1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
35 
and attention with the other beans in our trial grounds 
the past season. Planted May 15, had a large picking 
ready July 25, but the picking ready at this time could 
be used only as a snap sort. This bean is quite a good 
variety as a snap short, but when it comes to compar¬ 
ing it with the Lima, either in prolificacy, richness of 
flavor or size of bean, it does not compare very favor¬ 
ably. This bean is said to be far ahead in earliness 
of any other pole bean, but with us it has not been as 
early as our Early Black Lima, nor does it continue 
bearing for so long a period. 
From J. J. H. Gregory. 
This is said to be a cross between the D 9varf Horti¬ 
cultural, and Dreer’s Lima, but I must frankly say I 
don’t believe such a cross to be possible, and that the 
samples which were cooked did not show any special 
Lima’flavor. However, it is an excellent bean, let its 
origin have been what it may. It is early, with a flat, 
dark green pod, and is of excellent quality; on the 
whole, a first-class shell bean. 
From Wm. Henry Maule. 
My trials with the Horticultural Lima bean were not 
sufiSciently satisfactory to warrant me in cataloguing 
it the coming season. 
From Peter Henderson & Co. 
We have never offered the Horticultural Pole Lima 
bean, but we have tested it in our trial grounds two 
seasons. We did not consider it worthy of attention 
as a snap bean, but as a shell bean we think very 
highly of it. We found it to be of good flavor. 
From Prof. W. W. Tracy, of D. M. Ferry & Co. 
Another year’s experience has tended to confirm my 
good opinion of the variety in the following points : 
earliness, hardiness, productiveness and quality as 
green shelled. There is no bean which I like so well, 
not even the best strains of Large or of Challenger 
Lima, and for my use I would place it first of all for 
green shelled beans. Its fault, and it is with many a 
very serious one, is its dark and disagreeable color 
when cooked. Personally this would not count for 
much, but it does for a great deal with many. 
SUB-IRRIGATION FOR THE GREENHOUSE. 
WATERING FROM THE BOTTOM. 
This has become quite a fad with some Ohio people, 
and W. J. Green, Horticulturist of the Ohio Experi¬ 
ment Station, and Mr. Turner, Horticulturist at the 
University grounds are trying numerous experiments 
along this line, this winter. The scheme at present 
being tried, originated with Mr. Turner, and part of 
the University greenhouse (until recently the Experi¬ 
ment Station greenhouse) has been run on this plan 
for several winters, in growing lettuce, radishes, and 
tomatoes. The benches are constructed water-tight, 
of three methods; prime pine flooring laid in paint 
and painted with gas tar; rough boards covered with 
an inch of cement; or drain tiles laid close together 
and cemented, the tiles being supported by wooden 
cross bars. Either of the two last methods is the 
cheapest and most durable, the tile method costing 
only four cents per square foot. 
The benches are eight inches deep, and every two 
feet two inch tiles are laid with upright pieces at the 
ends. At first, these were cemented together, but it was 
found that the seepage through the body of the tiles 
was too slow to give sufiScient moisture, and now I 
believe tbe joints are ce¬ 
mented about half way up. 
The benches are filled with 
earth, and all watering is 
done by pouring it into the 
tiles. Winter growing of 
lettuce has been very suc¬ 
cessful on benches thus con¬ 
structed, there being a dif- 
erence of 10 per cent in 
favor of the sub-irrigation. 
In this case the loss comes 
from rotting from surface 
watering, a trouble to 
which soft rapid growing 
plants with close heads are 
subject. 
There is a considerable 
saving of water. At the 
State horticultural meeting a University student read 
a paper giving an account of experiments with this 
method. Roses sub-irrigated took 45 pails of water 
in a given time; those surface watered, 115 pails. 
Smilax sub-irrigated took 15 quarts applied three 
times; surface watered, took 50 quarts applied 11 
times. 
What Watering Gives Best Results P 
It is a question whether the benefit all comes from 
applying the water in the new form, or whether some 
does not come from aeration of the soil from the open 
tiles. To settle this point, three series of experiments 
are in progress at the University. One bench is 
watered on the surface ; one is sub-irrigated, and a 
third has the sub-irrigation tiles, but is surface 
watered. The sub-irrigation scheme has some very 
strong points, one of which is that the surface of the 
soil is never packed or sodden, but it may be kept 
dusty, affording a mulch and greatly economizing 
evaporation. It is, however, a question whether 
From a photograph taken July 10. 
showering and syringing can be dispensed with in 
florists’ houses in the warm months. There seems to 
be no other way of keeping the red spider in cheek, or 
of reducing temperature save by showering, and it is 
a fact that many tropical plants will not thrive with¬ 
out the very moist conditions that pertain to the lands 
IIORTICULTDRAL, LiMA—SEEDS. PlG. 13. 
of their origin. Experiments with florists’ flowers are 
being made at the Ohio Experime Station at 
Wooster by Mr. Green, and the result may be awaited 
with interest by all florists. 
One form of under-surface watering may, I think, 
be adopted with profit by all plant growers, and that 
is in growing seedlings. All plant growers know how 
difficult it is to apply water to the surface of seed 
boxes. Too much rots the young plants, and there is 
always trouble with baking or crusting of the surface, 
especially in sunny weather. This is all avoided by 
applying the water at the bottom. The flats may be 
set permanently in a water-tight bench or watered by 
setting into a small tank for a few minutes. If the 
latter plan be adopted, the flats should be of conven¬ 
ient size—say 15x24 inches, and the tank need not be 
large, a size sufficient to accommodate three flats being 
sufficient. The watering may be done in the intervals 
of other work, and the changing of the flats-would 
take no more time than to water with a can. Some- 
Those of our readers who have become 
acquainted with “The Deacon” in Mr. 
Mapes’s articles on “ Hens by the Acre,” 
will be Mad to learn that he has made 
o 
several more visits to the electric hen 
yards, which will be duly chronicled. The 
hens have made several new discoveries 
and there is a big asparagus bed to be 
talked over. 
thing akin to this methoi has been practiced by flor¬ 
ists from time immemorial, in setting plants in pots, 
that have become very dry by accident, into tubs of 
water. Mr. Turner gives an ingenious and neat illus¬ 
tration of natural sub-irrigation, by instancing oases in 
the desert which receive no rain yet are noted for 
luxuriant vegetation, L. b. pierce. 
A DRY BUG FIGHT! 
MUST POISONS BE GIVEN IN WATER? 
The Blow Fan vs. the Spray Pump. 
As stated last week, a new system for fighting in¬ 
sects and fungi has been proposed. The great busi¬ 
ness of poisoning insects and curing plant diseases has 
been built on the supposition that water is the best 
medium for carrying the poison. We have, therefore, 
treated the bugs to an allopathic dose—paying for the 
apparatus needed to handle the water. There has 
now been introduced the Leggett Paris-green gun 
which is a device for blowing the poison over the plant 
in the form of a dust. This may be termed the homeo¬ 
pathic system of bug fighting. In order to obtain 
facts about the relative values of the two methods, we 
sent the following questions to parties who have tried 
both. The replies given are typical ones and do not 
comprise all the testimony by any means. 
QUESTIONS. 
1. Is It practicable to use the dry Parl8-i?r8en without so much 
plaster and water 7 
2 Among potatoes can you work as fast with the gun ai with the 
sifter or sprayer ? Can you get as good a dlstrlb utlon of the poison 7 
3 What disadvantages are there about the dry methoi that are not 
found In the other 7 
I. In what way Is the dry powder plan better 7 
6. Can you use the gun on bushes or trees 7 
6. How much plaster and (reen per acre 7 
7 Have you used a dry powder for the Rordeaux .Mixture and with 
wh it results 7 
8. With the gun do you need any spraying outtlt 7 
Any facts you can give In regard to the amount of ground you can 
cover In a day, what conditions are need Jd for success, or any other 
Important points, will be very acceotable tons. We want to know If 
It Is really necessary to lug so much water and plaster about. 
The Gunner Must Arise Early. 
1. I used about one-third green to two-thirds plaster, 
and could see no damage done by the same. 2. I can 
get along a good deal faster, and the poison is dis¬ 
tributed the best of any method I have tried. 3 None, 
except that a man must get up and put the poison on 
before the dew is off in the morning. 4, Answered in 
No. 2. 5. I have not tried it. 6. One and one-fourth 
pound of green and three and three-fourths pounds 
of plaster. 7. I have never used the Bordeaux Mixture 
in any form, as I have never had any occasion. My 
potatoes are all in early and out before the time for 
blight to strike them; I 
never had a rotten potato 
on my place. 8. I do not 
use one. I cover a piece of 
ground at a good fair walk, 
I should say nearly or quite 
an acre an hour. The 
powder is so fine when 
blown from the gun that it 
is necessary to have a still 
time to put it on, and I 
found it best to wear a 
sponge over my nose when 
applying the green. As re¬ 
gards the necessity of lug¬ 
ging water and plaster, if 
bugs were the only draw¬ 
backs to raising a crop of 
potatoes, a man with one 
of these guns would call it play. d. a. p. 
Westminster, Mass. 
Worked Well with Sulphur. 
We have used this dry method, but only to a limited 
extent. We did not use it on potatojs or any plants 
of that kind, but on peach trees, trying an experiment 
with flowers of sulphur to prevent rot. The machine 
worked splendidly. We can get over trees and bushes 
very rapidly with it, but as to the question whether it 
will take the place of a spraying outfit, we have had 
no experience. We are satisfied of one thing, however, 
that it will distribute anything ih the shape of a powt 
Horticultural Lima Bean. Open Pod. Pig. 15. 
