THE QUESTION BOX. 



It is the privilege of subscribers to ask us ai 

 will be answered by specialists. . 



* * '''If answers are desired by mail^ stamp 



* * * Readers are invited to answer briefly 

 leads to a different conclusion than the printed replies. 



67. Begonias Droppingtheir Buds. — I have follow- 

 ed the advice carefully of your begonia number, and 

 have very fine plants as far as foliage goes but the buds 

 drop without opening. Some of the plants I have kept 

 rather dry and some rather moist, but in each case the 

 buds dropped. Is our climate too hot or what is the 

 matter? Common begonias bloom well here but their 

 varieties do not. — Mr.s. S. B. Strout, Evergreen, Ala. 



68. Questions about Roses. — (i.) Summer prun- 

 ing, in what month shall it be done ? (2.) Water to 

 keep alive, till when ? (3.) What month do they begin 

 to show their bloom after resting ? (4.) Those blooms 

 that have been pinched back during the summer months, 

 will they bloom again on the same stems ? When must 

 one cease pinching back? (5.) Ought I to manure 

 around roses when I begin to water after they have 

 rested during summer months ? (6.) Shall it be old or 

 new manure as a mulch or dug in. How much to each 

 tree. (7.) Winter pruning, when pinch back, for how 

 long ? What manures to be applied during that period ? 

 Will it be as a mulch or to be dug in ? Old or new 

 manure ? (8.) When you cut off a rose, should you cut 

 it down to within two eyes or leaves ? I wish to have 

 my flowers as large and perfect as possible. Parsons 

 recommends weak wood entirely cut out and all strong 

 wood toward the last season should be cut down to two 

 eyes; does he mean this year's wood ? If not, what is 

 the use of this year's wood ? All my roses are grown in 

 the open air. — Mrs. S. A. W. 



Ans. (i.) Summer pruning should be done just after 

 flowering. 



(2.) Water should be given only when the natural 

 supply fails. 



(3.) Bloom will begin about two months after resting. 



(4.) Bourbon and China roses, with their hybrids, 

 will make second and third flowering, in some cases an 

 indefinite succession, as long as the season lasts, if cut 

 back, not pinched in, after the first crop is taken off ; 

 this cutting in would stop only at the end of their 

 growth. 



(5.) Manure should be given just before the plants 

 begin to grow ; when in full growth liquid manure can 

 be given, taking great care not to make it too strong ; 

 the ground should be kept free from weeds, and well 

 hoed. 



(6.) Well-rotted manure only should be used. If the 

 winter weather is at all trying to the plants, give a good 

 mulch in the autumn, /. e , when growth starts, and dig 

 it in in spring, i. e., when growth begins ; the quantity 

 will vary with the age and vigor of the plant. Give as 

 good a dressing as you would to a field of potatoes 

 entered for a prize. 



(7.) I should not pinch back roses except when small 

 and weakly ; then it is done by removing the flower buds 



y questions about gardening in any departvient. All 



s for return postage should be enclosed. 



any questions in the Box, whenever their experience 



as fast as they appear, and should be continued until 

 the plant is vigorous. The manure given would be as 

 described above; never use new manure except in liquid 

 form to plants in good condition. 



(8.) When gathering roses, it is a good plan to cut 

 back the shoot to two eyes. All weak wood should be 

 cut out when the winter pruning is done, and the strong 

 wood cut back, i. e., the wood made during the pre- 

 vious season's growth ; if cut back to two eyes the 

 size of the flowers is likely to be increased. This 

 "cutting back" and "removing the weak wood" is 

 "winter pruning," and is done just before growth 

 begins ; the wood cut off is largely, if the plants have 

 been well cared for, of the last season's growth or one 

 year's wood, i. e., wood one year old. It may seem 

 rather hard to cut off so much of the plant, and it may 

 not be necessary in open air cultivation in California ; 

 discretion must be used in this as in all the details of 

 gardening. 



69. Sub-Irrigation in Gardening. — I have tried it on 

 a small scale with three-inch drain tiles laid about six- 

 teen feet apart, and found it to do fairly well for 

 orchards, but it takes too much water to use on a large 

 scale when one has to rely on windmill and well water, 

 limited, only. For my kitchen garden it did not do as 

 well . I have the tiles eight feet apart now, but consider 

 it a failure ; tiles are laid about eight to ten inches 

 underground. — H. H., Becvills, Te.xas. 



Ans. — As the method of sub-irrigation is precisely the 

 reverse of draining, it is necessary simply to reverse the 

 process. Looking at it in this reasonable way, it is clear 

 that a mistake has been made m using too large tiles. 

 The idea is to pour water into the land instead of draw- 

 ing it out, consequently the plan is to lay the tiles ex- 

 actly as if we were going to drain the ground. We should 

 then lay one-inch tiles and connect these with larger 

 ones of such a size as will supply the water required. 

 The three-inch tiles should be at the head of the system, 

 and the one-inch to distribute the water. The depth is 

 right, but in all cases should be at a safe distance below 

 the surface to avoid contact with the plow. The water 

 escapes through the crevices between the tiles. There 

 is a patent on such a system of drainage, but it includes 

 perforated tiles, which are, however, unnecessary for 

 the purpose. It is not claimed, as I believe, that the 

 simple flowing of the land is covered by the patent. 

 The method has been largely used in Florida, and has 

 been found practicable and useful there. It is obvious 

 that the three-inch tiles would cause trouble, as a pipe 

 large enough to supply nine of these pipes would have 

 to be nine inches in diameter. Either a very large sup- 

 ply must be had or the water would not be sufficient to 

 fill all the smaller ones. A large windmill would be 

 required to supply all the water. It is an instance of 



