382 



QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED. 



2942. Irrig-ating Gardens and Meadows.— I would like 

 to see ail illustrated article on the best system of irrigation for 

 small garden plats and for meadows. — C. H. C, Mass. 



2943. Irrigation Problems. — What efiect will it have on 

 grass to spread water from a spring over it continually for days ? 

 What system will best irrigate a strawberry-bed 2x20 rods, that 

 slopes gradually for 20 rods? How many gallons of water will a 

 one-inch pipe discharge from a tank 20 feet high? How many a 

 i^-inch pipe?— C. H. C, Mass. 



2944. Onions Making- Thick Necks.— How can the for- 

 mation of scallions be prevented ?— J. B., Col. 



2945. "Vinegar from Watermelon Juice. — Can vinegar 

 be made from watermelon juice ? If so, how is it done?— J. B., Col. 



2946. Gruano- Water for House Plants. — How many 

 spoonfuls of Peruvian guano should be put into a two-gallon water- 

 ing-can for watering pot-plants ?—E. O. N. 



2947. Cytisus Laburnum. — Will it be likely to bloom in 

 shade?— E. O. N., Tenii. 



294S. Grapes Under Glass.— Which are the best sorts to 

 grow in hot and cold houses? Could strawberries be grown 011 

 benches under the grapes? — W. M. W., Montana. 



2949. Commercial Fertilizers.— What should I best use to 

 grow gladiolus and lilies on hard clay timber-land, new, high and 

 dry, gentle slope; plowed last fall, will be replowed and sowed 

 thickly with buckwheat in June, plowed under when in bloom. 

 Stable manure hard to obtain ?— J, K., Iowa. 



2779. Bleaching Celery by Tile.— I think it much simpler 

 to use boards for bleaching, but 3-inch tile will do very well, es- 

 pecially in the earlier part of the season. Wrap a piece of straw- 

 board around a nearly full-grown plant, then slip the tile over it 

 and withdraw the strawboard. 



2515. Growing- Lettuce Under Glass.— The length of 

 time required for lettuce to reach marketable size, from the time 

 seed is sown, depends on season, heat maintained, and management. 

 If all conditions are favorable, marketable heads can be grown in 

 two months. 



2516. Red-Spider in Hotbeds.— This insect flourishes in a 

 dry atmosphere. Persistent spraying will keep it in check. Try 

 to have the spray reach the underside of all the leaves. 



2S62. Propagating- Junipers. — Irish junipers are largely 

 imported as stocks for most of the named varieties. Thejunipeis 

 are easily increased by seeds. They germinate more readily if the 

 pulp is removed by maceration. Green cuttings, in sand under 

 glass, root easily. Mature cuttings may be made in the fall and 

 placed in a coldframe. Little protection is needed during the 



2870. Heliotrope from Seed.— The inquirer, who reports 

 repeated failures, should try again, and keeping his seed-pans in a 

 higher temperature than before. 



2S79. Leached Ashes as Fertilizer.— The difference in 

 the \ alue of leached and unleached ashes for fertilizers has often 

 been pointed out in American Gardening. The firm of Munroe, 

 De Forest & Co., of Oswego, N. Y., dealers in Canada unleached 

 hard-wood ashes, thinks we should lay greater stress on this dif- 

 ference. They write us : " The process of leaching ashes removes 

 their most essential fertilizing elements. A very large item in the 

 cost of ashes, either leached or unleached, is transportation. The 

 cost for transportation of leached ashes is considerably more than 

 that for unleached, because the latter contain three or four times 

 as much moisture. Hence, unleached ashes are easily worth three 

 times as much for fertilizing uses as the leached. People who for- 

 merly used leached ashes but have once thoroughly tried the un- 

 leached, will not buy leached ashes again at any price." 



2882. Boot - g-rafting- Weir's Cut - Leaved Maple.— 

 This beautiful variety is usually propagated by budding or graft- 

 ing on silver-maple stocks. Mr. Fuller says : "The scions should be 

 taken from the trees early in winter and kept dormant until the 

 sap has begun to flow quite freely in the stocks." Try root -grafting 

 another season and report. 



2905. Propogating Oleanders.— Oleanders are easily pro- 

 pagated by layering. This may be done by adjusting a flower-pot, 

 suspended or on a shelf above the plant, in such a way that you can 

 insert the tip end of one of the shoots through the drainage-hole. 

 Then fill the pot with soil, and keep it there until roots have 

 started, when the shoot may be severed from the parent plant. 

 Cuttings can also be made of matured leading shoots. Insert them 

 in single pots, and place in a close warm frame: or suspend small 

 bottles filled with water in a warm room, and insert a shoot in 

 each, wrapping cotton around the stem where it passes the neck of 

 the bottle. 



2938. Transplanting- Large Fruit - Trees. — We have 

 transplanted trees five to six years old, even quite late in spring, 

 with entire success by taking up a good quantity of soil with the 

 roots, and heading the trees back severely. 



2909. Moles and Gophers.— The mischief-maker which de- 

 stroys shrubs and herbaceous plants in our Missouri inquirer's 

 grounds is probably the brownish, rat-like animal with broad fore- 

 feet (like a mole's), often called gopher— a name more properly be- 

 longing to a burrowing squirrel common in many parts of the 

 country. We have no personal experience with them, but would 

 adyise the use of bisulphide of carbon. Pour a quantity into the 

 runs, through a funnel and long tube inserted into the burrow, and 

 quickly stop up the openings. 



2910. Cure for Earthworms. — There is little need of 

 worrying over the presence of earthworms in your manure-filled 

 soil. These creatures have their place in the economy of nature, 

 and it is yet an often-disputed question whether they are injurious 

 or beneficial. In the soil of potted plants we do not want them, 

 and can easily dispose of them by applying lime-water. In open 

 ground we can also kill these worms by broadcast applications of 

 pow'dered fresh (caustic) lime. 



2911. Fuchsia for Winter Bloom. — In order to have 

 plenty of bloom you should encourage new growth. Cut the plant 

 down to the ground in September or October, that it may form an 

 entirely new head. This gives you a chance to obtain a fine, bushy 

 form, and plenty of bloom in winter.— H. W. E. 



2912. Oold-Storage for Winter Apples. — We believe 

 the fruit is usuallv barreled and headed up soon after harvesting. 

 If kept in an equitable temperature, just at or above the freezing- 

 point, it will keep almost indefinitely. 



2913. Peach-Paring. — Parers for peaches are sold at hard- 

 ware stores and by dealers in evaporators. Write to them for 

 further information and prices. 



2914. Growing Various Vegetables. — Swiss chard is 

 nothing more nor less than a beet, having thrifty, rather curly, 

 handsome foliage. The large white middle rib of the leaf is some- 

 times cooked like asparagus, the rest of the leaf like spinage. Its 

 culture is simple. Sow seed as for beets in spring, thin to si.x or 

 eight inches apart, and give clean cultivation. Chard and spinage 

 are especially benefited by light dressings of nitrate of soda. 

 Spinage for earliest spring use should be sown in autumn, and the 

 plants lightly mulched during winter. Have the rows a foot 

 apart, and plants about three inches apart in the rows. For sum- 

 mer use sow in early spring, just as soon as ground is in working 

 order, and again later for succession. Cultivate freely and keep 

 free from weeds. Endive makes an excellent fall salad, and 

 grows well in hot weather. Sow seed in June or July, in rows 

 one foot apart, leaving plants about eight inches apart in the row. 

 A week or two before it is wanted for use or market, tie the tips of 

 the leaves of each plant together over the heart, and thus bleach 

 it. Kale is used for winter and spring greens. Sow seed in June 

 or July, in rows two or three feet apart. Thin the plants to stand 

 at least a foot apart in the row. In localities where winters are 

 severe some light covering with marsh-hay or other litter may be 

 required. The greens are fit for use only after they have been 

 touched by frost in the fall. The young sprouts, in spring, may be 

 boiled and served cold with oil and vinegar, as salad. Leeks are 

 started from seed in early spring like onions. They should be 

 hilled up and bleached before using. 



2917. Keeping Dried Fruit.- Store it in a dry, cool, dark, 

 closed room. If there is any danger of worms getting into it fumi- 



