72 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Cutshort 

 Beans. 



Brocootf. 



Rhubarb. 



Drought. 



Turnips. 



Celery, 

 Self-blanch- 

 ing. 



Firming the 

 Sou. 



Bean Bust. 



A. Yes, to revert to the original form ; and it is well it does so, other- 

 wise they both would become so dwarfed and puny as to soon go out of 

 use. 



411. Q. What does the word " cutshort " signify, as applied to cornfield 

 beans? 



A. Cutshort and snapshort both signify the same thing ; that is, a bean 

 producing a green, edible pod, without a string, but they are not always 

 stringless. 



412. Q. What is the difference between broccoli and cauliflower? 



A. Broccoli, though quite similar to cauliflower, is a plant taliing longer 

 to mature. It does not make so dense a head as cauliflower and the head 

 is often divided in sections by leaves protruding through it. Broccoli, as 

 a rule, is cultivated in a more southern climate than cauliflower. 



413. Q. Can a fixed variety of rhubarb be obtained from seed ? 



A. Not absolutely ; but great improvements have been accomplished in 

 the last few years. A positively fixed type can only be had from cuttings 

 from roots from an approved type. 



414. Q. What effect has drought upon root crops, such as beet, carrot 

 and parsnip? 



A. It reduces the product and results in a crop of dry, tough, inferior 

 roots and a stock more likely to decay than if it had been grown under 

 healthy conditions. Drought sometimes causes them to shoot to seed the 

 first season. 



415. Q. With a few exceptions, all my neighbors who planted Lan- 

 dreths' turnip seed failed to obtain good bulbs, only strings ; but I got a 

 crop. How is that ? 



A. Unfavorable circumstances as respects soil and other conditions. If 

 one man succeeded and others did not, the trouble was not with the seed 

 but was local ; anyone should clearly see that. 



416. Q. Is self-blanching celery tender and crisp, or must it be earthed 

 up like other celery ? 



A. The term "self-blanching" only indicates that the plants have a 

 habit of developing stocks and leaves from which a portion of the usual 

 green color has been eliminated by selection. The blanching habit does 

 not indicate a crisping habit ; that is only obtained by exclusion from the 

 sun, banking in earth or between boards. 



417. Q. I noticed the other day an old trucker running a wheelbarrow 

 over his beet seed which he had just finished drilling. What was the 

 object? 



A. To "firm " the soil ; that is, to compress the seed and soil that they 

 might be brought into contact to hasten germination and facilitate vege- 

 tation. 



418. Q. My beans this year have all spotted. Can I do anything 

 another year to prevent the recurrence of this effect ? 



A. You can adopt a preventive. Bathe the seed beans before sowing 

 in a copper solution, but don't spray the vines when they are bearing 



