J-uly 24, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
71 
as to get their stems firm and woody they would resist its ravages, but this 
did not prove effectual. It would be useless to detail the many e.vperi- 
ments tried in growing the plants. Nearly every conceivable mixture of 
soil was used, the watering was done with the greatest care, and the house 
ventilated on several different principles, but every attempt to grow the 
plants free from disease ended in failure. 
The difficulty experienced in finding the cause of this disease was 
inteniified by the mysterious manner in which the plants were attacked 
and totally destroyed in a few hours. Although the effects of the disease 
are only outwardly visible when the plants flag and are decayed through 
the stem, it became apparent to mo that the work of destruction was 
going on long before its effects were outwardly visible. This I discovered 
by severing the stem and examining the tissues minutely with a glass. I 
further observed that the disease was worse during sunless weather than 
during the time the atmosphere was bright and dry. This at once led me 
to the cause of the disease, and a remedy was applied which proved 
effectual. 
The disease I had looked upon as so terrible and destructive was, like 
many other diseases, brought about by the system of cultivation we had 
pursued. I had not taken into consideration the house and its surround- 
ings, which in our case was the cause of failure. The house is very wide, 
low, flat in the roof, and surrounded at a short distance with forest trees ; 
consequently the atmospheric conditions of the structure internally were 
too moist and the temperature maintained from fire heat too low, which in 
a more suitable structure would have been sufficiently high. The 
temperature of the house was raised 5° at night, by which means a 
warmer drier atmosphere was maintained, and the decay which 
caused our plants to collapse so suddenly at once disappeared.— Willi.vm 
Babdney. 
BENNETT'S SAFETY LIGATURE. 
The most useful appliances are of the simplest, aird this ligatm-e is 
certainly both simple, safe, and useful. So simple is it that one wonders 
why the plan of sliding short thick gutta percha tubes on wire for placing 
round trees was not thought of before. The ligature possesses the three 
desirable properties of being soft, firm yet yielding, and durable, and its 
use is well calculated to prevent the abrasion of the bark of Roses and 
fruit trees, which are so often injm'ed by unprotected wire. 
The patentee, Mr. W. E. Bennett, Condover, Shrewsbury, writes con¬ 
cerning it:—“ Enclosed is one of my patent Rose and fruit ties, by which 
you will see that my object is to prevent the trees from being damaged 
by rubbing against the stakes or otherwise, as the part of wire that 
surrounds the tree is covered with indiarubber, as also is the part between 
the tree and the stake, while the part uncovered is round the stake only; 
and each end being passed through the loop and twisted, it is quickly 
fixed or removed, and it is also very durable. The one enclosed is one of 
the smallest, and suitable for Roses with iron stakes. Please give me 
your opinion of it.” 
The illustration (fig. 15) shows the form and mode of employing this 
very useful little contrivance. 
The Australian Tobacco Industry. — In a recent work on 
“ The Industries of New South Wales,” the writer says :—“ Tobacco 
manufacture is increasing, and each year a larger quantity of the leaf 
is grown. Successful cultivation of tobacco depends greatly upon the 
seasons, but generally speaking it is attended with no difficulty beyond 
the occasional appearance during or after wet seasons of a blight called 
“blue mould,” which affects the plants as rust injures Wheat, and 
sometimes rather seriously reduces the yield of good leaf from the crop. 
The industry is too young, and the experiments made in the way of 
testing the suitableness of the soil for the growth of the tobacco plant 
not numerous nor extensive enough to enable a proper comparison to 
be made between the colony and America as tobacco-producing 
countries ; but both the amount of production and the quality of the 
leaf grown could be greatly improved if farmers were to give the 
matter more attention than they do. The method of drying and curing 
the leaf is very primitive on most of the farms, and thi.s interferes 
more or less with the manufacture of the leaf into tobacco or cigars. 
Very few cigars are made, but tobacco, in which the colonial leaf is the 
principal ingredient, is manufactured in large quantities and meets 
with a ready sale. The general mode of preparing it for consumption 
is to mix it with a little of the best American leaf, and in that form it 
appears to be well liked.” 
HISTORICAL JOTTINGS ON VEGETABLES. 
SPINACH, SKIRRET, AND SALSAFT. 
The name Spinach was formerly spelt “SpinnagQ.” It is 
clearly derived from the Latin Spinacia, which, however, is a 
barbarous word, and there is no evidence that the Romans or the 
Greeks were cultivators of this vegetable, or that they gathered 
it wild, at least no allusion can be traced that applies to it; but 
the ancients certainly used for salads some of the plants of the 
order Chenopodiacese, in w hich Spinach is placed ; and Spinacia 
must have been formed from sjnna, a jn-ickle, referring to the 
prickly integument of the fruit and the bristleness of the old 
leaves in some varieties. One of the Chenopods, still eaten in 
some counties, and which is mentioned by writers early in the 
Christian era, is a species somewhat rich in quaint vernacular 
names, such as Good King Henry, Lamb’s QuaiTers, Mercury 
Goosefoot (0. Bonus Henricus). Its regal appellation is perhaps 
connected with Henry lY. of France, more probably with our 
Henry YL, who was styled “ good” by the monks for his many 
acts of beneficence. The French also eat the leaves and use 
them for poultices ; in fact the medicinal repute of this common 
plant can be traced back to the days of Galen, who stated that 
it would abate swellings, and in more modern times Culpepper 
recommended the juice as an exterminator of warts. It would 
appear that the ancients when preparing this for the table 
selected the young shoots, which were stripped of their leaves 
and peeled. 
Botanical authorities cannot ascertain positively whether the 
garden Spinach is a true native of Europe or an Asiatic plant. 
Several of the old herbalists call it Atriplex hispaniensis, and 
assume that Spain is its habitat; but Miller thinks the Spaniards 
received the plant from their Moorish visitors. Beckman has 
detected the name in a list of vegetables dated 1351, these being 
plants cultivated in some monastery garden, for the monks were 
fond of horticulture, and not unskilful in it either. Spinach 
was introduced into England about the middle of the sixteenth 
century, from France or Holland probably, and Gerard’s remarks 
upon it would imply that at first the young leaves were eaten 
green, and this continued to be the practice through the reigns 
of Elizabeth and James. But in the next reign there had come 
a change, for then Parkinson writes—“ Spinach is an herb for 
salad and divers other purposes for the table only, as it is not 
known to be used physically at all. Many English that have 
learned it of the Dutch people do stew it in a pot or pipkin 
without any moisture than its own. It is used likewise to be 
made into tarts and many other varieties of dishes, as gentle¬ 
women and their cooks can better tell than myself.” In fact. 
Spinach became a favourite article for the table through the 
greater part of the year, and it was specially eaten with lamb 
during the spring, but its admixture in tarts seems to have been 
only an experiment. Others at a rather later period came to 
the conclusion that Spinach might be used “ physically.” They 
squeezed out the juice and gave it to relieve inflammation and 
hoarseness. 
For many years Spinach was chiefly grown in the gardens of 
the nobihty and gentry ; afterwards, when the increasing popu¬ 
lation of London led to a demand for choice vegetables, it was 
cultivated by the market gardeners, but not to the extent which 
other plants were, from which a quicker profit was obtainable. 
A good deal used to be sent to market at one time from tbe 
neighbourhood of Fulham and Hammersmith : to save space it 
was often sown between the rows of Beans, Cabbages, and Cauli¬ 
flowers. Abei’crombie notices the prickly seed kind, which some 
of his friends grew because it yielded a winter supply of Spinach, 
also the smooth-leaved variety, and a French sort with thick 
leaves, which he commends. He must also have known, though 
