The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-05-14

Canning Fruits and Vegetables Tho time is at hand when there will commence general canning eper- ations, which In their total aggre-
 gate, will amount to millions of packages, hard to estimate In dollars and cents.
 The unfortunate thing Is that q large DOT cent of tho finished product will go to waste through spelling. People without previous experience and in the absence of competent ad- vice. should not proceed until they know what they arc about.
 The safest thing to do Is to apply to the state experiment stations or to the agricultural department. Washington. D. C.. where plenty of printed instructions are freely avail able.
 Decide beforehand just what you expect to put up. and secure all necessary containers and other ma terial before hand. It Is too often the case that this important matter Is put off until tho last minute and then you are unable to secure prompt ly the needed things.
 Get posted first and then proceed to accumulate the needed supplies. I Watering the Garden | It is a fact that many city gardens are injured by watering, but 1t Is not | our purpose to discourage watering, but to suggest that frequent water | ing does not take the place of fre-
 qucnt cultivation. What one should
 avoid is frequent superficial water | inss. When you water. do the job
 well, wet 1t so the moisture always
 meets. Thorough cultivation should | always follow a good soaking, just as soon as ground has dried out 10 admit of 1t. When a garden Is fre- 1 quently and well worked 1t rarely
 needs watering. because fine tilth and
 a loose condition of the top layer of
 soil promotes circulation. capillary | attraction, and thus conserves soil
 moisture. Too frequent watering has
 tendency to close tho soil pores and induce baking. the worst sort of | condition for any growing plant. Some plants in tho garden need
 mere water than others. such for ex- ample as cucumbers and squashes. A good plan Is to water when
 needed but skip watering when cui | t:vation would better serve. Spraying the Fruit | It is not long now before many varieties of fruit will begin to ma
 ture and appear on the market, and | much of 1t will be diseased and | wormy.
 | A great many people are under the
 impression that you should not spray
 fruit even after it becomes hali
 grown.
 This Is a serious error and causes no end of loss. Certain mixtures when used at proper strength, may l be used right up to the ttmo of ripen-
 ing and at great profit. In applying these summer sprays | one should remember that they nre much different to those recommended l for dormant or winter sprays. 1 Where the same solutions are used | the strength always differs. In other words. 1t is unsafe to use | a formula that was recommended for
 dormant spray, for summer spray | ing.
 ! When in doubt, get fresh informa- .
 ton to go by. In spraying one 1 should remember that often countless | do great injury, that you did not know at the time existed. Questions and Answers | Q.--My melons, both cantaloupe and
 waterm elon, suffered last year from
 d little black fly or louse. I want
 to use preventive measures this year. | What do you recommend? o. R.. Ver- l bena.
 | A.-Begin to spray by the time vines
 start to run with soap suds. using
 half pound soap to eight gallons wa
 ter to which mix one ounce nicotine
 sulphate. Continue spraying at 1o-
 day intervals or oftener if lice ap-