1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
217 
The Touch-me-not or Jewel Weed. 
All through the summer months there may 
be found in rich, moist, and shady spots a wild 
flower, a small branch of which is represented 
in the accompanying engraving. The pale color 
and general coarseness of the foliage are such 
that the plant does not at first sight present a 
very attractive appearance, and its interest is 
mainly confined to the flowers and fruits. The 
plant grows from two to four feet or more in 
bight, and has a succulent semi-translucent stem; 
it is much branched and bears its flowers towards 
the ends of tlie branches. The flowers, the 
shape of which will be seen in the engraving, 
are curiously formed,the calyx and corolla color¬ 
ed alike, with one of the parts of the calyx much 
larger than the others, bag-like, and at one end 
drawn out into a point or spur which is bent 
over towards the front of the flower. The 
flowers are of a bright orange yellow, spotted 
with brown, and their brillrancy together with 
the grace with which they hang upon their 
slender stems, have naturally suggested the 
popular name of Jewel-weed. These showy 
flowers very seldom produce seeds, but other 
flowers, which are so inconspicuous that they 
are seldom noticed, are the fertile ones. In these 
seed bearing flowers, the petals, etc., do not open, 
but the pistil is fertilized in the bud; as it grows, 
the parts of the flower are pushed off. The 
long and narrow seed pod, when ripe, bursts 
spontaneously, and scatters the seeds, the five 
parts which form the exterior of the pod or seed 
vessel, breaking away from the central portion 
and curling up with considerable force. A pod 
after it has burst, is shown at the lower right 
hand side of the figure. The botanical name 
is Impatiens fulm. The generic name, Im- 
patiens, alludes to the impatience of the seed- 
pod under handling, and its common name. 
Touch-me-not, expresses the same peculiarity. 
The specific name, 
fulva, is in refer¬ 
ence to its color, 
and there is an¬ 
other species, less 
common than this, 
with larger and 
paler flowers, cal¬ 
led pallida. The 
closely related 
garden Balsam, 
sometimes called 
Ladies-slipper, is 
ImpatiensBalsam- 
ina, and in flowers 
(when single) and 
fruit resembles 
this in all impor¬ 
tant partieulars. 
Grape Mildew 
and its Cure. 
Some of our cor¬ 
respondents, in 
view of the fre¬ 
quent recommen¬ 
dation to use sul¬ 
phur to prevent 
or arrest mildew, 
ask how they can 
know that their 
vines are attacked 
by it. The mil¬ 
dew makes its ap¬ 
pearance in little 
grayish patches 
upon the leaf, sometimes upon one side only 
and at others both sides are attaeked. The 
spots rapidly increase in size, and the vitality of 
the leaf is destroyed; the young wood and 
buds are often attacked, and the green fruit is 
also subject to the 
mildew. If the 
progress of the 
trouble is not ar¬ 
rested, the growth 
is interfered with, 
and not only is 
the crop of the 
present season 
lost,but even if the 
buds escape in- 
juiy, the health of 
the vine is so se¬ 
riously impaired that it is afterwards more 
susceptible to the attacks of disease. When mil¬ 
dew appears on the fruit, it ceases to grow, the 
skin hardens, cracks and exposes the seeds. 
All of this trouble is caused by a small parasitic 
fungus, so minute that 
it requires a magnifier to 
see it distinctly. A 
small portion of the mil¬ 
dew is shown-in Fig. 1, 
very much enlarged. At 
the lower side are seen 
a part of the threads 
which are, in the real 
plant, exceedingly min¬ 
ute and cobweb-like. 
These threads are the 
plant proper; they pen¬ 
etrate the tissues and liv- 
1-—mildew. jjjg oji their juices, 
branch and multiply rapidly, and cause destruc¬ 
tion to the leaf and other parts of the vine. The 
upright, club-shaped bodies, shown in Figure 1, as 
springing from the horizontal threads, are the re¬ 
productive portions of the iilantaiul contain tht 
spores, or the minute dust, which serve to dis¬ 
tribute and muitiply tiie fungus in (he same 
manner that seeds do in piants of a iiigber order. 
The mildew fungus is caiied Oidimn Tuckeri, 
the specific name iiaving lieen giving in iionor 
of a Mr. Tucker, who gave an account of tiie 
mildew when it flrst a]ipcared in England. 
Vines in a confined and moist atmosplicre are 
more liable to mildew than tliose in a dry and 
open situation, and weak and pooi-ly grown 
vines seem less able to resist it tlian do strong 
and vigorous ones. Tiie susceptibility .of va¬ 
rieties to attack, differs largely in degree, it be¬ 
ing almost impossible to keep it from some, 
while others are never or rarel}’’ troubled by it. 
Sulphur in some form has been found to be 
an effectual reined}^; tiie direct application of 
the flowers of sulphur is the easiest, and perliaps 
as satisfactory in its results as anje With vines 
under glass, the volatilization which takes place 
at a moderate heat, suffices. Out of doors 
the plants must be dusted. We have l)cfore 
described a bellows used in France for I lie imr- 
pose of dusting the plants, and in Fig. 2 we give 
a representation of it. It is like a common bel¬ 
lows with a wide tin nozzle, wliich lias its open¬ 
ing covered with coarse wire gauze. Tlicre is 
no valve on the under side, and on tiie upper 
side, for introducing the sulpliur, is an oiiening, 
which is closed by a cork. Tiie curve in (lie 
tube allows the under side of tlic leaves to be 
reached with ease. We believe that the bellows 
is for sale at the horticultural establishments. 
The publication of a design for a rustic vase 
in January last, has called forth several sugges¬ 
tions in regard to such matters, which indicate 
that our readers appreciate the value of the 
ornamental as well as of the practical. We do 
not find much space in which to treat upon em¬ 
bellishments, yet they are not to be altogether 
omitted, and we hold that whatever makes home 
more attractive is really useful. In the matter 
of rustic vases, Isaac Hicks, of Long Island, 
finds that a cheese-box, properly strengthened, 
covered with chestnut-bark, and placed upon a 
portion of the trunk of a tree for a pedestal, 
makes a very serviceable and easily constructed 
vase. O. Ordway, of Hillsborough Co., N. H., 
makes his receptacle for flowers of the end of 
an old alcohol or other strong barrel. Tliis is 
sawed off just above the second tier of hoops, 
the head strengthened by cleats and set upon a 
section of a log. The whole is then covered with 
a rustic work of twigs, bark or rattan, and if need 
be, painted brown or some neutral tint. Mr. O. 
thinks, that two kinds of plants are better than 
Eural Embellishments. 
