272 VINE-MILDEW. 



species of Erysiphe which grow on annual plants, as for example 

 the Gourd, and that in these the spores can come into no 

 connection with the seeds of the plant, we see it is quite indifferent 

 as regards the propagation of the mould whether its productive 

 bodies pass the winter on a portion of the mother plant or not ; it 

 is therefore more than probable that the generation of the follow- 

 ing year proceeds from spores which have wintered in the soil 

 and are carried by the winds to the leaves. If this be the case 

 all hope is vain of destroying the spores sticking to the tree by 

 washing the Vines during the winter with acrid solutions, and of 

 preventing the recurrence of the malady during the ensuing year, 

 I am on the whole more than ever convinced that we possess 

 no remedy against this disease, which undermines so deeply the 

 prosperity of so many properties. 



TiiBiNGEN, Dec. 24, 1853. 



XX. — American Plants. By Mr. John Saul, Nurseryman, 

 Washington City, D.C., United States. 



How seldom we see in cultivation some of the very finest 

 herbaceous plants of the United States ! and those we do find are 

 anything but well grown. Having seen many in their native 

 habitats, I will briefly describe the circumstances under which 

 they grow, and suggest what I consider would be the best mode 

 of culture. 



Among herbaceous plants few surpass in beauty many ex- 

 quisite varieties of Lily. Lilium superbum, philadelphicum, and 

 others, seen in their native habitats, are superlatively beautiful. 

 Having, at various times, seen the finest collections of Lilium 

 lancifolium in England, and the past summers made me acquainted 

 with a locality w^here the two first-named Lilies grow in great 

 profusion, I had therefore an opportunity of judging correctly of 

 their value. Grown in their native wilds, coloured under their 

 own sun, I consider them equal in beauty to the finest varieties 

 of lancifolium. Let us see what were the circumstances under 

 which they grew. The locality was the banks of a stream, which 

 passed through what is called in the States " low bottom meadow 

 land " — a rich sandy alluvial soil of great depth and richness, 



