576 



QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED. 



pots, to assist in keeping the roots cool and moist, and 

 occasionally treating them to a light sprinkling of water 

 from a syringe. During summer an abundant supply of 

 water should be administered, but in winter very little 

 will suffice. The nepenthes belong to a different order 

 from the sarracenias, and are native on the islands of the 

 Indian Archipelago. They should be kept in a moist at- 

 mosphere, and given a temperature of about 70 degrees 

 in summer, and at least 5o degrees in winter." 



3051. Japan Honeysuckle. — This is probably a seed- 

 ling of Lonicei-a brachypoda auna reticulata — the 

 Japan reticulated honeysuckle. The variegation is 

 irregular. Our friend should propagate those shoots 

 which are the brightest and most uniformly colored. In 

 this way a variety of value may ultimately be secured. — 



E. S. C/>RMAN. 



3054. Eradicating Burdocks. — If merely cut off at or 

 near the surface, burdocks will sprout again. The only 

 sure way to get rid of them forever is to pull them up, 

 roots and all, or to cut them off near the ground and 

 pour a small quantity of kerosene, turpentine or sul- 

 phuric acid upon the root left in the ground. 



3055. Parsley-Seed. — Your home-grown parsley-seed 

 will undoubtedly reproduce its variety. If you wish to 

 plant new seed of any of the curled sorts, you can pur- 

 chase seed of them from any leading seedsman. 



3056. Cutting Asparagus-Tops. — The plants should 

 be given a chance to grow and store up reserve forces for 

 next year's crop just as long as there is no danger of 

 stocking the ground with seed. Cut the tops and remove 

 them before their seeds are likely to be scattered over 

 the ground. 



3057. Growing Early Vegetable Plants —Our large 

 plant-growers now grow almost all early vegetable plants 

 in greenhouses. Until some years ago early cabbage, 

 cauliflower and lettuce were started in open ground in 

 September, transplanted to coldframes by November, 

 and there wintered until time of sale. Small growers 

 still adhere to this plan. It is a good one, as it insures 

 the desirable point of hardiness, which we do not always 

 find in greenhouse-plants. Still, the use of the green- 

 house involves less labor and time. Seed is sown in flats 

 in January and February ; the tiny seedlings are. pricked 

 out in other flats, an inch or two apart, and grown on 

 without check until ready for hardening off. The best 

 thing that can be done to them for a week or two before 

 sale, or setting, is to place the flats in a coldframe, and 

 give the plants Its much air and exposure as is possible. 

 Early celery-plants are grown in about the same way. 



3058. Storing Irish Potatoes for Winter at t h e 

 South. — Prof. Massey recently asked a number of south- 

 ern growers about their favorite methods of winter-stor- 

 age. A summary of their replies is given in Bulletin 85 

 of the N. C. Experiment Station,_ as follows : " There is 

 a diversity of opinion, but all agree that the late crop is 

 especially ea-sy to keep. Many prefer to store in barrels 

 or crates in an outbuilding, some spread on barn-floors 

 and cover with straw, but the majority prefer storing in 

 hills outdoors and covering with earth. Nearly all agree 



on the necessity for keeping the potatoes cool and dark." 

 In view of this apparent ease of winter-storage for the 

 late crop of Irish potatoes at the south, it is astonishing 

 that they are not much more grown and appreciated as a 

 food crop to compete with the northern-grown potatoes 

 for table use in winter and spring. "The markets of 

 the southern cities," says the Bulletin, "are still almost 

 entirely supplied during fall, winter and spring with 

 potatoes brought from the north ; and the late fall crop 

 of the south has, so far, made not the slightest impression 

 on the food-market. The southern fall-grown potatoes 

 keep unsprouted much later than the northern potatoes, 

 and the ease and certainty with which the crop can be 

 grown by proper treatment ought to enable our home- 

 growers to supply the home-market at a profit. In all 

 our southern cities Irish potatoes seldom sell for less than 

 $1 a bushel all winter, and usually for considerably more. 

 Hundreds of thousands of bushels of northern potatoes 

 are annually sold here at these prices, all of which can as 

 well be produced at home. With the great depression in 

 the cotton-growing interest, our people are asking what 

 they can profitably grow. Why not grow late potatoes 

 for the home-market for food as well as for seed ? " 



3061. The Brilliant Grape. — The following, from the 

 report of the pomologist of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture, tells the whole story : "This is a seedling origin- 

 ated by Prof. T. V. Munson, of Denison, Texas. It is the 

 result of a carefully made cross between Lindley and 

 Delaware, effected in 1883. It has been tested by a few 

 of the best grape-growers in the country, and proves 

 hardy in vine. The growth is quite vigorous, and, so 

 far as can be judged, it bears abundantly. The cluster 

 is about the size and shape of the Concord, being com- 

 pact and slightly shouldered. The berry is large and 

 hangs well to the stem. The color is red, nearly resem- 

 bling the Catawba. In flavor it is about equal to the 

 Delaware, being delicate, yet rich and aromatic. The 

 pulp is very tender and the seeds seldom exceed two or 

 three. The skin is thin, yet tough enough to ship well.'- 



3063. Japanese Persimmons. — It is very doubtful 

 whether Japanese persimmons will be found hardy enough 

 for even southern Pennsylvania. 



3064. Persimmon Propagation. — The native persim- 

 mon grows easily and rapidly from seed. Varieties may 

 be budded on seedling stock the first season. If the 

 stocks are kept over, they should be cut down severely in 

 spring to give a new growth in which to insert the buds. 



3065. Making Tardy Trees Fruit. — In such cases 

 root-pruning is sometimes resorted to, but this is a violent 

 process. Try checking the growth of branch, limb and 

 shoot at or just before bearing trees are forming fruit- 

 buds. Or draw a cord tightly about any of the branches 

 or the trunk of the tree. A bolder method is to remove 

 a narrow strip of bark from around the tree. This, when 

 done after a part of the sap for the year's wood-growth 

 has been deposited, will do the tree no permanent harm. 

 The remainder of the sap will remain in the top of the 

 trees until new bark has been formed, and this sap de- 

 velops fruit-buds. — Z. C. Fairbanks, Mich. 



