The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-12-27

IssSA 1szA W. som" years maklns
MISREPRESENTATION experiments Il, the
w. II. Massey. state of Washing
tor. in the Puget sound section. in
growing tho bulbs now imported so
( larScly from holland. ana it iA found
| mat some things do finely there. hut
'h'rc are many Of these that can bc
as well grown in the south The pro-
duction OF narciSsus bulbs is rapidly,
btN"lopinG in Southeast Virginia. and
millions OF the Virginia grown mar
cissus bulbs arc now sold every fan to
the Northen florists. ono Of the com
mission houscs in this Emo told M,
! mat they had sold In Philadelphia
alone 2,ooo."00 Virginia grown nArcis-
Hus bulbs. aud ON" Of the retail houses
| IN philadelphia, said that they had sold
! 2pp,Voo. Now Il seems to me that the
Z black reclaimed swamp soil would be
tho ideal place for many of these bulbs.
such rs narclssus, Roman hyacinths
and White Italian hyacinths. and the
| hardy lilies would thrive wo. dcrfully
| on these soils, feel sure. fnasnuch us
! millions OF dollars worth Of these
things arc imported; il would Seem
/ that there should be protit i'm thoir
/ production. Some Years ago the De
! partment of Agriculture sent me som"
I tulip hulhs grown i'm their experimental
grounds In tho Puget sound region
when I vas experimenting in North
( Carolina. Thcy were very fine too.
/ iiut the next summer one Of the de-
/ ptrtmcnt exports came 10 my place to
So" the Hcrrnudn lilies was growing.
and made a photograph Of them I'm
! bloom.
| ! showed him some tulip bulbs that
/ | had grown, ami ne was surprised and
/ took some OF them with him to Wash
/ ington. saying that they were fully as
I fine as those grown in the Northwest.
I Japan is now largely supcrseding Der
nudn i'll the shipping to us of bulbs
! Of TIN" varieties Of the Lougiflorunl
/ lily. and I believe that some locality
| in the South Will yet he found where
/ these can he produced commercials.
] and believe that the drained black
! swamp soils will grow them 1t is
| certainly worth experimenting IN this
! line. ] had letter to-day from a man
I having Just such soil in Michigan. ask
/ ing my opinion in REGARD to growing
/ bulbs UP there. Bat that il a climate
am not familiar with. and ! never
/ undertake. to advise people in condi-
/ tons with which am not posted. But
} have examined that black soil in the
! reclaimed portions Of the Dismal
swamp section ana have often been
Impressed with its favorable quality
FOR bulbs such as are now being grown
/ on the Norfolk sandy soils
Growing WntcrmeIons n Second Time.
Can watermelons he grown success
ducc them the previous year? Will the
ifavor al cantaloupeS be destroyed il
planted IN the same garden with Gym
lingS" In repeating n crop on tho
same land there is always danger that
the diseases that affect the plant viii
/ be increased. have seen very good
crops OF waternelous made the second
! season on the Same land. 10y max in Z.
/ the hills in a different place. That is
by running the rows and checking the
! ground where the middles were the
| previous year But, as a rule II is al
| ways better to follow with different
crop. Cymlings will have no effect
/ on cantaloupes. You could not make
them cross If YOU tried to do so Va
I rious species Of suuashes and pun pki ms
/ viii cross, but watcrmelons will not
cross with cantaloupes. nor will Gu
cunbers do so. ! grow every year rows
/ OF cucumbcrs. cymlinGs and canta-
loupcs right alongside row after row.
and get as good canta!oupcs ns any
one.
/ 4 HE'D tiny Gnrd~n.
Bedford County: Il have II garden
OF red clay soil 1t has been we'll ma
nured for several years with stable
manure. but it is sun rather hard To
work. Recently have had il spaded
and am thinking of covering it with
manure To bo worked in the spring.
/ Whichw III be better and Chcaper. coarse
manure from the livery stable at 81
per two-horSc wagon without side
boards. or tobacco stems at 50 ton"
Ii the stems are used, how much would
YOU advise per acre? How do you
use litmus paper TO tell whether the
soil il acid" My lettuce beds are in
tested with small snails. and also with
what are called here water bugs and
SOW bugs How can get rid OF Them
Getting the soil we'll stocked with veg
/ ctabic decay, such as the stable ma
unrc and the tobacco stems viii fur
nish, is about the best WAY 70 get q
garden soil mellow. OF course. II you
could abandon its use a garden for
ono season. and sowed it to crimson
clover In the fall. and turned that I'M
der in spring. and sowed cowpcas and
turned them under III the fall, you
could very rapidly get the soil filled
with vegetable decay and get il quite
mellow. But if this cannot be done.
then use both the manure and tine
stems heavily. | say both, because the
stems furnish large percentage OF
potash that the manure is deficient in.
and in the spring add acid phosphate at