. They did not state it in just that way, but it amounted to that. 

Now, the $2800 that was paid to friend Chapman for his honey-plant seed might almost as well have been thrown into the fire, in my opinion. The seed is very likely stowed away with other old rubbish, and it will probably get too old to germinate before it gets into the hands of beekeepers, if it ever does at all.

 Another thing, I do not believe that any bee-keeper wants a lot of Chapman honey-plant seed until he has first tested it by trying a five cent package; and even after it has been so tested, and the seed was wanted, I am not sure that it could be had of the Government.

Perhaps I am a little uncharitable here; but I can not help feeling indignant at this whole proceeding—not only in honey-plants, but seeds for almost all other purposes. There have been a good many complaints just like yours, friend L., that they could not get the seed of the Chapman honey-plant, even after the Government had paid $2800 for it; and it is not only this kind of seed, but seeds in general are managed a good deal in the same fashion.

Our agricultural papers have for years shown it up, and protested that our money should not be wasted in such senseless proceedings, but still it goes on. This is the first time I have publicly spoken about the matter, and perhaps I shall never have occasion to speak of it again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A follow up -  CHAPMAN HONEY-PLANT SEED—HOW TO GET IT OF THE GOVERNMENT

As I see some complaint in Gleanings, on page 134, by A. L. Lane and you about the distribution of the Chapman honey-plant seed by the Department of Agriculture at Washington, I want to say that I too read the notice in Gleanings last spring, and I at once wrote to Hon. Norman J. Colman, Commissioner of Agriculture, at Washington, for some seed, and soon got a little package of the same.

I sowed some, and almost every seed came up all right. Some plants had, by fall, leaves 38 inches long.

I believe if Mr. Lane had applied to Hon. Norman J. Colman, Commissioner, for the seed, instead of to his Representative, he would have received some.

Jacob Ruch, Jr.
Gruetli, Grundy Co., Tenn., Feb. 21, 1889.

I had to look up Greutli to see if it was an OCR mistake!  Nope.