130 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Fhosplioric 

 Acid. 



Tomatoes 

 Sunburned. 



Imported 

 Cabbage. 



Onions 

 Staggy. 



Rye, Winter 

 or Spring ? 



Wood Ashes. 



A. They classify phosphoric acid in three forms : 1. Soluble. 2. The 

 Reverted, slightly soluble. 3. The Insoluble. The third gradually be- 

 comes available to very slow-growing plants, but it is not slightly active 

 as is the Reverted, or as the first, which is altogether active. It would 

 be best for purchasers to insist upon having the analysis of the soluble 

 alone, as distinct not only from the Insoluble but also distinct from the 

 Reverted. 



817. Q. "What is the matter with my tomatoes? The sort is Beauty, and 

 very large and perfect, but nearly all have a big lemon-colored spot on 

 one side. 



A. They are sunburned. To prove it examine those covered with 

 leaves, which you will find without the yellow spots. It is a good plan to 

 sow buckwheat upon a tomato patch when the plants first come into 

 bloom to protect the fruit against sunburn. 



818. Q. I bought in St. Louis three pounds of so-called Late Flat 

 Dutch cabbage seed, which in the bed and afterwards in the field 

 looked all right, but now in September the plants have lost half of their 

 leaves. 



A. No doubt you got imported seed. Late varieties of imported cab- 

 bage seed never do well in this country. You probably bought it at a 

 cheap price and you have gotten your reward. The imported sorts lose 

 their leaves in time of drought. No reliance whatever can be placed 

 upon them, for our sun is too hot except in the far Northern tier of States. 



819. Q. What is the cause of my onions growing staggy or stifl!" necked. 

 Is it the fault of the seed or climatic condition ? The seedsman from whom 

 I bought the seed. Red Wethersfield, says it is due to the wet season. 



A. Both wet and very dry seasons will tend to develop the growth of 

 stags in onions, even from the very best seed. Too much moisture 

 makes them so rampant they having no time to stop to bulb, and on the 

 other hand a very dry season don't develop in them vital force enough to 

 make bulbs ; but there is another cause which often results in a staggy 

 growth, that is in the sowing of imported seed from Italy or other cheap 

 sections of Europe. The market gardener who purchases cheap onion 

 seed or get it from unproved parties deserves to have a crop of stags. 



830. Q. What is the difl'erence between Winter and Spring rye? Can 

 the Spring rye be used for sowing in the Autumn ? 



A. Yes, with a fair prospect of standing the Winter, if it be mild. A 

 first crop of Spring rye sown in the Autumn of course would not possess 

 that hardiness of constitution which it could acquire if the system was 

 continued for several years. Winter rye sown in Spring might not ripen, 

 might only produce empty heads on account of an iusuflicient develop- 

 ment previous to the setting in of hot weather. For example, Virginia 

 Winter oats sown in Pennsylvania in April does very well but ripens 

 three weeks later than Spring oats. 



831. Q. What effect has the application of wood ashes upon lawns? 



A. The potash of wood ashes makes the grass a deep green and strong 



