704 



QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED. 



weather perfectly when not fully exposed to cold winds 

 and sheltered from the sun. In all our eastern coast 

 Country they grow to a tree-like size, andigive a wonderful 

 profusion of bloom. In clay lands they are more fre- 

 quently injured than in the sandy pine-woods country. 

 The practice of putting tender plants in an open southern 

 exposure has led to the supposition that gardenias will not 

 stand cold here in Raleigh as they do east of us, and 

 they are commonly kept in tubs by our ladies. I planted 

 one on the east front of our college building three years 

 ago, a tiny little plant just struck from a cutting. It 

 was planted on the sunny front, but in a position where a 

 massive porte cochere shades it early in the morning. 

 The plant throve, is now well established, and bloomed 

 freely the past summer. In any such position they will 

 do well, and the South Carolina inquirer will have no 

 trouble with them as dooryard shrubs. In the same po- 

 sition with reference to sun and wind can be grown, with- 

 out trouble, the single-flowered C rt/Wi'/Z/a Japonica. The 

 double-flowered sorts, particularly the double white, are 

 usually more difScult to handle. They live and grow, but 

 are apt to lose their buds. Chinese azaleas, in the sandy, 

 dark-colored soil of South Carolina, and in a shaded sit- 

 uation, will do finely, but on clay soils, exposed to sum- 

 mer sun and drouth, they are apt to succumb sometimes 

 in midsummer. They do best in the shade of build- 

 ings. — Wm. F. Massey. 



3109. Vinca or " Myrtle " on Lawn. — Yours is a bad 

 case. We see no complete remedy but to turn under the 

 affected sod, and give it absolutely clean culture until the 

 vinca is killed, then re-seed to grass. 



3113. Poison Ivy. — We have killed a small lot of this 

 growth in our grounds, by destroying the young shoots 

 as fast as their tips appeared above the surface. The 

 work was done by a person not susceptible to the poison, 



3116. Willow and Alder. — The laurel-leaved willow 

 is a useful tree for shade, but reaches its best conditions 

 in soil that is moist. It sometimes grows to the height 

 of 40 feet, and its head is quite dense. The cut-leaved 

 alder is of spreading pyramidal habit, reaching a height 

 of from 50 to 60 feet. As the growth of your tree pro- 

 ceeds, it will no doubt send out a leader that will tend 

 to draw the head to the desired form. 



31 18. Greenhouse Heating. — A house covering an 

 area of 25 x 80 feet can be heated successfully with hot 

 water or with steam. We would prefer the former 

 method, as requiring the least attendance, although first 

 cost of construction will be somewhat larger. If the 

 circuit is rather crooked, or makes many bends and 

 twists, use steam. The tests for the purpose of settling 

 the mooted question as to which of the two systems is 

 the more economical, have given contradictory results, 

 so that definite conclusions cannot yet be drawn. Prob- 

 ably there is not much difference in this respect between 

 the two systems. 



3120. Zinc Clips for Glazing Greenhouses. — The clips 

 mentioned and illustrated in the June issue of American 



Gardening seem to answer their purpose admirably, but 

 where they can be obtained we are unable to say. We 

 should think, however, that so good an appliance need 

 only be brought to the attention of our manufacturers in 

 order to induce them to supply it to the trade without de. 

 lay. For the sides and ends of houses we would recom- 

 mend permanent sash-bars and butted glass. This will 

 do away with all slipping or sliding of the glass. 



3123. Wintering Grape Seedlings. — You can saefly 

 leave them out during winter. Vines spread out over 

 the ground are hardy enough to winter. 



3145. Wintering Sweet-Potatoes. — My experience 

 was a rather costly one. When I went into the potato- 

 trade I was told that the tubers must be packed in dry 

 sand in well-ventilated boxes, and kept at a temperature 

 of about 50° degrees. So I spent a great deal of money 

 in building boxes with ventilators running through at 

 short intervals, procured a great lot of sand and kiln- 

 dried it, to pack them in. I built a house with double 

 walls filled in with sawdust, after the manner of an ice- 

 house, put a furnace in the cellar, and thought I had 

 everything in fine trim. I did succeed very well for a few 

 years but then came disasters. Sweet-potatoes must be 

 dug at a certain time, as they will bear no frost, if they 

 they are to be kept. But the weather was not always 

 favorable. Sometimes it rained continually and the 

 tubers could not be put in dry ; sometimes in cold, wet 

 seasons the potatoes wers not well ripened — the texture 

 was watery, and I do not think any method would keep 

 them well. At last I became satisfied that most of my 

 expense in the way of ventilating boxes, dry sand, etc., 

 was money thrown away. Then I just piled the tubers 

 in large boxes or bins in a cellar, with fire-heat sufii- 

 cient to keep the temperature steadily above 40°. One 

 point, I think, is not sufficiently considered in keeping 

 sweet-potatoes, or trying to account for frequent "bad 

 luck." A potato that is not well grown will not keep 

 well by any method; while a potato with.just the right 

 structure will bear a surprising amount of ill usage, pro- 

 vided the mercury never goes below 40° — that is always 

 fatal. The wrong soil, or cold, damp weather when the 

 tuber is forming, are very unfavorable, and if I had a 

 crop of potatoes raised under such conditions I would 

 act the part of the prudent man, and sell them as soon 

 as I could. Here we plant sweet-potatoes on dry and 

 very poor land, with little or no alluvium in it. Our 

 yellow clay subsoils, with the surface soil all removed, 

 give the finest potatoes, both as regards yield and 

 quality. The next best soil, I have found, is clear sand. 

 Then, with a good high ridge and good cultivation, 

 and an ordinary run of luck, you can get a potato that 

 will keep. The tuber of the yellow Nansemond, our 

 standard variety of sweet-potatoes, should be short, 

 smooth and a bright yellow. I can tell by their looks 

 whether they can be kept. Our rich bottom lands 

 do not grow good sweet-potatoes— they require totally 

 different land from corn or Irish potatoes. — C. H. Gush- 

 ing, Kansas. 



