1882.J 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



145 



which genus the well known Mushroom belongs. 

 That this fungus by feeding on the roots, is 

 certainly connected with the disease, he proved 

 by taking spades full of the earth, and placing 

 them around healthy trees, when the "yellows" 

 resulted. Other trees also received the fungus 

 and the yellows followed, especially the Norway 

 spruce, white spruce, and white pine. Indeed 

 the development of the disease after this inocu- 

 lation with the root fungus, is more clearly 

 traced and its operation better understood in the 

 Norway spruce than in the peach tree itself. 

 Some years ago, the writer of this was on a 

 steamer going down the James River, and was 

 called on by some horticulturists to go over 

 again for their benefit some account of these 

 views. But a distinguished gentleman rose and 

 protested against this waste of time, as in his 

 opinion " no one knew anything of the yellows, 

 nor would people ever know more than they did 

 now," at least this is the recctrd as made on our 

 note book at the time. In the Country Gentleman's 

 report of the recent meeting of the Western New 

 York Horticultural Society we find the following ; 

 " Dr. Hexamer mentioned cases of success in 

 treatment of yellows, where the soil was drawn 

 away and hot soap applied, the soap containing 

 the potash required." From this we infer that 

 Dr. Hexamer is at least satisfied that the remedy 

 can be reached through the roots, whether the 

 cause of the trouble be there or not, and that we 

 may after all not despair of knowing something 

 about it sometime. 



Lichens and Tree Fungi. — Though the " Ice- 

 land moss," a species of Lichen is known some- 

 what in our cookery, it is perhaps the only one 

 of this class which is used by us. In Japan there 

 seems to be a great number of desirable kinds, 

 judging by the following which we take from Mr. 

 Maries' exceedingly interesting communications 

 to Mr. Robinson's Garden : " I continued my 

 rambles about the mountains at Sapporo for ten 

 days, and we had many delicacies m the way of 

 food. We always had plenty of fungi ; some from 

 the Birch (Betulaalba) tasted like mutton; others 

 from Oak trees ; the celebrated Mats taki from 

 the Fir trees (we had venison steak always with 

 this); another fungus like masses of miniature 

 deer-horns was excellent in Japanese soup." 



Stump Pullers. — The Australian papers are 

 worrying over the fact that it takes over a dollar 

 and a half worth of dynamite to blow up a stump. 

 Better get an American stump pulling machine. 



The Grape Vine Mildew. — This, the small 

 fungus known as Oidium Tuckeri, and which 

 made such consternation among European grape 

 growers a few years ago, is so easily destroyed by 

 the use of the sulphur bellows, that no one fears 

 it now. At one time it was believed that fungus 

 would never attack healthy vegetation, but the 

 healthiness of a grape vine soon after the sulphur 

 has killed the fungus shows something is wrong 

 with the old idea. 



The Foreign Grape in America. — As is now 

 generally known, the foreign varieties of the 

 grape do not well in the Eastern United States, 

 apparently from the dryness of the atmosphere, 

 for they do very well when covered by glass' so as 

 to make the air about them humid ; yet they do 

 well in the dry atmosphere of Utah. A corres- 

 pondent of the Country Gentleman notes their 

 success at Brigham City. 



Glut in the Apple Market. — Mr.Thos C. Thur- 

 low, in an admirable address on apple culture, at 

 West Newberry, Mass., remarked that the only 

 glut from apple culture would be from poor fruit, 

 which it would pay better to feed to cattle than 

 send to market. The prices of first-class apples 

 have been steadily rising for the past ten years, 

 and first-class fruit will always sell at paying 

 prices. 



Ramie. — A few years ago much was expected 

 from the fibre of Urtica nivea, the China grass 

 or Ramie. The last we heard of it was that the 

 fibre could not be profitably cleaned unless some 

 improved machinery could be invented. Re- 

 cently, as we have reason to believe, some one 

 has been successful, and a demand for it is 

 springing up. Can any reader give us the latest 

 intelligence about it? 



Magnesian Limestone. — Can any reader n- 

 form " C." whether there is any kind of soil on 

 which magnesian limestone is better than lime- 

 stone free of magnesia ? As a general thing, 

 "C." has found magnesian limestone worse than 

 no lime at all. 



American Jute. — In answer to our inquiry as 

 to this "rare plant which is to be introduced 

 from the East Indies to Florida," we find that it 

 is not the jute — the real Corchorus — but our old 

 friend of the past century, Abutilon Avicennse, 

 and which has already a dozen or more of com- 

 mon names, such as Velvet Leaf, Devil's Plant, 

 Indian Mallow, Cake Seed, and is known as a 

 common weed in com and potato fields all over 



