OUEST/OyS ASKED AND ANSWERED. 



305 



2886. Growing English Walnuts. — Will they succeed 

 in Connecticut ? Would it pay to set one walnut in the 

 center of every square formed by four apple trees 30 feet 

 apart ?— G. W. S. 



2887. Japanese Peach-Worm. Has it already ob- 

 tained a foothold in this country ? — C. G. A., Maine. 



2888. Tomatoes Decaying. — My plants last year were 

 well-laden with fruit when I cut back the tops. All speci- 

 mens ripening first decayed. Was this due to trimming ? 



2889. Dahlias Not Blooming. — The bulbs were good 

 and the season dry, but all buds blasted. What could 

 have been the trouble ?—D. D. P., Xci^' Yoi k, 



2890. Window Plants for Summer Use.— Please 

 give a list of plants that will grow well and look cool 

 in summer in a sunny window. — Mrs. L. A. S., Pa. 



2891. Plants and Trees for Cemetery Use.— Please 

 recommend some good plants for vases ; also some shade- 

 trees that can endure drouth. — H. W., Wisconsin. 



2892. Bananas as Pot-Plants.— Will they bear and 

 ripen fruit when thus grown ? — J. E. T., Illinois. 



2893. Primula obconica Poisonous. — We have lately 

 been poisoned in our greenhouse, and were told that 

 Primula abconica was the cause. Is this plant really 

 poisonous? — J. M. G. O., Manitoba. 



2894. Evergreens for Screen. — Please give a list of 

 low, quick-growing evergreens that planted small would 

 make a screen 8 to 10 feet high in 8 or 10 years. — 

 "Garden." 



2895. Mushroom-Growing. — How are mushrooms usu- 

 ally sold, and at what price ? Is the market in large 

 cities usually well supplied with them ? At what season 

 can they be most profitably grown ? — S. H. H., Indiana. 



2896. Grasses for Orchard and Forest. — What mix- 

 ture of grasses would you recommend for young orchards 

 and for sowing under large forest-trees ? — G. K. 



2897. Making Oil from Sunflower-Seeds. — What 

 kinds of sunflowers should be used, and how is the oil 

 extracted ?— A. A. B., Oliio. 



2898. Coal-Oil Stove in Greenhouse. — Will the odor 

 from an oil-stove used for heating a small greenhouse 

 during the night be injurious to the growth of orchids 

 and other plants ? — G. R., California. 



2899. Plums and Apricots. — Would Japan plum and 

 Harris apricot prove hardy and profitable along the 

 Merrimac river ? Would you set two acres of them 

 here?— J. H. C. 



2900. Hardy Black Raspberry. — What is the hardiest 

 variety of good quality? — F. G. M., Ncl>raska. 



2901. Preparing Grape-Bags. — Would soaking paper 

 bags in the ammoniacal solution of carbonate of copper 

 have the same effect on the berries inside as if the latter 

 were sprayed with the solution ? — W. S. H., Xric Jo-si-y. 



2902. Tomatoes on Clover-Sod. — Would it be well 

 to plant on clover sod one year old ? Or would cut- 

 worms be troublesome ? — A. J. F., U'istronsin. 



2903. Cauliflowers for Market. What is the best 

 variety to use ? — A. J. F . HVsconsin. 



2904. Remedy for Snowy Tree-Cricket.— Some of 

 the canes in my vineyard are punctured by an insect. 

 What is it, and what can be done to prevent the mis- 

 chief ?—G. M. H., Virginia. 



2654. Large Potato Yield.— When the St. Patrick 



potato was first introduced, a neighbor gave me one tuber 

 weighing less than a pound. I cut it into 40 pieces, 

 splitting every eye except those at the seed end. The 

 pieces were planted 5 inches deep and 2 feet apart in a 

 row. Of these 38 came up, and when the plants were 4 

 or 5 inches high I cultivated thoroughly and put on a 4- 

 inch mulch of straw. Nothing more was done until the 

 potatoes were ripe, when I removed the straw and har- 

 vested 172 pounds of nice, smooth potatoes. Twelve of 

 the largest weighed 17 pounds. 



2703. Most Desirable Rose. — The best monthly sorts 

 are The Gem, Marie Guillot, Sunset, Perle des Jardins, 

 Bon Silene, Malmaison, Papa Gontier, Queen's Scarlet, 

 Marie Van Houtte, Etoile de Lyon, The Bride, and 

 others too numerous to mention. Hybrid Perpetuals : 

 Gen. Jacqueminot, Gen. Washington, Magna Charta, 

 Louis Van Houtte, Perfection des Blanches, Paul Ney- 

 ron, Vick's Caprice, Dinsmore, Grand Duke Nicholas, 

 Fisher Holmes, Prince Camille de Rohan, La France and 

 Mad. Plantier.— H. C. T. 



27 1 1. Cranberry-Growing. — In order that a cranberry 

 crop may be profitable, the soil in which it is grown must 

 be damp enough to preclude all possibility of the roots 

 becoming dry, and must contain vegetable mold to the 

 depth of at least one foot. A stream of water flowing 

 through the bog, having a dam, sluiceway and gates for 

 flooding the crop, is also a prime requisite. There are 

 two methods of preparing soil for cranberries. The first 

 is to make the surface nearly level by means of a turf-hoe, 

 covering it 3 or 4 inches deep with sand. This sand 

 must not contain loam, and must be clear enough to 

 crumble apart after being crushed together in the hand. 

 In the other method the land is cultivated for three years 

 to kill all vegetation, cleared of stumps and graded. 

 Drainage must be given by means of a system of ditches, 

 and these should be connected by smaller drains through 

 which the water flows constantly, never rising higher 

 than 6 inches from the surface of the soil, nor falling 

 lower than 18 inches below it, April and May, and No- 

 vember and October, are the best months for setting cran- 

 berry plants or cuttings. The latter are as good as rooted 

 plants if set more thickly — 2 or 3 to every 15 inches of 

 soil. They are set deeply, leaving only one or two inches 

 of stem above ground, and the soil is pressed firmly 

 against them with the foot. The ground must be kept 

 clear of grass and weeds for two or three years after 

 planting, and flooded during winter. The plants may 

 be e.xpected to begin bearing the third year, and picking 

 should be finished before frost. After this the meadow 

 may be flooded to float loose berries, and to straighten 

 plants that have been trampled in picking. Draw off 

 the water again until December, when it may be turned 



