QUESfJUJ^^ ASKED AND ANSWERED. 



447 



yellow and orange (the xanthic series) never occur in the 

 same species, or even in the same genus. Although this 

 idea is now known to be erroneous, it is nevertheless true 

 that the two series are not often seen in combination. 

 When they do occur together, the colors usually lack 

 the purity of typical representatives of the series. — L. H. 

 Bailey. 



2962. Black-Knot on Cherries. — Sweet varieties are 

 less subject to the attacks of the disease than our sour 

 kinds. The trees can usually be saved by the prompt 

 removal and destruction by fire of all limbs' showing 

 signs of knots. 



2963. Small Fruits for Northwest Missouri.— I find 

 after several years' trial the following varieties of straw" 

 berries do the best in this section : Bubach, Capt. Jack, 

 Warfield, Haverland. The Huntsman is the best berry 

 for canning I ever grew, and good in all other respects. 

 Among black raspberries, the Tyler for early, Ohio and 

 Hopkins for medium, Nemaha for late. All are sure crop- 

 pers when properly cared for. — W. A. Huntsman. 



2964. Tree-Fruits for Drying. — Hard, solid winter 

 apples, such as Greenings, Baldwins, Ben Davis, etc., 

 are best suited for drying purposes. The flavor of the 

 dried article of course depends on the flavor of the fresh 

 apples. The various prunes are best for drying. 



2966. Winter Protection for Strawberries. — The 

 Crimson Clover might answer very well, but for the pur- 

 pose of a mulch we would prefer oats, which makes a 

 heavier, quicker growth in the fall. — E. S. Carman. 



2967. Strawberry Queries. — The varieties which are 

 " best " for you, are the ones best suited to your soil and 

 location. Find out what are the sorts with which your 

 neighbors are most successful. Try also Parker Earle 

 and Bubach. Fall planting will probably be preferable 

 for Georgia. Start your plantation as soon as you can 

 get plants, which will probably not be until August, and 

 even then you may have to pay an extra price to get them, 

 as growers do not like to take up plants so early. Wood- 

 ashes and old compost are good fertilizers, but any high- 

 grade complete manure can be used to good advantage. 

 Ordinary layer-plants will probably answer your purpose 

 just as well as the high-priced "potted" plants, which in 

 some instances are nothing more than layers taken up 

 with a ball of earth squeezed together to give the appear- 

 ance of coming out of a pot. If you pot off the layer- 

 plants as soon as received, and nurse them for a while in 

 a somewhat sheltered position until they have taken good 

 root, you will have "potted" plants far superior to many 

 that you could buy. 



2868. Pear-Tree Blight.— The blight which you 

 mention is undoubtedly the pear-tree blight, which is 

 often very bad on apple-trees, particularly in the north- 

 west. There is no remedy known except to cut off and 

 burn the blighted portions as soon as they appear. Cut 

 a foot or so below the lowest visible injury. — L. H. 

 Bailey. 



2969. Pear-Culture. — The LeConte, although of little 

 value for the north, will probably be most profitable for 



you. Idaho has not yet been sufficiently tested, but is 

 promising. Some people make pear-growing very profit- 

 able, while others make a failure of it. It depends on 

 the man, and on judicious selection of location, soil, varie- 

 ties, etc. 



2971. Fungicides and Insecticides on Small Scale.— 



Spraying the few trees and plants in the home-garden is 

 usually somewhat inconvenient on account of the small 

 quantities of the mixtures required. People dislike to 

 "fuss." Sooner or later we shall have professionals 

 who will do such work by the job, relieving the home- 

 grower, for a small consideration, of all anxiety in this 

 direction. But until some enterprising person in each 

 town or neighborhood provides himself with all the 

 necessary apparatus and offers his services as a bug and 

 fungus-fighter to the townspeople, every man will have to 

 do his own spraying. The preparation of the ammoniacal 

 solution of carbonate of copper is simplest, if you get a 

 quart can of copperdine. This is enough to make 28 

 gallons of spraying solution. So if you need a " bucket- 

 ful" at a time, or say three gallons, measure about one- 

 ninth of a quart of copperdine and mix it with the three 

 gallons of water, not forgetting to screw on the top of the 

 can again closely. If you want three gallons of Bordeaux 

 mixture, dissolve six ounces of sulphate of copper in one 

 gallon of hot water and four ounces of fresh lime in 

 two gallons of cold water. Afterwards pour one solution 

 into the other ; and if you wish to use this as an insecti- 

 cide also, add one-sixth of an ounce of Paris green. 



2972. Whole Roots vs. Pieces in Root-Grafting. — 

 The question of the relative merits of whole and piece- 

 roots is not yet settled. It is supposed that whole roots 

 give a stronger and more symmetrical root-system. But 

 for the northwest, piece-roots are usually preferred be- 

 cause they allow of the use of a long scion which can be 

 set deep and finally become own-rooted — L. H. Bailey, 



2973. Fay Currant. — The downward or sprawling 

 propensity of the Fay currant is natural to the variety, 

 and a decided objection to it. — E. S. Carman. 



2977. Stocks for Plum Trees.— We heard S. D, Wil- 

 lard, one of the best authorities on plum-growing, state 

 that his first choice is the horse-plum. Seedlings of this 

 are, however, difficult to obtain and grow. The myro- 

 balan makes a good stock. Mariana, which can be 

 increased from cuttings, is now being much used, espe- 

 cially by southern nurserymen. 



2980, Heating a Lettuce-House. — Lettuce forcing- 

 houses are now generally heated by hot-water pipes, and 

 growers have no fear of the dampness. In reality there 

 is not so much difference in this respect between hot- 

 water or steam pipes and flues. The dampness is inside 

 the pipes, and the drier heat of the flue comes chiefly 

 from its greater degree of heat. Any man of ordinary 

 mechanical ingenuity will have no trouble to put in the 

 pipes, etc., after they are cut of proper length and other- 

 wise properly prepared. 



2981. Fungicides and Insecticides on Small Scale.— 

 See 2971. 



