42 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



Large tracts of cheap, almost waste, pasture land throughout 

 New England could be turned to good account by cultivating 

 them with grapes. Not that we suppose that grape culture 

 among us will ever be the paramount object it is on the Rhine, 

 or the sunny terraces of France, or in the long, dry summers of 

 California, or on the banks of the Ohio River, which has been 

 called the American Rhine. But the hardy varieties of the 

 grape can be easily cultivated here, and no fruit is more invig- 

 orating or healthful. A grape diet has been prescribed to cure 

 almost hopeless cases of disease, and with success. Pure wine 

 is a great desideratum here, to check the too free use of distilled 

 liquors — which may be called the bane of our community. 



Our limits will only permit us to indulge in some general 

 observations. We hope that the intelligent farmers of Middlesex 

 County will think this subject worthy of their attention, and will 

 not fail to provide themselves with some of the standard works 

 on grape culture. The valuable reports issued from the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture generally contain most interesting essays 

 on the subject in its various aspects. We can only glance cur- 

 sorily at one or two points. It will be seen by the statement of 

 Mr. Derby, of Lincoln, that he used green manure from the 

 hogpen. His berries were large and juicy, and looked better 

 for the market when freshly gathered than the others submitted 

 for inspection. But in one week after they were received by 

 the chairman of your Committee, they began to shrink up and 

 to taste insipid, and to-day, (December 20,) they have all fallen 

 from the stem and shrunk up, nothing but their skins remaining. 

 A box of the same kind of grapes, (Concord,) which were 

 received at the same time from Mr. John B. Moore, of Concord, 

 who used unleached ashes to fertilize his vines, still remain on 

 their stems and are plump. Their flavor is still good, although 

 it has lost some of its sprightliness. A box received last week 

 from Mr. Hunt we find in good condition. In the opinion of 

 the chairman of your Committee, the difference in favor of the 

 last mentioned grapes is attributed to the use of wood ashes for 

 manure, instead of a gross, rich compost. Ashes of wood, 

 whether leached or unleached, arc a powerful manure for the 

 vine, and probably contain all that it requires. Leached ashes 

 may be applied as a top-dressing in almost any quantity with 

 excellent effect, but a more cautious use must be made of 



