DEC. 44 
MOOBE’5 BUBAL NEW-YOBKEB. 
381 
girboricultuntl. 
AN INTERESTING FACT IN THE GEOWTH 
OF WILLOW TREES. 
less we use of the old wood the more healthy 
will be the future plant, and oortalnly the 
oase we have cited tends to corroborate this 
view. p * 
ARBORICTJLTTJRAL NOTES. 
At one time tho idea very generally pre¬ 
vailed that the roots of a tree oooupied an t 
area exactly equal to that covered by tho 
branches, and the advocates of this theory 
presented a somewhat plausible reason in t 
its support. The branches and leaves of s 
the tree were supposed to act somewhat in ( 
the manner of an umbrella, shedding tho 
rain from ono to the other, outwards from 
the oenter, so that the greatest amount of f 
rain-fall was always found exactly at the t 
onter edge of tho space covered by these . 
leaves and branohes. This rain, with tho 
fertilizing salts which it washed out of the 
atmosphere, were said to draw the roots 
outward, just as tho root of a vine or tree 
is well known to be attracted from great 
distances toward a bone or other similar 
object. This was, us we have said, very 
pretty and very plausible, and would have 
beon excellent if it could only have stood ] 
tho test of facts, which unfortunately it 
could not do. 
The amount of apace occupied by the 
roots of any vegetable depends largely upon 
tho character of t he soil and also upon the 
peouliar circumstances under whioh the 
tree has been propagated, for those hitter 
iniluence very largely the extent and char¬ 
acter of tho root growth. Those who hold 
to the theory we have just described, would 
no doubt, be very muoh surprised to see a 
tree fifteen inohea In diameter and whose 
branches covered a oirolo more than thirty 
feet across, supported by a mass of roots, 
the great bulk of which worn contained 
withiu a oircle of three or four feet in diam¬ 
eter. Such a tree and such roots we have 
Been within a few hours. That many libers 
extended to a greater distance is not only 
probable, bat certain; but the roots were 
all small, and by no means numerous beyond 
the apace we have mentioned. The great 
mass of fibrous roots were to bo found 
within a very short distance of the trunks 
of the tree. The circumstances under 
which these trees grow are as follows: 
About thirty years ago the owner of the 
land planted a row of willow trees along 
the roadside bounding his property. The 
“ planting” was performed in a very sim¬ 
ple manner! a hole was made with a orow- 
bar, a large willow stake pointed at the 
end was driven down, and tho operation 
was considered finished. Tho trees grew 
luxuriantly, formed flue heads, and really 
seemed to bo a success. Hut a few months 
ago a gale of unusual violence passed over 
them, and almost without exception they 
were torn from tho ground and prostrated. 
And to-day they Ho there, revealing tho 
whole prooess of planting and its effects, 
and forming a flue study for those who take 
au interest iu vegetable physiology. There 
is the original stake, pointed for tho pur¬ 
pose of making its way into the soil, and 
showing tho ax-njarka as plainly as on tho 
day it was prepared. At a point about ten 
inches bolow the aurfaco of tho soil it has 
enlarged to a very disproportionate size, 
and at and just below tho point of this en¬ 
largement, a mass of fibrous roots has form¬ 
ed. but no roots of any great size have made 
their appearance. 
Willow trees are often planted by the 
side of streams and in similar locations, for 
the purpose of binding the soil, and thus 
preventing it from washing or sliding away. 
To provo efficient under Buch circumstances, 
a great point is to secure a free develop¬ 
ment of roots. If the case that wo have de¬ 
scribed irtay bo taken as a guide, it shows 
that this end will not bo attained by the 
use of large branches, pointed like stakes 
and driven into the ground. If wo wish to 
secure abundance of roots wo must employ 
small cuttings. Those will undoubtedly 
make the best trees after tho lapse of—say 
ten years. In the meantime, if we desire 
immediate effects, we may use the large 
stakes, setting them out between the small¬ 
er cuttings, and removing them when tho 
latter are capable of oocupylug all tho soil. 
From the uniform character of the results 
exhibited by the long row of trees just 
mentioned, we would be very auspicious of 
the stability of any large trees raised from 
cuttings of great size. 
It is pretty generally believed by horti¬ 
culturists that tho same rule applies to 
other plants as well as to the willow. Large 
cuttings of the grape vine never give as 
profuse and healthy roots as those of 
smaller size, such as single eyes for exam¬ 
ple. Some even go so far as to say that the 
How to Keep Rabbits ami Mice from 
Gnawing young Trees.— Take five or six 
cornstalks, cut about two and a half feet 
long. Stick thorn close around the young 
tree and secure them at the top by tieing a 
small cord around tho whole. This is an 
excellent plan, as the readers of your ex¬ 
cellent paper may learn, if they will give 
it a trial, it is not only a sure protection 
against rabbits and mice, but is sotno pro¬ 
tection against the cold of winter. — B. 
Jttov, Yello w Springs, O. 
MILDEW ON VINES. 
•- 
We copy the following remarks upon 
mildew on vinos and the accompanying il¬ 
lustration from an English journal:—Mil¬ 
dew is a terrible disease that sweeps over 
Vines with destructive force. Its origin is 
often climatioal. Sudden alternations of 
heat and cold, from wet to dry, and those 
peculiar atmosphorio conditions called, for 
want of a better name, “blight,” breed 
mildew; the latter may be fought some¬ 
times with a volume of smoko. If a heap 
of green boughs or furze, or even damp 
grass or leaves, could be set lire to, near to 
the vines, when the blight is approaching, 
the smoke would either prevent the germs 
of tho fungus from falling, drive them 
twelve varieties of his Hybrids, all of 
which came In good condition but two. His 
suocess in hybrid iaingexoeeds Mr. Rogers’ 
greatly in quality, from the fact that he 
used for one parent varieties of fair quali¬ 
ty, while Rogers had but one (a vile fox 
grape) for his crossing. 
A distinctive feature in Rickett'8 grapes 
is that they have nearly all tho fleshy tex¬ 
ture of the foreign kinds. They are all 
good, oven first-rate, but two are remark¬ 
able:—Ilia No. 1, cross between Israolla 
and Muscat Hamburg ; bunch medium ; 
berry as largo as any native or hybrid [1 
ever saw; black, and nearly ub good as 
black Hamburg. Also, tho Secretary. If 
he had raised but this alone, it would im¬ 
mortalize his name among grapo growers. 
It comes up to my notion of a splendid, 
large and showy grapo, of ft quality good 
enough for any one. Then its wine will be 
equal to the grape in value. We have some 
of these under trial that will bear next sea¬ 
son, and if they surpass the Eastern and 
Northern as usual when brought here, 
there will ho something worth looking at. 
The grapo crop hero was good, but being 
mostly Concord, which scarcely pay fox- 
gathering, our vintners are by no meana 
elated with the enterprise. 
Bluff ton, Mo., Nov. 5. Samuel Miller. 
AMERICAN WATCH-MAKING. 
i it 
mmk 
8ULPI1 ORATOR, WITH VERTICAL SECTION. 
away, or neutralize their effects. The chief 
causes of mildew may, however, often be 
found in unskillful treatment —over-crop¬ 
ping, under-feeding, over-crowding. Mil¬ 
dew takes advantage of a weak plant, while 
a strong one ofteu delies it. Not always, 
however, for mildew Is one of tho [most 
powerful as well as subtle of all diseases. 
The only cure yet discovered for it is sul¬ 
phur. Dash this dry or sprinkle it wet on 
the fungus, aud persevere in doing so until 
It dies. Never mind the vine; leaves aud 
fruit being smothered iu sulphur; better 
powdered thus than whitened with mildew. 
If the latter is killed, the former can soon 
be washed off. 
The best chanoe of vanquishing mildew 
consists in attacking it early. In fact, when 
discernible, it is almost too late. Sublima¬ 
ted sulphur can be blown on tho vines 
through a sulphurator, with bellows at¬ 
tached. About three applications iu a sea¬ 
son will Insure freedom from mildew, (live 
one as soon as the buuches show themselves; 
a second after the fflrst swelling has taken 
place, aud a third just before the grapes 
begin to color. It is safest to apply it in 
the evening, when the leaves and fruit are 
wet with dew. If ueed'durlug^sunshine, 
the sulphur fumes are apt to pierce the 
thiu skin of tho fruit. Sulphur vivum, at 
the rate of 2 oz. tea gallon of boiling water, 
and applied with a showerer, is a preven¬ 
tive of, aud cure for, mildow. Should tbi; 
disease have appeared one season It 'is u 
good practice to paint the vines with sul¬ 
phur during the Winter, with the .view of 
destroying the spores. 
-- 
RICKETT’S GRAPES. 
It seems that tho subject relative to the 
grape is not ofteu alluded to in the papers 
this fall—not, at least, in the agricultural 
journals that I get. Tho thing has come 
down to a common affuir. Now and then, 
however, we come across something that 
arouses again. Mr. Ricketts of Newburgh, 
N. Y., lately sent me a box containing 
1’bouaiilv the most ingenious contriv¬ 
ance ever invented by man, requiring the 
highest skill in its construction, is the watch. 
What can be more delicate or nice in its 
details than the mechanism of a little in¬ 
strument which shall keep perfect time? 
Tho structure of tho machine, and its adap¬ 
tation of parts, must be such as to produce 
uniform action. A single imperfeotlon 
anywhere, aud the end aimed at is defeated; 
the watch does not keep good time—it is, 
comparatively, valueless. To walk through 
a great watch faotory, studying the hun¬ 
dreds of different operations carried on in 
the manufacture of a watch, is muoh like 
going through the dissecting room of a 
medical college and examining the delicate 
nerves, fibers, tissues, etc., which compose 
tho human body. In a watch factory we 
are constantly impressed with tho years of 
labor and hard study which some one must 
have expended to bring the business to the 
perfection which it has now reached. We 
do not hesitate to say that the best watch¬ 
es in t he world are made in America to-day. 
And it follows iu reason that this must be 
so, sinco in Europe the different parts of a 
watch are made by hand, while in this 
country they are produced with absolute 
precision by never-varying machines. 
Wo recently spent a day examining the 
process of watch manufacture at tho large 
and beautiful factory of Giles, Walks & 
Co., (U. B. Watcli Co.,) in Marion, N. ,T.,aiul 
although a month might be consumed in the 
study of the wonderful operations thna 
going on, enough was seen to convince a 
rollocting mind that tho manufacture of 
watches by this house has beon ho system¬ 
atized and perfected, as to leave nothing to 
bo desired. It will bo impossible in an 1 
article of any ordinary length, to describe 
the making of a watch, from the cutting of 
the dies which stamp out the various , 
wheels, plates, etc., to tho putting together 
the perfect instrument, aud baking it iu an 
oven, or freezing it in a refrigerator. We 
pan only giftOCO at tho general outlines. 
The factory is an immense building of 
iron and glass, where hundreds of men and 
women are employed. The building is ad¬ 
mirably lighted, heated, and ventilated, 
and the strictest discipline is enforced. 
Each employe iu the factory has some 
speciffo work to do, and iu time becomes 
master of his branch of it, attaining pei’- 
feotion. There is very little hand-work 
done in the factory, curious, oftentimes au¬ 
tomatic, aud never varying machines, per¬ 
forming most of the labor. Many of the 
machines are bo regulated with dials, etc., 
that it is impossible for the operator to vary 
a hair’s width without at once Ueoomiug 
aware of tho fact. Some of the machines, 
such as those whioh cut the teeth iu the 
wheels to be used iu the watch, are operated 
with such precision that the expansion pro¬ 
duced by heat has to be taken into the ac¬ 
count, and work is only commenced after 
the machine has attained a certain degree 
of temperature. If the machine when cold 
should commence to cut the teeth iu a 
watch-wheel, aud continue so doing until it 
had become heated, the t eeth would vary 
enough to affeot the time-piece. 
It may bo stated, in general terms, that 
every part of a watch manufactured by 
Giles, Wales &0o. is made after a oertaln 
established standard, aud by machines 
whioh have beon built for rnakiug this stan¬ 
dard, so that it Is impossible for any varia¬ 
tion to take place, The result is a perfect 
watch, whioh commences to run as soon as 
it is put together, and uoeds but little reg¬ 
ulating. Every part of a watch can thus 
be easily duplicated, sinco It is as easy to 
make a hundred parts as it is one. Thus 
the manufacture la systematised, a fact im¬ 
possible of accomplishment where watches 
are made by hand, as at Geneva, in Switzer¬ 
land. If a man carries a watch made at 
Marion, N. and by any accident any 
portion becomes broken, he can easily have % 
it duplicated at his watchmaker’s, and since 
a stock is always kept ou hand, there is an 
exact counterpart to the missing or use- 
I ss piece. With a hand-made watch, 
icro can be no standard, since every 
atch so made la necessarily different 
om every other watch. The human hand 
not capable of producing two things 
cactly alike, as a machine can. This is an 
Wantage. American made watches have 
irer those produced in F.uropo. And if 
luw, Wales & Co. send a case of their 
atches to the groat Exposition In Vienna 
ext year, we shall expect to see them aa- 
mish the world. 
Among tho interesting operations we 
itnessed at Marion was tho boring of holes 
ito the watch plates for the wheel-pivots 
nd staples'to'rest In; the cutting of teeth 
i tho wheels; tho making of steel screws 
o lino wo had to look at them through a 
laguifying glass; The manufacture of the 
egulator or balance wheel, composed of 
teol and brass, in the best proportions to 
ounteract tho Influence of heat and cold; 
he polishing of the steel wheels; the out¬ 
ing of the rubius and garnets into small bits 
or tipping the points of beurlngH, and jew- 
lliug the watob; the manufacture and ooil- 
ng of the delicate hair springs; tho enani- 
diug of the dial faces of the watch and the 
minting of tho divisions of time upon 
:hem; the putting of the instrument, to¬ 
gether, when it starts off with a buzz like 
m intelligent thing of life. As there are 
marly three hundred different pieces in a 
ivatok, it will at once bo seen that a vast 
lumber of different operations huve to be 
{one through with. When the reader 
learns that there is a distinct machine for 
jaoh operation, he will form some idea of 
the vast extent of the factory, and of tho 
icorea of ingenious machines It contains. 
Here is au artist painting the dials; here is 
i man burning ou the enamel in a hot fur¬ 
nace; here is a man gildiug tho wheels; 
here is one sawing up jewels as a marble 
suiter saws his uiurblo; here is an eu- 
ifraver; hero are polishers; here die-cut¬ 
ters; here a man Is tempering tho wheels, 
ule. Many young women are employed in 
this factory, and they have been found to 
be as expert and good workmen as the men. 
Intelligent Americans make the best work¬ 
men, although Giles, Wales & Co. have 
all nationalities iu their employ. 
This house 1 b now manufacturing a com¬ 
plete line of watches of all sizes, so it is no 
longer necessary for dealers to purchase 
oertuiu sizes of European make to complete 
their line. Tho stem-winding watch is 
now universally in favor, and after much 
labor and many experiments, Giles, Wales 
& Co. have invented a simple and strong 
stem-winding apparatus, which is not lia¬ 
ble to get out of repair, and Is so simple, no 
better plan for stem-winding is likely to 
bo over Invented. The watches of this 
house have borne tho test of actual use for 
so many years and by so many men, it is 
unnecessary for us to add a word in their 
favor. They are made at all prices, from 
the boy’s cheap watch to tho most costly 
chronometer. Thuy are put up iu elegant 
and beautiful cases, to suit tho taste and 
purse of all classes. Americans have rea¬ 
son to be proud of Buch a triumph of their 
mechanical skill and genius. Wo know of 
nothing lu the whole range of mechanism 
whioh equals it, and oertainly Europe can¬ 
not produce a better watch than those 
made by Giles, Wales & Co. of Marion, 
N. J. 
The American Institute Fair, whioh has 
just closed iu this city, has awarded the 
highest premium, a gold medal. to the ft 
highest premium, a gold medal, to the U. 
S. Watch Company. Giles, Walks & Co! 
Out of 1,885 exhibitors at the Fair, only 
five gold medals were awarded, of which 
one was for the beautiful aad remarkable 
watches we have described. Our ow n ap¬ 
preciation of tho value aud reliability of 
these Watohes is indicated tn t he faot that, 
after having given them as Premiums for 
some years, to the satisfaction of recipi- 
. •mts, we offer more styles or sizes in our 
new Premium List (see pugo 383j than evex- 
bofors. 
