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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



with sulphur and train oil ; but in spite of this, 

 a fortnight afterwards, spots of mildew appeared 

 on many of the leaves, petioles, and young wood. 

 My vexation at the thought of losing my crop 

 for the third time, drove me almost to the regions 

 of despair; but after a little reflection, I threw an 

 ounce of powdered sulphur into a waterpot nearly 

 filled with water, and taking up a syringe I re- 

 peatedly squirted the water upon the sulphur 

 till it was properly mixed ; and while it was thus 

 held in suspension, I immediately syringed the 

 vines in every direction, using considerable force. 

 This was within two or three days o! their coming 

 into bloom. When I examined the vines next 

 day, not a particle of living mildew was visible 

 even under my microscope; but merely the dark 

 spots, where the tiny forests had recently luxu- 

 riated, covered with heaps of their demolished 

 stems, thrown together, and glued into a paste by 

 means of their own viscous covering, incrusted 

 with the fine particles of sulphur, so as to resem- 

 ble rocks of yellowish coral. If the mixture be 

 applied properly, every portion of the vines will 

 be sprinkled with the sulphur; for, by using suf- 

 ficient force, it will fall like a mist or fine spray, 

 and wherever it falls no mildew can live. I have 

 ascertained that it is not killed by the application 

 of dry sulphur, but it continues to thrive in the 

 intervals of the particles of sulphur, which, in a 

 dry form, do not come into immediate contact 

 with it. Another disadvantage of the dry appli- 

 cation is, that it does not adhere to the smooth 

 upright petioles and other parts, as will be found 

 to be the case when applied in the manner I 

 have above described. Should the mildew appear 

 again on the new foliage, which I think very 

 probable, the operation must be repeated until the 

 berries begin to color; after which there is no 

 danger, for the juice has then undergone a change, 

 which this parasite does not affect. When all 

 danger of the mildew returning is past, the sul- 

 phur may be washed off with clear water with 

 the same instrument that applied it. This plan 

 is equally available to vines out of doors, and no 

 doubt will prove of the greatest benefit to the 

 vineyards abroad, as also to peach, rose, and other 

 trees." — I have no doubt, Mr. Editor, you will 

 have, in the course of the sea?on, many commu- 

 nications on this subject ; and I hope we shall 

 be able, eventually, to triumph over what has 

 hitherto been such an annoyance to us all. — 

 John T., Clifton. 



[We shall be glad to receive as many " hints" 

 on this subject, as possible. We have witnessed, 

 for several years past, sad havoc made on grape 

 vines by mildew, bothin-doors and out-of-doors.] 



String made of Gutta Percha. — Among the 

 curious applications of Gutta Percha, I have 

 heard that string for tying up plants forms one of 

 them. Are you aware of this, and do you know 

 if it answers? — W. E., Hampstead. 



[We have not actually seen this application, 

 but we have heai'd it spoken of as being good. 

 The following we find in the Gardeners Record: — 

 " Gutta Percha string is infinitely the neatest 

 article we have yet seen for tying plants. It is 

 soft, flexible, sufficiently strong, and withal so 

 imperceptible as to be scarcely visible. It is 

 made of various sizes, at a price moderate enough 



to admit of general employment. We saw it 

 in use in the garden of J. H. Schroder, Esq., 

 Stratford, a short time since, and at a little dis- 

 tance it was not perceivable — though strained 

 from a pot upwards to ihe flower-spike of an 

 Orchid, with bright yellow blossoms." — From 

 the description, and as it must be durable, we 

 imagine you may safely procure it for the purpose 

 required.] 



What Birds do; and what Birds do not do; 

 &fc. — Have you seen, Mr. Editor, the very ridi- 

 culous anecdotes that are going the rounds of 

 the press, about robins attacking snakes, &c.&c? 

 These monstrous absurdities do a serious injury 

 to the cause we all advocate ; and I think a word 

 or two from you, by way of caution, might be of 

 service. — Georgianna M. 



[You must remember, fair lady, that this is 

 " the season " for all the enormities of which 

 you complain. ( )ur contemporary, the " Dum- 

 fries Courier," is always " immense " in these 

 wonderful stories. So also is our own " Morning 

 Herald." The more outrageous the concoction, 

 the more readily does it gain insertion, till by 

 repetition the monkey's tail, originally ten 

 inches, arrives at the protracted length of 

 as many yards. What a terminus ! say you. It 

 is. During the last week, we have observed 

 lots of these "preparations" peeping out; but 

 we are " too old " to be caught by them. Nature 

 is uniform in her actions; art puts "too much 

 color in the brush," and is hence readily detected. 

 We shall now see, daily, flourishing accounts of 

 enormous cabbages, tremendous gooseberries, and 

 other " dressed up " monstrosities {always exhi- 

 bited by the vegetable and animal kingdoms at 

 this season!). By way of "proof," let us sub- 

 join two of many which have gone the rounds 

 as truth: — " Extraordinary Cauliflower. — On 

 Monday, Mr. J. Draper, of the Globe Tavern, 

 Hatton Garden, who has just returned from a 

 tour in the West of England, produced a monster 

 cauliflower, just brought from the estate of Mr. 

 Main waring, of Leominster. This extraordi- 

 nary ( I) vegetable weighed within an ounce of 

 34 lbs. ; in girth it was 6 feet 5 inches; and in 

 height from the stem, 84 inches." — This is 

 headed, "An Extraordinary Cauliflower." Is 

 it not " extraordinary," Miss Georgianna? Let 

 us however append the second. " Curious 

 1 Fact ' in Natural History. — Some years ago, 

 [capital!] a single male nightingale made his 

 appearance in the vicinity of Newcastle-upon- 

 Tyne, and soon after took up with a female 

 yellow-hammer, and by her, at different times, 

 had several young. Contrary to common opinion, 

 a male hybrid, or mute of that progeny, formed 

 a connection with either a common house or a 

 field sparrow, and by her had one solitary young 

 one. Though in every instance the young seem 

 to be healthy, they are remarkably small [invi- 

 sible we should say !] and seem entirely to have 

 lost the power of song. [No doubt such birds 

 must sing " very " small !] They are very cheer- 

 ful and very tame." — The above, cut from the 

 " Weekly Times," is also travelling about the 

 country. We think, Miss Georgianna, we have 

 "seconded " your wish tolerably well!] 



