_Fort Riley, Kans._
The trap is the best known means of destroying moles, but of course it
requires vigilance and patience and perseverance in its use, without
these the trap is ineffective. Those who have tried poisoned corn say
that it will effectually rid a place of moles. Soak the kernels in
arsenic water and place them in the runways. Perhaps some of our readers
may have some experience to state on this subject.
Pine Apple Air Plant.
Several inquiries have been received about the treatment of this plant.
Those who are offering it in the trade advise that the roots be wrapped
in moss and that the plant be wired upon a piece of bark or wood, that
it be placed in the window, and frequently showered or sprayed. We have
had no experience with it. The plant is a native of a hot and humid
climate and it is somewhat doubtful that it will generally succeed in
window culture. Unless the window is a bay, and enclosed with glass on
the side of the room which it is off, and, moreover, well heated, it will
probably in most cases prove a failure. Its family relationship is with
the Spanish gray moss, and the pine apple.
Phyllocactus latifrons.
Your answers to correspondents in the “Letter Box” are so
helpful that I am led to ask for hints as to the treatment of
the night-blooming phyllocactus. I have one that blossomed
three or four times, but only a single flower at a time. It
seems to spend its strength in sending out long, round stems
two or three feet in length. I cut off one of these a few weeks
ago and it soon started again at the same spot and is now
three feet long. Ought these stems to be cut, and is there any
special treatment which will secure blossoms? An answer in your
interesting Magazine will much oblige