1 * 871.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
303 
flourish -with.great vigor, and if one wishes fruit 
without looking for high quality, it can be had 
from these and the Concord. The Eumelan 
makes an excellent growth and is a precocious 
bearer. Salem, though one of the Rogers set, 
does miserably, while the new varieties, Croton 
and Senasqua, are thus far the pels of my col¬ 
lection. But it is hardly worth while to go 
through the list. Suffice it to say that, as a gen¬ 
eral thing, the higher qualities of grapes will 
not do well on light soils. 
Mildew appeared remarkably early this 
year ; so much sooner than usual, that it had 
made some headway before I noticed it. The 
fungus of the mildew is very freaky in its se¬ 
lection of subjects. Some of Rogers’ grapes, 
such as Agawam, with leaves so large and 
leathery that they would seem able to defy 
any thing, are badly scorched, while the com¬ 
paratively delicate foliage of the Croton— 
which is, moreover, largely foreign—is entirely 
untouched. Eumelan has mildewed badly this 
year. Mildew is easily kept in subjection if 
sulphur be used in time, and it is only through 
inattention that any serious damage need occur. 
Insects. —Some one has said that horticulture 
is merely “ a fight with weeds and insects.” 
That man must have had a vineyard, for the 
fight must be kept up, with insects at least, from 
before the opening of the buds until the ripe 
clusters are gathered. The unopened buds are 
bored by a Flea-beetle; the leaves of the infant 
shoot, before it is an inch long, are the home of 
the larva of a Plume. At flowering come 
the Rose-bugs, which feed away upon the em¬ 
bryo clusters, and between whiles doing a 
little amateur “pinching” wherever they can 
find a shoot that you are particularly desirous 
should be prolonged. Along with the Rose- 
bugs come other beetles, from as small as the}' 
up to the Spotted Pelidnota, which is larger 
than a May-bug. Some of these beetles attack 
the leaf just where its ribs join the leaf-stalk— 
the very place of all where the most injury can 
be done—and in a few days your broad and 
vigorous leaf flaps in the wind like a tattered 
banner. Then the caterpillars, from the beau¬ 
tiful great fellows that travel singly, to the di¬ 
minutive Procris, that passes in military order 
over the surface of the leaf like a well-drilled 
platoon—keeping “a light touch of the elbows,” 
so close are they. Then the little gall-flies, 
se om se^. „ nve j their work, puucture the 
leaves, and the resuiiu._ , ,, 
’ , .„ ° '"mrescences make the 
vine look as if it had some unpieu=^ ^itaneous 
disease, while other gall insects attack tim 
young shoots, giving them a dissipated, gouty 
look. The pulp of the berry is infested 
by the larva of a curculio, and a troublesome 
brother of his makes its home in the very 
grape-seed itself. I have not mentioned the 
uoot-borers and stem-borers, as these have not 
troubled me. Indeed, a work upon the insects 
Injurious to the grape-vine would make a hand¬ 
some volume. The trouble with insects is so 
serious, and the desire of the grower to avoid 
it is so great, that quackery has a fine chance 
for the sale of its nostrums. I place no reli¬ 
ance upon any thing except actual slaughter. 
Hand-picking, and shaking off and killing, will 
do much to keep insects in check, while natural 
foes, in the shape of parasitic insects, sooner or 
later come to our aid. 
Training. —A visitor called while I was at 
work among my trellises, and asked what “sys¬ 
tem” I followed in training. “None at all, sir!” 
I can not imagine any thing more monotonous 
^han to go over a vineyard and try to make 
each vine look like the next, and all like a pic¬ 
ture in a book. When a doctor talks about 
treating the sick according to some “ system,” I 
set him down as a quack. A physician treats 
his patient according to his individual peculi¬ 
arities and needs, and this is what a vine¬ 
dresser should do with his vines. Ilis object 
should be to procure the greatest amount of 
fruit, with proper regard to the future well¬ 
being of the vines. If he understands enough 
about the vine to do this, he need not bother 
himself about anybody’s system. 
Tendrils. —I have noticed in both my speci¬ 
mens of Rogers’ 39, a strong tendency to pro¬ 
duce leaves upon the tendrils. I have observed 
this now and then in other varieties, but never 
saw more than a single instance or so on a 
vine. I would like to know if this is a con¬ 
stant peculiarity of this variety ? 
Evergreens. —It is the general custom to 
plant evergreens later than we do deciduous 
trees, it being thought that they succeed better 
if moved just as the new growth is starting. 
My experience with planting at this time is not 
such as to induce me to commend it to others, 
and another year I shall try putting them out 
earlier. The success of the evergreens set out 
last fall in City Hall Park is strong evidence in 
favor of fall planting. A large number of trees, 
of unusual size, were put out, and we have not 
noticed a single failure. The autumn last year 
was very mild, and the trees had time to become 
well established before cold weather came on. 
Pruning Evergreens is best done after the 
season’s growth is made, and when the new 
wood is hardening. A badly-shaped tree may 
be made comely by the proper use of the knife. 
By all means, preserve the lower branches, as 
the great beauty of an evergreen is in its being 
well furnished to the ground. If upper branches 
overhang the lower tiers, these last will die out 
for want of light and air. A little judicious 
pruning will prevent this. 
Peas. —Among a half-dozen of early varie¬ 
ties tried this spring, Carter’s First Crop were 
decidedly the earliest—a full week ahead of the 
popular Dan O'Rourke. I think peas are the 
most unsatisfactory crop in the garden. In our 
climate they come forward too rapidly, and one 
gets but two pickings at most from the early 
sorts before they have become too hard for the 
table. What wc need for the family garden is 
a pea that will mature gradually and prolong 
the season. Until we can get a variety of this 
kind, perhaps the best way is to plant a suc¬ 
cession of dwarf sorts. The Little Gem is the 
best dwarf sort, but the trouble is that the seed, 
for some reason, is very uncertain. I have 
grown it for three years, and have never suc¬ 
ceeded in getting an even stand. 
Spiraea Callosa is one of the best of the 
late-blooming spiraeas, and I find this and its 
white variety valuable for blooming at mid¬ 
summer, when we have so few shrubs in bloom. 
I find that the white variety, like the White 
Wiegela, keeps in bloom much longer than the 
regular rose-colored sort. 
Hardy Cactuses. — I have now four species 
of the cactus family that I know to be hardy, 
aud have a half-dozen or more from the moun¬ 
tains of Utah, on trial. If we can get a set of 
these grotesque plants that will endure our 
winters, it will allow us to introduce an inter- 
.estiug feature into our gardens. A small bed 
of these, and another of succulents, prove a 
great attraction to visitors, as their forms are 
so different from the plants commonly met with. 
------ - - 
A Hew Tuberose. 
Some years ago one of our most observing 
florists noticed among his tuberoses one that 
produced much larger flowers than the rest, and 
at the same time was of low growth. This 
particular bulb was saved and quietly propa¬ 
gated from, until quite a stock was accumu¬ 
lated, which he sold at a round price to two of 
our florists. We are not informed when this 
novelty will be offered for sale, but florists and 
amateurs will be glad to know that there is in 
store for them a tuberose which grows only 
about eighteen inches high, and produces flow¬ 
ers of double the size of the ordinary kind. 
This variety will be a favorite with those who 
force tuberoses for cut-flowers, as the long stems 
of the common kinds are always troublesome. 
The Yellow Asphodel. 
The Asphodel is mentioned by the early Greek 
and Latin poets as a plant which was placed in 
tombs, or planted around them, that its roots 
might furnish food for the dead. There is some 
doubt if the plant we now know as Asphodel, is 
the one alluded to by the ancient writers. At all 
events, the Asphodel (Asphodelus luteus) is one 
of the oldest of garden-plants, it having been 
introduced into England from the south of 
Europe nearly three hundred years ago. It is 
one of those old-fashioned things rarely to be 
met with, and we have long cherished a clump 
of it mainly on account of its antiquity. It is 
not without claims as an ornamental plant, and 
if it were brought out as a new discover}*, it 
would have glowing descriptions in the cata¬ 
logues. The Asphodel is perfectly hardy; early 
in spring it throws up from its fleshy roots a 
tuft of narrow leaves of a pale green, and later 
a flower-stalk clothed with similar leaves, and 
about three feet high. The flower-spike is some- 
eight inches long, and as the flowers open grad¬ 
ually from below upwards, it remains for some 
time in bloom. The engravingon the next page 
is much induced in size. The flowers are bright 
yellow, and are followed by a nearly globular 
seed-pod about the size of a cherry. The plant 
forms an abundant supply of offsets which allow 
of its ready multiplication. Having a rather 
stately appearance, and being perfectly able to 
take care of itself when once established, the 
Yellow Asphodel is a plant well adapted to 
the “ wild garden.” There is a double variety 
which we have not seen, and several other spe¬ 
cies are known in cultivation. 
The Cabbage Maggot and Caterpillar. 
BY PETER HENDERSON. 
Quite a number of the readers of the Agricul¬ 
turist have applied to me for a remedy to de¬ 
stroy the maggot that attacks the roots of cab¬ 
bage aud cauliflower, and also for the caterpil¬ 
lar that attacks the leaves. I regret to say I 
know of no certain remedy. Nothing is more 
difficult and unsatisfactory than the attempt to 
defeat the ravages of insects in the open field 
aud I have yet to know of any being entirely 
successful. In the long-cultivated gardens of 
New Jersey and Long Island we do not suffer 
much from the ravages of either of the above 
pests. The soil is so repeatedly turned over 
and disturbed that I presume the maggot is not 
