The Canadian Hokticultukisi 



29 



QUESTION DRAWER. 



THE PEARL GOOSEBERRY. 

 Mr. Wm. Saunders, of the Experi- 

 mental Farm, Ottawa, writes that 

 he believes this gooseberry was a 

 cross between Downing and Ashton's 

 seedling, an English variety. With 

 regard to its size, Mr. Smith says it 

 will not average double the size of 

 the Downing, although it is consider- 

 ably larger, and much more produc- 

 tive. We should also credit the 

 present ownership of this berry to 

 Messrs Smith and Kerman, and 

 not to Mr. A. M. Smith. 



KEEPING CABBAGES. 



Sir, — Please inform me the best way to 

 keep cabbages through the winter.- — An 

 Englishman, Bracebridge. 



Reply by A . Gilchrist^ West Toronto Junction. 



Cabbages are kept successfully by 

 putting them into bunches, covering 

 lightly with soil, in the driest spot 

 in the garden. Some gardeners put 

 the roots up, that the leaves ma}' 

 shed the water off better, but the 

 frost runs down the stem and some- 

 times injurfes them. I prefer the root 

 down. If only a few are to be kept, 

 a narrow trench will do ; if a quantity 

 better make the trench four or five 

 feet wide, cover with a few leaves 

 or straw and put on about three or 

 four inches of soil. A little frost will 

 not injure them. If kept too hot 

 they will get yellow. 



if this is the case, kindly tell me hpw to 

 manage them in the right way, and oblige. — 

 An Englishman. 



Reply by A . Gilchrist, West Toronto Junction. 



Geraniums can be kept in a light 

 cool cellar. Put them in boxes or 

 pots ; place them as near the cellar 

 window as possible ; give very little 

 water. In the spring take cuttings 

 of them and throw the old plants 

 away. 



SEEDLING GERANIUMS. 



Sir, — I have a very nice seedling gera- 

 nium about three years old, which has never 

 flowered, and shows no sign of doing so. 

 Can you give me a receipt to make it flower. 

 I slipped it some two months ago, but that 

 has made no difference. — D. A. Ferrier, 

 Fergus. 



Reply by A. Gilchrist, West Toronto Junction. 



Florists wishing plants to bloom 

 keep them pot-bound. If the seed- 

 ling geraniun has not bloomed at one 

 year old, it will very likely be a shy 

 bloomer, and not worth keeping. 



GERANIUMS KEPT IN THE CELLAR. 



Sir, — I have heard geraniums may be 

 wintered successfully in a frost-proof cellar ; 



MIXING VARIETIES. 



I. Will you please tell me when different 

 kinds of strawberries are planted in rows 

 side by side, if either kind will run out, 

 that is, will the pistillate kinds produce 

 staminate flowers, and the staminate kinds 

 produce pistillate flowers ; if so, which kinds 

 are most likely to get mixed in the blossoms, 

 the pistillate or staminate variety? — E. Rob- 

 inson, Glendale, Ont. 



The fertilization of one blossom by 

 another will have no effect upon either 

 flowers or berries of the growing plants. 

 The effect will only be observable in 

 the seeds produced by the flowers so 

 fertilized, and will be seen in the seeds 

 only. 



