APIOS TUBEROSA

Sylvester Baxter, in Garden and Forest: This beautiful wild plant, clambering o^-a the wayside shubbery in many parts of niral New England, with its luxuriant habit and the exquisite scent of its chocolate-colored flowei3, is familiar to all who know the country. But its curious tubers, strung along the umdergronnd shoots like beads on a string, are not so commonly known. 1 dug up a few they were about the size of small seckel pears, I baked them for about fifteen minutes and found them delicioos. When done they were mealy and creamy white in color. Their flavor was strikingly delicate ; something between that of a vei>- fine potato and a sweet potato, with a sng- gestion of the chestnut, also. — In Grafs 1 Botany the Apioe is called a Ground-nut. 1 CUTTING HAY ON ICE. I

In the course of some litigation at Mil- waukee, concerning the drainage of Mns- kego Lake, in southeastern Wisconsin an in- teresting fact was brought out. It appeals that the farmers living around the lake have been deriving a neat revenue each winter fi\3m the lake by harvesting hay on the ice. i

The shallowness of the water in the lake 1 bed causes the grass growing on the bottom to project considerably above the surface I and when the ice forms, the hay can be cut 1 with great ease, though it cannot be gotten I at the rest of the year, on account of the , boggy nature of the lake bottom. j

One of the witnesses, James Malfa, tesli- | fied that he could cut the hay on the frozen I lake, before the drainage destroyed it, as , though he was working on an ordinary hay | field. The hay was sold to Milwaukee merchants for shipping purposes. — Theo. Koss, Milwaukee, Wis.

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SWISS VEGETARIAN SETTLEMENT. Miss C. Kofel writing from Heimgarten, Zurich, Switzerland, Jan. i6, 1898: 'T know you have always taken great interest in the doings at Heimgarten (Home-Gar- den). It was a very busy year for me, as I did the greater part of the work in my lot myself. In the spring I planted over 1000 berry bnshea, cut and pruned the little trees, nearly 300 of them. Then I sowed aud planted peas, beans, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes etc. I also had some very pretty flowers. Everything grew nice- ly, I had some splendid strawberries, also quantities of gooseberries and red currants. What grew best of all, however, and gave me most to do, were the weeds. I took most care of the trees, gathering off the caterpillars and other noxious insects. Doring my stay in London attending the lotemational Veg. Congress a good many tomatoes were spoiled.

" This summer a lai^ three-story house was built by one of the members and the foundations for another one were laid in the fall. So things look prosperous."

NITROGENOUS ALIMENTATION OF PLANTS.

By Rosa G. Abbott.

Electrical stimulation of plants, (viz.: the application of strong electrical illumi- nation, together with the passage of electri- cal currents through chemically charged soils) is one of the methods by which the latent resources of the vegetable kingdom will be materialized doring the coming progressive century.

But perhaps an even greater interest attaches to the question of securing an in- crease of nitrogen for the purpose of aug- menting plant nutrition. Nitrogen is equally indispensible to animal and vegeta- ble existence. It is a gas, which mingled

with oxygen, forms the atmosphere which we breathe, and upon which life depends in fiir greater degree than upon the grosser foods. One may refrain from eating for a considerable period of time with little harm to the system, but breathe one must.

Now, there are various ways of securing nitrogen to plants. Nature provides it in snows, rains, dews and fogs. Hoar frost is rich in nitrogenous compounds ; and when it is deposited into stems and tree branches, it absorbs from the afr a large quantity of nitrogen which, after a thaw, it gives to the soil for plant roots to feed upon. Forests accumulate in this way a large nitrogenous reserve : far greater than is found in sparse- ly wooded regions.

The nitrates, (or salts of nitric acid) are given to plants through the ferments which exist in all soils, and through ammoniacal compounds. Nitrogen is also found in combination in many animal substances. Gaseous nitrogen exists in the atmosphere, and is present in solution in earth and water. It is the latter form of nitrogenous alimentation that twentieth century science will especially endeavor to secure in greater measure for the green plants : viz . : those growths whose tissues contain the coloring matter called chlorophyl. These plants are said to be incapable of assimilating nitrog- enous aliment directly from organic com- pounds such as the farm manures. The essence they require can be immediately absorbed only in the form of mineral matter. French scientists describe the following mode of procuring an increase of gaseous nitrogen. It is well known that the le- gumes, (beans, peas, lentils, etc.) thrive in poor soils which are ill adapted to many other vegetable growths. The roots of certain of these legumes present a novel aspect. Among the hairy root-fibres are seen little clusters of fleshy tubercles, the

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tia^ues of which are alive with tiny organ- isms known as the Dackria radicoliis. These germs establish themselves upon the leguminous roots, forming the protuberant tubercles about themselves as a protection. They do not Injure the plant in the slightest degree, but on the contrary, it is demonstrat- ed that, in some occult and miraculous manner, they aid the plant to draw gaseous nitrogen directly from the air, earth and water. A dying, yellow legume may be revived in the following way: Take a quan- tity of earth from a garden of healthy peas, or other thrifty legumes. Dissolve this earth in water and shower the faded plant with the infusion. It will soon revive and become vigorous and fruitful. An exami- nation of its roots will discoverthe estab- lishment of new tubercles containing living bacteria which passed into the soil with the earth which was taken from the healthy plants.

legumes then, have two kinds of roots : one being the ordinary root of hairy fibre, the other discovering little fleshy tubercles made by the association of the helpful Bacteria radicolus with the root tissues.

All microbes are not necessarily harmfiil or bad. Many of them are of extreme eco- nomic utility. They are in fact, Nature's agents, invested with power to reorganize and to clear away decomposing matter : now seeming to aid disintegration, again appearing to urge on reconstruction. The earth-worm, the maggot, the microbe are among the great world forces, and are ulti- mately beneficent. The instance cited is an illustration of true commensalisme , or auxiliary comradeship. The Bacteria radi- colus finds a home upon the leguminous roots, and in return, it most marv'ellously and mysteriously assists the plant to absorb increased quantities of gaseous nitrogen from earth, air and water.