1903 . 
THE R.TJRA.L, NEW-YORKER 
199 
Planting Lima Beans. 
One of our readers in Ohio says that 
an institute speaker came along, and in his 
talk about gardening told about planting 
Lima beans with the eye down. lie said 
he should not cover the bean entirely, but 
left the upper edge projecting from the 
ground, so as to start quicker and get 
going early, wth less danger of being de¬ 
stroyed by cold weather. 
Ans. — I have grown Lima beans in 
various ways for more than 25 years, but 
I have never heard of this method of 
planting them by leaving the upper part 
of beans exposed or projecting from the 
ground. I should not care to try this 
way of planting them to any extent. 
The Lima bean more than any other 
seed with which I am acquainted, swells 
or expands to enormous proportions be¬ 
fore it begins to sprout at all. and I 
should think in planting them so near 
the surface that a rain if it came within 
a reasonable time after planting would 
settle the ground, and with the natural 
expansion of the seed a great many of 
the beans would find their way to the 
top of the ground before they would 
have a chance to sprout, t. m. white. 
Culture of Water Cress. 
Reader, Loup Island .—I have a large 
never-failing spring in a field with a slight 
grade. Would it he possible from this to 
make a garden for the culture of fancy qual¬ 
ity of water cress? 
Ans. —The cut below shows a plan 
which has been found successful. Grade 
the ground around the spring so that 
surface water cannot run into it. Lay 
a sewer pipe large enough to carry all 
the water to a nearly level piece of 
ground where the ditch is to be made. 
The pipe should be cemented and laid 
pipe as shown, so that the water can be 
shut off or turned into the ditch as de¬ 
sired. Grade the ground so that the 
water will have a gentle flow. Length¬ 
wise the ditch may be nearly level, but 
crosswise, as shown by the arrow, there 
should be a fall of about 14 inches to 
100 feet. Dig the ditches three feet wide, 
with banks six feet wide. The depth 
should be about two feet from top of 
bank. Make an outlet pipe 30 feet long 
to prevent wash in the ditch. 
If the plants are to be grown from 
seed, make a bed near the spring in 
soft, very wet ground, but do not let 
water run over it. Press the seeds into 
the mud with the back of a spade. Set 
the plants anytime when large enough 
to handle. If plants are to be bought 
buy them in April. Set two rows the en¬ 
tire length o? the ditch. Pick up six 
or eight plants, lay at bottom of ditch 
near the side, so that the tops will be 
above the water. Two feet from these 
set a bunch of plants on the other side. 
Anchor the plants by placing a pile of 
dirt on the roots. When all are set, 
turn on a small stream of water, but 
do not give a full flow until Winter. 
If the cress is set in April or May 
it will need no attention until early in 
August, when it has spread over the 
water in the ditch. Then mow it with a 
scythe at the top of the water and clear 
out the clippings. About the first of 
September begin at the inlet and mow 
one or two ditches each week until all 
is mowed again. When it grows again 
it is ready to cut for market. Cut the 
cress by hand. Put a plank across the 
ditch to sit on, gather the cress with 
the left hand and cut with a sharp 
butcher knife. Early in May when it 
shows blossom buds, stop cutting. Pull 
out all the cress except a small patch 
for plants. Shut out the water and let 
the ground dry for a few days. Then 
replant as before. 
Preventing Club-Footed Cabbage. 
C. M. II., Cornplanter, Pa .—What kind 
of fertilizer should be used to keep cabbage 
from growing club-footed ? 
Ans. —This club foot of cabbage is a 
fungus disease. No one seems fully to 
understand its nature and treatment. 
The germs which cause it live in the 
soil, often for several years. Thus if 
the disease appears cabbage or turnips 
should not be grown in that soil for sev¬ 
eral years. The most successful remedy 
is to use a heavy dressing of lime on 
the soil and around the plants. 
Remaking a Lawn. 
J. II. L., Spencer. Mass .—Our lawn was 
never cultivated, needs some grading, and 
contains plantain, various weeds, wild 
grasses, etc. It is elevated 20 feet, a clay 
soil, and somewhat sour, I judge, from sor¬ 
rel growing near. A half dozen huge beech 
trees, fine for shade and wind-break, offer 
with their shallow root system a barrier 
to cultivation on one-third area; the rest 
can be cultivated. IIow shall I proceed to 
get a clean, vigorous lawn? What fer¬ 
tilizers should I use? IIow much and 
what grass seeds should I sow? When 
should I seed? 
Ans. —Plow or spade the unob¬ 
structed portion of your lawn and 
loosen the surface under your beeches 
with a mattock. Fine the entire surface 
with harrow and hand rake. This work 
should be begun as soon as soil is in 
condition in Spring. Any necessary 
grading may be done before plowing. 
Sow air-slaked lime at the rate of 40 
or more bushels to the acre, before har¬ 
rowing, and add at same time, if pos¬ 
sible, either ground bone or a good 
potato fertilizer at the rate of 1,000 
pounds to the acre. The best grass seeds 
to sow are without doubt Red-top and 
Kentucky Blue, at the rate of five 
bushels or 70 pounds of the mixture to 
the acre. If the fancy re-cleaned seeds, 
which are far preferable, are used, two 
bushels or about the same weight will 
answer. White clover at the rate of 10 
to 15 pounds to the acre may be sep¬ 
arately sown, as it is too heavy to scat¬ 
ter well with the finer -seeds. The grass 
seeds must be evenly sown and well cov¬ 
ered by harrow and rake. Probably the 
best subsequent dressing after a turf has 
been formed is ammonia sulphate at 
the rate of 100 pounds to the acre. The 
lumps should be pulverized and the fine, 
salt-like powder broadcast when the 
grass is wet with dew or rain. It is an 
excellent quick-acting fertilizer, fur¬ 
nishing nitrogen to the roots in a read¬ 
ily available form, while its caustic ac¬ 
tion tends to kill the foliage of plantains 
and other broad-leaved weeds without 
injuring the grass blades. 
“Your Llonor,” said the lawyer, “I ask 
the dismissal of my client on the ground 
that the warrant fails to state that he 
hit Bill Jones with malicious intent.” 
“The Court,” replied the country justice, 
“ain’t a graduate of none of your tech¬ 
nical schools. I don’t care what he hit 
him with. The p’int is, Did he hit him? 
Pcrceed.”—Philadelphia Public Ledger. 
A new potato, orig¬ 
inated right here in 
the cold North, 
where all the best 
potatoes come 
from. Rank Grow¬ 
er, Prodigious 
Yielder. Full of 
new life and vigor. 
Handsomest and 
best general crop and 
ipping Potato in ex- 
Round, Smooth, White. 
50* Worth Seeds FREE 
Cooks dry and mealy. Delicious flavored, 
even when unripe. For 25c (stamps or coin), 
we will mail one pound of Late JPetoskey, 
our 1908 catalog of Northern Grown 
Seeds, and a coupon good for 50c worth 
of free seeds. Catalog alone, mailed free. 
Write today. Supply very limited. 
DARLING & BEAHAN, 
Burpee’s 
Seeds Grow! 
And the Burpee Business Grows ! 
Last year (our 31st) we sold 
more seeds than ever before in any 
one year and in 1908 we shall sell 
even more. You will understand 
* • the reasons why ” when you read 
; Burpee’s New 
Farm Annual 
For 1908 
This complete book, 
bound i n lithographed 
covers and containing 
also six superb colored 
plates painted from 
nature, is Yours for the asking,— provided you 
have a garden and will mention where you saw this 
advertisement It is an elegant book—the best 
seed catalog wc have yet issued—and offers some 
most remarkable “New Creations” in Vegetables 
and Flowers, which can be obtained only direct 
from US. Many a winter’s evening can be spent 
profitably in planning your garden, by a careful 
study of this book. Shall we send you a copy? If 
you appreciate Quality in Seeds you will say Yes! 
It so, write to-day —do not put of! and possibly 
forget until it is too late! 
W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO. 
'l’ho Largest Mail-Order Seed House, 
Burpee Building, Philadelphia 
New Methods in 
Seed Business 
W HEN Sowing Seeds it is of great advan¬ 
tage to know how many seeds will grow. 
We test all our seeds and mark the per¬ 
centage that grow on each package. You 
therefore know just how thick to sow them to 
insure a good stand of plant. No other seed- 
man gives you this advantage. They all 
ought to, but they don’t. 
Harris’ Seeds 
are better than others and do not cost so 
much. All sensible and progressive gardeners 
and farmers ought to plant them. No non¬ 
sense or misleading statements in our cata¬ 
logue. Just plain facts gleaned from our own 
experience as farmers and seed growers for 
over 30 years. It is yours for the asking. 
If you are interested in getting the best Vege¬ 
table Seed, Seed Corn, Oats, Potatoes, etc. 
Don’t miss it. 
JOS. HARRIS CO., Coldwater, N. Y. 
S econd-crop aod Northern grown seed potatoes. 
Strawberry plants. Choice seed corn. Barred P. 
Rock eggs from prize Stock, etc. My free catalog 
gives fuller and more complete information: 30 
years experience. J. W. HALL, Marion Sta, Md. 
OMIOAI 
LIVINGSTON’S 
Ohio Yellow Globe 1 
The most perfect strain of true globe-shaped 
onions in existence. Round, solid, brilliant yellow, 
small necks and bottoms. Heavy cropper. 
Choicest seed grown by ourselves from selected 
bulbs. 20c oz.—6f»c H lb.—$2.25 lb. postpaid. By ex¬ 
press not prepaid 51bs.$ 10.50,10 lbs. $20.00, 25 lbs. $47.50. 
Write for speoi&l prices on larger quantities and other varieties. 
ETD IT ET Our superb 100 page catalogue. It offers 
■ ™ all that is newest and best in seeds and 
plants. Send for it today. 
LIVINGSTON SEED CO. f 
^ Famous for Tomatoes 
Tf 357 High St. COLUMBUS, OHIO 
GOOD SEEDS 
THE BEST EVER 
GROWN 
Prices lowest of 
all. Postage paid. 
A lot of extra packages given free 
with every order of seeds I fill. Send 
name and address for my pprr 
big catalog. O.ver 700 en- lllCt 
gravings of vegetables and flowers. 
H. SHUMWAY, Rockford, Illinois 
SEEDS ENOUGH 
PLANT SPACE 20 x 30 
To introduce our high grade seeds we will 
mall with catalog for 1908 on receipt of one 
dime In silver or stamps, one package each of 
Cabbage Lettuce Radish 
Cucumber Onion Turnip 
Beet Parsnip Tomato 
Parsley 
Seeds of carefully selected varieties grown 
from the best stock obtainable which will 
surely please. Our 25o assortment of vege¬ 
table seeds is composed of 16 large packets, 
all choice varieties. Write today and ask 
for our $45.00 prize offers open to all. 
& 
BINGHAMTON SEED CO., 
119 Court St., Binghamton, N. Y. 
GREGORYS 
haveearneda world-widereputation. Thou¬ 
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them absolutely because they are sure grow¬ 
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, try them this year. Onr new catalogue helps 
solve all the problems of planting—will be 
likely to set yon right when in doubt. 
IT’S free. Write fora copy. 
PaetfL , 7 J. j. h. GREGORY & SON 
•iVLVjsw - Marblehead, Mm. 
In order to add 250,000 new customers to our list we offer the fol¬ 
lowing Bargain Seed for 12 cents postpaid: 
1 Pkfr. “ Quirk Quirk ” Carrot . 
1 Pkg. Earliest Ripe Cabbage • 
1 Pkg. Earliest Emerald Cucumber 
1 Pkg. La Crosse Market Lettuce 
1 Pkg. Early Dinner Onion • • 
1 Pkg. Strawberry Musk melon • 
1 Pkg. Thirteen Day Radish • 
1000 Kernels Gloriously Beautiful 
Flower Seed • • • • 
Total, • 
10e.x 
10c. 
15c. 
15c. 
10c. 
This is sufficient seed to grow 
35 bushels of the rarest vegeta¬ 
bles and thousands of brilliant 
flowers, and all is mailed to you 
1 postpaid for 12 cents; 
or if you send 16 cents, we will 
add a package of Berliner 
Earliest Cauliflower. 
,_ 15 ^ 
$ 1.00 i 
BIG SEED AND PLANT CATALOGUE, FREE. 
Our seed book bristles with original seed truths. Nothing like it in America, and Is 
gladly mailed to intending purchasers free. Write to-day or send 1 O cts. in postage 
and receive a remarkable lot of farm seed samples, including: 
( 1) Billion Dollar Grass, the 12-ton hay wonder; (2) Dsparsette, the dry soil 
luxuriator; (3) Speltz, the 80-bus. cereal prodigy; (4) Macaroni Wheat, the 
sly miller mixer; ( 5 ) Silver King Barley, yielding 175 bushels per acre; 
( 6 ) Victoria Rape, produces green food at 20 cts. per ton; ( 7 ) Bromus 
Inermis, the desert grassifier; etc., etc.; and if you add 4 cts., 
making your remittance 14 cts., we will add a package of new 
farm seeds, never before seen 
One Half City I 
™ Seedsmen Prices 
Let us send you our catalog of seeds—It’s different. 
It tells you facts and why we can save you money and 
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country or city. 
FORREST SEEO CO., Box 34, Cortland, IV. V. 
