104 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Peas. 



Green Moss. 



£xtra ISarly 

 Pea. 



Table Com. 



■Watering 

 Plants. 



Plant Dis- 

 crimination. 



Potato Bug. 



Sorghum. 



Licorice. 



Hotbeds. 



A. It is theorized that the male gives quality to the interior organism, 

 the female to the external. 



636. Q. At what stage of development should table peas be picked 

 from the vine to obtain them in the most palatable condition ? 



A. When about two-thirds developed, as then they are tender, luscious 

 and altogether superior to qualities possessed when full grown. 



637. Q. How can I get rid of the green moss which grows in my lawn, 

 especially in shady places ? 



A. Try three plans : top dress with salt, top dress with lime, spray the 

 moss with Bordeaux mixture. 



638. Q. What is the dividing line on Extra Early pea and a later class? 

 A. An Extra Early pea should arrive at picking condition at forty-two 



to forty-six days from germination. Any sort, whatever the name, later 

 than that is not an Extra Early. 



639. Q. How should corn be eaten ? 



A. Score the rows with a knife from end to end of the cob, and with a 

 fork scrape down and off the edible portion, getting nothing but the soft 

 interior, the shells of the grains being left behind. 



640. Q. Is watering garden vegetables in dry weather beneficial? 



A. Sometimes, but often harmful. It is best done at night. If done 

 during the day it excites the roots to action, the plants pumping up water 

 and the leaves exhaling it to the dry atmosphere. 



When the supply of water stops the roots and leaves are left in a state 

 of collapse, sometimes worse than before. 



641. Q. How is it that plants requiring distinct foods and producing 

 widely different fruits or juices live upon the same soil ? 



A. Partly because plants possess a power of food selection. The wheat 

 plant for instance will absorb silex, and the pea growing alongside of it 

 will not absorb any, 



643. Q. The leaves from the stems of my potato crop have been all 

 eaten off by the potato bug, but the tubers appear to be full size. Would 

 the tubers have been larger if the leaves had not been destroyed ? 



A. Certainly ; larger and more perfectly finished in development. Any 

 condition unnatural is always a check to perfect growth and full maturity. 



643. Q. Which are the best varieties of sorghum for sugar making ? 

 A. The Collier, Coleman, McLean and Folger. The last-named is the 



earliest maturing variety and the best all round in sugar-making quali- 

 ties. The Collier is the hardiest and best for Northern latitudes. 



644. Q. Can I grow licorice root in Georgia ? 



A. Yes ; on low-lands it will grow freely. The dried roots in bales are 

 worth $40 a ton. The annual consumption in the United States is 35,000,- 

 000 pounds of the extract, largely used in confectionery and in tobacco. 



645. Q. Should the soil used in hotbeds be changed frequently? 



A. Yes ; every year get new soil from a field known to be free from 

 any disease. The old soil may be infested with parasites which may re- 

 main alive for many months, even though the earth may be frozen 



