i6 



PACIFIC TREE AND VINE 



of the earth. Raising the tempera- 

 ture one or two degrees will otten- 

 times save a crop that would be 

 otherwise lost. 



Mrs. L. M., San Jose. — Vou can 

 get the seed of the nest egg gourd 

 from any seedsman. The plant re 

 quires no special cultural treatment. 

 It can be grown in any good soil, 

 and is ornamental as a climber. The 

 fruit, which resembles eggs in size, 

 color and shape, is ornamental 

 when growing, and is useful for 

 nest eggs when ripe They also 

 make pretty caster eggs, as they can 

 be sawn in halves, filled with some 

 confections and the two halves 

 joined together with a strip of white 

 paper pasted over them. Harmless 

 jokes are sometimes played with 

 them on the the unwary by mixing 

 them with boiled eggs at the break- 

 fast table. 



W. P., Napa— Asks for the best 

 treatment for phylloxera. If your 

 vineyard is not too far gone, dig out 

 and burn the infested vines, and 

 replace them with resistant stock. 

 or better still, grow corn on the 

 land for a few years until the phyl- 

 loxera in the ground are stained 

 out. If the vineyard is generally 

 attacked, and there is no danger of 

 infesting the neighborhood, leave 

 it alone as long as it pays and then 

 root it out. There is no remedy 

 for the phylloxera that it would 

 pay to bother with. It is claimed 

 that bi-sulphide of carbon will kill 

 the pests, but it generally kills the 

 vines, too. There is nothing to be 

 recommended tor phylloxera but 

 planting resistant stock. 



K. W., Alameda. — Unless you 

 intend to grow sweet potatoes on a 

 large scale it would probably pay 

 you better to buy the plants than to 

 bothtr with growing them, as they 

 are sold very cheaply. It is not 

 difficult to raise them. Artifici.il 

 heat should be employed, and this 

 is secured by making an ordinarx- 

 hot bed out of fresh stable manure, 

 on which about six to eight inches 

 of good loam has been iilaced. The 



pre>-'ent is the time for starting 

 plants, which should be ready lor 

 setting out as Si,on as all danger 

 from frost is past A rich, warm, 

 sandy soil is ideal for the sweet 

 potato, which also needs plenty of 

 hot weather to attain perfectitju. 



L M. R., Kern county, — An- 

 thrax may be contracted by man 

 from diseased animals, either by in 

 ocnlation, thiough cuts or scratches 

 on the hands, or by taking infected 

 air into the lungs. In the latter 

 case the pnuuonary form appears. 

 In the case of animal it spreads 

 through the medium of food and 

 water. The virus consists of a 

 minute, rod-like organism, known 

 as "l)aciilus anthracis, " which, on 

 entering the blood, rapidly multi- 

 plies, in much the same way as 

 other bacilli. The minute blood 

 vessels become clogged and the 

 bacilli give out a poison destructive 

 to life. Death is very rapid in the 

 case of animals, only a few hours 

 being needed to biing about a fatal 

 result. 



Mrs. M. R., Los Angeles. — Tlie 

 Lenstemon is in great favor all ever 

 Southern California, where it at- 

 tains perfection. It may be readily 

 propagated, by seed, division of the 

 roots or slips. The seeds should 

 be planted in a shallow pan filled 

 with a go d compact, and well 

 drained. Before planting the seed 

 the soil should be tliortmghlv 

 .soaked. The seed should be thinly 

 sown andlhinly covered with fine 

 soil. Cover with glass and keep 

 warm and moist. Cuttings are 

 made from the tops of young shoots 

 Irom two to four inches long, and 

 should be started in clean river 

 sand. Cuttings root very readily, 

 and this is the favorite way of pro- 

 pagating the plant. When the 

 cuitings have rooted they should 

 be removed to pots and later planletl 

 in the o]ien if desired. 



that its importation into this coun- 

 try has been prohibited by law. 

 Our correspondent has in mind the 

 Mongoose, which was introduced 

 into Jamaica and afterwards into 

 Hawaii for the purpose of destroj'- 

 ing rais in the sugar cane In both 

 cases it did this work most effec- 

 tivel)-, and when the rats were gone 

 it ate the snakes, the frogs, and 

 then ate up all the eggs of ground- 

 nesting birds, and then turned its 

 attention to the chickens. And 

 the Mongoose increased in alarming 

 numbers. It destroyed young pigs, 

 kids, lambs, puppies, kittens, and 

 all the game birds. It was omni- 

 verous in its tastes, and turned its 

 attention to various kinds of fruits 

 and vegetables and in a short time 

 it seemed that there would be noth- 

 ing left on the islands but the Mon- 

 goose. Now premiums are being 

 paid for the slaughter of the Mon- 

 goose, and the people are wishing 

 they had the rats and Satan had the 

 Mongoose. To avoid like trouble 

 in this country. Congress, in May, 

 1900, passed a law prohibiting its 

 importation into America, together 

 with the flying foxes, fruit bats, 

 English sparrows, and other birds 

 and animals likely to prove detri- 

 mental to agriculture. 



Louis R., .SacTamento. — .Asks 

 what annual it is tliat has become 

 such a pest in tiie Sandwich Islands 



R. M. A. A., San Mateo. — Kin- 

 nikinic, of which you say you have 

 a large body growing wild on your 

 land, has no commercial value. Its 

 scientific name is arctostajihx'los 

 uva-ursi, Linn, belonging to the 

 Ericacceae of Heath family. Ac- 

 cording to Prof Piper, the plant is 

 abundant throughout the northern 

 hemisphere, especially in gravelly 

 or sandy soil, frequently matting 

 the ground for considerable areas, 

 le the fall of the year, when the 

 bright red berries are ripe, it is a 

 very attractive plant for decoration 

 It is an ofiicial plant in both the 

 Hritish and American pharmaco- 

 poeias. Its medicinal properties are 

 astringent, tonic, diuretic and neph- 

 ritic. It is used principally for ul- 

 ceration of the kidneys, bladder and 

 urinary passages. According to 

 .Sayre, it is recommended in Cys- 



