ditions. 
GARDEN MAGAZINE 
READERS SERVICE 
This department will help in dealing with general con- 
It cannot render personal professional service 
Tinting Interior Walls 
We are building a house and have had the first coat 
of plaster put on part of the walls. Is it advisable to 
use some coloring matter in the finishing coat of plaster 
Paris and lime in order to avoid having white walls for a 
‘year; we are told it is not advisable to put on paper or 
wall paint for a year.—T. M. F., Virginia. 
—It Is not a common practice to put coloring matter 
into the final coat of plaster for temporary decorative 
effect. It would seem to be much more feasible to use 
on the plaster some such material as one of the flat tone 
paints made for this purpose. The use of any of the 
cold water paints, calcimines, etc., should be avoided as 
wall paper cannot be satisfactorily put on over these. 
There is no reason, however, why the addition of color- 
ing materials to the final coat should not be feasible. 
There are many of these mineral colors available and 
doubtless your local mason’s supply dealer could sub- 
mit samples. The only way to be sure of results, how- 
ever, is to mix up small batches of the plaster in known 
proportions with the coloring matter and test them out. 
Should Bulbs be Lifted and Stored? 
How should such bulbs as Hyacinths, Crocus, Tulip, 
Cannas, etc., be cared for? My trouble lies in not know- 
ing what to do about taking them up and storing them. 
How long lived are they, etc.p—W. H. M., Ill. 
—Hyacintus and Tulips have true bulbs; Crocuses, 
corms; and Cannas and Iris rhizomes. The true bulbs 
grow to flowering size and then split up into others, some 
of which may be of flowering size and some will not be 
large enough to flower for one, two or possibly three 
years. These weaker bulbs can be grown on and later 
will be ready to flower. The flowering sized bulbs, as 
sold in the stores, will usually flower the second year un- 
less they are those known as the double nose, top, or 
mother bulbs, when they will split up after flowering. 
The Crocus corms renew themselves on top of the old 
corms and will keep on reproducing flowering corms; but 
they also tend to reproduce small offsets, so-called seed 
corms, which may be grown on like the bulbs to attain 
flowering size in time. All Hyacinths, Crocuses and 
Tulips may be left in the ground under ordinary con- 
ditions and will continue flowering and multiplying, but 
they can be taken up if desired. If this is done the 
bulbs should be lifted after the foliage has died down; 
the lifted bulbs and corms are dried off in a shaded place 
and sorted according to their size; the largest being 
selected for flowering the following year. ‘ They are re- 
planted in the late summer or early fall. Canna 
rhizomes, miscalled bulbs, are creeping, underground 
stems which grow from eyes or buds. These will not 
stand any suspicion of frost. They must be taken up a 
week after the frost has killed the tops, partially dried 
off in a warm room, or cellar, where they are to be kept 
dormant through the winter. In the spring these roots 
can be cut up into convenient pieces with a knife, any 
piece with a bud or eye being sufficient to make a new 
plant, and can be set out of doors after the ground is 
warm, say the end of May; or the young roots may be 
started in a frame or hotbed and transplanted later as 
convenient. 
Eggs and Butter by Parcel Post 
I am a young man now attending college, but will 
probably leave and go to work. I have an idea of mak- 
ing money in which you may be able to give me sound 
advice. It seems to me that the parcel-post method of 
selling eggs, etc., from the farmer direct to the people is 
not a success, since it is little used. I live in a residential 
section of a city; why can’t I go to some farmer within 
a reasonable distance, buy eggs and butter from him, 
. and sell them to the people of my section at a cheaper 
price than the eggs bought from the groceries, and yet 
enable me to make a nice profit on what I sell? It 
would mean just one middleman from farmer to pro- 
ducer, instead of four or five. Ismy plan practical? If 
sO, can you give me any advice as to how I should go 
about it?-—H. J., New York. 
—THEORETICALLY, we should say that this plan is an ad- 
mirable one. When it comes into putting it into prac- 
tice, however, certain difficulties arise which, unfortu- 
nately, we do not feel as well equipped to solve as should 
be the person who has the planinmind. For instance: 
the first difficulty would be to find the necessary ege 
producers who could, and would, be willing to guarantee 
enough eggs of the right quality to put the proposition 
on a sound basis. Next, the details of getting these 
eggs to a central distributing point with the minimum of 
delay, breakage, etc., would have to be worked out. 
Finally, there would be the task of locating enough con- 
sumers to assure the disposal of a uniform number of 
eggs throughout the entire season. Without such a 
market assured, few farmers would probably care to 
send you any considerable proportion of their output. 
However, these matters are simply details of manage- 
ment such as confront any person organizing any com- 
mission business, and there is no reason why, with a 
careful study of local conditions, you could not work out 
a way of making the business profitable. Of course, as 
you may have realized, though you have not mentioned 
it, the business of buying up and retailing any sort of 
produce, especially perishable materials, calls for a con- 
siderable amount of business skill, foresight and ex- 
perience. ‘These factors no one is able to give you but 
yourself. 
Ants in the Lawn 
For two years I have been troubled with ants in 
my lawn, first in two large hills but later all over 
the lawn in separate hills six to twelve inches apart. 
[have used carbon tetrachloride, but that would now be 
an endless job and expensive. It also kills the grass. 
Is there anything else that I can use?p—A. H. P., New 
York. 
—InstEAp of using carbon tetrachloride use bisulphide 
of carbon; it is much cheaper and even more effective. 
Bisulphide of carbon is a colorless volatile liquid which 
easily sinks into the ground; and the fumes, which are 
heavier than the air, quickly penetrate downward into 
the most remote corners of the ants’ run. One or two 
tablespoonfuls of the liquid may be carefully poured 
into the opening of the nest and a damp cloth or a hand- 
ful of soil should be immediately put over it and packed 
down tightly. Nothing else is necessary. One word 
of caution is well in reference to the handling of this 
poison. It is highly inflammable, and the vapor is 
dangerously explosive. Be very careful, therefore, 
not to use bisulphide of carbon in the presence of a 
naked light or in the neighborhood of a fire. 
Preserving a Shingle Roof 
What is the best material for preserving shingles of 
gray cedar that have been laid on a roof? A thin white 
lead paint has been advised, also pure linseed oil, a 
creosote stain, etc.—H. L. F., New Jersey. 
—We pon’r believe anything will increase the life of 
shingles already laid on a roof. White lead would 
probably do them harm, since it would stop the circula- 
tion of air through the upper surfaces of the shingle. An 
oil might help if it were to thoroughly penetrate the 
surfaces, but either a linseed oil or a creosote oil would 
be very slow to dry, and by mixing dryer with it you 
would simply insure its not penetrating. We think they 
had better be left alone.—A. E. 
Hollow Tile vs. Wood or Stone 
Ts a hollow tile house as cool in summer and warm in 
winter as one built of stone? What is the expense, as 
compared with wood and stone?—S. W. F., Washington, 
D.C. 
—WEe woutp hardly consider a house of hollow tile as 
cool in summer or as warm in winter as a stone house. 
While the air in the tile gives a good insulating wall, the 
additional thickness and mass of a stone wall still has 
the advantage in this respect. A house built of stucco 
on hollow tile would probably cost 15 per cent. more 
than a frame house. We could not even guess at the 
comparative cost of the stone house, since so much de- 
pends upon whether there is an abundant supply of 
local stone and how nearby it is obtainable. It would 
be far better to get local contractors’ competative 
estimates on all three types. 
Botrytis Disease on Peonies 
How can we fight the disease of Peonies that dries up 
the buds as they are about to develop blooms? Also, 
how is a healthy and luxurious appearance of the foliage 
retained?—A. E. O., Ilniois. 
—Tuis Peony trouble is what is known as the Botrytis 
blight; this disease can be controlled only by the most 
rigid and prompt eradication of the diseased buds, 
shoots and leaves. Spraying has been tried but it has 
not been found very satisfactory. Inspect the plants 
every day until after blossoming time, at least, removing 
every wilted stalk and diseased bud and burning them. 
Cut the tops early in the autumn, removing the soil from 
the crowns and cutting the stems down as close as pos- 
sible. Burn the refuse. It is in the old stubbles that 
this pest lives from year to year. If the disease shows 
in the flower buds it is also responsible for unhealthy 
looking foliage. The only thing to do is to spray with 
bordeaux mixture, cut out the diseased tissue, and dress 
the surface of the ground with dry bordeaux or paste. 
Give the plants good cultivation and feeding after 
flowering, as it is during the late summer that the 
vigor of the next year is controlled. 
Liquid Manure 
What is the method for making liquid manure?— 
W. A. B., Maryland. 
—P ace about a bushel of stable manure in a bag of — 
burlap or other coarse material, or even a net of wire 
mesh, and suspend this from the top of a barrel full of 
water. After a couple of days the liquid can be drawn 
off from the bottom through a spigot or dipped out of ~ 
the top. For use it should be diluted to the color of 
weak tea. It may be applied once a week at the rate of 
approximately half a gallon to a good sized plant. 
What Kind of Pergola? 
We are about to erect a pergola between our Church 
and Parsonage. Where can I find designs which might 
be followed by some local mechanic?—C. H. M., Minn. 
—THE ordinary pergola, such as is used in the garden, 
would hardly be suitable for this particular location. 
Wewould suggest that the best results might be obtained 
by consulting the man who designed the church, or some 
local architect. It would certainly require special 
drawings to make such a connecting link as this without 
making it an absurdity. 
Eliminating the Peach Borer 
Is there any possible way to prevent the depredations 
of the peach borer? Inserting a wire into their bur- 
rows does not seem to be sufficiently effective. Is there 
anything that can be applied to the lower part of the 
tree trunk that will repel the moth when it seeks to 
lay its eggsP—N. L. G., Illinois. 
—A COMPREHENSIVE campaign against the peach ~ 
borers should involve the following things: the opening 
of every burrow that can be discovered and the destruc- 
tion of the grub therein with a pointed wire. This can 
be done in late fall and again early in June, after which 
the earth should be mounded up around the trees for 8 
to ro inches. In the fall it is often well to pull away 
some of this earth so as not to provide nesting places 
for rodents. Some people recommend the use of washes 
on the trunks. One of these consists of one pound 
of arsenate of lead plus five gallons of lime sulphur, to 
be put on with a brush; but probably the seeking out 
and destroying of every individual insect is the only 
method that will give entire satisfaction. Of course, 
this must be done not only in your garden or orchard, 
but also in all the trees in your neighbors’ grounds from 
which each year new infestations may start. 
Bite oy. 
