38o 



THEY SAY. 



away from the vines at times when it is not desired. 

 None of these purposes could be served by a house 

 with such a latticed glass roof. It may be, and is de- 

 sirable to keep the ventilators open night and day at 

 certain periods, but never during storms, and the inside 

 borders can be better supplied with moisture artificially 

 when needed than to be drenched with rain when the 

 fruit is ripening. I like abundant means for giving air 

 in a grapery when needed, but want to be able to control 

 the air and prevent draughts. Mildew, I apprehend, 

 would be totally unmanageable in a house with such an 

 open-work roof, and I had as soon undertake the culture 

 of Vilis vinifera in the open air at once. After grapes 

 have begun to color, and not until then, do I admit a 

 general draught of air through the house by ventilating 

 above and below at once, but even then it is of impor- 

 tance to close out rain storms and keep as dry as possi- 

 ble. Keeping the lower ventilators rigidly closed dur- 

 ing the swelling of the fruit from first to last, with sul- 

 phur exposed to the sun along under the lower edge 

 of the glass, will usually keep down mildew during the 

 period when heavy syringing is desirable ; but drip on 

 the foliage and a thousand little draught holes in the 

 glass, would set it going, despite the best care. I see 

 very little said now a days about grape growing under 

 glass. Is it getting to be a lost art among gardeners ? — 

 W. F. Massey, Rah'i';/i, N. C. 



From North Carolina. — After several years success- 

 ful cultivation of grape vines under glass, I should 

 think that the method of glazing vineries spoken of by 

 Mr. Williams in the March number of The American 

 Garden, hardly a good one. While there may be 

 times during a season that it is advisable to have plenty 

 of air in the grapery, I prefer to have it more directly 

 under my control. The same may also be said of the 

 water ; if during the time the vines are blooming the 

 weather should be wet and cold, as is sometimes the 

 case, I fear that with the glass at all apart so that there 

 would be much leakage, the result would be a bad set 

 of fruit, especially in the more tender varieties. A grape 

 roof, in my opinion, should be as near.y water tight as 

 possible if the best results are to be expected. If a person 

 is going to depend on an open roof ,J;hrough which to 

 supply his vines with air, and the inside border with 

 water, he need not be disappointed if he is not as suc- 

 cessful with his vines as some of his neighbors, who at- 

 tend more closely to the watering and airing of the 

 vines. — R. G. Milford, AshcvilL-, Noi-th Cayolina. 



Michigan Peach Prospect. — Late advices report 

 that in most parts of the famous Michigan " peach- 

 belt, " the prospects are good for a fair to good crop. 

 The blossoming is comparatively light, but this means 

 less thinning of fruit and finer peaches. Early in the 

 season it was reported that the freeze of early March, 

 following a very warm February, had destroyed the 

 whole crop, but the injury is not so great as was feared. 



The Cassava. — I am fully persuaded that no other 

 single article of food on the face of the earth would go 



so far toward sustaining animal life as the cassava root. 

 There is an agreeable living in it for more animals of 

 both the higher and lower orders than in anything else 

 in existence. No one need lack for food where there is 

 a good cassava crop. The Spaniards term it " The Life 

 of Man," so Uncle John Parker stated, and he was as- 

 sociated with them much in the stock business. If they 

 had added, "And all other Animals," it would not have 

 been extravagant. I believe that everything we have 

 ever offered it to on our place will eat it. I cannot say 

 for certain that we have ever offered it to the dogs, but 

 I am of the opinion that if you would fry fritters of it 

 and spread on good butter, that they, too, would eat it. 



Now there is no doubt in my mind but that thirty tons 

 of cassava root per acre can be produced. When I 

 think of the tapioca, glucose and starch there is in it, 

 and how abundantly it can be turned into bacon and 

 lard, milk and butter, mutton and beef, and that at least 

 one-third of our horse feed, in the line of grain, can be 

 saved by it, I feel confident that it will pay better than 

 any other plant in the world. — S. IV. Carson. 



A New Use for Beans. — Cheese made from beans 

 is largely used in China. For fertility of expedient the 

 almond-eyed Celestial can double discount the most in- 

 genious Yankee. While such cheese would not seem to 

 be very palatable or nutritious, yet it is said to be quite 

 salable and profitable to the manufacturers. Introduc- 

 ing it into the English market is talked of. Owing to 

 its low price it will probably encroach to some extent 

 upon the product of the old reliable cow. Poor people 

 will buy anything cheap that is good to eat. Their pecu- 

 niary condition compels them to do so, so this substitute 

 will probably find a large sale. At all events it is ex- 

 tracted from a harmless substance. No one that we 

 know of has ever died from the milk of a bean. Let 

 our English cousins thoroughly test it, and if it doesn't 

 make them sick, we will try it. Now let the American 

 cow prepare to meet close cut-rate competition. — N. ' ; 

 Market Journal. 



Lettuce Mildew. — At the Ohio Station we rece 

 had a bit of experience with this fungus. In the pre 

 gating houses a test of varieties of lettuce for forcin 

 was in progress, and during a few days of cloudy 

 weather, mildew suddenly appeared, passing rapidly 

 from plant to plant, and threatening to ruin the whole 

 lot in a day or two As soon as the attack was noticed 

 the infected plants were pulled out and carried away, 

 the ground was well stirred, and no more water was 

 applied to the soil. This checked the disease immediate- 

 ly, and sunshine appearing the next day, no further 

 damage was done. But since then we have been careful 

 about letting the soil get too damp. — C. M. W. 



Trouble with Melons. — Can you bring out in your 

 pages a remedy for the dying out when the fruit is half 

 grown, of the melons, cucumbers and squashes? I have 

 always thought it a small fly which deposits its eggs in 

 the stem. Riley thinks it is a fungus. I like melons 

 morning, noon and night and between times, and their 

 loss is a serious evil. — S. B. P. 



