1884.1 
AMEEIOAI^ AGEIOULTUEIST. 
503 
Uses, but after beading the fruiting eanes baek to 
two and a half feet from the ground, he ties “three 
or four of them together at the top, so as to make a 
good arch, which renders them self-supporting.” 
The sum of the desirable qualities possessed by 
the Rancocas red raspberry is expressed thus : 
“ The busy man’s berry. The lazy man’s berry.” 
What is Sphagnum? 
The suggestion last month of a new use for 
sphagnum — that of bedding for animals, has 
brought out the inquiry — what is sphagnum? 
Sphagnum is the name given by the ancients to 
the peat mosses, 
and is used by 
botanists of the 
present day to dis¬ 
tinguish these 
from other moss¬ 
es. There are in 
the United States 
more than a dozen 
species of sphag¬ 
num, but prac¬ 
tically, in con¬ 
sidering their 
uses, we may re¬ 
gard them as one. 
The engraving of 
one of the com¬ 
mon species will 
give an idea of 
the appearance of 
these plants. 
They have nu¬ 
merous short 
branches, thick¬ 
ly covered with 
minute leaves, 
which are beauti¬ 
ful objects to 
examine with the compound microscope. These 
mosses grow in wet places, and in such numbers 
as to cover large tracts, and form peat bogs. In 
these the mosses grow in close contact, the tops of 
the individual plants only being visible. The sur¬ 
face of the bog is of a pale yellowish green. As the 
moss grows, the plants increase in hight, while 
their lower portions gradually decay and form 
peat. The moss when taken from the bog is satu¬ 
rated with water, and is allowed to drain and dry 
before it is baled for transportation. Even when 
moist and exposed to the air, the moss does not 
readily decay, or even become sour, and it retains 
its elasticity in a remarkable manner. It is un¬ 
equalled as a material for surrounding the roots of 
trees, and plants in general, and is much employed 
by nurserymen and florists in packing their stock 
for transportation. Gardeners make use of sphag¬ 
num as a medium in which to grow some kinds of 
orchids and other plants which are natives of bogs. 
They also use it to mulch the surface of the soil in 
pots, and when dried, rubbed uj) and sifted, it is a 
most excellent material for covering fine seeds. 
For these and other uses, sphagnum is in demand, 
and as those who live at a distance from localities 
producing it, are obliged to purchase it, there is 
already considerable traflflc in the article. Its use 
as a bedding material is likely to rapidly increase. 
SPHAGUTIM, OK PEAT MOSS. 
Give the Pumpkin a Chance.— The pumpkin 
is an outcast, crowds itself through the world, 
and gets along as best it may. We object to its 
being so despicably treated. For daii'y cows the 
pumpkin is highly valuable, and in no way objec¬ 
tionable. It is rich in fat and sugar, tending to in¬ 
crease the yield, while its yellow color adds to 
the appearance of the butter. A well-known 
authority claims, that a ton of pumpkins is more 
preferable for dairy cows than two tons of ruta 
bagas, and several times as many white turnips. 
The hard shell varieties can be kept well on into 
the winter, if stored in a dry place with hay or 
straw packing. There are worse things for farmers 
to have in a field than sixty-pound pumpkins. 
The Eelation. of Plants to Health. 
JAMES SUEBUAN. 
Plants at present are more generally cultivated 
in-doors than formerly, and they may be seen in al¬ 
most every home. The cultivation of plants in 
dwellings is decidedly a modern custom—at least 
to the extent to which it is now practised. One 
who now contemplates building a dwelling house, 
plans to have included with the other conveniences 
of a first-class home, a suitable window for house 
plants, As the cultivation of plants in dwelling 
houses increases, the question is raised by some : 
“ Are not plants injurious to health, if growing in 
the apartments in which we live and sleep ? ” We 
know of persons who would not sleep in a room iti 
which a number of plants were growing, giving as 
the reason that the amount of carbonic acid gas 
given off by the plants, is detrimental to health. 
Now this view is either true or is not true. We 
have made a particular study of this matter, and 
speak from experience. Over ten years 
of my life has been spent in the green¬ 
house, among all kinds of plants ; I 
have frequently slept all night among 
them, and never observed it to be in 
the least detrimental to ray health, 
but, on the contrary, I have never 
felt better than when among plants. 
Gardeners, as a class, those who have 
spent their lives among plants, show, 
so far as we have observed, a longevity 
equal to, if not exceeding that of any 
other class who are engaged in any of the voca¬ 
tions usually regarded as healtliKiI. We must 
admit, however, that we have never known of a 
case of chronic rheumatism to be benefited in the 
least by working in hot-houses, on account of the 
perpetual dampness of the air. On the other hand, 
we know of a number of persons afflicted with va¬ 
rious other diseases, who have been noticeably ben¬ 
efited by working among plants, perhaps it was 
owing to the health-giving bodily exercise required 
by the work, rather than the supposed health-giving 
eilects of the plants themselves; we think the re¬ 
sult was due to both. An eminent physician cites 
a case in which his sister, aged fifty years, was 
afflicted with tubercular consumption, her death, 
as the natural result of such a terrible disease being 
expected at any time, but being an ardent lover of 
plants and flowers, she was daily accustomed to 
move among her plants, of which she possessed a 
large number, in her sleeping room as well as 
many other specimens in beds outside. ITer friends 
reproved her for sleeping in the same room with 
her plants; but the years came and 
went, and she was still found moving 
among her flowers in her eightieth 
year, surviving those, who many years 
before predicted her immediate demise, 
as the result of her imprudence. IVho 
will say but what the exhalation from 
her numerous plants increasing the 
humidity of the atmosphere in which 
she lived, prolonged her life ? The 
above is but one of many cases, in which 
tubercular consumption has been arrest¬ 
ed and sometimes wholly cured by the 
sanitary effects produced by working among plants 
for , a considerable time. We know of cases in 
which druggists, ministers, and students from 
school, were compelled to relinquish their chosen 
vocations on account of failing health, resorted to 
the nursery or hot-house. In almost every in¬ 
stance restoration to vigorous health was the result. 
We contend, therefore, that this old superstition 
that house plants are injurious to health, is noth¬ 
ing hut a myth. The amount of carbonic acid gas 
at night discharged from two dozen large plants, 
will not equal that exhaled by one infent sleeper, 
as has been demonstrated by scientific men. Be¬ 
cause a few old cronies stick to the absurdity that 
“ plants are awful sickenin’ things,” it is no reason 
why sensible people should be at all alarmed by it. 
[The more recent discovery that plants in flower 
produce ozone, a form of oxygen noted for its 
activity in purifying the air, and destroying the 
various disease germs, is an additional reason why 
plants should not be excluded from the sleeping 
rooms and other parts of our dweliings. ~ Ed.] 
What shall be done with the Front Yard ? 
Every one who has just completed a new house, 
finds himself confronted with the question of the 
best arrangement of the front yard. The same 
question should present itself to those who have 
long had front yards aud have allowed them to fall 
into neglect. If one has grounds of several acres 
to improve, he naturally calls in the services of a 
landscape architect, but where there are hut a few 
rods, the area is often left to an ignorant jobbing 
gardener, whose chief idea of improvement is to 
make crooked walks where straight ones would be 
in better taste. Rather than trust his front yard 
in such hands, the owner had better undertake the 
task himself. In most localities it will bo too late 
to execute the work properly this fall, but the plan 
may be decided upon, and all the grading and 
shaping may be done in readiness for planting next 
spring. With a small area there is great danger of 
undertaking to do too much ; this should be 
avoided, and simplicity and neatness be aimed at. 
The accompanying plans, by Ellas A. Long, will 
suggest the manner in which the planting of a 
small area may be varied. These are Intended for 
the smallest village and town front yards, but the 
same designs may be adapted to much larger areas. 
In all of these, the house is reached by a walk run¬ 
ning straight from the street along the boundary. 
Great care is needed in selecting materials for 
planting small areas. A tall-growing tree would 
be out of place in such a yard, while shrubs of low 
growth, and dwarf evergreens, are well suited to 
such grounds. The chief point should be to secure 
as much grass as possible. In figures 1 and 3, 
small shrubs and flowers are employed, and in 
figure 1 a special ornamental bed is provided for ; 
this will be more satisfactory if planted with coleus 
and other “foliage plants,” than with flowers. In 
the design, figure 3, the marginal border may he 
planted with perennial flower roots, making such a 
selection as will afford a continuous bloom all the 
season. Three choice shrubs occupy the border in 
the centre. Figure 4, having more grass, will ap¬ 
pear larger than figure 3. The marginal border 
here may be planted with perennials also. The 
border surrounding the bay window should hold 
climbers for the window, and low-flowering shrubs. 
The beds, cut in the lawn, may have each a dwarf 
evergreen ; if the surface of these beds be planted 
with Ivy, the effect will be very fine. The surface 
between the beds in all the plans may be of grass, 
or gravel; the former Is preferable. Even in very 
small lots a good effect is secured by making the 
beds farthest from the walks with a slightly elevated 
surface; a rise from front to rear of from six to 
twelve inches in the highest part will be sufficient. 
