KITCHEN-GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
is difficult to save seeds; and in this country it 
might be adopted in order to preserve any par- 
ticular variety true; for by cuttings we can 
always depend on perpetuating the identical 
sort, but by seed this is uncertain. Supposing 
that it were desirable to preserve some much- ! 
prized sort, seed may be saved, and cuttings 
struck as well. If plants from seeds come true, 
so much the better; but if they do not, having 
the plants from cuttings we are still in posses- 
sion of the true variety, and of the means of 
again raising seeds from it. The mode of pro- 
pagating by cuttings is very simple. The sprouts 
are taken off, and exposed to the air till their 
juices are so far exhausted as not to exude from 
the wounded ends, and thus tend to rot the cut- 
tings. It is also advisable to dip the cut end in 
newly slaked lime, dry wood-ashes, or powdered 
charcoal. The cuttings may then be planted out, 
either in the open ground, or, better, in a frame, 
where they can be properly shaded, not from 
diffused light, but from the sun’s rays, till roots 
are formed. They may then be fully exposed 
till fit for planting out. 
To save Seeds.—The finest specimens should 
be selected for this purpose, and the more of 
them there are, the greater will be the chance 
of the sort being saved true. The plants may 
either be allowed to run to seed where they 
have grown, or they may be taken up early in 
spring, and planted up to the neck in some 
place where they can be protected from birds 
when the seeds are ripening. 
Club-root (fig. 1172).—‘“This destructive 
disease, also known as ‘Finger-and-Toe’ and 
‘Anbury’, attacks the various kinds of Cab- 
bage, Turnip, Radish, Wallflower, in fact most 
cultivated plants, including weeds, belonging to 
the order Cruciferw. The root is the part most 
frequently attacked, the presence of the parasite 
being indicated by the formation of numerous 
nodules, or wartlike outgrowths, or the entire 
root becomes swollen and clubbed, eventually 
rotting and emitting a very disagreeable smell. 
The disease also exists in the leaves, at least in 
the case of Cabbages, but no distinction occurs, 
as in the root. 
“The disease is contracted, in the first instance, 
by spores present in the soil, which enter the 
living cells of the root of the plant. When once 
inside a living cell, the parasite does not form a 
mycelium as in the fungi, but a glairy mass of 
protoplasm, called a plasmodium, which slowly 
alters its form from time to time, and consti- 
tutes the vegetative condition of the parasite. 
After remaining in the vegetative state for some 
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417 
time, and producing the swellings in the root 
alluded to, the plasmodium undergoes certain 
changes, and eventually becomes resolved into 
myriads of exceedingly minute round spores, 
which, on the decay of the root, are liberated in 
the soil. What takes place when the spores are 
set free, as to whether they germinate, form a 
plasmodium that exists as a saprophite for some 
Fig. 1172.—Club-root—Different Forms of Diseased Roots. 
time, is not known; but it is known with cer- 
tainty that if Cabbages, Turnips, or other allied 
plants are sown or planted in soil that has pro- 
duced diseased plants the previous season, or 
even two or three years previously, such plants 
will become diseased. 
“ Preventive Means.—F rom what has been stated, 
it will be seen that it is simply courting disaster 
sowing or planting Cabbages, Turnips, &c., in 
diseased soil; on the other hand, repeated ex- 
periments have proved that the application of 
quicklime destroys the germs in the soil. Lime 
is an effective preventive of club-root, and by its 
constant use, at the rate of 75 bushels or so per 
acre each year, Cabbages have been grown at 
frequent intervals—almost yearly—upon the 
same soil! The use of artificial manure con- 
taining acids, phosphates, and sulphates, favours 
the spread of the disease. It has been demon- 
strated that soil from an infected locality, 
carried by means of cart-wheels, tools, &c., is 
sufficient to start the disease in a new locality. 
Weeds, such as Shepherd’s-purse, Charlock, 
Garlic-¢mustard, and other crucifers should not 
be allowed to grow in places where cultivated 
plants belonging to the same order are grown. 
Do not throw diseased plants on the rubbish- 
heap, but burn them. Dr. Halsted states that 
