QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED. 



2647. Niag-ara Plum. Is it a desirable market variety, and 

 as productive as Lombard? 



2648. Grape and Currant Cutting's. When shoiild they 

 be prepared and how treated for cutting?— A. A. H., Bellows 

 Fails, ri. 



2649. Japan Plum and Varieg-ated Cornelian Cherry 

 for Virg-inia. Will they endure our hot dry summer ?— Mrs. 

 n. M. T., Richmond, Va. 



2650. Construction and Cost of Small Conservatory. 

 Intend toput up one on south side of house. Can any one give me 

 an idea about construction and cost ? How heated most cheaply ? 

 Furnace too far away.— Mrs. E. A. H., Burton, O. 



2651. Strawberries in Louisiana. In what manner can 

 we best keep them during hot dry summer? 



2652. fflanetti Rose Stock. What is it, and where can I 

 get some?— M. C, Lousiana. 



2653. Sulphate of Ammonia. Would you recommend 

 this in solution as a stimulant for greenhouse plants?— W. Y. F., 

 Concord, N. H. 



2654. Larg-e Potato Yields. How can I grow 150 pounds 

 from onepound of seed, as some growers claim they can do?— C. 

 M., Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. 



2655. Stock of Plums on Clay Soil. Is peacli or plum 

 preferable?— W. M, G., Portland, Oregon. 



2656. Hot-bed Making-. Please give directions.— G. T. C, 

 Orleans, Mass. 



2657. Pansies Dying. Myplantscame up well from seed. 

 Bed kept well protected ; but majority of plants died within a week. 

 What can be the cause? — W. A. B., Parkersburg, IV. Va. 



2658. Fruit Jellies for Market. Can you tell us the pro- 

 cess of the commercial manufacturer of fruit jellies? Would it 

 not be more profitable to use our surplus fruits in this way than 

 to dry them?— J. L. B., Norfolk, Va. 



REPLIES. 



2613. Apricots in Michigan. We would not plant 

 many apricot trees of any kind, either in Michigan or any 

 other northern state, unless after we had made sure, by 

 previous experimental planting, that we had found one 

 of the few spots where the apricot succeeds. Tlie 

 chances are entirely against tlie supposition of success 

 in hit-or-miss planting. Apricot culture in our latitude 

 is only in an experimental stage. It is true there are a 

 few locations from which good crops are reported, es- 

 pecially the Seneca lake region in this state. The apri- 

 cot there grown to almost the exclusion of any other 

 is the Harris, a newer introduction. If the inquirer 

 has a well protected location, near a large body of 

 water, and yet on a western or northwestern slope 

 rather than southern exposure, he might try a few of 

 the Harris variety and a few of our old standards ; but 

 it would be foolhardy to run much risk by wholesale 

 planting. 



2614. Pears for Profit. Undoubtedly the inquirer 

 will find Bartlett pear trees growing somewhere in his 

 own vicinity. Ask the owners whether these trees give 

 satisfaction or not under good culture. The Bartlett 

 can be grown quite successfully and profitably over a 

 wide range of country, always provided that it is well 

 treated. In the Niagara district there is no pear better 

 suited for general planting, and in average years our 

 growers make more monev from it than from any other 

 fruit they grow or possibly could grow. The Anjou is 

 also a good market pear, but here it is a shy bearer ; 

 in some other sections it gives larger crops of beautiful 

 pears. Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester, N. Y., who 



know just how to treat it and market it, have unbounded 

 success both in producing the fruit and in converting it 

 into money. They are as enthusiastic over the Anjou as 

 we are over the Bartlett. But all this does not solve the 

 problem for you, which of the two to plant more largely. 

 Neither do we see any way to solve the problem for you. 

 Study your own local conditions, and the successes or 

 failures of your nearest neighbors with the varieties 

 named. 



2617. Home Nursery. The matter of starting a lit- 

 tle home nursery, it seems, is simple enough. Prepare 

 a long and narrow piece of good loam, free from stones 

 and rubbish, in same way as you would for planting 

 carrots or any ordinary garden crop, although it is not 

 necessary to make it so rich. Mark out furrows four 

 feet apart, and sow seed of the fruits trees desired — 

 apple, pear, plum, peaches, etc. — preferably in fall, and 

 just as soon as the seed is gathered. Plant and cover in 

 same way as you would garden seeds of same size, re- 

 spectively, and when the trees begin to grow, in season 

 following, cultivate and keep clean from weeds ; also 

 thin where necessary. A little home nursery of this 

 kind, even if consisting of only a few hundred trees, will 

 be a most useful thing on any place, large or small. It 

 will give the boys a chance to learn and practice bud- 

 ding and grafting, and to become interested in horticul- 

 tural pursuits. It will stimulate tree planting and re- 

 sult in a better home supply of good fruits, not to speak 

 of the chance of "turning an honest penny" by the 

 sale of some of your surplus to neighbors. — G. R. 



2618. Pear Sijroiits as Stocks. We believe they 

 can be used in an emergency. Seedlings, especially of 

 wild or inferior varieties, however, are much better 

 for stocks, and there is no need of using sprouts when 

 seedlings can be raised easily and cheaply. 



2621. Pruning Currants. Thin out branches where 

 too crowded, preferably removing the older wood, and 

 giving the new growth a chance. This is about all the 

 pruning required. 



2562. Bulbous Plants in Hotise. The kinds in your 

 list that to our knowledge are suitable for house culture 

 are the following : Cyclamen, chionodoxa, crocuses, 

 freesias, hyacinths, Milla biflora, narcissus, scillas, tulips. 

 It takes a long time for Liliiim Harrisii and L. candidiini 

 to bloom in the house, and success may be hindered by a 

 number of difficulties. The most suitable bulbs, plants 

 and shrubs for forcing are such as flower very early in 

 the season outside. 



2570. Heating Small Conservatory. Usually the 

 preference is to have all pipes level with and above the 

 heater. Still we see no reason why a good circulation 

 could not be had if the pipe at some point was lower than 

 the boiler. 



2574. Anemone Japonica. The bug mentioned is 

 a stranger to anemones on our grounds. If they are 

 not too numerous, hand-picking by means of tweezers 

 shaped like an elongated letter U might answer. On gen- 

 eral principles Paris green may be applied todestroy any 

 leaf-eating insects. Mix one-quarter ounce of the poison 

 in four gallons of water, adding a little lime also, and ap- 

 ply the water with syringe. 



2592. Rose Trailing to Bloom. The Jacqueminot 

 is a free bloomer under ordinarily fair treatment. Did 



