AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
496 
[November, 
The Common Pigeon-berry, or Poke. 
This widely-distributed plant is, during the 
spring and summer, a fine example of vigor¬ 
ous growth. Were it an exotic, costly to 
procure, and difficult to cultivate, how it 
would he valued ! When the growth is com¬ 
pleted, and the abundant berries begin to 
ripen, the whole plant shares in the change 
from pale green to the richest crimson. 
Long before frosts are thought of, this change 
begins with the painting of the stem, and 
the coloring goes on from day to day in a 
most striking manner. No doubt all who 
live in the country know the 
Pigeon-berry, or Poke. It 
has a large branching root, 
six inches or more through, 
from which arises a stout, 
branching, leafy stem six, 
and in rich ground, eight 
feet high. The racemes of 
greenisli-white flowers are 
not showy, but these are suc¬ 
ceeded by graceful clusters, 
six inches or more long, of 
flattened berries, which are 
at first green, then crimson, 
and finally of the richest 
blackish-purple. When the 
fruit is ripe, the stems of the 
plant also show ripeness, and 
are beautifully striped with 
crimson, while the leaves at 
this time are of a fine yellow 
color, with crimson veins. 
We do not wonder that the 
Europeans esteem it as an 
ornamental plant. The fact 
that it was found to be hardy 
in a garden in Berlin was a 
few years ago quoted in all 
the horticultural journals of 
Europe. In its maturity the 
plant is suspicious, as the ber¬ 
ries and the root have active 
medicinal properties. Not so the young 
shoots, as they push up from the bulky root 
in spring. Taken when they first appear, 
with their undeveloped leaves, like aspara¬ 
gus, they are by many preferred to that 
vegetable. Served like asparagus, they are 
excellent, and whatever active principle they 
may possess is dissipated in the cooking. We 
have much respect for a lady in a Western 
State, who, having introduced the plant into 
cultivation, wrote an account of it, which we 
published in July, 1879. Like many other 
widely distributed native plants, this has 
A Number of Common Names. 
^Besides “Pigeon-berry” and “Poke,” it is 
known in different parts of the country 
as “Garget,” “Cancer Boot,” “ Coeum,” 
“ Scoke,” “Skoka,” and “ Pecatacelleloe.” 
This last, while it may be a common name, 
can hardly ever become a popular one. Those 
who find botanical terms difficult, will, we 
think, prefer Phytolacca decandra, the scien¬ 
tific name of the plant, to that. The fresh 
juice of the berries is of the richest possible 
purple, but, as many a schoolboy who has 
used it as red ink has learned to his disgust, 
it is not permanent. The attempts to fix the 
color as a dye, by the use of various mor¬ 
dants, have not been very successful. Over 
two centuries ago the plant was introduced 
into Portugal, and its berries were used to 
give port wine, which is naturally pale, a 
-rich color. Its use in wine was prohibited 
by royal edict, “on pain of death, as it in¬ 
jured the flavor.” As a consequence, port 
wane is now colored by the juice of the 
Elderberry. The root is the most active part 
of the plant, causing violent vomiting and 
purging ; as it appears to have marked nar¬ 
cotic properties also, it is evidently a thing 
not to be incautiously meddled with. Exter¬ 
nally, in the form of ointment, it has been 
found useful in skin diseases of domestic 
animals, especially the mange in dogs, and 
for garget in cows. The stems of the plant 
Have a Peculiar Pith, 
which we have not seen mentioned in any de¬ 
FLOWER CLUSTER AND LEAVES OF THE POKE OR PIGEON-BERRY. 
scription. If a mature stem be cut open, the 
pith will be found as a series of disks, placed 
one upon .another. Each disk consists of a 
ring of pith about a fourth of an inch high, 
across which is stretched a thin transparent 
membrane, reminding one of a miniature 
tambourine. This is only mentioned in 
the hope that some one may throw some 
light upon the reason for this peculiarity. 
Timely Suggestions on Cider Making. 
If apples are converted into vinegar, which 
is often the most profitable use for them, 
no special care is required. The apples may 
be ground and pressed whenever conven¬ 
ient, and the more rapid the fermentation, 
the better. To make the best cider, the time 
for pressing the juice, and the temperature 
at which it is fermented, are of great impor¬ 
tance. By cider, we refer to the fermented 
juice of the apple. Apple juice is sometimes 
prevented from undergoing fermentation by 
adding Sulphite of Lime, and other chemicals. 
Unferinented apple juice is not cider. If one 
wishes to preserve apple juice in this condi¬ 
tion, heat it to the boiling point, bottle, and 
then cork securely, as in canning fruits. 
The old-fashioned and picturesque cider 
press and mill have nearly disappeared, but 
several smaller and more effective machines 
have taken their places. These not only 
occupy less room, but they are so much 
more powerful, that they give a greater yield 
of juice. Orchardists who market the bulk 
of their fruit, find that it pays to have a por¬ 
table mill for the conversion of wind-falls 
and inferior apples into cider, to be made in¬ 
to vinegar. One large orchardist in Indiana, 
assures us that he finds a large share of his 
profits from thus utilizing the poor fruit. 
While the best cider will make the best 
vinegar, that made of the poorest apples is 
so much better than the whiskey vinegar 
commonly sold, that it is worth while to use 
all the apples not otherwise disposed of, in 
the form of vinegar. Each locality has its 
favorite cider apples ; those regarded as best 
ripen with the light frosts of November, 
at a season when the temperature is most 
favorable for the best product. For the 
best cider, use only sound apples; all inferior 
fruit should go into vinegar. When the 
juice is pressed, whether in the old-fashioned 
press with cheeses laid up with straw, or in a 
modern press, it will be well to strain the 
juice, as it flows from the press, by let¬ 
ting it rim through a piece of gunny- 
bag, or a hair sieve. If not new, the barrels 
should be perfectly clean, and placed in a 
cool cellar. There are two methods of fer¬ 
mentation. One is to fill the barrels quite to 
the bung, and as the froth from fermentation 
runs over, keep the barrels full with some 
of the juice saved for the purpose. When the 
fermentation ceases, the barrels are bunged 
tight, and allowed to remain for a while. 
The contents are then to be racked off into a 
new or perfectly clean barrel. This barrel is 
prepared by putting into it about three gal¬ 
lons of cider, and burning in it a strip of 
cloth, that has been dipped in melted brim¬ 
stone. The barrel after lighting the brim¬ 
stone should be bunged, the flame will soon 
be extinguished, when the torch is to be re¬ 
moved, and the barrel well shaken, that the 
cider within may absorb the fumes. The 
barrel is then to be filled from those in which 
the fermentation took place, drawing at a 
short distance above the bottom, to avoid any 
lees or sediment. Cider thus treated will 
keep a long time. Another method is to 
fit one end of a tube, bent twice at right 
angles, or curved, to the wooden bung or 
large cork. The tube may be of glass or tin, 
with its other end immersed in a cup of 
water. The gas produced by fermentation 
will escape, and no air enter. Cider fermented 
in this maimer, and carefully racked off af¬ 
ter the fermentation is complete, is so supe¬ 
rior to that made in the ordinary rough meth¬ 
ods, as to merit the name given to it by the 
Germans, of Apfel Wein. In making vine¬ 
gar, we have another kind of fermentation, 
and need free exposure to the atmosphere. 
Those who make vinegar on a large scale, 
and wish to work in the most rapid manner, 
have a house which they can keep heated to 
about 70° in winter. They know how much 
old vinegar helps the change of cider into 
vinegar, hence keep up a constant drawing 
from cask to cask. This frequent change and 
exposure to the air, is also beneficial, as is 
the addition of vinegar “ mother ” to cider. 
A Clump of Cliiveai. — Chopped onion 
is not so desirable for flavoring potato 
salad as the finely chopped green leaves 
of Chives. For imparting an onion-like fla¬ 
vor to soups and stews, Chives are valued by 
many. It is an old-fashioned plant of the 
onion family, to be found, as a general 
