1868 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
297 
vine grown in this way will not produce as fine 
fruit as in a system in which the pruning is 
closer, it will do much better than those sub-, 
jected to the usual haphazard treatment. 
When a screen is needed for the sake of pri¬ 
vacy, or for shutting out unsightly objects, a 
grape vine answers excellently. We should 
say that the figures used in this article are from 
the excellent work, “Grapes and Wine,” by 
Mr. George Ilusmanu, of Hermann, Missouri. 
•-S-Ra*—- > gs - ■ ■ — 
A Stand for a Hand Microscope. 
Those engaged in studying plants or insects 
need a magnifying glass which will allow them 
to have both hands free to dissect with. Such 
instruments are made in this country, but as 
they cost from $12 to $15, they are out of the 
■reach of most young students. It is a pity our 
instrument makers could not furnish us with a 
cheap and good 
glass of this kind, 
as they do in 
France. A toler¬ 
able substitute 
may be made by 
mounting a good 
pocket lens in the 
manner shown in 
= fig. 1. A strong 
' upright wire is 
fixed to a heavy 
foot, which may 
be lead, iron, or any other material heavy enough 
to be steady. Upon this wire is placed a large 
cork, and through the cork at right angles to the 
upright is pushed a smaller wire, to serve as an 
arm to hold the glass. The end of this wire is 
bent up at right angles, and fits into holes bored 
in the shield or cover of the glass. The wires 
should fit into the cork moderately snug, but 
not so tightly as to require much effort to place 
the glass in any required position. For a stage 
on which to place the object to be examined or 
dissected, a white jar or druggist’s gallipot an¬ 
swers very well, but this serves for opaque ob¬ 
jects only. With most transparent objects 
some contrivance for throwing light up from 
below must be adopted. As simple a stage as 
any is to cut a block of some heavy wood as 
Fig. 1 . — MICROSCOPE STAND. 
shown in figure 2. A piece of clear glass is to 
be placed across the opening, and held in place 
by being let into the wood. Below this a bit of 
looking-glass should be so hung that it may be 
placed at any desired 
angle. For dissecting, 
some needles fixed in. 
wooden handles, a small |§§ 
and very sharp knife, V 
and a delicate pair of 
tweezers, will be requir¬ 
ed. We know of one who has acquired a 
botanical reputation who for a long time con¬ 
tinued his investigations with an apparatus as 
simple and rude as that we have described. 
Fig. 2.—STAGE. 
The Club-Hoot in Cabbages, 
out. At this transplanting the roots arc to be 
examined, and if any excrescence is found, it is 
to be cut off and the plant will -soon recover. 
Among the remedies proposed are lime, char¬ 
coal, soot, and dry clay; these are to be sprin¬ 
kled abundantly over the seed-bed, except the 
charcoal, which is to be placed upon it in a coat¬ 
ing half an inch thick. The subject is one which 
needs careful study by intelligent observers. 
Starting Strawberries in Pots.— This 
plan is gaining favor among cultivators. Small 
pots filled with good earth are sunk in the beds 
under the runners, and when the young plant 
has become well rooted, it is separated from the 
parent plant. This plan allows planting to be 
done at almost any time, as the plant may be 
turned out of the pot without disturbing it. 
The cabbage, as well as the cauliflower and 
the rest of its immediate relatives, and also the 
turnip, are liable to a disease which has received 
the names of Club root, Clump-foot, Ambury, 
Hanbury, and when it occurs in turnips, Fingers 
and Toes. In England, the term Ambury is 
most generally used to designate this trouble, 
while in this country it is commonly called 
Club-root. This disease is one of the greatest 
difficulties with which the cabbage grower has 
to contend. Writers upon the subject, both here 
and abroad, attribute it to a small insect, which 
they designate by the indefinite name of “ the 
weevil.” In the cabbage the trouble often makes 
its appearance in the seed-bed, a small, gall-like 
excrescence being found on the stem near the 
root. This contains a small maggot which goes 
on eating its way into the stem, and as it pro¬ 
gresses, the excrescence increases in size, until it 
presents a form like that given in the engraving, 
which is taken from a specimen sent us by C. L. 
Parker, N. C. The maggot eats its way out, the 
swelling soon begins to deca}', and the already 
sickly plant dies. It has been stated that this 
disease does not occur in soils containing 
plenty of lime, while this is contradicted by 
others. It is pretty well established that the 
kind of manure has not, as has been alleged, 
anything to do with the trouble. The principal 
point is to know the habits of the insect that 
causes the mischief, its time of appearing, etc. 
If the attack is made only on the young plant 
in the seed-bed, then we shall know how to 
fight it. If plants which already contain the egg 
or maggot are set out, it makes but little differ¬ 
ence whether they are put ina soil containing 
CLUB-ROOTED CABBAGE. 
an abundance of lime, or in one deficient in this 
constituent, the mischief having already been 
done. If the plant is liable lo attack at any. 
time during its growth, then lime maj r prove a 
preventive. One English writer thinks that the 
trouble begins in the seed-bed, and recommends 
transplanting the plants before the final setting 
- -4 --—ros* ® 8 *- --- 
Notes on Strawberries, 
Each year brings its quota of new seedlings, 
and the present one is no exception. In the eyes 
of the originators of some of these new plants— 
many of them hardly merit the name of new 
varieties—their productions have a greater mer¬ 
it than any heretofore known, and they expect 
others to see the fruit in the same light. Other 
patient experimenters are willing to wait for re¬ 
sults, and try again and again, until they feel 
that they have something worthjr the attention 
of pomologists. The ease with which straw¬ 
berries are raised from seed, and the short time 
required to obtain results, has increased the num¬ 
ber of seedlings within a few years, at a fearful 
rate. Many so-called new berries are so much 
like older ones that it is impossible to remem¬ 
ber any distinguishing characters about them. 
Our catalogues become filled with names with¬ 
out any really distinct fruits belonging to them. 
No one should exhibit, much less offer for sale, 
a strawberry, unless he can show that in some 
respects it is superior to the varieties already in 
cultivation. Some growers of seedlings have- 
strange notions of the possibilities in fertilizing, 
and we are often told that such a berry is from 
the Wilson, for instance, crossed by two or three 
others. Now, one seed of the many which a 
strawberry contains can only be fertilized by 
the pollen of one other berry. If the pollen of 
two or more other varieties be applied, that of 
one only will be effective. AVe give notes of 
some of the newer sorts that have come under 
our notice during the season just past. 
Boyden’s No. 30.—This variety is a seedling 
by Seth Boyden, the originator of the Agricul¬ 
turist strawberry. It was exhibited last year by 
Mr. B.,’ and this year has been tested by several 
others. The vine is of remarkable size and vigor 
of foliage, and the fruit is probably larger than 
that of any other variety. The color is of a fine 
scarlet, and the berries are of a good conical 
form, and of moderate firmness. Flavor not 
high, but pleasant. The fruit often measures 
six inches in circumference, and retains a good 
shape, not often seen in large berries. 
Black Defiance.— This is a seedling by Mr. 
E. AY”. Durand, who produced Durand’s Seed¬ 
ling. It is a good-sized, conical berry, some¬ 
what disposed to coxcomb. The color is very 
dark crimson, reminding one of that of the old 
Black Prince; solid, and remarkably juicy; 
flavor very sprightly and rich, without too much 
acidity. This variety received the premium at 
the N. J. Stale Exhibition, as the best new 
seedling. Mr. D. presented six other seedlings, 
viz.: Regulator, Glossy Cone, Duke, New Jersey, 
Luxuriant, and Brilliant. Of these the commit- 
