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THE Y SA Y. 



twice a week will not be too often to examine and clean 

 the plants. 



Another item which applies to both, is, that florists 

 seldom try to do more than ' ' keep down" insects. Per- 

 haps anything beyond this would be impracticable in a 

 commercial establishment, and therefore whenever any 

 new plants are purchased, they should be kept in quar- 

 antine long enough to ascertain if they are infested. 

 If tobacco soap is obtainable, it is better for cleansing 

 them than any other. — Wm. F. Bassett, New Jersty. 



Old Plant Lore. — In pre-Linnaean botany plants were 

 valued chiefly for their medical properties, and little at- 

 tention was given to those that had no "virtues," other 

 than form and beauty. In the description of plants, the 

 last note, and the most important as well, was the table 

 of virtues, and it must be admitted that some of the 

 plants now considered worthless had most remarkable 

 medical properties. They also had the remarkable 

 power of changing dispositions and characters. Where 

 plants are not known to possess any medical virtues 

 they are dismissed like the iris, by Parkinson in his 

 "Garden of Pleasant Flowers," 1629, as follows: 

 "There is not anything extant or to be heard, that any 

 of these kinds of Flower-de-luces hath been used to any 

 Physical purposes, and serve only to deck up the gar- 

 dens of the curious." 



In an old Herbal written by Johannes Mediolano, a 

 celebrated doctor at the Academy of Salerno, we find 

 some very curious plant attributes. Rue, for example, 

 according to the learned doctor, merits all sorts of con- 

 sideration. " It diminishes the force of love in man, 

 and, on the contrary, increases the flame in woman." 

 "This plant clears both the sight and the perceptions 

 of the mind, when eaten raw ; but when cooked, it de- 

 stroys fleas." This aphorism was put forth and re- 

 spected by all the old physicians, and people were ad- 

 vised to use rue according to their needs ; "if you fall 

 in love imprudently, and, by a strong effort of your own 

 good sense, or by advice of sincere friends, you perceive 

 your folly, eat your rue raw ; if you are tormented by 

 fleas, boil it. " 



Valuable as rue may have been it was nothing in com- 

 parison to sage. Sage, according to the school of Sal- 

 erno, preserves the human race. Among its other vir- 

 tues, "it cureth the Palsie ; healeth filthy wounds and 

 sores ; griefs of the liver; drink it with wine to procure 

 an appetite, and strengthen the stomach ; for pain in the 

 sides, and shaking of the hands by palsy ; to comfort a 

 hot liver, and put away frenzy ; to heal scurf, ulcers 

 and venomous bitings ; to make the hair black ; to com- 

 fort the hearte and asswage headach ; it strengthens 

 weak members ; cureth bitings of mad-dogs ; to warme 

 and strengthen aged cold sinews, and lengthen the 

 strength of the younger." It is highly recommended, 

 "when being beaten and juiced it is put to a roasted 

 pigges braines, with currans for sauce thereunto." Af- 

 ter a list of more than one hundred virtues like these 

 enumerated, this learned doctor seriously exclaims : 

 "How can it happen that a roan who has sage in his 



garden, yet ends by dying." His philosophy came to 

 his aid, and he replied : "It is a proof of the necessity 

 of death, which nothing can enable us to avoid." 



This good old doctor in speaking of walnuts said, 

 'The first walnut is good, the second injurious, the 

 third kills," Modern walnuts do not have the same 

 effect. 



Now comes a maxim full of good practical sense, and 

 as appropriate now as 350 year ago. "Wash your 

 hands often," says the learned doctor Johannes, "wash 

 your hands often if you wish to live in good health. 

 Wash your hands after meals; it clears the sight." 

 Very impressively he then adds : "To wash the hands , 

 not only promotes health and clears the sight, but it 

 also, incontestably cleans them." Of course a few sage 

 leaves are to be added to the water. — Linn^us. 



A Durable Walk. — The flower beds and the green 

 lawn do not constitute the main features of a garden by 

 any means ; there is another which should be foremost in 

 receiving our attention and labor, and that is the garden 

 walk. One is not ready to realize this, unless a garden 

 has been viewed in which there are good walks, made 

 well, serviceable, and comfortable to the feet, which 

 are artistic and turn in a manner that will not unneces- 

 sarily rob the garden of its greensward or of an addi- 

 tional flower bed. Too much walk will deprive a garden 

 of its look of fullness and richness, and too little will add 

 inconvenience and will ofttimes be the cause of a worn 

 sward by the visits to the beds. 



A good substantial garden walk and pathway that will 

 prove impervious to hard rains and stand hard travel can 

 be made by following out these instructions. Procure 

 a load or two of medium yellow gravel, or the quantity 

 that you think will suffice, and get it well screened or 

 sifted. Sink your walk at the sides by scraping, and 

 elevate the middle with the large gravel that remains af- 

 ter sifting. This will allow for a good and clear gutter. 

 Roll well with a hand roller and spread a layer of fine 

 screenings. Sprinkle freely with a hose and roll con- 

 tinually. You can the next day perform the same ope- 

 ration of spreading a layer of fine gravel, sprinkling 

 and rolling well. A nice curve should thus be given the 

 path which will shed the rain thoroughly, will have a 

 nice clean appearance, and will be durable. 



Remedy for Cabbage Pests. — I keep my cabbage 

 free from all insects by applying very sour milk about 

 sundown every few days. — F. H. Coe, Columbus, O. 



Shade Trees versus Crops. — I have recently seen 

 an editorial in some agricultural journal which took the 

 broad ground that farmers could not afford to plant 

 shade trees by the road-side, because the trees take so 

 much nourishment from the grass and grain. But the 

 article admitted their advantage to the traveling public. 

 I fully appreciate the necessity of securing a supply of 

 bread and butter, as well as something to wear, but it 

 is well to bear in mind that "it is not all of life to 

 live." I think something may be done toward growing 

 good crops even under trees. I have a plot of ground 

 adjoining a fine grove of oaks, which are 35 to 40 feet 



