THE SECKETAKY'S PORTFOLIO. 371 



system of training grapevines. In comparing one vine occupying fifty feet of 

 trellis -with others of the same age, as you state, occupying but eight feet of 

 trellis each, I found the fruit on the former clocidedly superior in size and pcr- 

 fectness of clusters, and I judge it would be safe to estimate the quantity lifty 

 per cent greater than on the short arm vines. I noticed also that the short 

 arm vines had a redundancy of wood, whicli the long arm vine was compara- 

 tively free from. You also called my attention to a vine witli one arm four 

 feet, the otlier twenty-four feet. On examination, I found the fruit on the 

 short arm inferior in quantity and cpiality of cluster, while that of the long arm 

 showed the same suj^eriority that the lifty foot vine showed over the eight foot 

 vines. Altogether, I think your experiments afford a good illustration of the 

 advantages of gradually extending tlie vine instead of confining it to a few feet 

 of space. J- A. Donaldson. 



Sf. Jose2)h. 



LOW HEADS FOR ORCHARDS. 



Will vou allow a short communication on the long and well discussed ques- 

 tion of low or high headed apple trees, by one who has been experimenting on 

 that subject for the last thirty-five years, and who has the egotism to think he 

 was among the first who wrote on the subject of low heads for the prairie? 

 There are three orchards of my planting in Jefferson county. The first was 

 started with a few high headed trees in the spring of 1842. I found it so diffi- 

 cult to keep them from blowing about, and saw that those which had been 

 planted a few years were all leaning to tlie nortlieast, and that the bark on the 

 southwest side was most all killed, I concluded by cutting the heads low that 

 they could be kept in position better, and would shade the. body from the sun, 

 .and by practice I found my theory to be correct. In 1857 I cliangcd farms 

 and planted an addition to the orchard that was on the farm I bought. I 

 started it with very low heads, say from 12 to 18 inches above ground. They 

 are now strong, healthy trees, bear well, but are too low for convenience in 

 gathering. Some six or seven years ago I cleaicd off a piece of timber land 

 and started a youns: orchard of choice hardy varieties. I started the heads 

 from 2 to 4 feet from the ground. After experimenting for the above length 

 of time and takinof all things into consideration, I have come to the conclusion 

 that a medium height and proper pruning is perhaps the best and most con- 

 venient. — Correspondent Prairie Farmer. 



JXFLUE2s^CE OF AGE OX LEAF AND FLOWER. 



Decandolle, the celebrated Swiss botanist, has started a question which prom- 

 ises to be a very interesting one. Does a tree produce flowers or fruit earlier as 

 its age increases, temperature and otlier circumstances remaining the same? 

 He gives a number of observations to show that in some cases they do, and in 

 other cases they do not, and botanists are in a quandary. It is generally found 

 in these contradictory cases that there is a near reason, not discerned, that will 

 explain the whole. It has been noted by American botanists (see Salem vol- 



