950 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Auodw, 
Fiff. 1. 
The Field Horse-Tail. —{Equisetum arvense.) 
Under the name of Pine-Weed, and Low Pine, 
the Field Horse-Tail has been of late consider¬ 
ably discussed by the agricultural journals and 
inquired about by our correspondents. The in¬ 
terest in the matter arises from the fatal effects 
upon horses which have been ascribed to it. 
As some of those who have written upon the 
subject have been talking about a widely differ¬ 
ent plant, the Mare’s-Tail, we give figures of the 
one in question, Equisetum arvense, the Field 
Horse-Tail. The common name in this case is 
a translation of the botanical one: Equisetum is 
from the Latin, Equus, a horse and seta, a bris¬ 
tle, and refers to the hair-like character of the 
branches of some species. The Horse-Tails are 
what botanists call cryptogamous or flowerless 
plants, as, like the ferns, mosses, etc., they have 
no true flowers with stamens and pistils, and 
they do not produce seed, but in its place 
spores, which are very small round bodies, like 
dust, by means of which the plants are mul¬ 
tiplied. The species under consideration pre¬ 
sents two forms which an ordinary observer 
would never take to belong to the same plant. 
In damp places in April and May are found 
numerous simple stems like fig. 1; they are hol¬ 
low, grooved, of a light brown color, and hav¬ 
ing at each joint a sort of sheath of a darker 
color. At the top of the stem is a head, shaped 
like a pine-cone, made up of seales which 
bear the spores on their inner surface. These 
spores are very curious when seen under the 
microscope. When dry they are like a little 
ball with four slender arms attached to it, as is 
represented in figure 2. If, while one looks 
at these spores through the microscope, anoth¬ 
er person breathes very gently upon them, the 
arms will suddenly coil up and clasp the spore, 
the movements being so lively that the whole 
appears as if animated. The appearance of the 
spore after it has been moistened by the breath 
is shown in fig. 3, both figures being of 
course very highly magnified. After the stems 
above described have shed their spores, they die 
away and later in the season the barren ones 
appear, which are green, of the shape of fig. 4, 
and are eight to twelve inches or more high. 
These as well as the fertile ones are grooved 
and hollow, and bear at the joints slender 
and long branches, the whole having so much 
the appearance of a miniature pine tree as to 
suggest the popular names of Low-pine and 
Ground-pine. With regard to the poisonous 
qualities of this plant, we are in the same un¬ 
certainty as we are respecting the Sheep-Laurel 
noticed in another article. The testimony is 
most conflicting, some saying that it is harmless 
to all domestic animals except horses, others 
that it harms only cattle or sheep, and others 
again that it furnishes in some places, the chief 
forage. One of our editors has for many years 
fed his horses with hay containing a great 
amount of this weed without perceptible injury. 
With regard to the poisoning of ahimals we 
are inclined to be a little sceptical, as their in¬ 
stinct generally leads them to avoid injurious 
plants, and in this matter as well as with many 
others belonging to agriculture, we are greatly 
in need of some Institution where the point can 
be definitely settled. If a certain plant is pois¬ 
onous, its effects should be studied and its prop¬ 
er antidote known; then the farmer w'ould not 
be harboring a poisonous plant, nor suspecting 
an innocent one as the cause of every fit of in¬ 
digestion his animals happened to have, and 
he would not waste his time and the animal’s 
strength by trying various foolish and empirical 
remedies, such as we have noticed in another 
place. As the Horse-Tail is mostly found in wet 
places, draining would help to eradicate it. 
For the American Agriculturists 
Cranberry Cultivation. 
BY JOEL H. ROSS, M. D., TOM'S RIVER, N. J. 
As a compound of truth and error in books 
and periodicals on the subject of cranberry 
culture has often led the anxious inquirer astray, 
or brought him to a stand-still, it may not 
be amiss or time lost, to look at some of the 
landmarks of success—especially at the present 
time, when so many with little or no knowledge 
of the business are engaging in it. 
The cultivation of this fruit was an experi¬ 
ment a little more than 20 years ago, when a 
man at Cape Cod happened to discover that a 
sgiall cluster of wild vines growing near his 
house, became veiy thrifty where the wind sif¬ 
ted in among them, clean white sand from an 
adjoining bank. This discovery led to an ex¬ 
periment which settled the question as to what 
should be done with those neglected and hith¬ 
erto almost worthless swamps, and soon brought 
them into market at $100 per acre. The suc¬ 
cess that followed, with here and there a failure 
for want of information, was all that the most 
enthusiastic cultivator could have expected. 
But as some reader may say “ success ” is a lit¬ 
tle indefinite, I give him two illustrations—one 
of them taken from Cape Cod, and the other 
from my own county. 
In the summer of ’611 visited the Cape, and 
for a time enjoyed the hospitality of a worthy 
old ship captain who had forsaken the water 
and taken to the mud—a reliable, intelligent, 
cranberry-experimenting pioneer, and from him 
obtained many valuable hints. In questioning 
him a little about the net profits of his bog, he 
modestly replied, “ I had rather talk about my 
neighbors’ success than my own.” He remark¬ 
ed that a Mr. Winslow owned two acres in a 
certain swamp, and being very anxious to put 
it into cranberries, and finding it difficult to do 
so and support his family at the same time, 
some kind neighbor loaned him $300, which 
enabled him to accomplish what ne so much 
desired. In a little time the fruits of his faith 
and works began to appear. He paid off his 
borrowed money, and soon left the widow and 
little ones to look for support from that little 
two-acre plot; nor did they look in vain. Now 
for the result. The widow’s worthy neighbor, 
the captain, had charge of her bog and gave me 
the net proceeds of one year’s crop. Said he, 
“her bog is a good one, but nothing e.\tra; her 
crop last year was a good one, but not more 
than half as large as has been gathered here ; 
neither did she get an extra price, for she de¬ 
cided to sell too soon, and got but $ll per bar¬ 
rel ; whereas a little later I sold mine for $13. 
Yet when the expenses of picking, shipping and 
selling were deducted, the Boston commission 
merchant returned her a check for $l,40b.” Now 
we will leave those who have little faith in the 
profits of cranberry culture, to devise some 
other way, if they can, in which that man could 
have invested his $500 or $600 to better advan¬ 
tage. Suppose she annually gets but half that 
sum. What more does she need in a country 
town, living in her own cabin ? 
Mr. John Webb, in the town of Jackson, in 
this county, began to put out a few vines about 
20 years ago, and was the first man to commence 
the business in this section. He labored under 
many disadvantages, had little or no money, 
