QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED. 



does not vary from seed, and its habit of growth is pecu- 

 liar. Whatever it may be botanically, it is the best yel- 

 low, although it is too small both in spike and in flower 

 to be wholly satisfactory. G.prhmdinus, from Caffraria, 

 is a pure yellow, but is smaller than G . su/p/iu reus and is 

 not yet in commerce.— W. E. Endicott, Norfolk Co., 

 Mass. 



2704. Propagation of Clematis.— The best method 

 as far as my experience goes is to layer by pegging down 

 the lateral branches as soon as sufficient growth has been 

 made. The process of propagation is much hastened by 

 making an incision half way through the branch length- 

 wise about half an inch, and covering with soil.— 

 Mrs. E. L. P., Cravford Co., Pa. 



2721. Wintering Cannas.— Cannas can be wintered 

 by putting the roots in boxes, and shaking a little dirt 

 through them and storing them in a cellarfree from frost. — 

 H. C. T. 



2729. Roses Failing to Bloom. —Your last statement 

 no doubt explains the true cause of their not blooming. 

 Stop the rampant growth by severe pruning, aud you 

 will have plenty of roses.— H. C. T. 



2732. Winter Storage of Bulbs.— Why did you keep 

 your tulips in the house? They should be planted out 

 in the fall to bloom in the following spring, and only kept 

 in the house during the summer months. Tuberoses 

 should be wintered in a warm place where the tempera- 

 ture does not go below 50°. Callas can be grown in the 

 house during winter, and will cheer you with many 

 blooms, or may be dried off and wintered in a warm cel- 

 lar. Pancratium or Spider-Lily is to be wintered in 

 cellar. Plant yourfreesias in the fall ; they bloom luxu- 

 riantly during the winter. Iris and ranunculus should 

 have been planted out in the fall, and protected from se- 

 vere frosts. Easter Lily should always be kept in the 

 soil, both when growing and when at rest. Leaving 

 them out of the soil weakens the bulbs. Chinese Lily 

 should be forced in water and afterwards planted out in 

 the garden and protected during severe frosts. — H . C. T. 



2717. Nitrate of Soda on Onions. — It will more than 

 pay to use 500 lbs. of nitrate of soda on i^i acres. You 

 had better get 700 lbs. for that amount of land and sow 

 it broadcast, 100 lbs. at a dose ; and repeat the applica- 

 tion every 10 or 12 days, according to the dryness of the 

 season. — Andrew S. Musser. 



2738. The Ventilated Barrel.— We believe this is a 

 good thing for shipping vegetables in summer. In Can- 

 ada it is manufactured by the Joseph Williams Co., of 

 Goderich, Ont., who tell us that they could sell the barrel 

 complete, but not put up, at 17 cents each by the carload . 

 It costs about 2 cents apiece to put the barrel together. 

 In the United States, the chief factory is at Muskatine, 

 Iowa, I. A. Kerr, of that place, being the patentee. 



2804. Varnish for Muslin to Cover Hotbeds. Try 

 a mixture of raw egg and raw linseed-oil, giving two 

 coats. 



2776. Onions for Winter Market. — Long-keeping 

 varieties are best, such as Danvers Yellow, Yellow 

 Dutch, White Globe, Red Wethersfield, etc. For start- 

 ing seed in hotbed and transplanting, the best varieties 

 are Prize-taker, Spanish King, and White Victoria. All 

 these had berter be sold as soon as possible after they 

 are fit for market. 



2802. Nitrate of Soda on Strawberries. — An excess 

 of nitrogen in the manure applied is generally supposed 

 to increase size of fruit at the expense of solidity. Under 

 average conditions, it is doubtful whether nitrateof soda 

 is a desirable manure for strawberries, except, perhaps, 

 when applied sparingly very early in the season to pro- 

 mote early development of foliage, and thus perhaps ear- 

 liness of fruit, or when applied on new plantations to 

 stimulate plant-growrii. 



2800. Pruning Peach Trees.— The kind of pruning 

 that we consider most beneficial for peach trees that have 

 barely escaped death during the first season after setting, 

 consists in tearing them up and replacing them with new 

 sound ones. No peach tree received in good condition 

 from the nursery, and properly planted in good soil, will 

 succumb to any ordinary drouth. If a tree does, it 

 seems that something was not just right with the tree, 

 the planting or the soil. On the whole, we would rather 

 set another tree with all its vitality intact, than try to 

 nurse one back to life again after its vitality has once 

 been greatly impaired. 



2799, Comparative Value of Manures.- The ma- 

 nure from well-fed horses and cows, not injured by 

 leaching or burning, put down on the ground, is 

 worth $2.50 per ton, when compared with the usual rates 

 paid for plant-foods in commercial fertilizers. For spe- 

 cial purposes, as, for instance, to obtain quick results, or 

 supply certain elements of plant-food separately, or in 

 difterent proportions from those found in stable ma- 

 nures, the grower can afford to pay the full price for 

 special manures, when stable manure could be had at 

 a comparatively low rate. The manure-buyer and 

 uses has considerable need of good judgment in this 

 matter. When dry muck is easily available, it is the 

 best and cheapest absorbent in stables, etc., to be found. 



2790. Sowing Grasses in Spring.— When the ground 

 is in good condition and well prepared, the inquirer will 

 find no difficulty in getting a good "catch" of clover 

 and timothy without planting anything else. If he de- 

 sires to get " something " offthe soil, he may sow grain — 

 oats, barley, spring wheat, or whatever it may be— but 

 rather thinly. If the grain crop is wanted, as a pro- 

 tection to the young grass, and for no other purpose, 

 buckwheat sown at the rate of one peck per acre might 

 be tried. 



2788. Kainit and Nitrate of Soda can hardly be 

 compared. Kainit supplies potash ; nitrate of soda sup- 

 plies nitrogen, and each one occupies an altogether dif- 

 ferent place in the economy of plant-growth. Kainit has 

 12 or 13 per cent, of potash, consequently has a value as 

 plant-food, of $11 or $12; while nitrate of soda, having 

 15 or 16 per cent, of nitrogen, is worth $40 to $45. 

 Kainit is valuable as a manure for tree and small 

 fruits, potatoes, etc., when supplemented with the other 

 elements that may be needed. It is also excellent on 

 mucky grass-lands. For vegetable crops, if used at all, 

 it should be applied during fall or winter. 



2783. Sowing Onion-Seed in Hotbed. — We sow seed 

 this month, at the rate of about iK to 2 ounces to the or- 

 dinary hotbed-sash. Usually we sow in the rows 2V1 or 

 3 inches apart ; but if the soil is free from weeds, the 

 onion-seed might be sown broadcast, thus giving each 

 young plant the best possible chance of development. 



