QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 71 



been entered exactly at the same place ; in some the germ has been de- 

 stroyed — they certainly will not sprout ; in some the interior is more eaten 

 out than in others — they afford less food support to the young plant, 

 which may never be healthy ; others of the one hundred are uninjured as 

 a seed stock. 



404. Q. What is the remedy for destroying insects in small seeds — the Bisulphide. 

 weevil in dried beans and the bugs in dried peas ? 



A. Subject the seeds in a closed vessel, as a pot, chest, or tight room, 

 to the fumes of some deadly chemical preparation, as cyanide of potassium 

 or carbon bisulphide. Don't inhale it yourself. 



405. Q. What is the difference between a True Top onion set and the Top Onion. 

 Egyptian or Winter Top onion set ? 



A. The True Top onion set is the product of the True Top large onion, 

 which is planted out in the Spring to produce sets on top of the stalks 

 (they do not produce black seed) The sets are planted to produce large 

 onions. The Egyptian or Winter Top onion set is nothing more nor less 

 than the original True Top onion, which has been allowed to remain in 

 the ground year after year and has degenerated into a half wild condition; 

 the sets will not produce a large onion, but grow in bunches in the form 

 of scullions. Until they were introduced as a novelty they were regarded 

 as utterly worthless. The two may be detected by cutting the set of each 

 in half— the True type will cut to one eye and the Egyptian will cut to 

 several eyes or hearts. 



406. Q. Is it possible to bring the Egyptian or Winter onion back to its Winter 

 original form — that is to say, a True Top set, which will produce a large, Onion. 

 perfect onion ? If so, what is the procedure ? 



A. It is not worth the effort. Better get the true stock at once, even if 

 at double prices. 



407. Q. Will seed beans which have been cut by the weevil germinate ? Weevii. 

 A. A proportion will; but no one till after trial can tell what that ii^ Beans. 



proportion will be. The weevil in beans is more severe than the pea bug 

 in peas, as the bean weevil is more ravenous, eating a larger proportion 

 of the interior of the bean, and frequently where one insect is present in 

 a bean there are several, which in time will completely honeycomb the 

 bean. Weevily beans should at once be burned up. 



408. Q. What causes my radishes to be so scabby and eaten ? Radish. 

 A. Worms and grubs. No help for the present crop. Next year dress 



the field with lime and salt and avoid stable manure ; use commercial fer- 

 tilizers broadcasted early in the season. Use kainit. 



409. Q. Can I grow chicory as a substitute for coffee ? Chicory. 

 A. Yes ; a very good substitute. It is grown exactly like carrots or 



parsnips ; it should be taken up in October and sliced and dried. The 

 Landreths cultivated it during the war, in the sixties, and sold the roots 

 to coffee men. 



410. Q. Does not self-blanching celery, both white and golden, show a Celery, 

 tendency to produce green plants ? Seif-bianch- 



