224 : 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
Essential Implements. 
There are two implements that we regard as 
essential to the successful and satisfactory culti¬ 
vation of the family garden, whether it contain 
vegetables or flowers. These are a sharp steel- 
rake, and a lance-headed, 
or bayonet-hoe. If the 
rake be used in time, and 
sufficiently often, other 
weed-killing implements 
will seldom be called into 
use. The most serious 
and obstinate of weeds, 
even the Canada thistle, 
if taken in its infancy, can 
be killed as easily as any 
other plant. Let a few 
days pass, and it must be 
lioed up, and at the end 
of a few weeks it can with 
difficulty be up-rooted by 
the spade. Use the rake 
frequently. The lance- 
lxead, or bayonet-hoe, are 
much alike in shape, but 
we prefer the first-named, 
which is a triangular 
plate of steel attached to a 
suitable shank and handle. 
For weeding,. loosening 
the soil around plants, 
opening drills to sow 
seed, and many other purposes, it is an imple¬ 
ment that we find to be in constant requisition. 
Canada Snakeroot, or Wild Ginger. 
{Asarum Canadense.) 
In the rich woods of the northern hill-sides 
there will often be seen, in spring, patches of ' 
broad, kidney-shaped leaves, which are soft 
with down, and have a pleasing tender green. 
The careless observer would not notice that the 
plant had a flower, 
so completely is it 
concealed by its 
position close to the 
earth and the pro¬ 
tecting leaves. If 
we pull up the plant, 
it is found to have a 
creeping root-stock 
or underground 
stem, which bears 
the leaves in pairs, 
and between each 
pair of leaves, upon 
a short stalk, a flow¬ 
er of such odd ap¬ 
pearance that one is 
at first in doubt 
whether it is a flow¬ 
er or not. The flow¬ 
er has no petals, 
but the bell-shaped 
calyx has three 
spreading, pointed 
lobes, which, on the 
inside, arc of a pecu¬ 
liar purplish-brown 
coior. The engraving represents the plant of 
about the size it is at the time of flowering, but 
later in the season, the leaves increase much in 
size and become more robust. The root-stock, 
or root, is very aromatic and pungent to the 
taste, and is sometimes, as one of its common 
names indicates, used as a substitute for ginger. 
It is somewhat employed medicinally, having 
the general properties of aromatic stimulants. 
The species here noticed is Asarum Canadense; 
there are two others, found in Virginia and 
southward, which differ in the shape of the 
leaves and some other characters, but possess 
the same aromatic properties. Asarum is an 
ancient name for a similar plant. The Asarum 
belongs to the Birthwort Family ( Aristolochi- 
acece), the flowers of which are generally of a 
striking appearance. The Dutchman’s Pipe— 
Aristolochia Sipho, is a common example of 
this familj r , and some exotic species of Aristo¬ 
lochia are among the curiosities, if not the 
ornaments, of choice green-house collections. 
Not only are the flowers of some of these gro¬ 
tesque in form and odd in their coloring, but 
some of them are among the largest known 
clustered leucothoe.— (Leucothoe racemosa.) 
flowers. Humboldt mentions one which he 
met with in South America, the blossoms of 
which measured four feet in circumference, and 
which “ the Indian children drew sportively 
upon their heads as caps.” The term Snake- 
root is applied to several plants of this family, 
they having a reputation as cures for snake bites. 
The Clustered Leucothoe. 
A number of our native shrubs, which we 
used to know under the generic name of An¬ 
dromeda, have for good botanical reasons been 
placed in other genera, and bear other names. 
The pretty shrub, which 
in our early botanizing 
days was Andromeda ra¬ 
cemosa, is now Leucothoe 
racemosa. Leucothoe is a 
good enough name for a 
mythological female, but 
we must admit that we 
should prefer some other 
for the beautiful shrubs, 
which are now called Leu¬ 
cothoe. There are in the 
United States five species 
of Leucothoe,one of which 
is found north of Virginia 
—the L. racemosa. This 
species is found from'Mas- 
sacliusetts southward, and 
though not classed among 
the rare plants, we do not 
recollect to have ever seen 
it abundant. It is a shrub 
from four to six feet high, 
and, when out of flower, 
has much the aspect of a 
huckleberry bush. Its 
flowers, which appear in 
May and June, are borne in racemes three 
or four inches long, which are situated at 
the ends of the branches. The flowers are 
pure white, cylindrical and contracted at the 
mouth; they are arranged with great regularity, 
are all turned downward, and have been likened 
in appearance to rows of teeth. The shrub, 
when in bloom, presents an attractive appear¬ 
ance, and the flowers are pleasantly fragrant— 
qualities that give it a stronger claim to a place 
in the garden than many exotics present. Its 
cultivation is easy, and, like many other plants 
that naturally grow 
in moist localities, 
it will flourish in 
common garden 
soil. The engrav¬ 
ing gives a flower 
cluster or raceme, 
and the leaves of 
the natural size. 
“ Hardy” Pear 
Stocks. —“ Rustic,” 
an Iowa corres¬ 
pondent, writes that 
the peddlers in his 
state do not sell 
dwarf pear - trees 
grafted on quince 
stocks, as they have 
proved too tender 
for the climate, but 
they can furnish 
them upon Syca¬ 
more, Maple, or 
White Elm-stocks, 
lie asks, “ Are such 
trees raised for sale, 
and if so, are they good for anything?”—We 
do not know what a tree peddler might do, save 
tell the truth, but no one else, so far as our 
knowledge goes, ever saw a pear growing 
upon either of the above named stocks. The 
humbug is an old one. Grafting succeeds 
only with nearly related resuscitated plants. 
Canada snakeroot, ou wild ginger. —{Asarum Canadense.) 
