Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-01-16
HOUSE. FARM AND GARDEN.
Notes and Items.


ioyed in all its fragrance and magnlil-
cence.
NigAt BZ0onajlaq CereuS. The Garden-
ers Nont11V tells of plant ten years
old. which has been trained on Wlue
frame, seven or eight feet high, winding
in and about it like some great snake,
and which on the night of I'd July last,
displayed "a magnificent open flowers.
The plant is owned by young lady Of
Philadelphia. In 1870 it bore 40 flowers
during the summer. This is a peculiar
cactus, and viii grow to great size. Its
long round stems produce flat leaves,
very long, and the flower buds spring out
Of notches in the leaves. They are fra
grant and appear once a month, opening
about twilight and continue to unfold
till or 10 o'clock. They close about
midnight, and neXtmorning their vitality
seems to be gone entirely.
Earth Winter Blooming PJaTtS.-A
regular contributor to the Rural Ne1c
Yorher gives the following list: Came
las, bouvardias, double white Chinese
primrose, blooms of winter; steylas, eu-
patoriums, white and pale blue flowers,
geraniums, white or pink, for winter /;
cuphea platycentia constant bloomer,
ter in the house than in the garden, and
requires no special care; bourbon and
tea roses. All these, with one or two
exceptions, are easily produced and give
general satisfaction.
Farmers Cl068.-The general useful
ness of these organizations is manifest
wherever one is formed. In business
matters and in the social influence they
exert, they are exceedingly useful agen-
cies. The meeting of the Farmers Club
are the most interesting event in any
rural neighborhood. They break the
monotony Of country life by cultivating
the social qualities and relations.
Potatoe8.- gather from the Rural
Neao Y0TIeT some statements made by
potato grower of northern New York
before the Farmers Club of Jefferson
county. He considers a medium clay
loan the best soil Cor potatoes. He fay
ors planting single eyes and believes that
each year we waste a large per cent OF
seed. Cut tubers to single eyes and
every one viii grow, whereas, if you
plant a whole tuber, only three or -four
will grow at most. The Early Rose is
the potato for general culture among
early varieties. 1t is a Seeding of the
Garnet Chilli, and, though some other
kinds exceed it in some particular points,
none are so good in all points. Breese's
Prolific, a seeding from the Chill also,
is the best potato for field cultivation he
has tried 1t grows and produces well
on much poorer soil than the Early
Rose. The excelsior has proved quite
productive and Of excellent table quality,
but is not as hardy as the Prolific. King
Of Earlics is not earlier than the Rose, is
fine looking potato, healthy and pro-
ductive. Some seasons it is of poor
quality. The Peerless is of a productive
sort, but of inferior quality-have heard
Of it's being fine in some localities. Camp
bells Late Rose yielded 317 pounds from
10 pounds of seed The tops remain
green until frost, and it stands drouth
well. The quality Of this variety he
does not allude to.
4 Men Bret Of SAcep.-Itis announc-
that a new breed Of sheep from Algeria
is about to be introduced into France.
They produce as much milk as goats
and as much wool as the MerinO. We
shall watch with much interest this eX-
pertinent. France was the first to make
the good qualities of the Merino known,
and it is hoped she may be as success
near Lyons is chosen as the place to
make the trial of acclimating these sheep.
PoTATo BLIGHT AND RoT.-The potato
disease was first observed in Germany,
near Lege, in 1S42 in Canada in 1874,
and in England in 1915. In the follow
ing year it prevailed very extensively
over almost all parts of Europe. The
summer was unusually cloudy and moist,
&C circumstance which probably had some
effect in fostering the disease. 1t has
been estimated that the damage sustain
ed by Great Britain and Ireland for the
year 1S45 was not less than G21. 000 600,
and in 1916 probably twice that amount.
The London Times estimates that the
loss sustained by Great Britain dur
ing the present year, i'll consequence of
this disease, will be about from twenty
to thirty millions sterling. Many of the
best minds of Europe are now engaged
in investigating the nature of the dis
ease, and recent microscopic investiga-
tions show that, Notwithstanding the
fact that during the last thirty years the
potato rot has been attributed to the
presence of a parasitic fungus known as
B0t1Tyt1ts jRt6stdRS, a new form of fun
rotting potato by DIR. M. Payen. Berk-
ley and others, however, consider the
form to be probably a secondary fruit
(oospore) of the potato fungus itself.
Further investigations are deemed neccs-
sary, as the habits Of the fungus are not
yet fully understood. 1t has long been
observed that fungus attacks the stalks
first, causing brown blotches. The dis
ease is next transmitted to the tubers
If we take q withcred stalk, which has
decayed in consequence Of the fungus,
it viii be found that the brown mark
ings have ripened into forms similar to
those discovered by M. Payen and if a
longitudinal section Of the stalk is made.
it will be seen that the interior is also
covered with these spores highly matur-
ed and generally connected with a very
slender Jointed light brown nyce2jltaa.
The dark rounded forms are visible to
the naked eye, but when viewed under
power of so diameters they appear to
vary in size, although with this power
they generally appear to be about the
size of large pea. Some are elongated,
and all are of a very dark brown color