32-34 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



September, 1914 



Late Blooming Peonies for Cut Flowers 



What are a few of the best white, pink, and red 

 late blooming peonies for cut flowers? — B. C. G., 

 New York. 



— White: Marie Lemoine, Couronne d'Or, Ava- 

 lanch. Pink: Bernard Palissy, Albert Crousse, 

 Mme. Muyssart, Mme. Bollet, Livingstone, Charle- 

 magne, Mme. de Galhau. Red: Rubra Superba, 

 Delachei, Prince Imperial, Louis Van Houtte, 

 Marechal Vaillant, Meissonier. 



Munstead Primrose 



What is the botanical name of the Munstead prim- 

 rose, and where can I obtain it? — L. O., New Jer- 

 sey. 



— The Munstead primrose has no botanical name. 

 It is listed as Primrose-Polyanthus, Munstead Giant 

 Strain, in the catalogue of A. T. Boddington, 342 

 West 14th St., New York. 



The Hayes Grape 



Where can I procure plants of the Hayes grape? 



— E. S., New York. 



— The Hayes grape is offered for sale by the T. S. 

 Hubbard Company of Fredonia, N. Y. 



Botanical Supplies 



Please refer me to a firm from whom I can pur- 

 chase supplies needed by an amateur botanist for 

 preparing specimens, etc. — S. L. E., N. C. 



— Botanical supplies can be obtained from the 

 Cambridge Botanical Supply Company of Cam- 

 bridge, Mass., or from the Kny Scheerer Company 

 of 404 West 27th St., New York. Possibly your 

 state experiment station at Raleigh might be 

 able to give you the name of a dealer who is 

 nearer to you. 



Apples for Market 



Last spring I set out 200 Baldwin, 50 Greening, 

 and 50 Northern Spy apple trees. I am about 

 five minutes' drive from a railroad station, and 

 only twenty miles from a city of 160.000. Under 

 these conditions do you think I should top-work 

 the Baldwins to Spies, Mcintosh, Kings, etc., and 

 try for a fancy trade; or is a good grade of Bald- 

 wins profitable? — B. C. D., Massachusetts. 

 • — The demand of your particular market is an 

 important factor, but undoubtedly high grade 

 Baldwins can always be marketed at profitable 

 prices. We certainly do not advise -growing several 

 varieties in one small orchard. Each kind requires 

 special care and less than fifty trees of any one 

 sort will not yield enough to warrant the expense 

 associated with a fancy trade. If you do any top- 

 working, make the other one hundred trees Baldwins 

 and give all your attention to that variety. 



Arsenate of Lead in Combination 



Is it possible to combine arsenate of lead with 

 kerosene emulsion; and if so, what proportions 

 should be used? — L. V. N., New York. 

 ■ — There is no chemical reason why arsenate of 

 lead should not be mixed with kerosene emulsion, 

 but there might be serious mechanical difficulties, 

 as the particles of the arsenate of lead would have 

 a tendency to emulsify the kerosene. If it is 

 necessary to use the arsenate in combination, the 

 best way would be to mix it with bordeaux mixture. 

 Kerosene emulsion is used for sucking insects: 

 arsenate of lead for chewing insects. 



The Lupine Family 



Please tell me something about the culture of 

 annual and hardy lupines. I have tried to grow 

 the latter, but with no success. — M. A. H., New 

 York. 



— The lupine consists of a group of about eighty 

 species mostly confined to Western North America, 

 a few growing in Eastern North America and in the 

 Mediterranean region. All are of easy cultivation 

 in any garden, except that they are said not to 

 succeed in soil containing lime. Possibly this is 

 your trouble. Some species prefer sandy land, 

 others good garden soil, while others prefer gravelly 

 places. 



The Peach Tree Borer 



How shall I treat peach trees infested with borers; 

 some trees, not yet bearing, have the sap oozing 

 out in a dozen places. — E. C. K., New York. 



— Wherever you discover a borer in your peach 

 trees, dig it out of the cavity and destroy it. As 

 a preventive measure there is perhaps nothing 

 better than to coat the trunk and larger branches 

 with a mixture of soft soap reduced, with a solution 

 of washing soda, to the consistency of a thick 

 paint; and, if a little carbolic acid is added, it will 

 be even more repulsive to the beetles. Keep it on 

 the trees during the summer months when the 

 insect is injurious. We would advise clean culti- 

 vation around the trees, which will remove to a 

 great extent the danger of borers in the future. 



Propagating Hydrangeas 



I have several bushes of Hydrangea arborescens, 

 and would like to start more from these. What is 

 the best way to do it? — C. R., Wisconsin. 



— Hydrangeas are easily propagated under glass 

 in summer by cuttings of half ripened or nearly 

 ripened wood; also by hard wood cuttings, layers, 

 suckers or divisions of older plants. They grow 

 best in a rich, porous and somewhat moist soil and 

 thrive well in partly shaded positions, but they 

 flower more freely in full sun if they have sufficient 

 moisture. 



Scale on House Ferns 



How can I exterminate scale, a black, oval, juicy 

 substance which forms on the leaves and stems of 

 house ferns? — A. M. J., 111. , 



— Once the scale has become established, it is very 

 difficult to get rid of. The big scales on the leaves 

 are the matured individual insects. Continually ■ 

 keeping at the plant will control the scale, but even 

 after the plant has been freed from the pest there 

 is danger of reinfection. In one case that we know 

 of, the scales were picked off by hand individually 

 and allowed to fall on the table on which the plant 

 was placed. The tips of the fronds touched the 

 table and became infected. The most efficient 

 remedy is hand treatment, using some oil, such as 

 fir' oil, lemon oil, or even kerosene oil, but only 

 enough should be applied to saturate the scale. 

 The oil may be applied with a toothpick or fine 

 brush and should come in actual contact with the 

 scale. 



The Spit Bug 



In our garden we are plagued with the spit bugs. 

 We never see them before they appear as pale green 

 insects, enveloped in froth, well up the stem of the 

 plant, preferably a chrysanthemum. Presently they 

 develop jumping and flying powers which makes 

 them almost invincible, and they then do endless 

 harm to all flower buds. I have tried powdered 

 hellebore, but they were found in it quite happy. 

 Can you tell me where these bugs have their origin; 

 for if one knew where to find the eggs or larvae 

 they might be easier to destroy. — A. F. P., Canada. 



— The insect to which you refer is called in some 

 sections the frog hopper, or spittle insect. It is a 

 true bug or member of the Hemiptera and more 

 specifically of the family Cercopidae. Compara- 



tively little is known of its habits and life history 

 beyond the fact that eggs are laid on leaves and 

 plants in the fall, hatching out in the spring. The 

 insects live either singly or in groups of several in 

 the masses of froth, which are produced from the 

 anal secretions beaten up by the continued 

 thrashings of the posterior part of the insect. Al- 

 though no directions for its destruction are given 

 by most entomologists, our opinion is that careful 

 cleaning up and, if necessary, the burying of litter, 

 dead grass, etc., in the fall and occasional sprayings 

 with kerosene emulsion or whale oil soap in the 

 spring, should prove sufficient. As the insect feeds 

 on the juices of the plant, ordinary poisons are 

 ineffective. 



Moving a Grape Trellis 



I have a row of grapes that I wish to move, pro- 

 vided it can be done successfully. They are four 

 years old, and growing and bearing well. If you 

 advise it, at what time should it be done and how 

 severely should the vines be pruned? — S. M. G., 

 Conn. 



— Trellises, with grapes growing upon them, have 

 been successfully moved. It should be done in the 

 spring as early as possible, cutting back the vines 

 severely. You must anticipate losing one season's 

 crop. If you plant one Concord on your trellis 

 you will probably get all the fruit you want. If 

 the plants are very old and have very large root 

 systems, it might be better to start with entirely 

 new young vines. If all the vines are only four 

 years old, they should be moved without any 

 trouble. 



Trees For An Avenue Effect 



An old, abandoned, macadamized roadway 

 through my property is to be made part of the 

 entrance driveway and must be narrowed with 

 an avenue of trees. What trees would you 

 suggest for the purpose for this climate? — A. J. 

 W., Maine. 



— The sugar maple will be perfectly satisfactory 

 for your avenue as it is a native of the region and 

 grows faster than the Norway. It is our feeling 

 that a native tree should be used unless the treat- 

 ment is very frankly a garden treatment, in which 

 case arborvitas might be considered. Assuming 

 that you prefer a quick growing tree the sugar 

 maple is better than the other maples, but its wood 

 is softer and more liable to damage by storms. 

 The harder the wood of the tree the slower its 

 growth, but it is also more stable. If you want 

 quick results use soft wooded trees. White oak 

 might be used if you can get it established, 

 but again this tree has the disadvantage of slow 

 growth. 



Buckwheat Hulls For Fertilizer 



Please advise me as to the value of buckwheat 

 hulls as a fertilizer for my garden in which the soil 

 is a fairly good loam with neither sand nor clay 

 predominating. They can be obtained at the cost 

 of hauling about six hundred feet.- — W. M. C, 

 Pennsylvania. 



— On such a soil we would expect buckwheat hulls 

 to do more harm than good. Although by chem- 

 ical analysis they are potentially worth $2.26 a 

 ton, they form an unbalanced fertilizer, being 

 richest in potash, which the average soil contains 

 in sufficient quantity. They decompose very 

 slowly and being dry and flaky do not add to the 

 humus content as peat, leafmold, manure or even 

 sawdust would do. We can conceive of their 

 improving the physical condition of a heavy, wet, 

 sticky clay or muck, but do not advise their use 

 by our correspondent, at least, until composted 

 for a season or two. 



