362 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[December, 



ruling desire, in this communication is to " sound 

 a note of warning" on the use of Paris green for 

 exterminating that pestilent foe of the straw- 

 berry, the grub. I observe one of your corres- 

 pondents employed a mole to capture the enemy 

 with — decidedly an "elevating" result. I used a 

 solution of Paris green, and killed my splendid 

 Sharpless outright,— Mr. grub not heard from. 

 A veteran fruit grower started me on this work 

 of devastation. He recommends as a preventa^ 

 tive, to dip the roots in a strong solution of 

 Paris green, before setting. My candid opinion, 

 founded on high authority, is that it would ef- 

 fectually destroy the plants before the grub 

 could find them. I poured my solution about 

 the plants. 



Scientific experiments have proven that arse- 

 nical preparations, in certain proportions, are 

 <3estructive of plant life. Professor Freytag, 

 from the actual efiect of sulphurous and metallic 

 fumes of the Freiberg Metallic Works upon ve- 

 getation, discovered that solutions containing 

 only .80 per cent, arsenious acid, killed plants 

 placed in them. Prof. Wm. McMurtrie, chemist 

 of the Department of Agriculture at Washing- 

 ton, in a series of careful experiments demon- 

 strated conclusively that 500 milligrams of Paris 

 green in the soil is injurious to vegetation, and 

 that as the arsenical compound is increased so 

 the injury is increased. From an experiment of 

 my own, a concentrated solution of Paris green 

 is innocuous to worm life when drenched with it. 

 Paris green, in solution, within certain limits, 

 may be used with safety. Better, I think, to dis- 

 pense with it altogether. It has killed more than 

 it hai^ cured, from carelessness. As to the grub, he 

 is a tough customer, and must be hunted down 

 and sacrificed remorselessly. His presence is first 

 detected by the curling and withering of the loaf. 

 Remove the soil very carefully from about the 

 plant and kill the grub feeding at the collar of 

 the root. Hoe the alleys very circumspectly, 

 from time to time, to destroy grubs that may be 

 lurking near the plants. "An ounce of preven- 

 tion is worth a pound of cure." Many reme- 

 dies are given to prevent the ravages of worms 

 and insects upon vegetation, but do not rely too 

 much upon them. Search, search, search,— 

 kill ; would be my summing up. Begin in 

 time. Beat time at his own game. I write 

 with the fervent hope of aiding some fellow- 

 lover of the Fragraria vesca, and trusting that I 

 have not imposed an unmeaning task upon 

 you- 



EDITORIAL NOTES 



Gibson's Late Peach, from Mr. Charles 

 Black. These did not arrive in very good con- 

 dition, but enough were fit to show that the 

 variety may be valuable. 



The Pocklington Grape.— We had the 

 opportunity of seeing a plant of this grown 

 near Philadelphia the past season, and find it to 

 be a very free, healthy grower. White grapes 

 of first-class quality are scarce. From what we 

 have seen of this, it promises to be a good addi- 

 tion to the well known kinds we have. 



The Jefferson Grape. — We are glad to 

 find that one by one the valuable seedlings of Mr. 

 Ricketts are coming in the market. Mr. Bur- 

 row has taken in hand to work with the Jeffer- 

 son, a bunch of which we have now before us. 

 It is said to be a cross between the Concord and 

 the lona, having the healthy foliage and growth 

 of the former, and, as we can testify from the 

 bunch before us, all the delicious flavor of the 

 latter. It is a very handsome bunch, and we 

 should judge from its firm skin will be a valuable 

 shipping grape. 



California Pears. — These are now being 

 shipped extensivel}^ from California to Chicago. 



Graves' Peach. — This is said to be a very 

 early good Peach from Missouri, and " believed 

 to be a hybrid between an Apricot and a Peach," 

 but the intelligent pomologist need not let this 

 opinion pi*ejudice him against whatever real 

 merit the variety may have. 



Water Supplies. — The London Gardeners' 

 Weekly says : 



" The supply of water to great towns is fast 

 becoming what is termed a " question of the 

 day." The first and principal object in supply- 

 ing towns with water, as well as in removipg 

 town sewage, appears to be to fool away milli- 

 ons of money to the impoverishment of all who 

 have to pay. It appears not yet to have dawned 

 on the public mind that on every roof there falls 

 enough water for the domestic needs of those 

 whom the roof shelters. A few gardeners are 

 so wise as to catch rain water, but no one thinks 

 of doing the same for the good of the household. 

 And yet rain water is the best water for every 

 purpose, whether for cooking, washing or drink- 

 ing, and may be obtained in plenty by the sim- 

 ple process of catching and saving it." 



The suggestion is as valuable here as in Eng- 

 land. Few know how easy it is to build water- 



