1880.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
4:75 
and by spring are fit to plant out. We should be 
glad to see more attention paid to these small 
shrubs by our planters and lovers of choice flowers, 
for we know that no class of plants are more desir¬ 
able where the space that can be devoted to them 
is small. A sandy soil, well mixed with leaf mould, 
is suitable for growing this class of plants, though 
it is found that the Ling, Trailing Arbutus, and the 
early-flowering Erica carnea do well in sandy soil 
without leaf mould. We have often heard it said 
that our climate is not suited to growing such 
plants, but from an experience of some years with 
them, we see not the slightest difficulty if proper 
care is given at the start. A bed of these Ericace- 
cus plants in our grounds is a constant source of 
pleasure during the whole season, as there is scarce¬ 
ly a week during the summer that some varieties of 
Erica, Andromeda , or Menziesia are not in bloom. 
The Importance of a Farm Vineyard. 
The great increase in grape culture is encourag¬ 
ing. California has thousands of acres in vineyard, 
-and nearly all the European varieties of grapes are 
produced in the greatest perfection and abundance. 
Extensive vineyards have been planted in the Ohio 
mid Missouri Valleys and in favored localities in the 
Northeastern States. New varieties have been or¬ 
iginated and widely distributed, that are hardy 
•enough to mature in every State in the Union. 
Our large cities and many of our villages along the 
line of railroads are fairly supplied with good 
.grapes in their season at reasonable prices. It has 
been demonstrated that every farmer and villager 
in the land can have an abundant supply of this 
delicious fruit for four months in the year, for the 
trouble of planting and caring for a few vines. 
Our horticulturists have done the pioneer work of 
hybridizing, and originating new varieties that stand 
the test of soil and climate in all the States. And 
yet California is the only State where the grape 
may he said to be fairly popularized. The great 
mass of our farming population do not enjoy this 
luxury, and multitudes a little remote from mar¬ 
ket towns are only acquainted with our wild varie¬ 
ties. The grape ought to be as widely disseminated 
as the apple, and there is no good reason why it 
should not he. The large vineyards can supply 
our city population, but to supply the agricultural 
districts, grapes must be grown at home. This 
can be done, at so small cost, that no man who 
owns a home with a half acre 01 land has any apol¬ 
ogy for depriving- his family of grapes. An eighth 
of an acre in vines will supply a family and leave 
a surplus to sell. Any well-drained land that will 
produce sixty bushels of corn to the acre may be 
■expected to produce good grapes. Well-prepared 
borders, with a good supply of bones, are desirable, 
but by no means essential. A dressing of wood 
ashes is an excellent fertilizer, but any manure 
good for corn will be good for the vines. The vari¬ 
eties which do well under the greatest variety of 
•circumstances, and bear neglect best, are such as 
the Concord, the Hartford Prolific, and the Ives 
Seedling. There are grapes of much better quality 
than these, but they are good enough to suit the 
popular taste, and are hardy. They can be relied 
upon to bear fruit every season in generous quan¬ 
tity The Ives has a thick skin and is particularly 
■desirable to pack in boxes for winter use. They 
have been for years before the public, are thor¬ 
oughly tested, and can be furnished very cheaply 
by any nurseryman. A cheap trellis of chestnut 
posts and wire will be all the support they need, 
A four-months’ supply of grapes will promote 
health in the family, save doctors’ bills, and prove 
ran important part of the food supply. W. C. 
[Feeling the importance of the grape vine upon 
the farm, we gave, in 1878, a series of articles 
headed “ One Grape Vine,” in which directions for 
planting, etc., were presented at considerable 
length. These articles, judging from the many 
letters they called forth, met the wants of a large 
•class The matter of pruning the vine was thor¬ 
oughly explained with illustrations in the April 
number of the present year, to which the interest¬ 
ed reader should turn for hints on this important 
part of the work of the farm vineyard.—E d.] 
The Corn Smut ( Ustilago maydis.) 
The Smut in Indian corn, which has long been an 
annoyance to farmers, is a fungus, and therefore a 
minute parasitic plant, which, instead of growing 
from the soil and elaborating its own food, vegetates 
in the growing tissue of the corn plant, and robs it of 
its nourishment. It is difficult for any one to tell, 
Fig. 1.— A BADLY SMUTTED EAR. 
owing to its minuteness, just when and where the 
smut plant begins its growth upon the corn—it 
may he that the spores, or seeds, of the parasite 
are clinging to the grains of corn and are planted 
with them. As the moving air is known to be 
constantly carrying invisible fungus germs from 
one place to another, it is more probable that they 
first reach the corn plant in this way, and enter it 
by germinating upon the surface and sending the 
stance of the stem and 
leaves. After growing 
for a time, the parasite 
prepares for the pro¬ 
duction of a new crop 
of spores, by means of 
which the smut plant 
is perpetuated. This it 
does by first accumu¬ 
lating a mass of 
threads in certain fa¬ 
vorite portions of the 
plant, usually the 
young grains of grow¬ 
ing corn. At first the 
affected grains are no¬ 
ticed of unusual size, 
followed shortly by a 
darkening of the in¬ 
terior, together with a 
constant increase in 
size, until at last the 
grain has assumed large 
dimensions, is soft 
throughout, and made 
up almost entirely of 
a sticky mass of black 
spores. Figure 1 shows 
an ear, the grains of 
which have been thus 
transformed by the in¬ 
festing smut plant. On 
account of the ears of 
corn being covered 
with husks, the early 
stages of the smut 
are not seen, and the 
first that is observed is the black, worthless mass 
that is the final stage of the parasite. In fig. 3 an 
ear is shown in which but a few scattered grains 
are smutted, and the difference in their size and 
shape is strikingly contrasted with the normal ones 
around them. The production of spores is not 
entirely confined to the grains, but they frequently 
make their appearance in the male flowers situated 
at the top of the stalk, and composing what is com¬ 
monly known as the tassel. A portion of a tassel 
thus affected is shown in fig. 2. A few of the small, 
dark-brown spores, which make up the mass of 
smut, are shown in fig. 4, and are magnified about 
five hundred times. The number of spores that a 
single smutted ear will 
produce is almost be¬ 
yond computation. Corn 
Smut is injurious to ani¬ 
mals if eaten by them 
to any considerable ex¬ 
tent ; it acts both as a 
poison and mechanical 
irritant. Moist seasons 
are peculiarly favorable 
to the development of 
the Smut plant—there¬ 
fore it is much more 
common one season 
than another. If the 
Smut plant enters the 
growing corn through 
the seed with which it 
has been planted, a 
treatment like that used 
for seed wheat to pre¬ 
vent Rust may be of 
value in preventing its 
occurrence. This is to 
wet the corn beflbre 
sowing with a solution 
of Sulphate of Copper 
(blue vitriol, and dry 
it with lime. The best 
way to rid a field of this 
pest is to pass through 
it as soon as fhe smut¬ 
ted ears appear and F ‘g- 3.— partly smutted 
gather and burn them. EAK ‘ 
This both keeps the smut from the live stock and 
prevents it from shedding broadcast the millions 
of spores. Other kinds of grains 
are infested by fungi and have 
their shape and properties changed 
even more than in case of the 
corn. Thus the Ergot or “ Spur¬ 
red Rye ” is the grain of the rye 
greatly distorted by the growth 
of the parasitic fungus, producing a much more 
poisonous substance than the common corn smut. 
--- 
Handy Home-Made Garden Tools. 
BY J. L. TOWNSEND. 
Garden Trowel.— In but few country places 
can a gardener’s outfit be purchased, and after 
waiting in vain for our hardware stores to offer 
garden trowels for sale, my next expedient was to 
make one. Selecting a piece of an old steel shovel 
blade from the “eaten all” of our village black¬ 
smith shop, I soon produced a blade which was 
supplied with a shank by the blacksmith, while I 
turned a hard-wood handle for it on my foot lathe. 
Transplanting Dibble. —He who keeps a box 
of odds and ends, will find that many a useful tool 
can be fashioned from the broken parts of others. 
Needing a garden dibble, I resorted to my box of 
iron old and found a shank from a broken hoe. I 
cut off the small piece of the hoe blade, straight¬ 
ened the shank and pointed it, and inserting a 
neatly turned wooden handle with a rather large 
head, I secured for my work a very handy tool. 
Fig. 4. 
