114 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Plant 

 Growth. 



Vegetable 

 Sweetness. 



Okra. 



Egg Plant 

 Fungus. 



Liima Bean. 



Mushrooms. 



A. Yes, you can do it ; but the disturbance to the vines would do as 

 much harm as the insects. Melon vines, when over half-grown, are seri- 

 ously injured by lifting. It is just here that the difficulty of spraying 

 melons in the field comes in — it can seldom be done efficiently. 



711. Q. At what period of the twenty-four hours do plants grow with 

 the greatest rapidity ? 



A. Most, but not all, grow fastest at night, as can be readily observed 

 by marking the relative day and night growth of the runners of water- 

 melon, cantaloupe, squash, pumpkin; sometimes these will extend fifteen 

 Inches between sunset and sunrise, while not lengthening over three 

 inches during the day. 



713. Q. Is there any difference in the degree of sweetness of water- 

 melons grown in different latitudes ? 



A. Yes ; all fruits, apples, pears, peaches, as they approach their 

 northern limits of possible production, develop a degree of sweetness not 

 possessed by others grown more southward. The watermelons of the 

 Southern States are never as sweet as those grown in New Jersey. 



713. Q. Among Okras which sort is the best ? 



A. Long Green Pod in every respect, and in fact no other sort is worth 

 cultivating if this one can be had. 



714. Q. Something is the matter with my egg plant bushes, they are all 

 sickly and yellow and promise failure. Can I do anything to keep them ? 



A. There is not much chance of a good crop from the egg plant if the 

 bushes once lose their vigor ; indeed they should never be stunted or ad- 

 verted in growth. If they are brown or black on the bark of the stems 

 near the earth they are suffering from a fungous growth living upon the 

 tissues of the bark, and nothing will stop it with certainty ; and even then 

 a most serious injury will remain if the bark of the stalks has been half 

 destroyed. Spray the stalks near the ground with Bordeaux mixture. 

 Next year give your egg plant land nitrate of soda at the rate of 400 

 pounds to the acre; it may destroy the fungus and will give the plants in- 

 creased vigor to resist the disease besides giving a better color to the fruit. 



715. Q. Will a Lima bean, if planted with the eye upward sprout earlier 

 than if planted with the eye downward? 



A. They do best planted eyes down and not over one inch deep. 



716. Q. Will you please give me the most simple and inexpensive 

 method for cultivating mushrooms from the spawn ? 



A. There is no simple and easy method of doing it for the novice to 

 follow. It is work which only an experienced hand can do with good 

 chance of success. The work is rough enough in the handling and incorpo- 

 ration of horse manure and good soil, but to do it well one must have 

 had lessons from an expert. In no garden process is there such contra- 

 dictory practice as in mushroom culture. For instance, one successful 

 grower will gather dry droppings from horses, and still further dry them 

 by spreading and frequent turning under cover. Another, equally suc- 

 cessful as a grower, dispenses with all this trouble, taking stable dung 



