1S92 



GLEANlNtJS IN HEE CULTURE. 



515 



and uU. while tlio plants arc K*^ntlv pullod from 

 tho plant-lH'd. so as to brinir all the roots and 

 sonn' of tlit> soil. As caoh one is talxcn iii» it is 

 laid on the trroiind; the ncxi scinarcly on it, and 

 soon. Hy tlic tinn' yon fjot out a do/cn or two. 

 tlicir is miito a litth> pilo of soil adhering to tho 

 riK)ts. TluMi tlio opt'i-ator gfasps the whole 

 hnndle hy the roots, siinet/insx the roots and 

 «lirt together until they inai<e a tolerably com- 

 pact ball. Taking this ball in one luiiid and 

 the paper bag. that he had previously spread 

 open, in the other, he pushes the ball of roots 

 clear to the bottom of the bag. This is very 

 inipi'i'tant if you do not want tluMlirt toili'op 

 ofT and rattle "to the bottom, thus leaving the 

 roots loose and dry : tiien if the tops an> large 

 they are gently pi"(>ssed together so as to let the 

 paper bag come clear np above them. The 

 result is, that, when the j)lants are handed to a 

 customer, the roots are well protected from the 

 air. and the ball of loose dirt envelopes them all; 

 at the same time, the tojjs are exposed just 

 *»nongh land no morei to give th(>m the requisite 

 amount of air to prevent heating. The top of 

 tlie bag is. of course, left open. When the pur- 

 cha-er gets where he is ready to set them out. 

 he tears the bag open, takes them out. one plant 

 at a time, with some of the rich dirt adhering 

 to the roots. All kinds of plants are handled 

 in just this way. Where they are shipped by 

 express or mail, dampened moss takes the place 

 of the soil, as it weighs much less, and saves 

 postage or express cliarges. Tomato-plants, if 

 sent by mail, must be packed in a strong light 

 box. The foliage of the tomato is too soft and 

 watery to bear tying up like cabbage, celery, etc. 



ONION -PLANTS. 



Wiien I first suggested the idea of selling 

 onion-plants from the iiot-beds, we planted 

 such a quantity of Pi-izetaker and White Vic- 

 toria seed that I thought we should have a 

 great surplus: and for a time it seemed as if 

 such would be the case: but as all the plants 

 that have been put out fur two months back 

 started nicely, our farming friends have gained 

 confidence, and they are even now. this 32d day 

 of June, taking the platits by the liundreds and 

 thousands. When it seemed likely that we 

 should not sell them all, and some of the plants 

 were getting to be overgrown, we pulled the 

 White Victorias, and btinclied them up. roots 

 and all. giving three-fourths of a pound for a 

 nickel. These were bunched iqi with rubber 

 bands, tops squared off. and jjlaeed on the mar- 

 ket-wagon. Pretty soon the boys informed me 

 that, instead of using these onions for the table, 

 purchasers were planting them out, and that 

 they grew all right. As there were 40 or .50 

 onions in the three-fourths of a pound of sets, 

 it was quite a cheap way to get plants: and it 

 has also pleased us quite well to sell them in 

 that way. Selling onion -plants luis already 

 become a leading industry :. and 1 feel quite a 

 little pleasure to know thai it was first suggest- 

 ed and started through our journal. 



TOB.\CCO DUST ON MKLON AND CUCUMBER 

 VINt;s. 



So far this year we have used no other remedy 

 for bugs on vines than the toliacco dust; f)ut 

 Ave put it on by the doufilc handfnls. Covering 

 the plants all up with the tobacco dust does 

 ihem no harm at all, but. on the contrary, it 

 makes an excellent fertilizer. After a heavy 

 rain, the strength of the tol)acco du><l is so far 

 washed out that another dose is needed. If you 

 buy the toliacco dust by the barrel, as every one 

 sfiould do. it is prol)ably the cheapest preven- 

 tive that can be used. During the few hot days 

 when the vines were quite small, it seemed for 

 a time as if the bugs were going to do a great 

 deal of damage in spite of the tobacco; but 



lieavier afjplications of the tobacco did the 

 business. They gradually abandoned every hill 

 where it has l)een applied as above. 



KKIKM) STKIIl.ES RKI'OKT ON ST]!A WBKHKTES. 



The strawlx'rry season is closed for lS!ir2. and. 

 to sum up the result, I would say that we. had 

 about half a crop. Our loss was caused by the 

 cold and excessive wet. It was too cold for 

 polhMi gathering insects to work on the blos- 

 soms, hence many berries were worthless on this 

 account. Then many berries rotted and caused 

 a great deal of trouble and loss. We are, liow- 

 ever, not discouraged, but have much reason to 

 be thankful to the Giver of all good gifts. 



Marietta. ()., June 30. R. Stehle. 



r,.\DY-I{UGS AND POTATO-BEETLES. 



Friend Root: — Last week, while visiting a 

 friend up in Michigan, I went into his potato- 

 patch for a little exercise, and soon my atten- 

 tion was drawn to the little yellow patches of 

 potato- beetles' eggs on the under side of the 

 leaves. Each one contained from ten to fifty 

 eggs; and I usually found two or three clusters 

 of them on each hill of potatoes. I went care- 

 fully over two rows of 100 hills each, and must 

 have picked off at least 10,000 eggs. While at 

 work at this I frequently saw a little beetle of 

 the lady-bug family, in color a dark red, with 

 black spots, and spry in its motions. 1 also ob- 

 served now and then a bunch of eggs that look- 

 ed as if something had eaten a part of them. 

 The next day I went over two more rows, and in 

 doing so caught sight of a red and black lady- 

 bug with his head in a half-devoured cluster of 

 eggs ; hence I concluded that this lady-bug has 

 a fondness for potato-bugs' eggs, and ought to 

 be encouraged. As I worked along I also hap- 

 pened on to a red and black lady-bug that 

 would not run away, even when I touched it 

 with my finger. A closer look showed that it 

 was brooding over something enveloped in 

 a downy fuzz. It seemed rather small for a 

 chrysalis, and large for an egg. A day later 

 the lady-bug was still there guarding her prog- 

 eny. I judge from this that she raises only one 

 young one at a time. 



Perhaps Prof. Cook can tell us more about 

 this red and black lady-bug: how it rears its 

 one child, and whether or not Paris green will 

 be likely to injure it. 



When I began work on the potatoes they 

 were not a foot high, but growing rapidly, and 

 it was much slower work the second day than 

 the first, just from the increased size of the 

 potato-vines. On the first day I found no eggs 

 hatched out; but on the second day I found a few 

 patclies where the grubs had hatched out and 

 l)egun to eat the under side of the leaf: and it 

 was evident that, in a few days, the grubs 

 would be all ov(!r the vines, and then it would 

 not be practical to pick them off. My friend 

 had put Paris green on the vines, and was sur- 

 prised to find bugs still at work on them; but I 

 told him I thought the full-grown beetles were 

 on the vines, not to eat. but to lay eggs, and so 

 would iu)t be affected by it. The grubs just 

 hatched out were eating only the under side of 

 the leaf, while the poison was all on the upper 

 side. Hy and by, when they were a little larger, 

 they would attack the whole leaf, and them the 

 poison would finish them. .1. H Wai.kek. 



Oberlin, Ohio., June 20. 



MOUK AROtTT rrKRANT-WORMS. 



Friend Root: — I wish to express my interest 

 in those currant-worms that ruined your goose- 

 berry croi>. 1 am surprised that you do not un- 

 derstand them. I trust you did not let the sun 

 go down on your wrath. Currant- worms do not 



