4-5S 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
one's fist, and stirring it in a pailful of water. 
"When the liquid has become perfectly clear, it 
may be used in moderate quantity upon the 
earth containing robust shrubs. "We have no 
experience in its use upon tender plants, and 
that must be a matter of experiment. 
The Lizard' s-tail. 
One of the most pleasing of our aquatic plants 
is the Lizard's-tail, (Saururus cernuus.) It is 
very common in wet places, from New York 
westward and southward, where it forms large 
masses of pale-green foliage against which are 
^ I 
lizard's-tail — {Saururus cernuus.) 
contrasted the graceful spikes of white flowers, 
which are interesting from the simplicity of their 
structure; they have neither calyx or corolla, 
but are made up entirely of stamens and pistils, 
sheltered by a little bract or scale. These flow- 
ers are very much crowded upon the stem, and 
together make quite a show. They have a very 
pleasing fragrance, and as they open gradually, 
the period of flowering lasts for a long while. 
The engraving is from a small specimen, but it 
shows the shape of the leaves and the drooping 
character of the flower spike, the peculiar form 
of which, somewhat resembling a Lizard's tail 
has given it its common name as well as its bo- 
tanical one — Saururus. Those who have a pond 
or stream of water on their grounds, should in- 
troduce this plant to ornament the margins. 
Judging of Fruits at Fairs. 
— •— — 
There are two sorts of fruit committees— 
those who do their work faithfully and consci- 
entiously, and those who merely look at the 
fruit and make their award at once. We place 
very little reliance upon fruit premiums at fairs, 
unless we know who awarded them. A very 
good instance of thoroughness in a committee, 
though not exactly ou fruits, came under our 
notice at the autumnal Exhibition of the Penn- 
sylvania State Horticultural Society. The com- 
mittee on vegetables had some fifteen varieties 
of potatoes to decide upon ; instead of going 
by the eye alone, samples of each were boiled 
and thoroughly tested, each member of the 
committee making his marks as to flavor, text- 
ure, etc. It would be an excellent thing if an 
uniform system of marking or "points" could be 
established for fruit judges. It often happens 
that the largest fruit is by no means the best — 
and an award made upon size alone would be 
unfair, as others might excel it in form, color, 
and flavor. What we need is a comparison 
which shall take all the characters into account. 
English pomologists are very 
much exercised just now upon 
the subject of grape judging, and 
column after column appears in 
their different journals, until one 
is tired of so much talk upon a 
simple question, which, after all, 
is only this: Shall grapes be tast- 
ed by judges, or shall the flavor 
be inferred from the color? One 
would think that some national 
issue was at stake, so earnestly 
are both sides advocated. One 
writer suggests something like 
what we would have adopted for 
all fruits. For grapes he pro- 
poses the following marks as 
standard of perfection : Color 
and bloom, 5 ; flavor, 5 ; size of 
bunch, 2 ; form of bunch, 1 ; size 
of berry, 2 ; total, 15. Accord- 
ing to this scale a grape perfect 
in every respect, would be mark- 
ed 15. As perfection is seldom 
attained in even' particular, each 
quality is marked by itself and 
the whole added up. Thus a 
sample of grapes is submitted to 
a committee. One member marks 
in this way : Color and bloom, 4; 
flavor, 2 J ; size of bunch, 1 ; shape 
of bunch, i ; size of berry, 2 ; 
total, 10. If every member of 
the committee makes the same 
total, very well; if not, the vari- 
ous totals are added together and 
divided by the number composing the committee. 
We hope to see something of this kind adopted 
for all fruits. When awards are made for the 
" best exhibited," we get very little idea of what 
was the character of the fruit that took the prize. 
Peat Mess and its Uses. 
Almost every one is familiar with the peat bog, 
usually a cold, low, wet place, covered with moss 
of a very pale green color, and of a peculiar, spon- 
gy, nature, and furnishing, besides the moss, a 
number of shrubs and other plants that are rarely 
met with in other localities. The Peat Mosses 
proper belong to the genus Sphagnum, of which 
we have in the United States about 20 species, 
some of them very local in their range, while 
others extend from New England to the Gulf 
States, and some of our most abundant ones are 
found also in Europe. The figure shows one of 
the commonest species, and gives an idea of the 
general appearance of them all — the distinctions 
between the species being founded on charac- 
ters that would be noticed only by *.) is botani- 
cal student. The long, weak stem ^s furnished 
with clusters of short branches, which at the 
top of the stem are crowded into a sort of head. 
The branches are covered with leaves, which 
are so very small that in our engraving they 
appear like minute scales upon the branches. 
Under a strong magnifier the leaves are inter- 
esting objects, most of the cells of which they 
are composed containing a spiral filament, which 
gives them a very pretty marking. The spores, 
or reproductive dust, are contained in small 
globular capsules, about the size of a pin's head, 
which at the time of their maturity open by a 
lid and liberate the spores. A short distance 
below the surface of the bog we find the moss 
in a decaying state, gradually being converted 
into peat. Sufficient has recently been said on the 
subject of peat, the production of which is the 
most important use of the moss, but it renders 
no mean service to the horticulturist, and we 
mention it on this account. Moss is one of those 
minor aids to the horticulturist of which he sel- 
dom knows the value until deprived of it. From 
its spongy character it absorbs water readily, 
and parts with it slowly. This, together with 
the fact that it is one of the few vegetable sub- 
stances that can be kept moist for a long time 
without fermenting or decaying, renders it the 
most valuable packing material we possess. 
Indeed for surrounding the roots of living 
plants during their transportation, there is noth- 
ing that can replace it. Its softness and elas- 
ticity make it an agreeable material to work 
with. In Europe, the 
moss rubbed to a coarse 
powder is used to pack 
those seeds which it is 
desirable to prevent 
from becoming too dry. ■ 
Some bog plants, such 
as Sarracenius, and 
some Orchids, are most 
successfully grown in 
pots filled with Spag- 
num, and it is often 
used over the " crocks " 
that are placed in the 
bottom of a flower pot 
for drainage. Hya- 
cinths and such bulbs 
as are grown in water, 
succeed admirably in 
pots or baskets filled 
with it. Nurserymen 
and florists who live 
near the bogs usually 
collect the moss them- 
selves, but large quan- 
tities of it are sent from 
New Jersey to those 
portions of the West 
where it does not grow. 
We have no statistics 
upon the subject, but 
suspect that in the ag- 
gregate the trade in this plant must amount to 
a considerable sum. When first gathered the 
moss is quite heavy, on account of the water it 
holds, and if it is to be transported to any great 
distance, it should be spread thinly and dried. 
SPHAGNUM. 
The Miner Plum.— Several have sent us 
specimens of this fruit. It seems to be a seed- 
ling of our common native plum, of rather larger 
size than the wild fruit. It has a very thick 
skin which is said to be curculio proof, though 
its immunity from curculio is more probably 
due to its late blooming. It is of fair flavor, 
and is a showy fruit, which would, no doubt, 
sell well in the market. We are glad to welcome 
this improvement in one of our native fruits. 
