1879] NOTES FROM THE PAPERS. 119 



able or otherwise, has nothing whatever to do with it, let alone insuring the 

 crops. 



Your contemporary hopes that at some future period — about the millenuium 

 probably — when plants have ceased to require nocturnal rest, they will be forced 

 under the influence of electric light when the sun goes down. Gardeners will 

 then hang out their lanterns, which will at least have the effect of scaring cock- 

 roaches and their fraternity. How far M. Levy and the ' Gardeners' Chron- 

 icle' are clear on the subject with which they deal may be gathered from their 

 suspicions as set forth in the following 'lucid passage: "The expressions, 

 'clear,' 'cloudy,' 'overcast,' and the like, are much too vague, and too 

 much dependent on personal observation, often defective, and almost useless 

 for purposes of comparison. Nevertheless, by means of observations of this kind 

 co-related with the indications of the thermometer for the same period, M. Levy is 

 led to suspect the existence of a certain co-relation between the influence of certain 

 meteorological agents and the preponderance of certain ingredients in the Grape.''' 

 The author of this passage appears to be as hopeful as the schoolboy who 

 chased the three corn-crakes, observing as he ran, "if he could only catch 

 the first ane and anither ane, he would only want ane." 



That discussion in the ' Chronicle ' as to whether Mr D. T. Fish acted 

 ''rationally" or "irrationally " in adopting the " pendulum system" of Grape- 

 culture, as described by him in his article on tendrils some time ago, is an 

 awful warning to those who are disposed to be nice or inquisitive about the 

 meaning of words and phrases. To be told that one acts " irrationally " is 

 bad enough, but to have it demonstrated to one in calm unanswerable logic 

 is "tew much." If we couldn't speak we'd kick out. We regard Mr W. 

 Thomson's contribution to the discussion as an indignant attempt on his part 

 to shake the testimony of an important witness of the Culford Sport; and we are 

 afraid that Mr Fish is quite a little ashamed of the pendulums now, though he 

 once thought he was communicating a rather noteworthy discovery to Grape- 

 growers. Mr Fish would have us believe now that he only used the pendulums 

 once or so in an emergency, and when the most sensible course under the cir- 

 cumstances was to deal with the effect instead of losing time hunting for the 

 cause. All very w r ell, Mr Fish ! The reply may be sufficient for those who, like 

 Mr Thomson, quoted from memory, and whom it might be happily supposed had 

 not the back numbers of the paper to refer to ; but did you not tell us that you 

 had adopted the plan " many times during twenty years " ? Had you quite for- 

 gotten a practice that you had so recently advocated, and so long carried on 

 yourself? and was there no time during the reasonable period of nearly a quarter 

 of a century to look into your Vine-borders and deal with the cause ? The 

 simile of the broken leg is an unfortunate one. He certainly would be a 

 foolish fellow who declined to use the readiest means to mend his limb when 

 it ivas broken ; but what name have we for the man who, having good reason 

 to suppose that the same accident would happen to him every year for twenty 

 years, through the same cause, took no means to avert it ? 



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— '*~**K?f2'* J 



