222 
AMERICAN AG-RICULTURIST. 
[June, 
slightly marked that it escapes notice. Many 
whose experience in such matters should 
have taught them better are always con¬ 
founding plants raised from cuttings or slips 
with those raised from seeds, and can not see 
why the plant raided from the slip or root 
of a White Dahlia, or the tree raised from the 
graft of a Baldwin apple, should be always iden¬ 
tical with the plant or tree from which they are 
taken, while the seeds taken from either would 
not produce the same. Any cutting from a 
root or a branch, whether rooted itself or en¬ 
grafted on another stock (except in rare cases of 
sports), will be identical with that of the original 
form from which it was taken ; in fact, it is only 
a separated part of the same plant , while the 
plant raised from seed is a distinct individual. 
The Evergreens. 
kept up success can not be hoped for. Peren¬ 
nial weeds will appear in the following years, 
but these give but little trouble if the grass is 
mowed sufficiently often. Should any of these 
weeds get large enough, they may be removed 
by means of a spud (an implement like a chisel) 
or a long knife. Docks must be pulled wlieu 
the ground is moist, as cutting is of no use. 
The introduction of lawn-mowers has ren¬ 
dered the establishment and keeping of lawns a 
comparatively easy matter. There is now a 
variety of these implements in the market, 
varying in price from $12 to $30 for the hand- 
mowers. Of several that we have tried, we 
give decided preference to the Excelsior. It is 
simple in its mechanism, requires but little 
power to propel it, and does its work well. 
There are some popular patterns that we have 
not tried, but it is not easy to see how the Ex¬ 
celsior can be excelled. 
ries are of the size of peas, and when the fruit 
begins to color. This is done regularly, and if 
any signs of mildew are seen in the intervals, 
sulphurizing is immediately resorted to. 
Flowers of sulphur is the form in which it is 
used, and it is best applied by a bellows. There 
are blowers and other implements in use, but a 
properly-constructed bellows, such as may be 
had at the implement and seed stares, is the 
most convenient for applying it. The bellows 
having a curved nozzle allows the under-sides 
of the leaves to be dusted, which is very import¬ 
ant. The application should be made on a dry 
day, and if the rain should wash away the sul¬ 
phur soon after it is applied, the dusting should 
be renewed. One, with a little practice, can so 
manage the bellows as to throw the sulphur 
in a fine cloud of dust, which will settle upon 
and cover all parts of the vine with an evenly 
distributed but almost imperceptible coating. 
Next in destructiveness to the mildew come the 
hordes of insects. The most effectual remedy 
for the majority of these is hand-picking. Old 
vines especially are disposed to push out ad¬ 
ventitious buds and form branches where they 
are not needed. These should be rubbed off. 
How to Get Good Raspberries. 
Comparatively few people ever eat a really 
good raspberry. To have this delicious fruit in 
perfection you must raise it in your own garden 
and take a little pains with it. We do not now 
propose to go into the general subject of plant¬ 
ing, pruning, and managing raspberries, but 
simply to throw out a few hints that may be of 
practical value at the present time. 
Raspberries require very rich land, and it is | 
not too late to fork in some well-rotted manure | 
between the rows. If this can not be obtained, 
sow about three pounds of some good artificial 
manure to the square rod, and work it into the 
soil with a pronged hoe. A spade should never 
be used among raspberries. Keep the ground 
as clean and mellow as possible. Weeds pump 
up large quantities of water out of the soil. 
Suffer none to grow. And recollect that a 
raspberry sucker that is not needed is simply a 
weed , and should be treated accordingly. You 
want four strong suckers to each plant to form 
canes for next year. All the rest, unless needed 
to form new beds, should be killed as soon as 
they show themselves. This is a very im¬ 
portant point in raising large, delicious rasp¬ 
berries. As dry weather approaches, the land 
having been repeatedly stirred to kill weeds, 
mulch the ground thickly with the clippings of 
the lawn or other material, to prevent the evap¬ 
oration of moisture. 
Thorns for Hedges—Thorn Seeds. 
Every spring we have numerous inquiries 
concerning raising thorns from the seed and the 
forming of hedges from them. These questions 
are put mainly by persons from the old country, 
and we can well understand that they should 
desire to have their beautiful and familiar Haw¬ 
thorn hedges in their new home. We have 
answered these questions very often in the 
“Basket,” where perhaps they may have been 
overlooked, and we now reply to the many let¬ 
ters received this spring in a more conspicuous 
place, in the hope that one answer will serve for 
several. In the first place, the seeds of the 
European thorns, as well as those of our native 
species, are very slow of germination, and they 
From the number of inquiries we have had, 
the effects of the cold of March upon ever¬ 
greens were truly disastrous. Even in close 
city yards, where the exposure is greatly less 
than in country places, the trees have not 
escaped. We have noticed Red-Cedars in the 
spot where they had grown from the seed, for 
twenty years or more, apparent y quite killed, 
and a hemlock in its native locality badly inj ured. 
It often happens that a severe winter will brown 
evergreens, and they will after a while more or 
less completely recover, but the foliage in most 
species is at present of a very disheartening white 
color. We have been many times asked if the 
injured trees will recover. An examination of 
our own specimens gives but little hope. The 
spring has been an unusual^ dry one, and it is 
likely that this has put beyond recovery plants 
that might otherwise have recuperated. 
-o.--aeta.--- 
Lawns and Lawn-Mowers. 
With lawns sown this spring an encouraging 
green surface will be presented. Upon a close 
examination, it will be found that all that is 
green is no more grass than that all that glitters 
is gold. Especially upon old ground will it be 
found.that weeds are the rule and grass the ex¬ 
ception. Shepherd’s-purse, Carpet-weed, Land- 
wort, Mouse-ear, and a host of other humble 
weeds will go to make up what at a little dis¬ 
tance appears like a good beginning for a lawn. 
If examination shows here and there a spear of 
grass, there is no need of being discouraged. 
Mow away at it; the weeds will soon get tired 
of it, while the grass if it is fairly started will 
do all the better for it. A few mowings will 
perceptibly diminish the weeds, and though the 
surface may not be so well covered as it first 
appeared to be, the grass will soon take posses¬ 
sion. In July comes the worst enemy of all, 
the Purslane or “ Pusley.” A lawn made upon 
ground formerly in cultivation can hardly escape 
this pest. Here, too, the remedy is to mow, and 
often. If the Purslane is allowed to get too 
large, mowing will be found tedious work. The 
succulent Purslane will slick to and clog the 
machine; it will collect upon and cover the 
roller with a pasty mass that will fall off in 
flakes, which must be removed or they will kill 
the grass beneath them. During midsummer 
we would mow only so often as is necessary to 
keep the better of the Purslane. When the 
cool nights of autumn come, then the grass will 
make rapid progress, and with a little reseeding 
of the thin spots a good turf will be established 
before winter. The first season will be a constant 
struggle with weeds, and unless the fight is well 
Hydrangeas—The Otaksa. 
The old Hydrangea Ilortensia is well known 
for its large snowball-like clusters of flowers, 
which are rose-colored or blue, according to the 
soil in which it is grown. At New York and 
southward it is measurably hardy, but in colder 
localities it is grown as a house plant, being 
planted out during summer and taken indoors 
for the winter. A more beautiful plant is the 
Japanese Hydrangea Otaksa, an old species, but 
only recently introduced into our cultivation. 
The general appearance is like that of the old 
Ilortensia, but the flower-clusters are even 
larger, and slightly suffused with pink when in¬ 
doors or with insufficient light, or with blue 
when fully exposed. Each flower has a small 
lavender-colored center, and the effect is very 
bright and pleasing. The flowers remain for a 
long time before decaying. The plaut blooms 
when very small, and a specimen only a few 
inches high, with a flower-cluster nearly a foot 
across, presents a singular appearance. Our 
specimen, received from Olm Brothers, flowered 
most profusely. It will probably prove as 
hardy as the older species. But having but 
one plant, we did not care to test this point. It 
will prove a very popular plant, whether for 
house culture or for garden decoration. 
The Grape-Vine in Summer. 
Perhaps the most serious difficulty the vine- 
grower—whether he has a single vine or a thou¬ 
sand—has to contend with, is mildew. The 
trouble with this is that its approach is so in¬ 
sidious that the mischief is done before the in¬ 
experienced cultivator has detected the presence 
of the enemy. A discolored spot upon the 
upper part of the leaves is seen, in a few days 
this becomes brown, and the leaf, if severely 
attacked, curls up and dies. Mildew not only 
attacks the leaves but the fruit-clusters and 
the young wood. It may be arrested if attacked 
in time. The vines should bo frequently 
watched, and if grayish patches appear upon 
the under side of the leaves, upon the stems of 
the bunches, indeed if they are found anywhere, 
apply sulphur immediately. Do not wait until 
the next day, nor even the next hour, but 
apply at once. So certain a remedy is sulphur, 
and so very apt are vines to be attacked by mil¬ 
dew, that many grape-growers find it to their 
advantage to pursue a systematic sulphurizing, 
whether indications of mildew are visible or 
not. The vines are dusted as soon as the leaves 
expand, when they are in flower, when the ber- 
