THE R. UR. .A.L, NEW-YORK: EE 
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191 4. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS AND CARNATIONS. 
Can you recommend something on the 
culture of Chrysanthemums and carna¬ 
tions? I wish to raise them on a small 
scale and would like a few pointers. 
D. n. L. 
1. Chrysanthemums are grown from 
cuttings produced by plants of the pre¬ 
vious year, which are given a rest and 
cut back after flowering. The stools or 
suckers produced when started into 
growth give ample material for cuttings. 
The cuttings are inserted in sand, in a 
greenhouse, with bottom heat. Time of 
propagating varies from February to the 
end of May, according to the use made 
of the plants. Cuttings may be taken 
about June 1 and rooted in sandy soil in 
a spent hotbed; these should be lifted 
and potted about the middle of August, 
when they will make nice little plants. 
The Chrysanthemum dislikes a close 
stagnant admosphere under glass, and 
calls for abundant fresh air. Directions 
regarding soil and general treatment of 
Chrysanthemums were given on page 
340, issue of March 7. 
2. Carnations are propagated by cut¬ 
tings made from strong lateral shoots, 
which are inserted in sand in either a 
bench or flats: February is a favorable 
time for this, though cuttings may be 
made from December to May. Conditions 
are the same as for Chrysanthemums; a 
moderate temperature (55 to GO deg.), 
plenty of air. and care in watering, as 
excess of moisture tends to induce dis¬ 
eases peculiar to the propagating bench. 
In the case of both plants, the cuttings 
should be shaded from bright sunshine. 
In about four weeks the carnation cut¬ 
tings will be well rooted, and they may 
then be transplanted into flats or small 
pots, where they remain until planted out 
in the field. During the Summer com¬ 
mercial growers give field culture, which 
produces robust plants. They are set 
out in April or May, according to weath¬ 
er conditions, and many growers leave 
them out until September, but this is 
not conducive to early bloom. In some 
cases they are planted in greenhouse 
benches by July, and though this involves 
a great deal of work for two months of 
fresh air. it pays in the quality of bloom 
produced. The inquirer does not say 
whether he is planning to grow Chrysan¬ 
themums and carnations for cut flowers, 
or for the pleasure the plants will give, 
which causes some indefiniteness in 
answering, as regards later treatment of 
the plants. Greenhouse treatment of 
carnations calls for moderate tempera¬ 
ture (50 to Go deg.) abundant air. care¬ 
ful watering and syringing. Friable 
loam composted with one-fifth its bulk of 
well-rotted manure, is a congenial soil. 
CONTROLLING THE WATER LEVEL. 
“A study of soil water” (page 474 
R. N.-Y.) suggests a subject I would 
like to have discussed by those capable of 
doing so. Can the ground water level 
be to any extent controlled? Believing 
that it can led me to try to so control 
it. I give result below. Most wells in 
our section of country, last Summer, 
went dry. It fell to me to pump water 
from a well which usually went dry dur¬ 
ing dry season. Last season was unusually 
dry, and wells went dry that were never 
before known to do so. From well in 
question we obtained water for house 
and stock. When pumping for stock I 
used leaky trough made of two boards 
that conveyed water to kettle from which 
stock drank. The trough leaked so that 
the stones of the walled well were kept 
wet and also kept the soil in vicinity of 
well partly saturated. The well did not 
get dry. 1 am satisfied that the affinity 
of the partly saturated soil by capillary 
attraction maintained the water in the 
well above the ordinary ground water 
level. Before trying the experiment on 
the well I told some neighbors that I be¬ 
lieved I could maintain water in our 
well until after water had left their 
wells. They had a good laugh at me. 
My well is on higher land than theirs, 
and not so deep as theirs. Yet we had 
water when they had none. J. P. 
Oswego, N. Y. 
Ground-water levels are commonly 
controlled by means of irrigation. In 
the vicinity of Auburn, Cal., irrigation is 
carried on in part for the purpose of ■ 
maintaining well supplies. In southern j 
California projects are being conducted ! 
which have for their objects the distribu- i 
tion of flood waters over land surfaces j 
into which they may sink and replenish j 
the well supplies. In these instances j 
surface waters are used, and it should j 
be obvious that if water were pumped j 
from wells for such purposes the ground- 1 
water level would be lowered instead of ! 
raised because of evaporation and trans- ! 
piration. 
The persistence of the well here men¬ 
tioned cannot be logically assigned to 
the cause stated in J. T.’s letter. Any 
forces of attraction existing between the 
soil water and the water table are alto¬ 
gether incompetent in the control of 
the ground-water level. The largest con- j 
sideration in the case described is that of ! 
sanitation. The Survey has repeatedly J 
cited as examples of dangerously unsani- j 
tary wells, those into which polluted sur- | 
face waters, such as would be found , 
around a stock trough, may percolate. | 
GEO. OTIS SMITH. 
U. S. Geological Survey. 
Japanese Plums; Apricots. 
1. My Japanese plum trees are bear- j 
ing very young, except the Wickson j 
which I had nothing but a few sample j 
specimens. Are the Wickson trees less j 
prolific than those of the other varieties? | 
What is the life of the Japanese plum i 
tree? 2. I had an acre of rye which 1 : 
cut when it was in bloom, and cured as | 
hay. The sheep eat it with relish, and | 
leave not even enough to bed the stable 
although they get a pound of bran each 
a day. together with some hay and oats 
( ut in milk. Am I right when I assume 
that the protein of the kernel is contin¬ 
ued in the stem before the kernel forms? 
5. What kind of trees are the apricots? 
Are they small ornamental shrubs? Is 
the fruit good? Do the trees bear and 
are they worth planting? w. B. 
1. The Wickson plum is not consid¬ 
ered a shy bearer, but it may need cross¬ 
pollination under some conditions. It 
may be that the other varieties are not 
near enough to the Wickson to pollinate 
them, or do not bloom at the same time 
but this seems unlikely, for the bees car¬ 
ry pollen, and most of the Japan plum 
trees bloom about the same time. 
2. The food material that finally goes j 
into the grain is in the stalks and when 
they are cut during that stage the food j 
value of the forage is almos‘ equal to 
the grain with the matured straw. 
3. The apricot is a fruit tree that 
grows as large as that of any variety of 
peach and bears abundantly where the ' 
climate is right for it, if there are no in- | 
sects to trouble the fruit. Apricot trees ' 
are as hardy as ordinary peach trees, and 
are usually healthy and vigorous. In the 
regions west of the Rocky Mountains the 
fruit is grown abundantly but in the 
Central and Eastern States the curculio 
usually stings it while very young and 
cause it to fall off, and apricot growing 
is a failure. u. e. van deman. 
i 
Conductor: “This transfer expired a 
long time ago.” Co-ed (snappily) : “No 
wonder, with not a .single ventilator open | 
in the whole car.”—Credit Lost. 
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