JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  31,  1901. 
40  J 
Rhus  Toxicodendron. 
The  poisonous  effects  of  this  American  plant,  known  as  the 
Poison  Sumach,  was  painfully  demonstrated  recently,  when 
A.  Antrobus,  Esq.,  Fernwood,  New  Oscott,  near  Birmingham,  was 
making  some  cuttings  for  propagation  of  the  plant.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  several  hours  had  elapsed  that  any  ill  effects  were 
experienced,  v  hen  his  hands,  face,  and  other  parts  of  his  body 
began  to  itch  intensely,  and  his  face  and  eyelids  were  much 
swollen.  Medical  treatment  was  resorted  to,  and  after  several 
days’  confinement  indoors,  the  swelling  and  pain  subsided.  On 
mentioning  the  circumstance  to  one  of  the  employes,  the  latter 
remarked  that  he  also  once  suffered  considerably  from  contact 
with  the  same  plant,  and  had  ever  since  studiously  avoided  it. 
The  symptoms,  however,  were  comparatively  slight,  so  that  it 
was  not  mentioned  at  the  time.  It  is  sa  d  that  some  persons  may 
handle  the  plant  with  impunity.  A  parallel  is  also  found  in 
Primula  obconica.  Rhus  venenata,  the  Poison  Elder,  is  said  to 
be  equally  poisonous  as  its  compeer. — G. 
Raising  Maple  Seedlings. 
Excepting  the  silver  and  the  red  Maple,  which  ripen  their 
seeds  in  May,  most  all  other  sorts  ripen  theirs  in  October,  and 
those  desiring  to  raise  seedlings  should  see  to  securing  seeds  as 
soon  as  ripe.  Maple  seeds  require-  to  be  sown  in  autumn,  or 
before  the  ground  freezes  to  prevent  the  work.  Unlike  many 
other  seeds,  they  will  not  keep  in  good  condition  in  a  dry  state 
very  long,  and  it  is  useless  to  so  keep  them  and  sow  in  spring,  as 
they  will  not  grow.  But  it  is  quite  practicable  to  keep  them  in 
good  condition  till  spring  if  mixed  with  slightly  damp  soil  and 
kept  in  a  cool  place  over  winter.  The  seeds  should  be  thoroughly 
ripe  before  gathering.  With  us,  says  the  “  Florists’  Exchange,” 
the  close  of  September  sees  them  ripe,  when  they  may  either  be 
gathered  or  swept  up  as  they  fall.  Nurserymen  usually  spread 
the  seeds  on  the  floor  of  a  shed  for  a  week  or  two  after  gathering 
and  before  sowing.  Whether  necessary  or  not,  we  cannot  say, 
but  it  is,  it  seems,  common  practice  to  “  let  them  dry  a  bit  ” ; 
and,  at  any  rate,  treated  in  this  way,  and  sown  before  winter 
comes,  they  do  very  well. 
Purple-leaved  Beech. 
Writing  to  the  “Florist’s  Exchange,”  Mr.  Joseph  Meehan 
states  that  on  many  of  the  older  estates  in  America  the  purple 
Beech  trees  are  amongst  the  grandest  features  of  the  country. 
The  old-style  purple,  or  blood-leaved  Beech,  makes  but  few 
branches  when  young,  and  the  nursery  customer  looking  for  a 
nice  formed  specimen  rarely  finds  it  in  one  of  natural  growth  of 
a  height  of  6ft  to  8ft.  But  few  branches  are  made  at  that 
period  of  growth.  Later  on,  as  age  increases,  the  tree  develops 
a  beautiful  shape,  to  the  surprise  of  those  unaccustomed  to 
noticing  it.  A  little  pruning  when  the  trees  are  small  is  a  great 
help  to  them.  There  is  another  class  of  purple  Beech  of  a 
different  style  of  growth — the  seedling  class.  Seeds  of  the 
purple  Beech  when  sown  give  seedlings  usually  of  dark  purple 
colour,  but  of  varying  shades  of  purple.  Some  may  be  as  dark  as 
the  noted  Rivers’  Purple,  others  not  so  dark,  and  occasionally 
one  almost  green.  By  sorting  them,  planting  separately  the 
lighter  colours,  nurserymen  are  able  to  offer  these  seedlings  of  a 
perfectly  satisfactory  dark  purple  colour.  In  nursery  classifica¬ 
tion  seedlings  are  called  Copper  Beech,  and  those  grafted  from 
the  Rivers’  variety,  Purple  Beech,  though  to  the  average 
customer  the  names  are  synonymous.  A  rather  curious  feature 
of  the  seedling  Copper  Beech  is  that  it  grows  bushy  and  symmetri¬ 
cal  from  the  start,  without  the  pruning  to  accomplish  this  which 
the  purple  requires.  Early  autumn  is  a  capital  time  to  trans¬ 
plant  Beeches.  Carefully  done,  with  some  accompanying 
pruning,  they  are  not  hard  to  move.  Perhaps  an  exception 
should  be  made  in  the  case  of  the  Fern-leaved  Beech,  which 
requires  very  hard  pruning  to  have  success  with  it. 
Crataegus  pyracantha. 
At  this  season  of  the  year,  when  the  flowers  only  wait  for  the- 
first  sharp  frost  to  put  an  end  to  them,  and  the  leaves  are  bright 
with  a  hundred  autumn  tints,  the  brilliancy  of  the  evergreen 
Thorn  is  strikingly  effective.  All  the  summer  its  dull,  green- 
leaves  have  been  almost  unnoticed,  and  its  insignificant  flo.vers. 
have  called  for  no  comment.  But  now  all  is  different,  and  the 
dull  days  are  brightened  by  the  clusters  of  showy  berries  on  the 
wall.  Yesterday  I  passed  a  residence  the  whole  front  of  which  is. 
covered  with  Crataegus  pyracantha.  On  every  twig  and  spur  wa 
a  bunch  of  brilliancy  in  the  shape  of  scarlet  berries,  the  effect  of 
which  calls  for  comment  from  every  passer-by.  As  this  is  the 
season  of  planting,  it  is  not  unseemly  to  say  a  word  for  this  old 
favourite,  and  when  selecting  climbers  for  the  wall  that  flower 
in  the  summer,  one  that  will  be  admired  when  all  the  former  are 
over  should  not  be  forgotten. — H. 
Lacquer  Work. 
This  work  is  not  only  very  pretty  but  easily  done,  though  it 
requires  care  and  patience  in  its  execution.  A  little  practice  will 
suffice,  and  then  one  can  make  boxes  which  will  be  very  acceptable 
as  presents  to  the  friends  who  like  autumn  leaves.  After  select¬ 
ing  those  with  the  brightest  reds  and  yellows,  the  leaves  must  be 
laid  face  down  upon  a  blotter,  and  their  veins  and  projecting 
stalks  scraped  away  with  a  thin,  sharp  knife.  They  must  then 
be  placed  between  two  blotting  papers  to  dry,  and  left  for  two 
weeks,  at  the  end  of  which  time  they  will  be  ready  for  use.  Now, 
one  may  turn  their  attention  to  the  box,  tray,  screen  or  table 
one  intends  decorating,  giving  it  a  coat  of  black,  made  of  lamp¬ 
black  mixed  with  linseed  oil  and  turpentine,  applied  with  a  flat 
brush.  When  the  black  is  entirely  dry,  which  will  be  soon,  if 
plenty  of  turpentine  is  used,  a  coat  of  varnish  is  applied.  How¬ 
ever,  unless  the  black  is  wholly  dry,  the  varnish  will  mix  with  the 
paint.  Before  the  varnish  is  quite  dry  the  leaves  must  !  e 
arranged  in  groups  or  wreaths,  first  dampening  the  under  side 
of  the  leaves  to  swell  them  to  their  natural  size.  When  the 
entire  design  is  quite  finished  (directs  the  “Fruit  World”),  the 
whole  is  varnished  twice  with  the  purest  transparent  varnish. 
The  second  coat  follows  as  soon  as  the  first  is  perfectly  dry.  A 
dainty  line  of  gold  leaf  introduced  around  the  edges  or  elsewhere 
adds  to  the  fine  effect. 
Preparation  of  Grape  Juice. 
Each  year,  as  the  Grape  season  approaches,  we  are  asked 
(writes  a  correspondent  to  “  Green’s  Fruit  Grower,”  America), 
how  to  put  up  Grape  juice  for  family  use.  In  proceeding,  use 
only  clean,  well-ripened  Grapes.  I  prefer  to  express  the  juice 
in  an  ordinary  hand  cider  mill  (same  as  making  cider)  by  grinding 
the  Grapes.  The  advantage  is  you  get  the  juice  at  once,  and 
that  which  is  expressed  by  grinding  is  clear  and  retains  so  little 
foreign  matter  or  pomace.  It  may  be,  by  careful  straining  through 
double  thickness  light  flannel,  be  immediately  bottled,  while  that 
obtained  from  pressing  the  skins,  pulp,  seeds,  &c.,  will  require, 
besides  straining,  a  little  time  to  precipitate  a  sediment  result¬ 
ing  from  pressing.  I  sometimes  filter  through  a  few  inches  of 
clean  washed  river  or  creek  sand.  The  sooner,  however,  it  can 
be  bottled  and  corked  the  less  fermentation  and  the  more  of  the 
peculiar  Grape  aroma  may  be  retained.  Whereas,  if  the  Grapes 
are  crushed  in  a  tub  or  barrel  I  find  it  difficult  or  impossible  to 
express  the  juice  until  fermentation  dissolves  the  pulp,  thereby 
losing  much  of  the  Grape  flavour,  but  the  fermentation  cuts  no 
figure  in  the  keeping  qualities,  as  I  sometimes, for  variety,  let  some 
ferment  to  a  certain  flavour,  when  I  heat  and  seal  it  with  the 
assurance  that  when  opened  in  the  months  or  years  following  the 
same  flavour  will  prevail.  I  use  the  ordinary  wine  and  beer 
bottles — carefully  wash  and  drain  them,  fill  to  within  about  three 
inches  of  the  top ;  set  in  ordinary  wash  boiler  on  the  stove  ; 
put  an  inch  of  sand  on  the  bottom  or  fit  a  turn  board  over  the 
bottom  to  prevent  the  bottom  of  bottles  overheating  to  break  or 
give  the  juice  a  cooked  flavour  ;  fill  the  boiler  with  bottles  as  close 
as  they  will  stand  without  crowding,  and  fill  the  boiler  with  cold 
water  within  about  4  inches  of  the  top  of  the  bottles.  Lay  on 
the  lid  and  start  the  fire.  Bring  the  water  slowly  to  a  distinct 
simmer,  but  in  no  instance  allow  it  to  come  to  a  boil,  as  this,  too, 
will  cook  the  juice.  Have  your  corks  steaming.  I  use  a  one- 
quart  fruit  can  ;  fill  half  full  of  water  and  put  in  the  corks,  lay  on 
the  cap,  set  along  the  boiler  to  heat  and  steam  while  bottles  are 
heating. 
