QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 121 



may be covered deeply by flooding and the stand be unsatisfactory. On 

 the other hand, drilling after a rain is best, because germination follows 

 immediately and uniformly with little risk of a setback to the crop. 



754. Q. Is it a saving in labor and time to have long or short fields on Plowing and 



a farm ? Cultivating. 



A. It is decidedly economical in time to have a farm laid out in long 

 fields, but it is seldom appreciated. On an acre field of ninety yards in 

 length the time consumed in turning a plow and team on headlands is 

 over three hours out of a day of ten hours, but on a field 300 yards long the 

 time consumed is but one hour. 



755. Q. How far does a plowman walk in turning over an acre of ground? Plowman. 

 A. If his furrow slices be nine inches wide he has to walk over seven 



miles to the acre. 



756. Q. Do garden vegetables possess any quality like sensation ? Plant 

 A. Most certainly ; their vital force in many instances being quite 



animal ; and, more than that, they sometimes seem to possess intellect. 

 They collapse under chloroform ; they perish under many poisons which 

 destroy animal life ; they possess a circulation, which sometimes can be 

 seen, their pollen unerringly performs its functions. In cases of vege- 

 table irritability there are many plants, notably aquatic, which act more 

 curiously than the Sensitive plant ; indeed, so briskly locomotive as to 

 make it difticult to determine whether vegetable or animal. In the case 

 of the so-called meat-eating plants some of the flowers display extreme 

 irritability when meat is brought near to them, while they are entirely 

 passive upon the approach of all other objects. 



757. Q. Are not yellow ruta bagas and yellow carrots more nutritious ^'"t*> and 

 than white ruta bagas and white carrots ? r**'* ^ 



A. As a rule, vegetables of deep colors are considered richer than those 

 without color. But this is probably a fiction ; the most sugary beets used 

 in Europe for sugar-making are white. The sweetest of all table beets, 

 the Bassano, is nearly white. 



758. Q. How can I kill the last crop of potato bugs, so that I may par- Potato Bug. 

 tially rid my fields of the pest for next year? 



A. After the potato crop is harvested take a portion of the small, un- 

 salable tubers, and chop them up in halves and quarters and dust them 

 well with Paris green. Broadcast these poisoned pieces over the potato 

 field and they will soon be covered with bugs, all of whom will be killed. 



759. Q. How can I protect my watermelon patch from crows, which Crows. 

 plug the fruit ? 



A. Dissolve a quarter ounce of strychnine in four quarts of water and 

 into the solution put one-half bushel of corn. Let it soak for ten hours. 

 Spread the soaked corn over bare spots in the melon field and the crows 

 will not come back for a second dose. 



760. Q. Is there such a thing as a rust-proof Wax bean, and will not the Rust-proof 

 so-called Rust-proof Wax bean rust under certain conditions ? If so, what Wax Beau, 

 is the nature of such conditions ? 



