for November, 1920 



381 



THE QUESTIONNAIRE | 



Subscribers are vnited to make free use | 



of this department to solve problems that e 



mav arise in their garden work. Questions | 



on' the ordinary pursuits of gardening, that 5 



con be readily answered by applying to the | 



usual reference books should not be re- | 



ferred to the Questionnaire. j 



Last year I cut off a horse chestnut 

 tree about twelve feet from the ground 

 and placed a birdhouse on the top. This 

 season new shoots have been constantly 

 appearing. What can I do to kill the 

 stump and prevent new growths?— 

 D. C. B.— N. J. 



1 would Miggcst that you remove the soil 

 from around the stump of the tree to enal>le 

 \ou to reach the roots. Then hack the 

 i..i)ts to bruise them, and apply a strong 

 ,nhition of carbolic acid on ihe wounds. 

 This will kill the roots and prevent any 

 future growths. — D. E. K. 



I have a bed of Antirrhinums that 

 were set early in the Spring. I had then 

 about fifty plants, now about thirty of 

 these have died; they all seem to have 

 the same affliction. The foliage wilts and 

 the plant soon dies, and I am unable to 

 find any insect either on the plants or 

 at the roots, or in the stems, that is 

 causing this. They seem to drop off in 

 all sections of the bed, but some are still 

 blooming and doing fine. I have lost a 

 few of my Asters in the same way, but 

 not nearly so many. I have also had 

 trouble with my Delphiniums rotting at 

 the ground. I lost all of my seedlings 

 this Spring with that trouble. Is the 

 soil infected with some Fungus that is 

 causing this, and if so, is there any rem- 

 edy for it? Thought possibly a heavy 

 liming might do it good. This is the 

 first season I have worked this garden, 

 as it has been running wild for years; 

 that is, the former owners planted in the 

 Spring and let it grow up to weeds each 

 Summer, which I don't imagine did the 

 soil any good. I am used to gardening 

 in New England and conditions here are 

 so different it is going to take time to get 

 used to them.— G. P. McK. — Ga. 



Kcyarilinf; the truuMc you are experienc- 

 iiig ill raisini; Antirrliinums and Delphin- 

 iums, these plants usually act the way you 

 have described when tlicy are attacked at 

 the roots by a small maggot which is found 

 in the soil. But as you say you can dis- 

 cover no insects on their roots, it may be 

 due to the fact that the soil has been neg- 

 lected, and wliilc it may be rich in its 

 nature, it may have soured, and in that case 

 a good application of lime would be most 

 beneficial. I would suggest that you do not 

 use any green manure, especially with 

 Delphiniums, if you later find that you have 

 tfi fertili/f the ground. — E. I). 



Can you tell me how to permanently 

 rid my garden of the white grub worm? 

 The area is about one-eighth acre, and I 

 have great difficulty in raising raspberries 

 and strawberries. It is almost impossible 

 to raise them on this account. — A. A. L. 

 —Mich. 



The most effective way of ridding your 

 garden of the white grub worm, is by ap- 

 plying lime to the soil this Fall, and rake 

 it in, or if it would be possible for you to 

 do so, plow up the soil and then apply the 

 lime. How permanent an effect such an 

 application will have, will depend very 

 much on the soil surrounding your own 

 grounds, for if this is affected and not 

 treated, the grub worm will soon invade 

 your soil again from the surrounding 

 grounds.— K. M. 



Winding Up Your Window Boxes 



When I was 10 years old, Dad gave me a Waterbury watch 

 that you wound up each morning with a monkey wrench, and 

 that made so much noise that everybody in the house was 

 always up in plenty of lime for our early breakfasts. 



As noisy as it was winding up, it made a noiseless noise when 

 it ran down. In which particular it was like window boxes 

 when their Summer filling is done for, ami they sit there 

 yammering for their Winter clothes. 



And speaking of their clothes, we have some Yellow and 

 Green Retinospora and .\rborelum that are just the thing for 

 Fall and Winter effects. And, of course. Ivy — you want plenty 

 of that. Happily for you, we have aplenty. 



Start winding up your window boxes. We can ship promptly 

 or in many cases deliver by truck. 



I ^ A-t Tho Si £ n of The Treg 



1 Sox 20 Rutk« 



rrford N.J. 



Here and There 



RHUBARB. 



A rhubarb plantation, when once estab- 

 lished, becomes a permanent institution. I 

 have in mind beds that to my certain knowl- 

 edge, have been cropped continuously for 

 more than fifty years, and, apparently, arc 

 becoming more thrifty each year. These beds 

 were made by excavating a cubic yard for 

 each plant, filling the hole thus made with a 

 mixture of equal parts of rotted manure and 

 good garden soil, covering with the earth 

 taken from tlie excavation, so as to form a 



ridge and setting the plants upon the ridge. 

 And liear in mind that the one great secret 

 of success in rliuliarb growing lies 111 the 

 heaviest kind of fertilization. Rhubarb is 

 not very particular in regard to the charac- 

 ter of soil, provided there is sufficient mois- 

 ture in it, though, of course, it will not 

 stand wet feet. One of the best ways to 

 grow it is to mulch very heavily around the 

 crown, as soon in the Fall as the tops have 

 been killed. Use good manure for this pur- 

 pose, but cover the crowns with straw. 

 Then, as soon as the frost is out of the 

 ground in tlie Spring, work the manure 

 well into the soil. If this is done, the plant 

 will need no more attention, except to har- 

 vest the stalks, until the next Fall, since the 



