AMEKICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
101 
it in practice. Trees, grass, and flowers are 
always acceptable, where heat and dust prevail, 
as they do so abundantly in American cities. 
VINE DISEASE. 
BY QTJARLES HARRIS. 
This blight is a fungus, which is propagated 
by sporules or seeds infinitesimally minute, 
which are contained in an oval or egg-shaped 
seed-pod which forms upon the point or apex of 
every fongoM stem—whence its name is derived. 
These becoming ripe and bursting, cast these 
small seeds to the wind, which are thus, and by 
the wings of bees and other insects, conveyed 
from vine to vine and from bunch to bunch. The 
attack, therefore, varies as these fine seeds first 
settle on stem, shoot, leaf or fruit; but let the 
attack commence where and as it may, the result 
is invariably the same, namely: the entire de¬ 
struction of the fruit and le^f attacked, and often 
by that of the vine itself, which deprived of its 
lungs, (the leaves, by means of which the plant 
breathes,) perishes and dies. When the shoots 
are struck they become spotted with dark cine¬ 
reous or ferruginous colored spots; the leaves 
also become dark and spotted, but are found on 
examination to be covered with a species of 
white cobweb-like or cottony substance; this, 
when seen by the aid of the microscope, is pre¬ 
cisely in appearance like that on the fruit. The 
grapes when blighted are covered with what 
appears to be a white powder, like lime, a little 
darkened with brown or yellow. 
These fungi send forth laterally, in all direct¬ 
ions, thread-like filaments, which become so 
completely interwoven with one another as en¬ 
tirely to cover and enclose the skin of the grape 
in a compact and firm net-work, and on each is 
seen the egg-shaped capsule or seed-pod. The 
pips and juice go on swelling, and at times, 
when struck late in the season, the grapes be¬ 
come partially ripe and colored; but very soon, 
expansion from within going on, checked by this 
net-work, the grape bursts; but as it cannot 
burst as it would do were it unconfined, the 
edges of the part where it bursts, turn inward in 
place of outward, and the pips are exposed to 
view as the teeth of a man when the lips are 
drawn back. If the grapes are struck in an 
early stage of their growth, they dry up, fall off, 
and become very offensive, but do not split. 
The roots of vines which have died have been 
examined in Portugal, • and are found to be 
marked like the back of a snake, with the same 
dark cinereous colored spots as those exhibited 
by the shoots, and the stalks of the grapes, and 
the leaves; and also to be covered with white 
powder. The leaves when blighted curl up at 
the edges, which become hard and turn brown or 
reddish colored, and fall off early in the season, 
say about Ajugust, and thus the vine being de¬ 
prived of its lungs before autumn or winter has 
set in, and at an unnaturally early period, and 
before the sap has ceased to rise, dies for want 
of the respiratory process. 
Explanatory of the progress of this disease is 
given an engraving, showing “ the fungi with 
capsules or seed-pods, and a small portion of the 
filaments,”—“the vine blight on portion of a 
bunch of grapes, natural size,” and “ the vine 
blight at the edge of a section of grape, magni¬ 
fied 75 diams.” The author than gives the fol¬ 
lowing most useful directions, the result of the 
experience of practical men, as the best mode 
of remedy or cure: 
The moment the blight appears in a vinery, 
sulphur should be freely strewn over the leaves, 
shoots, and fruit, and on the floor, and in a 
couple of days the vines should be well syringed 
with water at a moderate temperature, not too 
cold. Then the house should be kept at a heat 
sufficient to produce a complete steam, but not 
to burn up the vines, thus placing them in a 
sulphurated vapor bath. The stems and shoots, 
down to the very roots, should be well washed 
or painted with one of the two following washes, 
carefully stripping off the loose bark from the 
old wood: 
1. Mix one-half of black powdered sulphur 
with one-half of potash, make into a wash of the 
consistency of usual whitewash, and with a 
brush paint the stems and shoots, and well rub 
it into all crevices. 
2. Mix one-half of common sulphur with one- 
half of quick lime, make into a wash as above, 
and apply it in the same manner. 
In vineyards the only plan I can recommend, 
is to cut down to near the ground every diseased 
vine, and to burn it outside the plantation, well 
washing the stump which is to shoot again with 
one of the above washes, after stripping off the 
bark .—Mark Lane Express. 
IMPROVEMENT IN FARM IMPLEMENTS. 
Mechanics are waking up to the business of 
improving Farm Implements. A great num¬ 
ber of new machines to facilitate the operations 
of the husbandman, are continually being re¬ 
gistered at the Patent Office; and many of these 
promise to lighten labor, while their manufac¬ 
ture is yielding a rich reward to the inventors. 
We notice that twelve out of twenty-three new 
patents issued during the week ending on the 
9th inst., are for new or improved agricultural 
implements. 
We give a list of these, with an [abstract of 
the claims of the inventors. 
Cultivating Plows. —By L. M. Whitman 
(assignor to S. G. Wise,) of Weedsport, N. Y.: 
I claim the employment of the long inclined 
spring wings, secured at their front ends to the 
share and main standard, and turning upon the 
pin, in combination with the mechanical con¬ 
trivances shown, for expanding and contracting 
the wings, or setting them more perpendicular 
and nearer together, for the purpose of throwing 
more pulverized soil against or up to the hills, 
or setting them less inclined to the horizental 
plane, and further apart for the purpose of 
allowing the pulverized soil, weeds, &c., to pass 
over them into the board open spaces in the 
centre, the said wings in cither case cutting up 
the weeds and pulverizing the soil, as set forth. 
Plows. —By C. It. Brinckerhoff, of Batavia, 
N. Y.: I claim, first, combining with the plow 
beam between the plow and the clevis, two 
wheels, one on each side of the beam and of 
different diameters, the one resting in the fur¬ 
row, and the other on the land, as described. 
Second, I also claim making the tread of 
the furrow-wheel narrow for the purposes de¬ 
scribed. 
I also claim making the said wheels, espe¬ 
cially the furrow-wheel, adjustable in the di¬ 
rection of its axis, for the purpose of adapting 
its position to furrows of different widths. 
I also claim making the furrow-wheel bevel¬ 
ling outward on the side which presses against 
the land, as set forth. 
I also claim making the small wheel adjust¬ 
able vertically with reference to the shaft and 
the large wheel, as described. 
Hullers or Grass Seed. —By II. P. Byram, 
of Louisville, Ky. : I claim, in combination with 
the rubbing or scouring-wheel, the method of 
feeding up and holding against the said wheel, 
the seed to be cleaned by a pressure which is 
unvarying whether the hopper be full or not, as 
described. 
Hill-Side Plows. —By N. Harrison & J. W 
H. Metcalf, of Ridgeville, Va.: We claim cur¬ 
ving downward and inward the beam in the 
rear part, so as to cause it to support the 
rotary part of the plow, which it performs in 
combination with the standard, as set forth. 
Attachment of a Harrow to a Land Rol¬ 
ler. —By Daniel Hill, of Bartonia, Ind.: I claim 
the arrangement and mode of attaching the 
harrow to the forward axle of a roller, as set 
forth. 
Cob and Stalk-Cutters.— By T. B. Jones, of 
Carloville, Ala.: I claim the combination of the 
feeding-trough, its gauge disc, the tube, and 
its gauge-ring, with the knives, whereby the 
same knife will, at the same, time, cut fodder 
coarse and cobs fine, and thereby improve the 
quality of the product as feed for animals. 
Winnowers of Grain. —By H. M. Keller, of 
Newark, Ohio: I claim the trap-door in com¬ 
bination with the screen, arranged and operated 
as set forth. 
Straw-Cutters. —By J. J. Parker, of Ma¬ 
rietta, Ohio: I claim operating both the re¬ 
ciprocating gate and the feeding-rake by means 
of the compound spring pitman, substantially 
as herein set forth. 
Rotary Root-Digging Cultivators. — By 
Samuel Snow, of Fayetteville, N. Y., and Alex¬ 
ander Iline, of Lafayette, N. Y.: We claim 
the combination of the two-toothed cylinders 
with the receiving box, all being arranged and 
suspended on an adjustable frame in the manner 
set forth. 
Shaking Shoes for Winnowers. —Jacob L. 
Van Valkenburgh, of Ogdensburgh, N. Y.: I 
do not claim the use of sieves in cleaning grain, 
but the communication of reciprocating rotating 
motion to the seive or separators, and also the 
construction of the machine in the manner set 
forth for separating grain from cockle, &c. 
Vegetable Cutters. —D. HAWhittetnore, of 
Chicopee Falls, Mass.: I claim the combination 
of the long and short knives on the periphery 
of the cylinder with the hopper arranged and 
described as represented. 
Opening and Closing Gates. —by S. G. Dug- 
dale, of Richmond, Ind.: I claim, first, opening, 
closing, fastening, and unfastening the gate, by 
moving the bottom of the gate in an oblique 
direction from and to the post, upon which it is 
hung, as specified. 
Second, I also claim the use of the pendulous 
and vertical levers and arms, in combination 
with the hinges of the gate, as set forth. 
Washing Machines. — H. G. Robertson, of 
Greenville, Tenn. : I claim the employment of 
the double-chambered slatted bottom tub in 
combination with the vibrating or rocking 
frame constructed with the two hinged slatted 
wash-boards, which have cords passing under 
the bottom of them for holding the clothes 
against their bottoms while washing, the said 
boards being made movable or swinging, so 
that the clothes can be easily laid on the cords, 
and also being set in such a position that they 
and the clothes will always be caused to strike 
parallelly the slatted bottom and the hot suds 
in the tub, and force the latter through the 
pores of the clothes, and cause them to be 
washed clean, the whole being constructed and 
arranged and operated in the manner described. 
-—•—• o o-— 
Boiled Ice. —In some hot countries, to which 
Yankee ice is sent, it is considered as a great 
luxury. An African journal relates that a gen¬ 
tleman who had purchased some lumps of it, 
sent it to his cook, with orders to have it sent 
up for dinner. The cook was at a loss what to 
do with it. But as he had a pot of boiling 
water over the fire, he dropped the ice into it. 
At the dinner-table, the master said, when the 
dessert was ready, “ Now fetch on the ice.” 
“All gone, massa.” “Gone? where is it gone 
to?” “Why, massa, me put it in the pot to 
boil, and when me look for it, it wasn’t there.” 
One of ’em. —The Salem Press is our autho¬ 
rity for the following “ Bloomer” story : 
“A farmer in this town hired last spring a 
young Irishman to work upon his farm. He 
labored faithfully and gave good satisfaction, 
when about a week ago the discovery was made 
that this faithful hand was a lass of the Eme¬ 
rald Isle. She could plough, hoe corn, swing a 
scythe, rake, load, and pitch hay with the best 
of them; but she was not very good at the 
cradle.'’' 
TnE London Vegetarian Society now num¬ 
bers eight hundred members, all of whom ab¬ 
stain from animal food. They went down into 
the country lately, and had a grand banquet, at 
which neither wine nor flesh was served. There 
arc several “ fine old English gentlemen” among 
them, who boast that they have not tasted flesh, 
or employed a, doctor, for forty years. 
