150 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 7, 1858. 
fc6mes too expensive ; and it may often be used at the 
bottom of a walk, where it is plentiful. 
t am in hopes the manufacture of cements will, eventu- 
ally, furnish us with an article that may supersede 
asphalte, concrete, or tar and gravel. But, at present, 
cement is too expensive for general adoption; and it is 
only in those few places where bituminous substances 
exist in a natural state, that they can be had in quantities 
for purposes like this. But the great many purposes to 
which cement has of late years been applied, give reason 
to.hope we may yet have it cheap enough to form walks. 
The conditions which I consider necessary for a good 
'"'alk are a smooth, hard surface, free from loose, hard 
particles ; or, if the surface be loose, as in shells, let there 
be no lumps of hard gravel to hurt tender feet; for, next 
to a dirty, clinging mire, a path of loose, pebbly stones is, 
perhaps, the most uncomfortable. The pathways near 
many of our coast towns, being formed of sfa shingle, are 
very disagreeable ; but in some inland places a flinty 
gravel of similar character is found, imbedded, as it were, 
in a sort of red clayey material, which, taken as a whole, 
and of at least three inches or more in thickness, forms 
tv tolerably good walk by being well rolled when the mass 
is wet. When it is dry, it becomes exceedingly hard 
and imperishable ; but, if disturbed at that time, it could 
not be set again. Moss and other lichens disfigure it; 
but breaking it up in winter, and rolling it again, make 
it look fresh. Though this walk is generally clean, by 
the foot only resting on the stony portion of it, it is not 
by any means the most agreeable to walk upon; only it 
looks well, the colouring material often being all that 
can be desired. 
Perhaps the prettiest of all substances for a walk is 
some of the spar gravel which is found in mining districts. 
In some places, a white gravelly, or gritty, article is also 
to bo had, equal to spar. Some walks at Putteridgo 
Bury (made by my worthy fellow-writer, Mr. Pish), were 
of this kind, and looked remarkably well. But, as good 
_ walks may sometimes be acceptable where pretty ones 
cannot be had, it is only right here to say, that plenty 
of usage, in the shape of foot-passengers, is the best 
to make a walk. The pathways in the parks of London 
would not be so smooth and hard, were it not for the 
thousands of passengers traversing them. It is, therefore, 
useless to expect a nice even walk, which, perhaps, does 
not accommodate half-a-dozen passengers a-day, and is. in 
other respects, a stranger to the roller. For good walks, 
like good houses, are the better for being used; and, like 
the latter, neglect is fatal to their well-being. 
J. Robson. 
SULPHITE AS A CUEE AND PEEYENTION OF 
VINE MILDEW. 
In Tue Cottage Gardener of the 23rd ult., I find a letter 
containing advice as to the cure of mildew in Vines ; which said 
advice, taken as it stands, is, I think, rather calculated to mis¬ 
lead. The writer of it recommends the application of sulphur 
to the pipes and flues while hot, which, without doubt, will 
effectually cure mildew; hut if the pijies are made too hot, or 
too great a quantity of sulphur be applied, it will injure the Vines 
as well. 
I once had some Cucumbers destroyed by red spider, so I 
pulled them up, made the pipes as hot as possible, and painted 
them thickly with sulphur, keeping the pit closed during the 
t ime. When I opened it the fumes were bo strong, that I was 
obliged to leave it open for some time before I could work in it 
with any comfort; and I feel convinced, that had there been any 
plants in it, they would not have been worth much after the 
operation was finished. With the pipes, or flues, moderately 
warm, a thin paint of sulphur may be beneficial. 
But prevention is better than cure, and one great cause of 
mildew is, I think, the admission of draughts of cold air while 
the wood is young and tender. I would paint the Vines every 
year with a mixture of softsoap and sulphur, to which a little 
lime, or soot, may be added; and never open the front lights from 
the time the buds begin to swell until the berries begin to change 
colour, by which time the wood is sufficiently ripened to stand 
cold draughts without injury. I have adopted the plan myself 
(in a house that had not been free from mildew for seven years), 
and met with great success.—A. A. 
GEOWTH OF THE MISTLETOE. 
In your No. 74, Vol. III., in reply to a correspondent, “An 
Inquirer,” about Mistletoe, you promised to forward stamped 
envelopes to a friend, who offered to send seeds of the said plant 
to any of your readers. I forwarded an envelope, and in due 
time received several berries containing seed, with “let us know 
how you succeed ” written on the envelope. 1 placed the seed, some 
in the V underneath the bark, and others on the bark, without 
making an incision,—all on the underside of the branches of my 
Apple trees, in a small garden in the suburbs of the town (Non - 
castle-on-Tyne). None of the seeds placed in incisions vegetated, 
I suppose owing to some error in the operation; but the whole 
of those placed on the bark, merely by the pressure of the thumb 
on the glutinous berry, vegetated, and produced the first season 
a leech-like sucker, which turned over and attached itself to the 
bark, about half an inch from where the seed had been placed. 
The second season the plant raised the seed-case up, and threw it 
off, producing two small leaflets, and the bark of the Apple tree 
was slightly swollen. In the third season another pair of leaflets 
were thrown out; but, from some untoward accidents in the 
autumn and winter of this season, all my plants, save one, were 
rubbed or broken off; and, as I was making some alterations in 
my garden, I cut off two of the branches of the trees where the 
Mistletoe had been, thus leaving me with only one perfect plant. 
After the branches were cut, curiosity prompted me to examine 
the parts where the plants had been, and, to my astonishment, I 
found five or six rootlets from each between the inner and outer 
bark of the tree, and, of course, I much regretted having cut my 
trees. But I still had one plant left, which, the fourth season, 
threw out two branches and two pairs of leaflets. But the winter 
came, and my last plant was broken, or rubbed off. 
From my former experience, I had hopes of seeing it start the 
fifth season, and was not disappointed, as it threw out two strong 
branches, increasing rapidly every season since ; and it is now, I 
am informed by my successor in the garden, nearly nine inches 
long, having five branches, apparently in the most perfect health. 
1 wonder so interesting a plant is not more cultivated ; but I 
presume the slowness of its growth tests the patience of many of 
our gardening friends. 
I have now moved to a new place, three miles out of town, 
and have a good many varieties of ornamental shrubs, which have 
been out two winters,—a list of which I Bliall be glad to give 
you, with remarks on the hardiness, or the contrary, of each 
variety in my neighbourhood, if you think it would be of any 
service to your numerous readers.— Cygnet. 
[We shall be much obliged by the list you propose.— Eds. C. G.J 
NOTES ON NEW OE RARE PLANTS. 
Statice monopetala, I*. Nat. ord., Plumb aginaceee. Native 
of North Africa and the South of Europe.—Stems and branches 
frutieose, sparely covered with foliage. Leaves entire, linear 
lanceolate, somewhat spathulate, sheathing at the base, thickly 
covered with whitish dots. Spikes lax, scalcy. Flowers solitary, 
far apart. Calyx green, undivided, and scarcely increasing. Tube 
of the corolla incurved ; limb salver-sliaped, large, bright rose. 
A very nice species of Statice, and nearly hardy, requiring 
only the protection of a cold frame in winter. It may be culti¬ 
vated in pots, with good success, in a compost of good turfy 
loam, with a little peat or leaf mould, and a little sand. The 
drainage must be perfect. But the plant succeeds best planted 
out in summer, in good common garden soil, and lifted in 
autumn before frosts set in ; or better practice would be, to keep 
up the stock annually from cuttings, as it roots very freely. 
Blooms in July and August. 
Schubertia graveolenS, Lindl. Nat. ord., Ascleindacecc. 
Native of Brazil.—Stem twining, moderately strong, quite villous. 
Leaves cordate, variable in form, from obovate to ovate acuminate, 
covered with brown, villous hairs ; veins rather prominent on the 
under side. Inflorescence an umbel! of seven or eight flowers, 
