138 



cajVadian horticulturist. 



flag ? It appears to be the sag from furnaces 

 ground to powder, and broadcasted over the 

 land. What crop is it suited to ? One would 

 tliink such material could Ije sold cheap, and 

 therefore, if good as a fertiHzer, worth the con- 

 sideration of our farmers. It would also intro- 

 duce a new business to our manufactures. — A. 

 Htrother, Niagara Falls, South. 

 Reply III Prof. Panton, Ontario Agricultural 

 College, Uuelph. 



This basic slag now coming into use 

 in England owes its value largely to 

 the presence of the phosphoric acid it 

 contains. In this ground up material 

 the phosphorus passes into combina- 

 tion with the lime in the slag and 

 forms a calcium phosphate generally 

 containing a large excess of lime. 



From experiments made, this slag 

 has about half the value of a super- 

 phosphate and seems to act more vigo 

 rously in soils rich in vegetable matter. 

 It is also useful on soils where quan- 

 tities of phosphoric acid are desired 

 for years in succession. 



In vineyards and orchards, the slag 

 offers a good means of furnishing the 

 subsoil with a store of phosphoric acid, 

 which will keep up the supply needed 

 by plant life. The acid in this ferti- 

 lizer is more soluble than in some 

 others, for instance, 14 per cent in this 

 gave better results than 25 per cent, in 

 coprolites (another source of phospho- 

 rus). What has been said refers to 

 slag from furnaces in Britain. Iron 

 ores here may not yield nearly so 

 much phosphorus and consequently is 

 of less value. There is no doubt, that 

 where the analysis gives 14 per cent, 

 of phosphorus, slag will be a good fer- 

 tilizer to supply soils requiring this 

 mineral ingredients; but before we can 

 speak of slag from Canadian furnaces 

 much information is required. 



Trouble with Hyacinths. 



55. I bought some Hyacinths last fall and 



where gas is used in the apartment in 

 which the bulbs are grown. My recent 

 experience has proved that bulbous 

 roots generally are more averse to coal 

 gas than any other class of plants 

 usually grown in windows. If you 

 will say where you grew your bulbs, I 

 can better define the cause of the 

 withering of the flower bud. Do you 

 burn gas ? If you answer this question 

 for me in the next issue, I will take 

 an interest in the matter and explain 

 in such a way that you will be able to 

 avoid the natural disappointment you 

 must experience with bulbs which so 

 decay. 



they came 



came along very well until the flower put 

 m an appearance and then it died away. Can 

 you explain the reason in your question drawer 

 and oblige, A. H., Yorkville. 



Reply by H. Simmers, Toronto. 

 The Hyacinths, withering in the 

 bud as you describe is not uncommon 



The Tree Cricket. 



56. Enclosed jilease find pieces of my Rus- 

 sian cherry which seem to be affected by some 

 disease, or else from some insect. Kindly in- 

 form me of the danger, if any. — E. Robinsox, 

 Glendalc, Ont. 



The twigs of your cherry are affected 

 by a common insect enemy, the Tree 

 Cricket, known to entomologists as 

 (EcantJnis niveus. It is especially 

 troublesome to raspberry canes by de- 

 positing its eggs in them in the 

 autumn, and frequently also injures 

 the young twigs of the plum, peach, 

 and cherry in this way. The female 

 has a long ovipositor and with this she 

 pierces the young wood in autumn 

 obliquely more than half way through, 

 and in the opening places one of her 

 yellowish eggs. Ten or fifteen eggs 

 are thus placed in a row, side by side, 

 as in the sample you send. The limb 

 thus affected is henceforth useless, and 

 should be cut off and burned before 

 the warm weather hatches out a fresh 

 progeny. 



Plums. 



57. Could you advise me about the best vari- 

 eties of plums to plant?— T. Richard, ^?r/ri- 

 ston. 



EvEBYTHiNG depends upon the pur- 

 pose for which you wish to grow plums. 

 If for market, the following varieties 

 should be profitable in Lambton, viz : — 

 (Yellow) Coe's Golden Drop, Imperial 



