Ii8 Notes and Gleanmgs. 



of the performance ; and retired from the field, feeling in several respects as 

 though I had been and done it .' 



After some hours, I concluded again to visit the scene of operations, and 

 found the whole region suggestive to the olfactories of as vile an odor as it 

 was ever the lot of man to inhale ; and, while noticing the artistic effect of the 

 dripping tar upon the leaves and fruit, I observed a queer-looking gray excres- 

 cence upon one of the half-grown plums. A nearer view revealed the appalling 

 fact that it was a curculio, " pegging away " at his favorite pursuit, as much 

 at home in the vile atmosphere around him as if it were the spicy breezes waft- 

 ed from " Araby the Blest " ! Need I say, I left the scene in disgust, feeling 

 that coal-tar as a remedy against curculios was a failure ? 



Delaware, O. George W. Campbell. 



Wintering Canna-Roots. — After a frost, take up the roots, and store them 

 in sand in a place secure from frost. Pot them in February, and bring them for- 

 ward in a gentle hot-bed. Harden them off in May, and plant out in June. If 

 you have a greenhouse, and can find room for them, take up the plants, and pot 

 them in sandy loam ; but do not cut off the tops until they decay. A tempera- 

 ture of from 45° to 50° is suitable. They may also be kept dry until the middle 

 of April ; then planted in a frame, started into growth, and planted out about 

 June I. The different species differ much in hardiness. None will bear frost ; 

 but some perish if chilled : of these we may mention C. Nepalensis, Anneii, and 

 discolor^ which need the warmest part of the cellar, and even then are preserved 

 with difficulty. 



C. Indica, Acheras, gigantea, and limbata are among the hardiest and most 

 easily kept. 



There is little dependence to be placed on the names given to any cannas by 

 florists. Imported species are very often wrongly named, and the error is per- 

 petuated. An article from some one familiar with the subject, describing the 

 different species, would be a public benefit. 



No reliance can be placed on imported seed. 



Many of the Enpatormms — North-American, European, and tropical — have 

 been employed as medical agents for ages, and at one time were alleged to be 

 gifted with marvellous powers of healing. Swartz found a species, which he 

 named Etipatorium nervosutn, in the highest mountains of Jamaica, where it is 

 locally known as " bitter-bush," and was there employed, it is said, with great 

 success as an antidote against cholera. The physicians on the island consider 

 it a most reliable medicine in cases of typhus-fever and small-pox. This, and 

 another plant from the same island, are about to be tried in this country as 

 medical agents. The other plant is Croton Jnimile, which Endlicher mentions 

 is used in the West Indies in medicating bottles for nervous weaknesses. Its 

 sap is pungent, and pieces of the shoots are sometimes masticated to remove 

 relaxations of the throat. 



Our common thoroughwort {E. perfoliatmn) is a well-known remedial agent, 

 and is in much repute as a domestic simple. 



