446 QUESTIONS ASKED 



give it weak liquid manure onoe a week, after watering 

 with clear water. Keep it rather pot-bound. — W. F. 

 Massey. 



2882. Root-Grafting Wier's Cut-Leaved Maple.— If 



done on seedling roots in winter under glass just as 

 roses are grafted, there will be no difficulty. But bud- 

 ding at standard height is usually better. — W. F. M. 



2896. Grasses for Orchard and Forest. — Use orchard- 

 grass, tall meadow-fescue (Fcsluca eiatior), and Ken- 

 tucky blue-grass. Keep grass in an orchard mown like a 

 lawn, and let it lie to mulch the trees' roots. A corres- 

 pondent recently asked how soon after spraying an or- 

 orchard it would be safe to allow stock to eat the grass ? 

 We say, never. An orchard should be kept in grass for 

 the benefit of the trees and not for hay or pasture. Give 

 the whole surface an occasional dressing of bone and 

 ashes. Keep stock out, and run a mower at frequent 

 intervals. Don't expect anything from an orchard except 

 fine fruit and you will not be disappointed. Proper cul- 

 ture in grass is the best thing for an orchard ; making a 

 hay-field or a pasture the worst. — W. F. M. 



291 1. Work on Botany. — Among the best standard 

 works are Gray's and Wood's manuals. 



2912. Aucuba Japonica. — This is a free-growing ever- 

 green shrub from Japan, and hardy in the New England 

 states, the variegated form only being somewhat tender. 

 They endure better than most other shrubs the smoky 

 atmosphere of large cities, and grow in ordinary well- 

 drained garden soil, requiring no special culture. If 

 planted in pots, they should be given plenty of drainage 

 and potted firmly in rather sandy loam. They like an 

 abundance of water during the growing season, but need 

 much less after they are fully developed. If cultivated 

 in greenhouse or conservatory they should be plunged 

 outdoors during the summer. To insure a supply of the 

 very ornamental berries, some special pains to provide 

 pollen or fertilize the female flowers is necessary, as the 

 male and female flowers are borne on different plants, 

 and the pollen does not always mature at the same time 

 that the pistils are receptive. 



2947. Cytisus laburnum in Shade. — This cytisus is 

 ordinarily a free-blooming plant, hence its indisposition 

 to bloom in your case may reasonably be laid to the 

 presence of too much shade. 



2948. Grapes Under Glass.— For a cold grapery I 

 have had excellent returns from the following list of va- 

 rieties; Black Hamburgh, Black St. Peters, Black Prince, 

 Mrs. Prince Seedling, White Nice and White Syrian. 

 The Hamburgh constitutes about one-third of the whole 

 number of vines in the house. The St. Peters and 

 Black Prince have no superior qualities over the Ham- 

 burgh save that they are sometimes of better color. 

 From lack of proper ventilation above and below when 

 ripening, or from over-crossing, the Hamburgh is very apt 

 to color badly. This list will give a good succession of 

 fruit. The Hamburghs come in first, followed in about 

 two weeks by St. Peters, Black Prince and Mrs. Prince 

 Seedling — the white sorts and St. Peters hang late. For 



AND ANSWERED. 



a forcing-house the following will be found an excellent 

 list : One-half Black Hamburgh, remainder made up 

 of Duchess of Buccleugh (white), Muscat of Alexandria 

 (amber), and Golden Hamburgh. I have naw a house 

 filled with vines from this list, and would ask no better. 

 I have been cutting Hamburghs since May i from 

 house closed December i, with later varieties to fdliow 

 in excellent condition. — R. G. Milford, N. C. 



2950. Elm Tree for Shade. — We do not believe in 

 trimming an elm or any other tree out of its natural 

 style of growth. Keep the trunk clear from brush to a 

 height of 8 or 10 feet — higher if on the street, lower if 

 on the lawn. Do not touch the top of the tree with 

 knife or saw except to remove branches that are dead, 

 too close together, or such as would cause the tree to be 

 evenly two-forked, which is objectionable. 



2953 Narcissus Blasting.— The fault must be at the 

 root. Perhaps the soil is too wet, or is sour ; or possibly 

 the plants should be divided and reset ; or they may be 

 encroached upon by other growths. 



2854 Ruellia macrantha. — The pot in which the 

 plant is grown may be plunged in the open ground to the 

 rim in some spot not too much exposed to the sun. 

 Angleworms entering the pots may be guarded against 

 by setting a smaller empty pot directly beneath the one 

 containing the plant, the latter resting on the upper rim 

 of the empty one. 



2955. Summer Treatment of Pelargoniums.— It is 

 better to keep the plants in a cool part of the greenhouse 

 than to take them from their pots and set them in the 

 garden. Shade the glass above them and water them 

 but little for several months after they have bloomed. 

 Then cut them back, shake the soil from their roots and 

 repot with a fresh, fertile compost. 



2956. Cineraria-Seed. — Without doubt the bees en- 

 tering the greenhouse were helpful in carrying the pollen 

 from flower to flower. Many plants under glass will not 

 self-fertilize. 



2957. Primroses Not Seeding. — The trouble un- 

 doubtedly lies in imperfect fertilization of the flowers. 

 Try distributing the pollen with a camel's-hair brush 

 when the bloom is at its best. 



2958. Growing Snowdrops. — The bulbs must be set 

 in the fall, say in September. They may be bought very 

 cheap at the seed-stores. Plant them in any ordinary 

 garden soil that is drained, and cover them about two 

 inches deep. Set about three inches apart. 



2960. Treatment of Easter Lilies.— After bloom 

 ripen the growth thoroughly by standing the pots out- 

 doors after the hardest frosts are past. Later on plant 

 the balls of earth from the pots in the garden. The same 

 bulbs are not good for forcing a second time. After sev- 

 eral years the young bulbs around the parent bulb will, 

 in good sort, have developed sufficiently to answer for 

 forcing. 



2961. Color Combinations in Flowers. — It is an old 



notion that the red and blue series (the cyanic") and the 



