196 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



May, 



Correspondent a are urged to anticipate the season in pre- 

 senting questions. To aak, for instance, on April 16 or 20 

 what Peas had best be sown, could luring no anstrer in 

 the May issue, and none before June, when the ans-wer 

 would be unseasonable. Questions received be fare the 12m 

 of any month stand a good chance of being answered in the 

 next paper. Not more than three questions should be sent 

 at one time. Answers to questions bearing on tne com- 

 parative value of imptements, etc., offered by different 

 dealers must not be e3T>ected. Neither caii we promise to 

 comply with tne request sometimes made to ^'please answer 

 by mail." Inquiries appearing without name belong to the 

 name next following. 



Replies to Inquiries are earnestly requested from our 

 readers. In answering such give the number, ycntr 

 locality and name, the latter not for publication, unless 

 you desire. Write only on one side of the paper. 



1.217. Mushroom Culture. Please tell me how to 

 raise Mushrooms?—.!. S., Bradu's Bend Pa. 



1.218. Apple Trees From Seed. Will Apple trees 

 from seed of a shy and late bearer retain said unde- 

 sirable qualitiesi-— E. W. M.. IJoulton, Me. 



1.219. Green Sand Marl of Virginia. What fs its 

 effect on well worn land? What could I afford to pay 

 for it?~G. R., Baltimore, Md. 



1,2211. Preserving Seed Potatoes. Has any one 

 tried cold storage, with or without ice, for keeping 

 them from sprouting? Tubers here sprout in winter so 

 that we have to import Northern grown seed at a con- 

 siderable cost.— Pierfmonf, Va. 



1.221. How is sulphate of copper used to prevent 

 Grape rot?— M. E., New Lisbon, O. 



1.222. Spent Hops. Are fresh spent Hops suitable 

 to put over the drainage In repotting plants? What is 

 the best way of rotting it to mix with soil? Some kept 

 in a tub for over a year looks as fresh as when first got. 



1.223. Cactus for Day Blooming. Will some one 

 acquainted with the best varieties name some, and 

 tell me the best methods of treatment? 



1.224. Geraniums for Winter and Summer. Are 

 Geraniums weakened for winter flowering by having 

 been used for summer bloomers?— D. H. C, Ontario. 



1.225. Nicotiana What treatment does It require 

 after blooming? How Is it propagated?— W. C. S.. 

 Muskatine, Iowa. 



1.226. Pot-Grown Strawberry Plants. How and 



when are they grown, and in what size of pots?— E. E. 

 S., Lincoln, Neb. 



1.227. Christmas Rose. What treatment Is needed? 

 One I had four years has never bloomed.— Mrs. M. W., 

 Lyndonville, N. T. 



1,22s. Treatment of Narcissus. What Is the best 

 time /or dividing the clumps for bloom next year?— 

 M. D. A., EUicott City, Md. 



I,22y. Canning Sugar Corn. With us It always 

 ferments and spoils. How can this be prevented?- H. 

 S,, Cincinnati, O. 



1,230. Are Manure Hot-beds Dangerous? Are 

 they Injurious to public liealth as claimed? In 18 years 

 use of them I have discovered no ill effects.— B. R. W., 

 Buffalo, N. Y. 



1,2^1. Pear Bark Louse. Some of my trees are 

 nearly covered with small white spots, more like a 

 scale than mildew or mould. What can I do for them? 

 — N. A. H., Catawba Island, O. 



1232. Grafting Was. Please give receipt to make, 

 also for French grafting liquid.— A. M.., Hainittoii, Out. 



1.233. Plan of Hen-House. Is it safe to build one 

 four feet in and four feet out of ground, with glass on 

 south side from ground up?— J. S., Kinross, Iowa. 



1.234. Water Lilies and Their Culture. Can plants 

 be raised fiom seed? If so, where can I get it; if from 

 plants, when is the proper time to get at the roots? 



1.235. How to Make a Rockery. How must I pro- 

 ceed?— T. M., Hamilton, Out. 



1.236. Grafting the Grape. How and when is it 

 done?— Mr-s. J. L., Cotlieriitle, Tenn. 



1.237. Bleeding After Pruning. Can the flow of 

 sap be stopped when tne vine Is pruned too early?— W. 

 A. D., Anniston, Ala. 



1.238. Plum Golden Beauty. Where can I get 

 trees?— J. S., Elida, Ohio. 



1,239 What is the "Mango." At New Orleans 1 

 saw the so-called Mango, looking as if made of bleach- 

 ed wax, is oval and ridged, growing upon a cantaloupe- 

 like vine, over a frame, it is propagated from the 

 seed. I should like some of the fruit. What is Its 

 botanical name? 



1.240. Gas in Greenhouse. My small flue green- 

 house (wood-flre) has no partition between greenhouse 

 and furnace room. Hence a little smoke escapes, i 

 never let temperature rise above Tu'^ in the day, and 40 

 to 50 at night. My plants (Cabbage and Tomatoes) 

 look bad, as if sun burnt. Is the smoke the cause, or 

 what can I do? 



1.241. Treatment of Cuttings. What method is 

 best to callous Grape and other cuttings? Would my 

 small greenhouse answer, and how must I proceed?- 

 J. G. K., Bttckners, Ky. 



1,242 The Orris Root of Commerce. Which of the 

 Iris is the true Orris root? How is it prepared?— L.M.D. 



1.243. Vitality of Pansy Seed. For how many 

 years is it good? Is there any work giving the vitality 

 of the seeds of the different flowers, and where to be 

 had?— V. S. S.. Reading, Pa. 



1.244. Oriental Pears in the South. Can any one 

 give practical experience with these in Southern Ten- 

 nessee?- M. H. D. 



1,245. What ails the Gregg Raspberry. After last 

 seasons tips were taken off, the canes stopped growing, 

 and this spring many are dead, but not from cold. 

 The canes left untrinimed, by over-sight, seem healthy. 

 Who can explain this?-A. M. N, 



1,346. A Lite Raspberry. What variety could re- 

 place Gregg in lateness, size and productiveness, and 

 yet be hardy and healthy?- A. M. N. 



1.247. Naphtaline as a Germicide. Has any one 

 tried Naphtaline for blight, rot, mildew, etc., or to 

 keep off Insects; if so with what results?— R. G., Pa. 



1.248. Subsoil Irrigation. Is it preferable to sur- 

 face irrigation; how should it be arranged?- G. T., 

 Steuben Co., N. Y. 



1.249. Granadila Vine. What is its botanical 

 name?— R. S.. Fta. 



1.250. Thymo Cresol. This has recently been men- 

 tioned as a cure for all sorts of insects. Has any one 

 tested it in greenhouse and open groiind, and if so 

 with what effects?- T. O., Ills. 



1.251. Smut in Sweet Corn. How can It be pre- 

 vented or cured?— E. S., CiJicinnati, O, 



1.252. Rose Slug. What Is the remedy for the green 

 worm that destroyed leaves and buds of my Rose bush 

 last season?- L. F. C, Seneca Falls, N. Y. 



1.253. Propagation of Roses. Can Roses be grafted 

 on the wild stock? What stocks are used by nursery- 

 men, and what is the best method of propagation, by 

 budding, grafting or from slips?- W. D. H., Odin, III. 



1.254. Chinch Bug. Is there any mixture that can 

 be applied to growing crops to destroy the chinch bug 

 without Injury to the crops themselves? 



1.255. Lime and Sulphur. Would a peck of lime 

 and four pounds of sulphur, slacked together and dis- 

 solved in a barrel of water, be a good and safe applica- 

 tion for Peach trees, and will it destroy the codling 

 moth?— Wm. M. T„ Wilmot, Ohio. 



1.256. Hellebore for Curcnlio. I do not like to use 

 Paris green. Can I use any tiling as good or better for 

 the curculio?— V. B., St. Louis, Mo. 



REPLIES TO INQUIRIES. 



1,340. Gas in GreenhouBe. Regarding the " lit- 

 tle smoke " in greenhouse, if it be but little I 

 think this should do the plants no harm. We 

 know from much experience that even heavy 

 smoke of burning Tobacco does plants no harm 

 when applied to greenhouses even as often as 

 three or four times a week. I rather fear it is 

 gas from the flue that works the injury you speak 

 of. Gas is thus troublesome when the draft is 

 defective, or the tlues somewhat leaky from 

 cracks, and occasionally in dull lowery weather 

 even when at other times there is no trouble. 

 The only thing then to be done is to admit air as 

 freely as the weather will admit.— A, H. E. 



1,241. Treatment of Cuttings. The essentials 

 generally recognized in propagating are to set 

 the cuttings (the leaves of which have been 

 trimmed off) into a bed of sand of some four or 

 more inches in depth, and then to have provisions 

 for bottom beat by which the sand may be kept 

 about ten degrees warmer than the atmosphere 

 above. If the house has flues under the stages, 

 by simply boarding up in front of the flue for 

 the distance to be occupied by the cuttings, the 

 proper bottom heat will be secured. Cuttings 

 should be aired rather freely at the top as a pre- 

 ventive of damp. Their want« as to watering 

 should be attentively met, by going over the bed 

 with the can at least three times a day. To 

 spriukle the bed lightly as often as once an hour 

 seems to provide a congenial atmosphere. Cloth 

 or lath shades (the lath an inch apart) must be 

 provided over the propagating bed for all sun- 

 shiny weather. It will also help matters to sus- 

 pend a tight factory curtain in front, and across 

 the ends of the beds, assuming that this is in one 

 of the side benches of an ordinary plant house. 

 In such cases or in any event it Is well to have 

 several lights of glass directly over the bed so 

 that they can be moved for admitting air directly 

 to the cutting bed. When the cuttings have made 

 roots, be they no more than a fourth of an Inch 

 long they should be potted.— L. 



1,163. To Start Early Potatoes. A number of 

 private gardeners in this State practice cutting 

 the tubei"s in pieces and planting in 3J^ or in 4- 

 inch pots some time in March and placed in a 

 cool greenhouse or in a light cellar, watering them 

 when required. About the latter part of April 

 or 1st of May they are planted out in a sheltered 

 position deep enough so as to expose only the tip 

 of the growth. A little hay or straw is scattered 

 over the rows for a week or two to protect 

 against late frosts. The Potatoes will be fit to 

 eat four weeks ahead of the general planting. 

 If C. J. P. wants to plant on a larger scale he can 

 cut his Potatoes three or four weeks before 

 planting time and spread them out closely in flat 

 boxes or trays filled with moss; set them in a cel- 

 lar or greenhouse, keeping them moist, and after- 

 wards plant them out carefully in proper time. 

 In this way many of the roots get damaged and 

 disturbed, and at best the gain will be about two 

 weeks. The pot plan is surely the best, and four 

 or five hundred hills planted in that way will 

 keep a very large family supplied until Potatoes 

 planted in the regular way mature.— J. B. K. 



1,231. Pear Tree Bark Louse (Lecanum pyri). 

 Wash the trunk and large limbs early In June 

 with a solution of half a pound of washing soda 

 to two gallons water. Use a scrub brush.— W. 



1,160. Azalea Leaves Dying. Your plants are 

 either kept too wet or have unsuitable soil. 

 Shake and wash out the balls of earth now and 

 repot into smaller sized pots in a mLxture of two 



parts decayed sod with loam and one part good 

 peat or eat mould with liberal allowance of sharp 

 sand; give the pots plenty of drainage and place 

 in a warm corner of the greenhouse. If your 

 plants have any sound roots remaining they will 

 recover. By supplying fresh sweet soil new roots 

 will form freely to invigorate the wnole system 

 of the plant.^J. B. K. 



1,163. How to Start Early Potatoes. About 

 April 1st I lay Early Ohlos as close as possible, 

 and with the eyes up in a cold frame on an inch 

 of clear sand, and cover with two inches of the 

 same. When they begin to sprout air is given 

 freely to produce stocky plants; and when just 

 coming through the sand tney may be carefully 

 lifted, placed in small baskets and planted In ricn 

 garden soil, covering immediately to prevent 

 dr5nng.— T. W. Blackman, Iowa. 



1,125. Non-Kinking Hose. I have the non- 

 kinking hose In use, and find it a great improve- 

 ment over ordinary hose, although heavy. It 

 will last a life-time with care, and at ;i5 cents per 

 foot, I think it worth difference In price. Can 

 be obtained of any reliable dealer.— G. L. L. 



1,150. Keeping Onions from Sprouting. Little 

 more can be done than to keep them in a dry, 

 cool, well ventflated room. Spread them out 

 thinly.— C. E. P. 



1,142. Propagating Bhododendrons. To in- 

 crease these beautiful shrubs requires a great 

 deal of skill and experience, and I advise you not 

 to make the attempt, but to procure your sup- 

 ply by purchase from some firm that makes a 

 specialty of their culture.— Chas. E. Parnell. 



1,156. A Good Early Pear. Manning's Eliza- 

 beth is the variety for your purpose.— C. E. P. 



1.140. Lily Planting in Spring. If the bulbs 

 are in good condition, and you succeed in plant- 

 ing them early, it is possible that they may 

 flower this year. It is better, however, to post- 

 pone planting or disturbing them until October. 



1.141. Iris Planting. I would plant in spring 

 just as soon as the ground can be properly pre- 

 pared.— C. E. P. 



1,115. Peas for Market. Rural New Yorker, 

 Alaska and ^Ipha for early. Champion of Eng- 

 land and Yorkshire Hero f or medium,and Black- 

 eyed Marrowfat for late. Sow as early as the 

 ground can be worked and every ten days there- 

 after untfl the first of June, to ensure a 

 succession.— C. E. P. 



1,092. Dahlias Turning Yellow. As it is an 

 Impossibility for Dahlias from tubers to change 

 their cold's there must in some way be a mis- 

 take or else varieties were removed or misplaced, 

 and those with yellow flowers left in their place. 



1.066. Beurre d'Anjou Blighting. This Is less 

 liable to blight than many other varieties.— C, B,P. 



1,121. Manure for Celery^ Hoes, (a) Thor- 

 oughly rotted cow manure Is best; next to this is 

 hoi-se manure, but whichever is used it should 

 be thoroughly incorporated with the soil, (ft) 

 There is a long-handled broad hoe used by Celery 

 growers in banking up, but where only a small 

 quantity is grown the common hoe is all that is 

 necessary.— M. Milton. 



1,016. Chip Manure Insects. I think chip 

 manure equal to cow manure; the majority of 

 insects die soon where the manure is put broad- 

 cast. The worst thing in either of the above 

 manures is the grub, and lime will kill them and 

 most other manure insects. 



1.067. Are Angleworms in any Way HurtfuU 

 I think angle worms are no injury if not too 

 numerous, but I have known rich ground to 

 contain so many that they would nearly destroy 

 a Potato crop, producing scab equal to the grub. 

 One remedy is good for both, i. e. lime sown 

 broadcast.— W. N. Hoyt. 



1,090. Quince Trees. 20° below zero does not 

 seem to injure Quince Trees in this section ; the 

 Quince will bear a great many years if taken 

 care of, but as a rule young trees well established 

 are preferable to old ones.— M. B. Faxon. 



951. Grafting Scuppernong Orape. In the last 

 volume (October, March and May numbers) will 

 be found complete directions for grafting, which 

 will likely be of value to you for this species. 

 The fruit committees of the American Pomo- 

 logiual Society recommends the following north- 

 ern sorts for culture in Tennessee which would 

 do for grafting on your vine: Catawba, Concord, 

 Delaware, Hartford, Isabella, Ives. 



2.252. Bose Slug. See remedy 126 (65) and 137 

 in Insect Supplement. 



1.253. Propagation of Eoses. They are mostly 

 grown trom cuttings; but can be budded on com- 

 mon Wild Rose stock. 



1.254. Chinch Bug. The only thing that prom- 

 ises relief to infested localities is the introduction 

 of the fungus disease so destructive to the bug. 

 See our Insect Supplement. 



