126 



QUERIES AXD ANSWERS. 



SoiliDg. 



Cantaloape. 



Cos Lettuce. 



Watermelon. 



Long Green 

 Cucumbers. 



Earliest 

 Cucumber. 



Lettuce 

 Trans- 

 planting. 



Ruta Bagas. 

 or 



Swedes. 



these bean diseases. Of course the fungi can be killed, and so can the 

 bean plants. 



785. Q. What is meant by soiling ? 



A. Feeding cattle, kept up in stalls or pens, food consisting of green 

 stuff, as rye grass, millet or corn, taken off in sections from a field planted 

 for the purpose. To cut for soiling the crop is always grown very thickly 

 and it is fed when in full vigor of growth. At first care must be exer- 

 cised or horses or cattle will overfeed. 



786. Q. Which is the superior in quality of cantaloupes, those of green 

 or yellow flesh ? 



A. As a rule green-fleshed are the best in texture and best in flavor. 

 Yellow-fleshed sorts are generally tough and meaty — the green flesh 

 being more crystalline. 



787. Q. Is Cos lettuce treated the same as other sorts of lettuce ? 



A. No ; the erect leaves must be tied up with string, straw or grass. 

 Thus treated the interior leaves become blanched to snowy whiteness 

 and become brittle as glass. To those liking an absolutely pure, white- 

 leaved lettuce the Cos has no superior. 



788. Q. What are the indications of ripeness in a watermelon ? 



A. The spiral, wire like tendril at the stem end of the melon is brown, 

 the white bottom on the earth side of the melon has become woody, and 

 upon gently thumping with the back of the finger nail various melons, 

 the sound will be found in unripe ones to be clear and bell -like, seeming 

 to run down and through the melons, while in ripe ones the sound is dull, 

 heavy and is not transmitted through the melon, because of a change in 

 the character of the interior. By the tapping system an expert can dis- 

 tinguish ripe from unripe melons in an instant. 



789. Q. Are there two sorts of Long Green cucumbers ? 



A. Yes ; the Long Green as ordinarily sold and the Long Green Turkey. 

 The first is like an Early Frame, the second is slimmer and twice the 

 length of Frame, sometimes twenty inches. The Turkey is a remarkably 

 good sort, fine for pickling green, and when larger, very showy as a 

 slicing sort. 



790. Q. Which is the earliest long cucumber? 



A. The Landreths' First. Not only early as the very short sorts, but 

 exceedingly long. Not so long as a Long Green Turkey, but two weeks 

 earlier than the Turkey and several days earlier than Spine or Frame. 



791. Q. Is it necessary to transplant lettuce to incline it to head? 



A. Not absolutely necessary, but of decided advantage, as the tempo- 

 rary check to vitality and the deeper setting in the earth all conduce to 

 tiie development of a heading tendency. 



793. Q. There are a great many ruta bagas offered to planters, which 

 sort is the best ? 



A. None can be compared to the Bloomsdale Swede. It is the earliest, 

 roundest, largest, smoothest, best colored and most showy. Without any 



