46 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Beans. 



Com. 

 Onion Sets. 



Asparagus 

 Bug. 



Fungicides. 



Insecticides. 



Fungi. 



Insecticides. 



Linae. 



Salt. 



Fungi. 



249. Q. Which is superior in quality, a round green-podded bean or 

 a wax-podded bean ? 



A. Tastes vary. The writer thinks a wax pod always tough. 



250. Q. Which is the best sugar corn for an all-round sort ? 

 A. The Landreth and Stowell's Evergreen. 



251. Q. Does freezing injure onion sets ? 



A. Sets kept throughout winter in the latitude of Philadelphia are 

 always frozen, and are not injured under careful handling, but should 

 not be handled when the frost is coming out of them. If received in 

 frozen condition spread them out to thaw. 



252. Q. Is there any application which I can make to drive off the 

 asparagus beetle from my young asparagus beds ? 



A. Lime dust applied when the dew is on. 



253. Q, What are the most generally used fungicides ? 



A. Compounds of copper and sulphur, particularly ; ammoniacal car- 

 bonates of copper and Bordeaux mixture. 



254. Q, Why do some so-called insecticides fail to be effective ? 



A. Probably because applied without any knowledge of the nature of 

 the insects desired to destroy ; for instance, insects which eat their food 

 can be poisoned by mineral applications to the foliage, but insects which 

 feed upon the juice of plants obtained by puncturing the skin cannot be 

 poisoned by outward applications. The latter can only be destroyed by 

 an application of something which will clog up their breathing pores. 



255. Q. What fungi give the most trouble to the farmer and gardener ? 

 A. Those occurring on the potato, onion, turnip, cabbage, corn, clover, 



wheat. A rotation of crops is effective in overcoming a fungus attack, 

 as one which destroys plants of the cabbage family seldom attacks plants 

 of a distinct genus, as, for instance, the onion or potato. 



256. Q. What are the leading insecticides ? 



A. Compounds of arsenic, as Paris green and London purple ; oils and 

 soaps, tobacco dust, sulphur, red pepper. 



257. Q. Is lime a good fertilizer? 



A. Not of very much direct value, but of great importance in render- 

 ing available plant foods already in the soil. Lime also preserves the par- 

 ticles of soil in a separate coagulated condition, making heavy soils friable 

 and pervious to water. It also promotes the formation of nitrates in the 

 soil. 



258. Q. Is common salt valuable as a manure? 



A. No, not primarily ; but it may on some soils have a good effect in 

 helping to set free more important constituents. It is also useful for 

 destroying insects or grubs. 



259. Q. What is this fungi about which so much is now said by the 

 scientific papers ? 



A. It is generally a parasitic growth, popularly termed mildew, mold, 

 smut, blight or rust. Some of these growths can be prevented, others pal- 

 liated and sometimes cured. As a rule, the smallest portions are self- 



