THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
241 
from its being applied on hot-water pipes, where the 
temperature is usually under 200 degrees. 
Black Mildew or “ Black Spot .”—I have had scarcely 
any experience with this, as we never have had it 
on our place, except in a slight degree on some hybrid 
tea-roses. I have noticed, however, that it is most preva¬ 
lent in rose establishments where the stock is grown for 
propagation in shallow benches, in soil without manure. 
It is almost unknown where the plants are grown for cut- 
flowers, and consequently are liberally fed. In all proba¬ 
bility this continued starving leaves the stock in such 
condition that it invites the “ black spot.” There is a 
formula which is said to check it, but it has been kept a 
secret by the discoverer. 
In conclusion I would say that, in my opinion, the ven¬ 
tilation of a greenhouse has more to do with the health 
of its contents than any other one cause. This is partic¬ 
ularly true with roses. If air is given to a rose-house, 
day and night during July and August, there will be little 
trouble with mildew, as the cool night air and the action 
of the wind all tend to toughen the fibre of the wood and 
leaves and give strength of constitution to the whole 
plant, so that when the spores of mildew and other fun¬ 
goid diseases strike, they do not take root, but glance off 
harmlessly from the hardened and fortified foliage. 
Charles Henderson. 
Jersey City Heights, N. J. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
Spinach. 
O NE of the most important crops in our market gar¬ 
dens is that of spinach, and it is estimated that 
there are hundreds of acres of it cultivated in the neigh¬ 
borhood of New York city for fall and early spring use, 
and I know of no reason why it should not be grown in 
every amateur’s garden. It is one of those vegetables 
that require but little skill or experience to cultivate it 
successfully, but like all others will well repay the extra 
cultivation and care that may be bestowed upon it. 
As it is mostly required for early spring use it should 
be given the most sheltered situation one has at his com¬ 
mand, and like all other vegetables of which the leaves or 
stalks are the parts used, the land on which it is growing 
can hardly be made too rich and deep, for the size and 
succulent tenderness of the leaf depend altogether upon 
the character of the soil and the manner in which the 
plants have been grown. 
The ground should be prepared early in September by 
ploughing in deeply a good supply of well-decayed stable 
manure, and then with the harrow leveling it off as nicely 
as possible. On a more limited scale all of this prepara¬ 
tory work can be done (but not so well) by means of the 
fork and rake, and land on which any early crop has 
been grown will answer, providing it be properly prepared. 
After the ground is in readiness the seed should be 
sown in drills about an inch and a half in depth and from 
twelve to sixteen inches apart. Sow rather thickly, cov¬ 
ering it with about an inch of soil, and then firm the 
ground on the seed by treading down firmly each row 
with the foot. 
The seed should be sown from the 5th to the 10th of 
September, but if any is desired for use during the fall 
months, it should be sown about two weeks earlier. As 
soon as the crop is up and the plants strong enough to 
handle they should be well thinned out, so that they stand 
about four inches apart; after this all the care they re¬ 
quire is to be kept well cultivated and free from weeds 
until the ground becomes frozen in the fall. 
Early in the ensuing spring, as soon as the earth be¬ 
comes settled, the crop should be thoroughly and deeply 
hoed, and in a short time it will be ready for use. 
A few years ago we had only a couple of varieties, but 
of late there has been quite an improvement in this excel¬ 
lent vegetable, and the result is that we now have several 
very valuable varieties. For amateur cultivators the best 
are the Round-leaf, which is so well known as to require 
no description, and the Savoy; this is of recent introduc¬ 
tion, and has wrinkled leaves in the way peculiar to the 
Savoy cabbage. It is truly a very valuable variety, pro¬ 
ducing twice the weight of crop of the ordinary sorts, 
and is decidedly one of the most hardy. 
Queens, N. Y. Chas. E. Parnell. 
AN ACRE OF PANSIES. 
F OUR miles east from Amherst, as the crow flies, 
nestled among rocks and unevenness hardly high 
enough to be called hills, and in singular contradistinc¬ 
tion to the uncultivated fields about it and the young 
growth of scrubby forest trees, lies a flower garden, 
ten acres in extent. One whole acre is devoted to pan¬ 
sies. Row after row it stretches in brilliant lines like 
broken rainbows, showing every tint and every combina¬ 
tion of tints that can be named or imagined. There are 
all the old favorites, purple and yellow and white and 
velvety black ; but beside and around them range thou¬ 
sands of new and, to me, unknown sisters. They are 
blossoms fresh and clean looking as new calicoes in 
stripes and spots of blue and white; others with the 
quaint pink-and-gold tints we used to see on grand¬ 
mother’s china; others still are streaked with a crimson 
like that which stains the bright cheek of a winter 
apple. There are royal fellows in mauve and lavender, 
and a richly-robed one in deepest wine. There are 
pink and white flowers that mimic the form and color 
