QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 103 



rating and the rain will, after a time, wash down the whole thing to a 

 level. Previous to plowing, the land should be top-dressed with a full 

 cartload of well -rotted stable manure, or treated with forty pounds good 

 commercial fertilizer. 



626. Q. I find Ivy on the walls of a farmhouse I just purchased. Will ivy. 

 it keep the walls damp ? 



A. It will keep them dry, as the leaves overlap each other like shingles 

 80 that not a drop of rain can strike the walls. 



627. Q. Are king crabs good manure? King Crab 

 A. Excellent ; tens of thousands of bushels are used by farmers on the Manure. 



South Atlantic waters. Their value, however, is only for one crop, as 

 their fertilizing influence is very volatile. 



628. Q. What is the difference between germination and vegetation ? Germination. 

 A. Germination is the putting forth of a germ or sprout and the sus- 

 taining of it till the young plant makes connection with the ground ; 



there germination ends and vegetation commences. 



629. Q. Has moonlight any influence upon garden vegetables ? MoonUght. 

 A. No. Some plants of a very sensitive nature, as the Sensitive plant, 



awaken under moonlight, but no practical result has ever been noted. 



630. Q. Is there much diversity between vegetable garden products in European 

 Europe and the United States ? Vegetables. 



A. Quite marked. • In Europe the gardeners grow lots of things little 

 cultivated here. For example, artichoke, cardoon, corn salad, chickory, 

 cress, dandelion, swiss chard, scorzonera, sea kale, sorrel. 



631. Q. What size cold frame must I have to hold twelve thousand Cold Frame, 

 cabbage plants over Winter ? 



A. A frame made of boards sixteen feet long, and placed parallel at six 

 feet distant, the ends being closed, will hold three thousand cabbage 

 plants. 



632. Q. Why do garden vegetables degenerate ? Degenera- 

 A. Because of careless selection. Esculents propagated from seed can *^**'** 



be brought up to their previously highest quality if time be taken. They 

 do not run out in the same manner as do some tree fruits propagated by 

 grafts or buds, or the potato as propagated from the tubers, the eyes of 

 which are really buds. 



633. Q. Do plants perspire ? Perspiration 

 A. They do to a very large extent. It has been proven that a Sunflower of Plants. 



plant six feet high perspired in a day ten times as much as man. 



634. Q. Why do some professional gardeners always want to buy old Cucumber 

 seeds of cucumber, melon and squash ? Seed. 



A. Running plants from old seeds do not grow so vigorously as from 

 new seeds. They are shorter jointed, while producing as many blossoms 

 as long-jointed vines. They are also earlier in maturing and, being com- 

 pact in growth, a greater number of hills can be planted to the acre. 



635. What influence has the qualities of parents upon the progeny of influence 

 cross-bred plants ? of Parents. 



