56 



QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED. 



ing in early spring, is usually the most destructive, the 

 later broods probably finding suitable feeding-grounds in 

 old radishes, decaying cabbage-stumps, etc. Various 

 remedies are recommended. We usually plant rows of 

 radishes between cabbages, cauliflowers and onions, as 

 we believe the fly prefers radishes first, then cauliflowers, 

 cabbages and onions in order. Our onions have never 

 been troubled to any extent, while the others suffered 

 badly. Strong caustic lime-water and concentrated 

 solutions of kainit or muriate of potash, are safe and 

 sure remedies if applied in time. A pint or half-pint of 

 the liquid should be poured upon every plant, so that it 

 will reach clear to the maggot-infected root. This will 

 kill the eggs as well as the maggots by simple contact. 

 Prof. D. Hulst, of the New Jersey Station, recommends 

 the kerosene emulsion, one part, to 12 or 15 parts water. 

 At planting, the roots of all cabbages should be dipped 

 into some of the compound, and thereafter, at intervals 

 of two weeks, enough of the compound should be poured 

 about the base of the stalk to wet into the earth at least 

 an inch. This ought to be done whether there is evi- 

 dence of the presence of the maggots or not. Plants 

 once seriously aflfected can hardly ever be saved. 



2725. Gueii Plum. — S. D. Willard, who makes plum- 

 culture a specialty, writes to the Canadian Hortiailtu- 

 rw/ that the Gueii originated at Lansingburg, near Troy, 

 N, Y., and has fruited lor several years. " It is a rich, 

 dark colored plum, with a beautiful blue bloom, render- 

 ing it very attractive as a market-fruit. It is hardy and 

 productive, and has been constantly growing in favor 

 since its introduction. It ripens about the time of the 

 Lombard, and is in every way superior to that variety. 



2735. Nut-growing' for Market is as yet hardly out 

 of the experimental stage. With the proper selection 

 of soil, probably many nuts could be successfully grown 

 in northern Missouri ; but for profit we would put more 

 dependence on chestnuts than on any other nut Wher- 

 ever the ordinary American chestnut is found growing 

 indigenously, it seems there should be a chance to grow 

 the improved varieties profitably. The establishment of 

 orchards of good varieties of course oflers obstacles. 

 Varieties do not come true from seed; grafting is a deli- 

 cate and more difficult operation than grafting ordinary 

 fruit-trees; and trees of good varieties, for that reason, 

 are high-priced, and not always long-lived. But perhaps 

 all these difficulties can be overcome in the end. 



2736. Pine Sawdust as Manure. — There is little 

 plant-food in pine sawdust, and that is not readily avail- 

 able. The best use for it is as an absorbent in the stable, 

 and then fit it for manurial purposes by composting. As 

 a mulch around trees it is all right. 



2731. Silkworm Eggs.— You can probably get them 

 by applying to the Department of Agriculture, Washing- 

 ton, D. C. ; but it is more than doubtful whether it is 

 worth while to bother with them. The worms have to be 

 coddled, and require endless attention, and certainly 

 do not pay under present conditions. 



2730. Draining the Garden.— Any garden-soil which 

 does not rest on porous subsoil, thus having natural 

 drainage, should be underdrained, and this, if possible, 

 by tiles, which is the best method. How to arrange the 

 mains and branches depends altogether on the lay of the 



land and the cost of the tile and labor. We can get tile 

 at the following prices, viz : 2-inch, 12 inches long, |i2 

 per thousand; 2^ -inch, same length, fis; 3-inch, same 

 length, $20 ; and larger ones at proportionally higher 

 rates. The work had best be done at a time when labor 

 is cheap. Have the ditches as narrow as possible, in 

 order to save labor in digging. 



2728. Hedge Management.— Joseph Meehan gives 

 the following good points in the Practical Farmer : A 

 hedge to be perfect must be broader at the base than at 

 any other part. The first summer pruning is mainly to 

 thicken the hedge and strengthen the base. To do this, 

 the top and most of the upper branches are clipped off, 

 while the lower ones are touched but little in an old 

 hedge, and notat all in a young one in which the shape has 

 not been well formed. As soon as the tops are cut away 

 the sap flows to those remaining, greatly invigorating 

 them. In old hedges where shape and bushiness have 

 already been attained, the whole of the hedge may be 

 trimmed back to thicken it, but let the severest cutting 

 be at the top. For every branch cut off a half a dozen 

 new ones form, so that in time a hedge becomes so dense 

 that a bird can hardly fly through it. After the first 

 cutting there will be mote growth made, and this is al- 

 lowed to grow on as long as it will. When all growth 

 has stopped, which will be in September in the Middle 

 States, the hedge is gone over again, and cut clean into 

 a good shape, which should be neither too round nor too 

 pointed. In connection with this it may be said here 

 that single trees should be pruned in the same way that 

 the hedge is. Bushiness comes from stopping the lead- 

 ing shoots fo they are done growing. Pruning in 

 winter acts the other way, encouraging an extra strong 

 top-growth. 



2713. Annual Flowers in Lily-beds. — Observing 

 the principle that dwarf-growing kinds have shorter 

 roots than others, we would plant such only in the lily- 

 bed. A good list would be candytuft, cockscomb, pan- 

 sy, portulaca, ten weeks stocks, sweet alyssum, abro- 

 nia, clarkia, erisemum. 



2714. Flowers for Shady Places. — Ferns from the 

 woods succeed better in the shade than anywhere else, 

 and are among the handsomest of decorative plants. 

 Lily-of-the-valley, snowdrops and most Dutch bulbs, 

 Aquilgia Canadensis, wintergreen, periwinkle, pansies, 

 plantain lilies, nearly all anemones, hellebores or 

 Christmas roses, hepaticas, blood-root, wake-robin, vio- 

 lets, May-apples, hypericums, Mubus odorata, begonias, 

 among tender plants. The tuberous begonias flower 

 well in partial shade. 



2716. Anemones in Coldframe. — We think that by 

 properly protecting the coldframe from rain, snow and 

 cold by the use of a light board shutter, the tuberous 

 anemones should flower some time in the spring. But in 

 our experience it has been found a difficult matter to 

 properly protect such a frame in the cold north. It 

 takes a good deal of attention. The anemones grow 

 and flower readily in a greenhouse of moderate tempera- 

 ture. 



2720. Propagating Hibiscus.— They root better in 

 sand or a soil consisting largely of sand, than in water. 

 Take the top of a shoot, cutting it just below a joint 



