Blue Hydrangea. — I pot hydrangeas in peat and 

 give them no manure, but plenty of pure water ; such 

 treatment will give them a blue color. — .Im. Ilorisl . 



A Good Ink for Labels. —Higgins' waterproof draw- 

 ing-ink does not run, nor is it blurred, when the labels 

 are wet. Try first the common ink, then this drawing- 

 ink, and apply the water-test. Use a stub-pen entirely 

 free from common ink. — Florists' Exchanfff. 



Hardiness of Tritomas. — Mr. Smith says it is his 

 practice to plant tritomas deeply, so that the crowns are 

 seven or eight inches below the surface. This practice, 

 if generally adopted, would mean the salvation of many 

 plants. A few inches of soil are wonderfully protective, 

 and at that depth the crowns of these torch-lilies mighi 

 survive a frost that would soften them to pulp if they 

 were on a level with the surface of the soil. — The 

 Garden. 



Draining a Remedy for Heaving. — The frost will 

 penetrate deeper in underdrained land than in land not 

 underdrained. But the porous condition of the soil, 

 allowing the surplus to pass through the underdrain, pre- 

 vents heaving, which is so injurious to plants. The 

 underdrained soil when frozen is open and soon thaws 

 out, when the ice-melting temperature prevails. — Drain- 

 age and Farm Journal. 



Watermelon Tests.— I draw my thumb-nail over 

 the melon, scraping off the thin green skin. If the edges 

 of the skin on each side of the scar are left ragged or 

 granulated, and the rind under the scar is smooth, firm 

 and white, and has something of a glassy appearance, 

 the melon is ripe. But if the edges of the scar are smooth 

 and even, and the thumb-nail has dug into the rind in 

 places, and the skin does not come off clean, then the 

 melon is green. You can easily learn on two melons, 

 one ripe, the other green, noting the difference after they 

 have been cut open. — Southern Stockman and Farmer. 



Cucumbers not Unwholesome. — Many people are 

 under the impression that cucumbers are very indigest- 

 ible, but in fact they are very digestible when eaten 

 properly. They cannot, indeed, be otherwise since they 

 consist mainly of water, and those parts which are not 

 water are almost exclusively cells of a very rapid growth. 

 When eating cucumbers it is well to cut them into thin 

 slices, and to masticate them thoroughly. Even the 

 vinegar and the pepper so often added are of service to 

 digestion if not taken in excess. — London Hospital. 



Mulch the Cucumbers. — I have given cucumber- 

 vines a heavy mulch of coarse manure for a number of 

 years, and never failed to have good cucumbers and 

 plenty of them. I use boxes about the hills, and after 

 the first or second hoeing put on the mulch and leave the 

 boxes until the vines are even with the top. If possible 

 the mulch is applied after a heavy rain. In this way I 

 am practically independent of droughts, and the vines 

 retain their bearing quality most of the summer. Little 

 or no hoeing is needed, and the land is in excellent con- 

 dition for the next year's crop. — N'eiv York Tribune. 



Advertising by Squashes. — A correspondent of 

 Country Gentleman advised growers to trace the owner's 

 name upon superior specimens. This may be done with 

 the point of a slender pocket-knife, and as the cicatrices 

 enlarge with the growth of the squash, the name will 

 make a very pretty appearance, even though the tracing 

 was not very artistically done. This will help the owner 

 to dispose of his productions to better advantage, because 

 those who buy them and like them will search for more 

 with the same name upon them — a cheap way for a 

 farmer to advertise. 



Cracking of Tomatoes, Plums, etc. — If a bladder 

 filled with syrup be immersed in a vessel of water, the 

 water will, after awhile, become sweet ; the syrup passes 

 through the membrane of the bladder into the water, 

 and correspondingly the water passes into the interior of 

 the bladder. But this interchange is not an equal one ; 

 the light liquid — the water — passes in many times more 

 rapidly than the heavier liquid, the syrup, passes out. 

 The consequence will be that the bladder will be dis- 

 tened to its utmost, and at length burst. A ripe tomato 

 or plum may be considered in the condition of the blad- 

 der of syrup. The rich juices of the fruit correspond to 

 the syrup, and the thin membrane, which forms the skin 

 of the fruit, represents the bladder. When the ripe 

 fruit is kept constantly wet by a rain, osmose takes place 

 and the water passing through into the fruit distends the 

 skin which, not being very strong, is soon ruptured. — 

 jXezu Orleans Times-Democrat . 



Getting Rid of Ragweed.— Ragweed (A?nbrosia 

 artcmisicefolia) is an annual having a slender and much 

 branched stem. There are several varieties, but the 

 one shown in the sketch is the most troublesome. The 

 leaves are much serrated, hence, probably, the name. 

 The seeds are very numerous and possess much vitality. 



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