18G6.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
J59 
cate its origiu, which 13 re;illy South xVinerican. 
The phuit is just now hiiuled by the Ffench 
writers as being even more valuable than the 
potato. Its tubers furnish food for man and 
beast, its leaves are excellent forage for cattle, 
'its green stems are good as manure, while the 
dried stems are of great utility as stakes for 
peas, beans, and otlier climbers, and even for 
making fences. Then, of course, follow figures 
showing the great profit per acre, which we 
forbear to give. Notwithstanding the e.xtr.ava- 
gant view the French have of this plant, it 
probably merits the attention of our Southern 
and AVestorn friends as a food for swine, and 
some of them will do well to test its real value 
by planting it and allowing the hogs to root it out. 
Growing Water Cresses. 
— ■ 
Among the salad plants of early spring, none 
are more highly prized than Water-Cresses. 
Judging from the high price at which they are 
sold in our city markets, their culture must be 
very profitable, inasmuch as a plantation once 
established j'ields a regular income every year. 
The water-ciess (Nasturtium officinale), a mem- 
ber of the Mustard Family, is a native of Europe. 
It is, ia many of the older settled parts of the 
country, naturalized in the ditches and streams. 
Though we have often collected the cress from 
the places in which it grows spontaneously, we 
never cultivated it, and as we can not draw 
upon our own experience, we give the following 
directions for its cultivation from the London 
Gardener's Chronicle, asking those who can 
suggest any modification of the mode of culture 
to do so. "Their cultivation is easy where 
there is a command of a gently flowing stream, 
and a depth of from 3 to G inches of water can 
be secured. If the bottom is of mud it must 
be removed and a new bottom of gravel substi- 
tuted. The best time to form beds is May and 
June, for^utumn use, and September and Octo- 
ber for spring use, at which time select strong, 
well-rooted cuttings, and fasteu them to the bot- 
tom of the stream on the gravel, by means of 
a stone placed on each cutting. The rows in 
shallow water should be 18 inches apart, but if 
the stream is very deep, i or 5 feet is not too 
much. Care should be taken, in gathering the 
crop, not to disturb the plants ; hence it is al- 
ways best to use a knife instead of breaking 
them off." The Bitter-cress, {Barbarea inilgaris,) 
is sometimes sold in our markets. It is greatly 
inferior to the Water-cress, has less rounded di- 
visions to the leaves, and its flowers 'are yellow, 
while those of the Water-cress are white. 
Increasing the Size of Fruit. 
— • 
That a dozen fine specimens of any kind of 
fruit are belter worth having, than double the 
number of half grown and poorly ripened ones 
is too obvious to require argument. Thinning 
the fruit is one of the most ready and effective 
means to secure its full development, but there 
are other aids which will be mentioned pres- 
ently. Thinning is often omitted through neg- 
ligence, but more frequently from timidity. In- 
deed it does require some courage to remove 
half the young fruit from a tree, until one has 
experienced its utility. Not only do the remain- 
ing fruits acquire greater size, but a degree of 
perfection never found in an overabundant crop. 
One of our principal growers of the Isabella 
grape, whose success is generally credited to his 
f;ivorable location, attributes very little to this 
circumstance, but thinks that his almost certain 
crop of well-ripened fruit is due more to his 
severe thinning — taking off three-fourths of the 
berries — than to anything else. The largest 
pear growers of our acquaintance thin severely. 
The amount to be removed in thinning will de- 
pend upon the variety and vigor of the tree ; 
with trees in full bearing, from one-third to 
one half the fruit may often be removed with 
advantage. The earlier it is done after the fruit 
eommeuces to grow, the better, except with 
stone fruits, whicli are allowed to remain until 
the stone is formed. Where very large speci- 
mens of fruit are desired, growers resort to oth- 
er expedients or tricks, some of which, such as 
"ringing" the bark, w-e can not commend, 
while others, sucli as shading the fruit during 
its period of growth until the time of ripening, 
are harmless. Supporting the fruit so as to re- 
lieve the strain upou the stem, and supporting 
it right side, or blossom end up, aie both said 
to aid in augmenting the size. Some horticul- 
turists in Europe go so far as to inarch a leafy 
shoot upon the fruit spur, and thus bring to the 
fruit a greater supply of sap than it would oth- 
erwise get; and a solution of sulphate of iron 
(copperas), 20 grains to the pint of water, is ap- 
plied by the French gardeners. The fruit is 
wetted with this two or three times during its 
growth, and it is said to increase its size and 
improve its beauty b_v preventing fungou-, siiots. 
But these are refinements that few of our read- 
ers will care to practice : thinning, added to 
good culture, will give all that need be desired. 
Protection from Late and Early Frosts. 
The direction given by Cromwell to his 
soldiers to "trust God and keep your powder 
dry," implies that Providence helps those wlio 
help themselves. Much of our horticulture is 
carried on with a blind trust in Providence, and 
a general neglect of the powder. Many of our 
growers scout the idea of protecting anything, 
and think that whatever is not perfectly hardy is 
not worth cultivating. Now, all cultivation is 
artificial; we give certain plants advantages 
which they do not possess in a state of nature, 
and anything that tends to assist the plant to its 
best development is legitimate ; the limit to arti- 
ficial aid being the extent to 
■which it will pay. Nothing can 
be further from nature than a hot- 
bed ; yet every gardener considers 
it legitimate, even necessary, to 
give his seedling plants artificial 
heat and protection. The very 
general desti-uction, late in May 
last, in some localities, of toma- 
toes, grape shoots, and other 
PROTECTION FOR GRAPE VINES. 
things, to the total loss of the crops, should lead 
us to consider whether some protection would 
not pay. We do not every year have such killing 
late frosts, but we do, almost without exception, 
liave late in May, or early in June, a cold spell, 
in whidi several chilly nights give plants a 
check from which they are slow to recover. 
Then in autumn we have a few early frosts 
which nip the tender things, dahlias, etc., just 
as they are in perfection, and usually after this, 
weeksofgloriousweatlier, in which tliose plants 
that escape the first attack seem to fairly revel. 
It is surprising how sliglit a covering will pro- 
tect plants. By a judicious use of sticks and 
newspapers, we have had dahlias bloom, and 
tomatoes continue in fruit, long after those of 
our neighbors were blackened and dead. In 
Europe, wliere horticulture is more developed 
than with us, protection is as much a part of the 
gardener's duties, as propagation, or pruning. 
How fur it will pay is a matter that we have yet 
to learn. We find that it pays to cover straw- 
berries by the aci'c, and in France, it pays to 
arrange vineyards of many acres with paillas- 
sons, for protecting the young growth, and cov- 
ering the ripening fruit Those who have 
small gardens and who cultivate as much for 
the love of it, as for the products, will be wil- 
ling to take any pains to help their pet trees 
and vines. A sheet thrown over a vine when 
a frost is anticipated, will often save the season'3 
crop. We some time ago (Feb. 1863) gave direc- 
tions for making straw mats, which are alwa)'3 
handy to have. Screens made of laths filled in 
with straw are very useful ; these may be laid 
over plants, or two put together roof-wise, and 
give ready protection. We give a cut from Guyot 
on the vine, showing how protection is afford- 
ed in vineyards on a large scale. The vines are 
planted against ridges, which are 8 or 10 inches 
high, and trained low, much after the plan 
shown in figures 1 and 3, on page 224, of the 
June AgricultHrist, except that the vine is 
planted slanting toward the stakes, for the pur- 
pose of allowing the protection to be used. A 
straw matting, supported by stakes and wires, 
is placed over the wliole row of vines, and it is 
so arranged that it may be turned up vertically 
to afford protection against tlie prevailing winds. 
We have not space now to give minute details 
of this method of culture, but simply give 
these suggestions which no doubt some of our 
wide-awake cultivators will carry into practice. 
Collecting and Studying Plants. 
A number of persons ask us to say more 
about wild flowers, and to give illustrations so 
that they can identify the common plants they 
meet. We can not devote a large space to any 
one subject, and though some may like to have 
more said about wild flowers, there are others 
who care nothing for them, but wish fruit, field 
crops, garden vegetables, etc. AVe try to gratify- 
all and neglect none. To those who notice 
flowers, we can not too thoroughly commend 
the study of them. Figures— mere portraits of 
plants — help the superficial observer to find the 
name, but this gives him little idea of the struc- 
ture of the plant, or its relationships. A dozen 
plants well studied, and of which the structure 
is well understood, will be a greater help to a 
knowdedge of plants in general than a volume 
of nicely made portraits. We can not do our 
flower loving readers a better service than to 
advise them to study Gray's Lessons, to get an 
idea of plant structure in general. We know of 
no work which presents the subject in such a 
popular, and what is equally important, thor- 
oughly correct manner as this. A novice can 
read it and understand it, and the advanced bo- 
tanical student will, from its perusal, get new 
light upon his science. The general structure 
of plants being understood, the determination 
of any particular one is easy. For this purpose 
we have no works, which, for completeness and 
