9o 
February 6 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Making a Lawn Sod. 
J. W. V., Hates, N. F.—What mixture of 
grass seed is required to make a lawn sod 
and keep out white horse grass? It is 
moist ground and a light soil generally. 
**ns.—R ed-top and Kentucky Blue 
grass, equal quantities, sown at the rate 
of four bushels to the. acre, would seem 
most suitable for your conditions. Five 
to eight pounds of Water meadow-grass, 
Poa aquatica, to the acre could be 
added with advantage as it thrives well 
in moist situations. Thick seeding and 
thorough preparation of the soil are 
needed to insure a stand sufficient to 
crowd out weeds. 
Hedge Plants for Tennessee. 
E. E. E., Johnson City, Tenn.—I wish to 
put a hedge across my lot between the 
lawn and vegetable garden, 50 feet long. 
I do not care for a close hedge to turn 
stock; more of a screen, I might say. Is 
there any satisfactory evergreen for such 
a place, one that is not too hard to keep 
within bounds? If I could get a good se¬ 
lection of hardy shrubs, not too tall 
growing, that would give a continuation 
of bloom from Spring to Fall, that would 
suit. 1 have thought of hardy Hydran¬ 
geas but am not sure they would make 
a nice appearance most of the Summer. 
They would make a fine show when in 
bloom, but how about the rest of the sea¬ 
son? I do not want anything of a sprawl¬ 
ing nature, as I wish to cultivate up 
close. Soil is very heavy clay. Will they 
do well here? Do they need much culti¬ 
vation? Are they hard to keep in shape? 
Ans. —1. One of the most suitable 
evergreens for your hedge would be 
the Siberian arbor vitse. It is a very 
handsome and compact grower, easy to 
keep in shape, seldom needing any trim¬ 
ming at all. The handsomest evergreen 
for hedging is the common American 
hemlock, but the plants arc costly and 
less sure to grow than the arbor vitaes. 
We would not plant the hardy Hy¬ 
drangea, as it is a rather sprawling 
grower, and must be severely pruned 
back every season to make a good ap¬ 
pearance. It is very fine, but has the 
bad habit of drooping over when in 
bloom until it touches the ground. We 
would not recommend a mixed hedge of 
flowering shrubs, as it seems impossible 
to find a selection that will bloom all 
through the year. The three best de¬ 
ciduous shrubs for a hedge are, the 
Scarlet Japan quince, very subject to 
the San Josd scale and therefore not 
much planted, the Althaea or Rose of 
Sharon which makes a handsome ap¬ 
pearance, but needs some trimming as 
it has a tendency to grow tall, and the 
Japan barberry, Berberis Thunbergii. 
The latter makes a very beautiful hedge, 
attractive all through the season, but 
especially so in the Spring when in 
bloom and later through the Winter 
when covered with scarlet berries. It 
seldom grows more than two or three 
feet high, however. These are really 
about all the shrubs one can recommend 
except the common California privet, 
which requires much attention, and the 
Hardy orange, Citrus trifoliata, a very 
slow grower and not conspicuous when 
in bloom. Taken altogether our choice 
would lie between the Siberian arbor 
vitae and the Rose of Sharon. 
Do Cucumbers and Melons Mix ? 
R. M. K., Ludlow, Ky .—Will melons and 
cucumbers mix if planted closely? I am 
thinking of planting them near each oth¬ 
er. How much fertilizer would you ad¬ 
vise to a hill of a fertilizer containing four 
per cent nitrogen, nine of phosphoric acid 
and eight per cent potash? Should this 
fertilizer be well mixed in the hill? I am 
thinking of planting beans after early po¬ 
tatoes as a money crop, and also to help 
the ground. What do you think of it? 
Ans. —There is not the least danger 
of melons and cucumbers mixing if 
planted close together. They belong to 
different species of the melon family and 
cannot be induced to cross or hybridize, 
although the popular opinion is that 
they readily mix. You might use two 
pounds or so of the fertilizer you men¬ 
tion in each melon hill, but it should be 
very thoroughly mixed with the soil in 
a hill three or four feet in diameter. 
Bad effects would be due to too much 
free or uncombined acid. If your soil 
and climate are suitable we would think 
beans would follow early potatoes and 
prove a profitable crop, but you should 
be the best judge of the matter in your 
locality. 
Various Fruit Questions. 
TF. H. M., West Virginia .—During Fall 
about 50 per cent of strawberries (mostly 
Michel’s Early and Crescent) bloomed in 
this section, Pleasants County, W. Va. 
Will those that have bloomed form fruit 
buds and fruit in Spring? What are the 
leading blackberries of to-day, and what 
would you recommend for this section? 
Would Wilson’s Early and Early Har¬ 
vest require Winter covering when ther¬ 
mometer registers 10 below zero? Would 
you advise planting Stayman, York Im¬ 
perial and Mammoth Black Twig apples 
here? Tell us what you think of Mam¬ 
moth Black Twig. 
Ans.—S trawberry plants that bloomed 
last Fall are likely to be considerably 
weakened. Where energy has been ex¬ 
pended in developing fruit buds in the 
Fall, they cannot be so well fitted to 
fruit in the Spring. Probably some of 
the plants that bloomed last Fall may 
fruit well the coming season, but an 
actual shortage of crop may be expected. 
Only a few blackberries are capable of 
enduring the cold you mention, 10 de¬ 
grees below zero. Taylor, Snyder and 
Mersereau would be good varieties to 
plant, and they are excellent berries in 
many ways. The Snyder is a small 
berry, and is likely to change color af¬ 
ter picking, but is otherwise productive 
and reliable. There are no better 
varieties than Wilson’s Early, Early 
Harvest and Rathbun, where they can 
be grown, but all are too tender for the 
climate you mention. The York Im¬ 
perial and Stayman apples should prove 
very successful in your locality. We 
would add Rome Beauty, although it has 
not been well tested so far south. The 
Mammoth Black Twig is very good, in¬ 
deed, where it ripens and colors up 
thoroughly, although it would be some¬ 
what of an experiment in your locality. 
It is very showy, but not noticeably bet¬ 
ter than Stayman. 
A Batch of Garden Questions. 
P. 0. C., New Madison, O.— Give the best 
method of cultivation for Montbretia Ger¬ 
mania and Tritoma Pfitzerii. Are the 
bulbs as hardy as Gladioli, and can they 
be started or planted in the open ground, 
or must they be started under glass? How 
far apart do you plant Montbretias and 
Tritomas, and how deep? State soil, 
water requirements, also location, sun¬ 
shine or shade, care of roots during Win¬ 
ter. How far apart should I plant Japan 
Iris, and how deep? Can they be used as 
a cut flower? 
Ans. —Bulbs of Montbretia Germania 
are planted just like Gladioli, in drills 
two feet or more apart, placing the bulbs 
four inches apart and covering the same 
depth. They are rather more hardy 
than Gladioli, but seldom endure the 
Winter safely unless taken up and win¬ 
tered in the cellar. They should have 
full sunshine and fairly good soil, such 
as will grow the Gladiolus well. They 
grow best in moist weather, but do not 
require usually more water than the 
Gladiolus. In wintering the bulbs it is 
best to take up clumps and shake off the 
dirt without separating the roots very 
much. Cure slowly in the shade and 
Winter without cutting off the tops, 
which are much more easily dried out 
and cured than those of the Gladiolus. 
Tritoma Pfitzerii is also quite hardy, but 
cannot be left exposed during the Win¬ 
ter. They should be planted two feet or 
more apart and only deep enough to 
cover the eye or growing point. They 
may be lifted and wintered in boxes of 
sand in an ordinary cellar without much 
loss, as the roots are quite fleshy. 
Japan Irises may be planted the same 
distances apart and covered not more 
than three or four inches deep. They 
are entirely hardy and may be left for 
years in the same place they are grown, 
forming large clumps. They should be 
planted in as moist a location as possi¬ 
ble. They always bloom best when given 
plenty of water but thrive well in any or¬ 
dinary garden soil without artificial ir¬ 
rigation. If cut in the bud they open 
well in water, but are not very lasting. 
Canadian Ashes.— In this county, with 
a population of 25,000, probably one-half 
of the heating and cooking is done with 
coal, and a great deal of the wood used 
is of a trashy kind, that produces little 
good ashes. This condition applies to 
most of the counties bordering on Lake 
Erie and Lake Ontario. Possibly a por¬ 
tion of your imports come from the newei 
parts of this Province, but it is hard to 
understand where the collector can make 
any profit, when ordinary labor is worth 
from $25 to $35 per month, with board, in 
the lumber shanties. I think that Quebec 
must be your chief source of supply. The 
“habitant” is more likely to indulge in 
poorly paid labor than his English com¬ 
patriots. But if his ashes are no purer 
than the maple sugar he sends to market 
the American orchardist would, better try 
to get along without potash. By the 
way, where is there any profit in paying 
pis I understand) from 20 to 30 cents per 
bushel for ashes? If your orchard lands 
have been cropped so long that all the 
elements of fertility have become ex¬ 
hausted, why not try the “Hitchings” 
plan? If returning all the crop to the 
land builds it up (and we all know how 
quickly an unused strip of ground returns 
to its original state of richness), surely 
this would be the most sensible plan. Sup¬ 
pose the process of nitrification going on 
does make the land too rich in nitrogen, 
why not change the fertilizer to potash 
by burning the cover crop? b. c. w. 
Oakville, Canada. 
BOOK BARGAINS. 
We have some slightly soiled copies of 
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will be closed out at the rate of any six 
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40 cents: 
How to Plant a Place, Long; Silo and 
Silage, A. J. Cook; Ensilage and Silo, Col- 
lingwood; Canning and Preserving, Young; 
Fruit Packages, Powell; Accidents and 
Emergencies, Groff; Country Roads, Pow¬ 
ell; The New Botany, Beal; Tuberous Be¬ 
gonias; Milk Making and Marketing, 
Fowler. 
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