QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED. 



699 



close to the ground as possible. It is best to bend the 

 plants towards the east, or from the prevailing storms. 

 Should the roots be exposed after being bent, a shovel- 

 ful of earth should be thrown on them. We have kept 

 roses in this manner from being in the least injured 

 by freezing. Very large bushes can be bent down and 

 fastened upon the ground as described. In e.xtreniely 

 cold situations, the whole plant should be covered witli 

 earth after being fastened down. When the weather has 

 become pretty well settled in spring, the plants should 

 be loosed, severely pruned and tied to stakes ; they will 

 then bloom profusely and be asource of much pleasure. 

 All roses should be cut with quite long stems before 

 they begin to wilt or fall apart. A new growth is thus 

 encouraged which will bloom in a very shorttime. — ^John 

 F. Rupp, Cumberland county. Pa. 



2633. Bordeaii.x Mixture on Grai)es. It can not 



be denied tliat tlie "poisoned grape scare" in New 

 York city at the end of September weakened the mar- 

 ket for a time, and has done some injury to the industry 

 as well as to the individual growers more directly con- 

 cerned in the occurrence. Still we do not think that ihe 

 injury is more than a temporary one. It is now generally 

 acknowledged that the action of the New York Board 

 of Health was hasty, ill advised, and unwarranted. On 

 the other hand it will serve to make the growers more 

 cautious in the use of spraying mixtures, and for this 

 reason it may prove to be a blessing in disguise. Per- 

 sonally we lean to the use of the ammoniated carbonate 

 of copper solution, because it is cheaper, more easily 

 prepared, and allows a greater dilution of the drug 

 than does the Bordeaux mixture, This latter is only 

 useful in the very earliest applications, especially in a 

 rainy season, as it adheres pretty firmly while the other 

 is easily washed off. Late applications are usually of 

 little account, but if made at all, should be made of the 

 copper carbonate solution, and never of the Bordeaux 

 mixture. The following extracts are from a circular 

 sent out by George T. Powell, director of the New 

 York Farmers' Institute : "I have personally inspected 

 a large number of vineyards during the past season in 

 this state, and have found that where the spraying 

 had not been done, the entire crop of grapes has 

 been ruined by rot, the vineyard abandoned, and weeds 

 grown up as high as the trellises; while in the same 

 locality those properly treated were carrying a full crop 

 of fine fruit. 



"In the Bordeaux mixture lime is used, which causes 

 the material to adhere like cement to the wood and 

 stems, long after its effect has passed off. The Bor- 

 deaux mixture can be dispensed with, for the lime is 

 troublesome, causing the nozzles to clog and work im- 

 perfectly, and the material to color the fruit and stems 

 when dry weather follows the application. Spraying 

 should be done as a preventive, not as a cure, and 

 hence should be done early in the season most vigor- 

 ously, even before the buds open ; then late spraying, 

 near the time of ripening and shipping the fruit, will be 

 unnecessary. For insects, one pound of pure Paris 

 green dissolved in 225 gallons of water will be ample ; 

 for grape-rot, three ounces of carbonate of copper and 

 one pound of carbonate of ammonia, dissolved in two 

 quarts of hot water, then diluted with 50 gallons of water. 



has proved as effective as the Bordeaux mixture, is 

 more easily applied, and washes off readily with a light 

 rain. The choice is to eat sprayed fruit, or to dispense 

 with it largely as food, which the people will not do, for 

 it is no longer a luxury but a necessity ; and if the in- 

 structions given by the Department of Agriculture, by 

 the farmers' institutes, and our experiment stations, 

 are carried out, the consumers of fruit and boards of 

 health will have no cause for alarm." 



2626. Excelsior Peacli. It is not safe to plant any 

 new thing on more than a trial scale. The Excelsior (or 

 Hale's Hardy) peach has not yet been so generally 

 planted that its reputation is established on a firm basis. 

 On the other hand it comes highly recommended by 

 good authority. It was well spoken of at the recent 

 meeting of the Pomological Society, and specimens there 

 exhibited were remarkable for high color and beautiful 

 appearance, although but of medium size and fair qual- 

 ity. Mr. Hale, who knows what he is talking about 

 when speaking of peaches, says the tree makes a low 

 spreading head and will bear a good crop when the buds 

 on all other sorts are killed. One of our readers, 

 W. D. Hinds, of Massachusetts, some time in September 

 forwarded for our inspection a basket of this fruit, which 

 showed the general characteristics of the specimens on 

 exhibition in Washington, and impressed us quite favor- 

 ably. He gives the following account : "The Excelsior 

 peach originated near Lowell, Mass., several years ago. 

 It is very hardy and prolific, having borne full crops an- 

 nually for five years in Massachusetts, and in Green- 

 ville and Goftstown, N. H. It has stood 12° below 

 zero and borne immense crops while the buds of all 

 older varieties were killed in the same locations. The 

 tree is dwarfish in growth, almost drooping, and we can 

 pick all the fruit on seven-year-old trees while standing 

 on the ground. When this variety becomes known to 

 tlie fruit growers in New England, it must revolutionize 

 peach culture here." All this is very good as far as it 

 goes. It will tempt us and many others to plant a few 

 trees for testing; and the commercial growers, relying on 

 the judgment of such a good authority as Mr. Hale, 

 may find it advisable to risk a larger number of trees. 

 On the other hand, we should bear in mind that many 

 other varieties of fruits have been lauded just as highly 

 when first introduced, and yet have been found wanting, 

 or at least, failed to become popular. The Globe, the 

 Wonderful, etc., were introduced with just as much 

 praise and promise as the Excelsior ; yet they ha ;e not 

 been able to establish for themselves a reputation as 

 sorts for general planting. These considerations should 

 admonish us not to plant largely of anything we have 

 not before tried in our own place or that has not been 

 tried in our immediate vicinity. — G. R. 



2653. Sulphate of Aminoiiia for Greenhouse 

 Plants. In sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda and 

 nitrate of potash (saltpeter) we have nitrogenous sub- 

 stances most admirably adapted for application to 

 greenhouse and other plants in watery solution ; but, 

 unfortunately, very few systematic experiments have 

 been made with them. All three are valuable for the 

 nitrogen which they furnish to plants in a handy and 

 available form. The experiments thus far made with 

 them seem to show that sulphate of ammonia is the best 



