54 



QUERIES AND ANSvVERS. 



Pumpkin or 

 Squash. 



Tea Plant. 



First 



Horticultural 



Society. 



First 



Agricultural 

 Society. 



Tomatoes. 



Salt. 



Cutting 

 Lettuce. 



Coreless 

 Carrot. 



Color in 

 Vegetables. 



Dates for 

 Seeding. 



and only those female flowers which are fertilized or pollenized by con- 

 tact with male flowers or through the agency of the wind or of insects. 



310. Q. What is the difference between a pumpliin and a squash? 



A. A pumpkin never develops a rind hard as wood, while a squash does. 



311. Q. Can the tea plant be grown successfully in the United States? 

 A. Yes, the plant can be grown very successfully in some of the Cotton 



States, but in this country labor is very costly as compared with the 

 cheap labor of China. In 1790, David Landreth had growing near Phila- 

 delphia a hedge of tea plants which stood for years. 



312. Q. At what date was the first Horticultural Society established in 

 America ? 



A. In 1828, the Philadelphia Horticultural Society, of which David 

 Landreth was Secretary. 



313. Q. At what date was the first Agricultural Society established in 

 America? 



A. In 1785, the Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture. 



314. Q. Are all tomatoes derived from the same species ? 



A. No ; the best of the large sorts in cultivation have been derived 

 from the Esculentum, a sort divided into four or five cells by intervening 

 partitions. The pear-shaped varieties are derived from the Pyriforme, a 

 sort of two cells. The grape or current sorts from the Cerasiforme, of 

 two cells. 



315. Q. Will salt applied to my fields drive away corn grubs ? 



A. Yes ; very frequently most efficient in arresting ravages of chinch 

 bugs on wheat, cut worms on corn, but it should be applied before the 

 crop is planted — six or seven bushels to the acre. 



316. Q. You describe a lettuce as a cutting sort. What do you imply 

 by that expression ? 



A. A variety producing a mass of loose leaves — not a heading sort — 

 generally an early variety. 



317. Q. What do you mean by coreless as applied to a carrot? 



A. The usual types of carrots contain a woody centre, from off which 

 the soft outer shell can be removed. In the case of the coreless varieties 

 this character is nearly eliminated — the whole mass being soft. 



318. Q. Are not Yellow Belgian carrots more nutritious for cattle feed- 

 ing than White Belgian ? 



A. As a rule vegetables of deep colors are considered richer than those 

 without color, but it is possibly a fiction. The Sugar beet is white, the 

 Bassano beet is white, both of exceeding sweetness. 



319. Q. Is there any general guide to indicate the proper periods for 

 sowing seeds, a guide good for all sections ? 



A. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to indicate a guide for sow- 

 ing in the Southern States, but in the North the blooming of trees aflfords 

 a good indication. The periods for the first Spring sowing might be 

 named as follows : 



