1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
217 
The specific name, 
fulva, is in refer- 
ence to its color, 
and there is an- 
otlier species, less 
common than this, 
with larger and 
paler flowers, cal- 
led pallida. The 
closely related 
garden Balsam, 
sometimes called 
Ladies-slipper, is 
ImpatiensBalsam- 
ina, and iu flowers 
(when single) and 
fruit resembles 
this in all impor- 
tant particulars. 
The Touch-me-not or Jewel Weed. 
All through the summer months there may 
be found in rich, moist, and shady spots a wild 
flower, a small branch of which is represented 
in the accompanying engraving. The pale color 
and general coarseness of the foliage are such 
that the plant does not at first sight present a 
veiy attractive appearance, and its interest is 
mainly confined to the flowers and fruits. The 
plant grows from two to four feet or more in 
hight, and has a succulent semi-translucent stem; 
it is much branched and bears its flowers towards 
the ends of the branches. The flowers, the 
shape of which will be seen in the engraving, 
are curiously formed,the calyx and corolla color- 
ed alike, with one of the parts of the calyx much 
larger than the others, bag-like, and at one end 
drawn out into a point or spur which is bent 
over towards the front of the flower. The 
flowers are of a bright orange yellow, spotted 
with brown, and their brilliancy together with 
the grace with which they hang upon their 
slender stems, have naturally suggested the 
popular name of Jewel-weed. These showy 
flowers very seldom produce seeds, but other 
flowers, which are so inconspicuous that they 
are seldom noticed, are the fertile ones. In these 
seed bearing flowers, the petals, etc., do not open, 
but the pistil is fertilized iu the bud ; as it grows, 
the parts of the flower are pushed off'. The 
long and narrow seed pod, when ripe, bursts 
spontaneously, and scatters the seeds, the five 
parts which form the exterior of the pod or seed 
vessel, breaking away from the centrid portion 
and curling up with considerable force. A pod 
after it has burst, is shown at the lower right 
hand side of the figure. The botanical name 
is Impatieiis falva. The generic name, Im- 
paticns, alludes to the impatience of the seed- 
pod under handling, and its common name, 
Touch-me-not, expresses the same peculiarity. 
Grape Mildew 
and its Cure. 
Some of our cor- 
respondents, in 
view of the fre- 
quent recorameu- 
datiou to use sul- 
phur to prevent 
or arrest mildew, 
ask how they can 
know that their 
vines are attacked 
by it. The mil- 
dew makes its ap- 
pearance in little 
grayish patches 
upon the leaf, sometimes upon one side only 
and at others both sides are attacked. The 
spots rapidly increase in size, and the vitality of 
the leaf is destroyed ; the young wood and 
buds are often attacked, and the green fruit is 
also subject to the 
mildew. If the 
progress of the 
trouble is not ar- 
rested, the growth 
is interfered with, 
and not only is 
the crop of the 
present season 
lost,butevenif the 
buds escape in- 
jury, the health of 
the vine is so se- 
riously impaired that it is afterwards more 
susceptible to the attacks of disease. When mil- 
dew appears on the fruit, it ceases to grow, the 
skin hardens, cracks and exposes the seeds. 
All of this trouble is caused by a small parasitic 
fungus, so minute that 
it requires a magnifier to 
see it distinctly. A 
small portion of the mil- 
dew is shown in Fig. 1, 
very much enlarged. At 
the lower side are seen 
a part of the threads 
which are, in the real 
plant, exceedingly min- 
ute and cobweb-like. 
These threads are the 
plant proper ; they pen- 
etrate the tissues and liv- 
ing on their juices. 
productive portions of the plant and contain the 
spores, or the minute dust, which serve to dis- 
tribute and multiply the fungus in the same 
manner that seeds do in plants of a higher order. 
The mildew fungus is called Oidium Tuckeri, 
the specific name having been giving iu honor 
of a Mr. Tucker, who gave an account of the 
mildew when it first appeared in England. 
Fig. 3. — SULPHUR BELLOWS. 
Vines in a confined and moist atmosphere are 
more liable to mildew than those in a dry and 
open situation, and weak and poorly grown 
vines seem less able to resist it than do strong 
and vigorous ones. The susceptibility of va- 
rieties to attack, differs largely in degree, it be- 
ing almost impossible to keep it from some, 
while others are never or rarely troubled by it. 
Sulphur in some form has been found to be 
an effectual remedy ; the direct application of 
the flowers of sulphur is the easiest, and perhaps 
as satisfactory in its results as any. With vines 
under glass, the volatilization whicli takes place 
at a moderate heat, suffices. Out of doors 
the plants must be dusted. We have before 
described a bellows used in France for the pur- 
pose of dusting the plants, and iu Fig. 3 we give 
a representation of it. It is like a common bel- 
lows with a wide tin nozzle, which has its open- 
ing covered with coarse wire gauze. There is 
no valve on the under side, and on the upper 
side, for introducing the sulphur, is an opening, 
which is closed by a cork. The curve in the 
tube allows the under side of the leaves to be 
reached with ease. We believe that the bellows 
is for sale at the horticultural establishments. 
_^-_^S^S5i--^^ 
FiK 
branch and multiply rapidly, and cause destruc- 
tion to the leaf and other parts of the vine. The 
upright, club-shaped bodies, shown in Figure 1, as 
springing from the horizontal threads, are the re- 
Rural Embellishments. 
The publication of a design for a rustic vase 
iu January last, has called forth several sugges- 
tions in regard to such matters, which indicate 
that our readers appreciate the value of the 
ornamental as well as of the practical. We do 
not find much space in which to treat upon em- 
bellishments, yet they are not to be altogether 
omitted, and we hold that whatever makes home 
more attractive is really useful. In the matter 
of rustic vases, Isaac Hicks, of Long Island, 
finds that a cheese-box, properly strengthened, 
covered with chestnut-bark, and placed upon a 
portion of the trunk of a tree for a pedestal, 
makes a very serviceable and easily constructed 
vase. O. Ordway, of Hillsborough Co., N. H., 
makes his receptacle for flowers of the end of 
an old alcohol or other strong barrel. This is 
sawed off' just above the second tier of hoops, 
the head strengthened by cleats and set upon a 
section of a log. The whole is then covered with 
a rustic work of twigs, bark or rattan, and if ueed 
be, painted brown or some neutral tint. Mr. O. 
tOiinks, that two kinds of plants are better than 
