190 
May, 1915 
CARDEN MACAZINE 
READERS' SERVICE 
Help in need! Ask this department to answer your specific 
problem. Replies of general interest only are printed here 
Fishy Odor From Water Lily Pool 
We have a small pool in which there are 45 gold fish. 
The water is about two feet deep. The fountain in 
the pool plays a small spray for about two hours every 
evening; but it has a fishy smell and is annoying. In 
the pool are water lilies and arrow heads. What is the 
cause of this smell; are there any plants we could put 
in to sweeten the water, or would charcoal have any 
effect?— C. W. H., 111 . 
— Your method of procedure is the correct one and we 
do not understand why you should be troubled. Possi- 
bly there is some decaying matter in the pool and we 
would advise you to make a search and see if there are 
any dead fish in the pool or if there is any decaying vege- 
tation. If you find nothing of the sort, we would advise 
letting in more water. The water lilies and the arrow 
heads should keep the water in good condition. Char- 
coal would not remedy the difficulty. 
Analysis of Drinking Water 
The analysis of water from a new well 285 feet in 
depth shows traces of chlorides, and nitrates, and 
ammonia is also present. Is such water good for drink- 
ing purposes? — H. M. W., New York. 
— The matter of a water supply for drinking purposes 
is too important to be decided according to the very 
incomplete information you have supplied us. We, 
therefore, advise you to consult a specialist or at all 
events to write to Prof. C. A. Martin, Dean of the Col- 
lege of Architecture, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 
A bulletin on Rural Water Supply published by the 
West Virginia University Agricultural Experiment 
Station says that “Generally speaking, it may be said 
that the presence of even a trace of nitrates is a sus- 
picious indication, as such shows not only incomplete 
oxidation, but also that the natural course of purifica- 
tion of the water is being interrupted through some 
cause.” While the trace of chlorides is less of a danger 
signal it might also arouse doubts of some people. Of 
course the depth of your well tends to preclude the 
possibility of surface polution. Nevertheless, we 
should want to know more about this water before 
using it freely. 
Burying Kitchen Garbage 
Is there any value, or danger, in burying kitchen gar- 
bage in vegetable garden or around shrubs in pits two 
to three feet deep, six inches of earth being put on top 
of the garbage? — C. L. C., 111 . 
— In relation to the kitchen garbage everything de- 
pends on the kind of garbage. In general we do not 
consider it advisable to put any quantity of household 
garbage near the roots of plants as this decaying matter 
will cause a souring which is injurious to the growth of 
the plants. Why not put the garbage in an open pit 
and cover with lye in order to quickly destroy it? 
Spent Hops as Fertilizer 
What is the value of spent hops from a brewery as 
manure for a flower garden? — C. W. H., New York. 
— The actual fertilizing value of hop refuse would be 
extremely small. The best way to use it is, therefore, 
either as bedding in a stable where it may absorb the 
liquid manures, or as a mulch around trees and plants 
to prevent evaporation of moisture during the hot 
weather. 
Grass or Clover in Orchard 
I have recently cleared some very hilly land in Vir- 
ginia preparatory to planting an orchard of apples and 
peaches next spring. Will clover or grass be pre- 
ferable to increase soil fertility and prevent washing? — 
C. K., New York. 
— As you are probably located on limestone soil we 
would consider red clover about as valuable a cover 
crop as you could put into this soil. This will, of 
course, grow all summer and fall and will remain alive 
over winter and may be plowed under any time prior 
to planting the trees. You might use vetch or soy 
beans or cow peas in the same way, although the last 
two would die with the coming of cold weather. Of 
course, any cover crop plowed under will add to the 
fertility of the soil. 
Tree Limbs 
Do the lower branches of a small tree get higher up 
from the ground as the tree gets bigger, or must they 
be cut off to the height they should be when the tree is 
big? — L. L., Illinois. 
— The limbs of a tree never get any higher from the 
ground than when they appear, the growth being en- 
tirely in the upper extremities. 
Strawberries 
I want some strawberries in my garden but know 
nothing about their culture. When should they be 
planted and how cared for? A neighbor has offered 
us runners in August; would it be better to wait and 
use them? How much space will be necessary for the 
plants to have enough to supply a family of three with 
fruit and possibly a few quarts of preserves? — I. S., 
Illinois. 
• — It should be no more difficult for you to grow straw- 
berries than to grow any other perennial crop adapted 
to the small garden. We suggest that you accept the 
runners offered by your neighbor. These should be 
cut loose from the parent plants and lifted with as much 
soil as possible around the roots that are sent out from 
the joints of the runners, each joint giving rise to a 
separate plant. These new plants should then be set 
about 18 inches apart, separate rows being spaced from 
to 3 feet apart. If you can spare six feet across one 
end of your garden wherein you could plant about 32 
plants you would obtain results worth the trouble in- 
volved. The chief care necessary is the mulching of 
the plants over winter, the removal of the mulch in the 
spring, the cultivation of soil throughout the growing 
season and the removal of the runners the first year 
in order to throw more strength into the fruit. If you 
care to obtain complete and readable information on 
the care of this plant you might get Albert E. Wilkin- 
son’s “Modern Strawberry Growing,” price, Si. 21 
postpaid. 
Poultry Manure 
I have three or four barrels of hen manure; can it 
be best used on lawn, vegetable garden, or small fruits, 
shrubs, etc., and how? — H. R. M., New York. 
— Hen manure is an excellent fertilizer for the flower 
or vegetable garden or the lawn. Provided it has been 
kept sheltered from rain and leeching, it should be 
ground or pounded into a fine, uniform condition and 
then preferably mixed with fine loam, sand, or finely 
sifted coal ashes, then spread on the ground and dug 
or harrowed in. It would not be advisable to mix it 
with any preparation containing lime (such as wood 
ashes) since the alkali would tend to set free valuable 
nitrogen-carrying ammonia. 
Squash and Melons Crossing 
Is there any danger of squash, watermelon, and musk- 
melon mixing if planted near each other in the garden? — 
F. D. W., Pennsylvania. 
—As far as the quality of this year’s fruit is con- 
cerned there will be little danger of a few plants of 
squash and melon mixing (notwithstanding a very 
general prejudice to the contrary). If, however, you 
were to save the seed for planting next year, it is quite 
possible that it would give rise to odd and undesirable 
hybrids. 
Wash Water on Plants 
When using on plants the water from the wash tubs, 
is the washing powder that has been used harmful to 
the plants? — J. P. M., New York. 
—The washing powder in the wash water is just the 
thing that makes it of value to plants as the powder 
contains potash. The presence of the washing powder 
is the only excuse for using the wash water. 
Flowers for a Blue Garden 
Please give me a list of flowers for a blue garden? 
J. D. A., Long Island. 
— Monkshood, blue bugle, alkanet, Rocky Mountain 
columbine, perennial aster, wild indigo, perennial corn- 
flower, bush clematis, Chinese larkspur, larkspur, 
Belladonna larkspur, fleabane, closed gentian, liver 
leaf, crested iris, dwarf iris, German, Spanish, and 
Japanese iris, blue flax, great lobelia, forget-me-not, 
balloon flower, Maries’ balloon flower, blue primrose, 
cushion flower, sea lavender, cornflower aster, speed- 
well, rock speedwell, spike flowered speedwell, peri- 
winkle, horned violet, common violet, bird's foot violet, 
sweet violet. 
Setting a Sundial 
How is a sundial set properly? — W. W. K., Ohio. 
— In setting a dial, practically all that is necessary is 
to get it level and to place it according to the points of 
the compass. Another way is to get it so that the 
shadow falls on 12 o’clock at noon on one of the four 
times when sundials are right, viz. April 15, June 15, 
September 1 and December 24, when “apparent time” 
and “mean time” happen to coincide. The rest of the 
year, if we want to tell the correct time from the sun’s 
shadow on the dial, we must make correction on a com- 
plicated chart, like a figure eight, called an “ analemma”. 
Gazing Globes 
What is a gazing globe, and where can one be ob- 
tained? — H. B. S., New York. 
— The gazing globe affords a life-like panoramic picture 
of all the varied tints of earth, and tree and sky, and 
makes a very interesting ornament for a garden plot or 
lawn. It is a crystal ball mounted on a terra cotta 
pedestal. Gazing globes are manufactured by the 
Stewart-Carey Glass Co., Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Permanent Bulb Plantings 
When should the permanent planting be made of 
bulbs that have been grown in flats and ripened in the 
ground? When should I transplant narcissus that 
have grown too thick and do not bloom well? — A. G. W., 
Kentucky. 
— The bulbs that have been forced should be left in 
the ground until ripe when they can be taken up, sorted 
and reset in the usual way. This time will be about 
the first of September. Of course they may be taken 
out of the ground before that. You cannot expect 
any very great results from them the first year after 
forcing. We should merely plant them in the position 
they are to occupy permanently and leave them alone. 
If they must be removed, take them up when the foliage 
has died down completely, some time in midsummer, 
and replant in September. The same answer applies 
to the narcissus which you wish to transplant. Do the 
transplanting in late August or in September. 
Black Aphis on Nasturtiums 
Is there any cure for black aphis on nasturtiums? 
I have sprayed with whale oil soap with no result. — 
H. C., Massachusetts. 
— In order to get rid of the black aphis on nasturtiums 
spray the plants with one of the tobacco solutions or 
other preparations designed for getting rid of this pest. 
It is necessary to spray the under sides of the leaves. 
Liming the Roses 
How can one determine whether the roses need lime, 
and how much should be used? — H. J. S., Maine. 
■ — Roses seem to be indifferent to the presence or 
absence of lime. It may be useful in so much as it 
will liberate plant food in the ground. Recent exper- 
iments in Europe seem to indicate that magnesium 
carbonate is useful as a soil dressing for roses. 
