THE CANADIAN HORTICULTUKIST. 



39 



tliey abound by the bnsbel along the 

 border trellises and fence. There are 

 not less than two thonsand fine bunches 

 in all. The annual cost of having these 

 vines trimmed and trained, and putting 

 on a dressing of bone dust, does not ex- 

 ceed two dollars, which is ten-fold re- 

 paid by the shade, and the green foliage 

 to look out upon during all the parching 

 days. We might have headed this : 

 " A thousand clusters of grapes for 

 nothing I " 



A grape-vine will grow anywhere 

 that it can get a small foot-hold in a bit 

 of soil ; it will run up on anything that 

 its tendrils can cling to ; it will help it- 

 self to sunlight and food from the ail* 

 and earth. If you have a yard of ground 

 plant a grape-vine on it, in city, village, 

 or country. Do it now, or certainly 

 next spring. — Oraxgk Judd, in Ameri- 

 can Agriculturist. 



SULPHUR FOR MILDEW, PEAR | 

 BLIGHT AND YELLOWS. I 



Professor D. P. Penhallow, writing 

 to the Country Gentleman on the effects ; 

 of sulphur upon plants, states that its 

 well-known value in averting the de- 

 velopment of mildew is due to a slow 

 process of oxidation resulting in the 

 formation of sulphuric acid. The fun- 

 gus is killed by this process of oxidation 

 in the sulphur when in contact with 

 the parasitic plant, and by the for- 

 mation of sulphuric acid. But he 

 argues that the sulphur must first be 

 changed into sulphuric acid and then 

 unite chemically with some base, as 

 potash or soda, thus forming a soluble 

 salt that can be readily absorbed by 

 the plant, ia order to be brought into 

 the general circulation of the plant. 

 That in this form it does enter plants 

 and perform important functions as a 

 medical agent, it being probably sul- 

 phuric acid in combination with potash 

 that acts as a curative in pear blicrht. 



so that perhaps sulphur, as sulphate of 

 potash, is the specific for pear blight, 

 while careful experiment seems to indi- 

 cate that chlorine, as muriate of potash, 

 is the specific for peach yellows. And 

 adds : In any case, a vigorous tone in 

 the general system, as developed by 

 proper food and care in cultivation, 

 will do fully as much good as any other 

 method of treatment applied separately, 

 and one of the finest evidences of this 

 was found in the case of a vineyai'd 

 which, although seriously mildewed, 

 was able to withstand the attacks of 

 the fungi and produce a fine crop, 

 by reason, solely, of the special cid- 

 tivation and application of fertilizers 

 which had been given it. Internal 

 applications, therefore, do not dii'ectly 

 act upon the parasites, but by toning 

 up the system, render their excessive 

 growth improbable. 



THE CARP AS A FOOD FISH. 

 There is much inquiry concerning 

 the German Carp inti'oduced into this 

 countiy by the United States Fish 

 Commission. People want to know 

 whej-e it will live, how fast it will 

 grow, and generally what it is worth 

 now that we have it. Often as these 

 questions are answered they come up 

 again, and in truth , the different results 

 reported are confusing unless accom- 

 panied with an explanation. Carp ar& 

 not a first class table fish, but they are 

 immensely superior to no fish at all, 

 when a fish dinner is wanted. They 

 are not as good to eat as the bull-head 

 for instance, but then it may be said 

 that the bull-head is a very excellent 

 fish when well understood. So the 

 Cai'jJ can be made a toothsome feature 

 of the dinner table, if the mistress of 

 the kitchen comprehends the mysteries 

 of the sauceboat. Without that skill, 

 which by the way is universally pos- 

 sessed by our adopted German fellow 

 citizens, and can be learned from almost 



