THIs is a term which, if the present opinions of many distinguished and useful men are sustained, must become familiar to every grape grower. There has long been noticed certain unaccounted-for years of the immaturity of the wood of the vine, want of ripening at the usual period of its fruit, and in the winter or early part of the next season after, the death of the old canes of the vine. This immaturing of fruit and buds, decay of leaves, we have too often ascribed to wet or dry, cold or hot fell weather, or some other apology of a season. The death of vines during the winter, and especially by the hot sunbeams of early spring, and the dryness and heat of later spring, we too often have ascribed to any cause except the injury done to the roots, and especially the rootlets of the vine, by an insect now known the world over as the Phylloxera. Perhaps it was certain French savans and German observers that first discovered this minute pest on their vines. But to Prof. Riley, the distinguished entomologist of Missouri, so far as I know, is due the first distinct public announcement, in a manner to attract attention in this country, that this insect here was also the cause of the injuries to vines usually credited to other causes.

Several others may have spoken of it, especially of our resident German friends. An insect was discovered, ten years ago, in winter, in a certain propagating house in the middle of New York, and the owner said, "it is the worst enemy I have; I could propagate hundreds of thousands of vines, if I could get rid of it." Later he abandoned the "green eye propagation," because " the vines were stunted" by the insect. I have a vine of Eumelan that I paid him three dollars for, now - years old. It has not grown six inches above the ground. It has Phylloxera, or the Pemphagus vitifolia, which is the name for the same insect when it preys on the leaf. But as Phylloxera vartatrix has become more the general term for it, and expresses the idea of injury anywhere, to both leaf and root, it must be accepted as the final and adopted name.

If my ideas and observations are correct, one form of the Phylloxera is its appearance in midsummer, on the leaves of the vine, and usually by punctures on the top of the leaf. These punctures are oftener open than closed. I have seen them in both forms. Where there grows a minute ball, or excrescence, and as it scientifically belongs to the same class-of leaf growth as the nut "gall" and other "galls" or roundish growth of leaf or leaf stem, those in Europe call it a "gall." But it is the taste of Americans to use no cant, or set, or awkward terms, either in describing machinery, or anything else; and hence we shall not accept the term " gall," but speak of the prominences, enlargements, and, if you please, pustules or pits caused by the insect. My observation, now at least fifteen years, on this "gall," pustule, or prominence on the leaf is, that very often no minute insect can be found in it. At other times or years, a red mite occupies the cavity of these small enlargements, which are often two, six or eight, near each other, or are decrete or single, or confluent or many on the leaf, so that the badly infested leaf has pits as of small-pox pustules in the human subject. At other times those balls contain yellow insects, and even of other colors.

The reason of this variety of colors I do not know, but it is clearly a fact. This injury to the leaf I believe does but little damage comparatively, usually, to the vine, and none or little to its fruit. But it is proof that it is on the vines, whenever seen.

The great damage is done to the root, the second form of its injury, which also in midsummer, and later, perhaps at other periods, it does by its feeding especially on the rootlets,, where, also, it produces excrescences and other marks. But of this my own observation has not been accurate enough to fully describe it - a matter which has been now fully done by others. As it does its injury to the roots, the roots furnish diseased sap, and, as I have said, I believe it accounts for the want of ripening of the canes and fruit at the proper time in the fall. And often frost comes on the wood, leaves and fruit, yet but half matured. Hence the loads of half ripe' grapes that deluge our markets of late years. Hence, too, the bearing wood for the next year enters the winter but poorly prepared for flowering and fruit bearing the next season. Next, in the winter, as seen abundantly in the winter of 1871-2, the vines in January to March crack open; and as the sap is in feeble supply, the buds of canes, though alive, have not sap enough to open, and they dry up and die as warm weather comes on.

Mr. Lander, of the Agricultural Department, spoke to me of this fact several years ago; and lately, Western propagators from single eyes of out-tings have described cuttings growing from canes that failed to burst or open their buds in the portion left on the vines.'

As the question now stands, it seems probable that much of the irregular ripening, much of the killing of buds and canes; perhaps all of the occasional loss of the upper portion of our American vines, and other unaccounted-for injuries, are to be charged to this insect, whose name as Phylloxera, or Pempbagus vitifolia, is scarcely yet known to the mass of vine growers. At any rate, it becomes us all to carefully observe, accurately note and describe its habits and our losses by it. I am favorable to all State and other entomologists, but do not consider it their duty to provide a remedy for every insect; as I believe, in all cases of a persistent insect, as the cur-culio, and, I fear, Phylloxera, nothing effectual can be done by any one, except on a scale too small to accomplish much.

Grapes

Jin Add res*, by F. F. Merceron, before the Pennsylvania Fruit Grower*' Society, Jan. 1873

First

What method of propagating Grapes produces the healthiest plants?

I have myself propagated but in two ways, from single eyes under glass, and from two-eyed cuttings in the open air. I abandoned the single eye method after the second year, as I found that those from cuttings in the field were much the finest plants, and my customers, many of them ordering a second time, would prefer plants grown from cuttings. There were some varieties, however, that did better under glass, such as Diana, Adirondack, Iona, Rebecca, and many others, but that is the only place they ever did well, for when I came to fruit them - no, that ain't it - when they got old enough to bear, the grapes were not forthcoming, the principal cause of failure - mildew.

But all soils are not equally well adapted to growing vines out of doors. My soil is fine sandy loam, and grows good plants. "The best vines I ever bought came from Vineland, and I never got a good vine from Rochester. I never want a cutting more than six inches long, and prefer them about five inches, as they root quicker than cuttings eight or ten inches long. I bury the upper eye just under the soil and tramp well on each side of the line.