TRAKS. OF N. Y. S. AG. SOCIETY. 



89 



solutely tend to diminish the existing in- 

 temperance of the country. 



We would be glad to copy Mr. Long- 

 worth's article entire, but want of space 

 obliges us to make the following concise 

 abstract of its contents. 



Mr. LoxGwoRTH repeats, what almost ev- 

 ery practical cultivator knows, but what no 

 foreigner, and but few others, who have not 

 tried it for themselves, will believe, viz. : 

 that it is entirely useless to attempt to make 

 vineyards of the foreign varieties of the 

 vine. His own experiments of this kind 

 have been made at different times, with 

 10,000 vines from France, and 5,000 from 

 Madeira — comprising all the most celebrat- 

 ed sorts from the extreme northern parts of 

 France and Germany, as well as those from 

 the warmer wine districts. '• I went to the 

 expense," says he, " of trenching soil on a 

 side hill, placing a layer of stone and gra- 

 vel at the bottom, with a drain to carry off 

 the water, and put in a compost of rich soil 

 and sand three feet deep, and planted on it 

 a great variety of these foreign wine grapes. 

 All failed : and not a single plant is left in 

 my vineyards." We may add, that the 

 same results attended the experiments of 

 M. LouBAT, and M. Paumentier, skilful 

 French vig7ierons, who made very extensive 

 plantations of French grapes on Long Isl- 

 and. 



After this, it is clear enough that it is 

 on native grapes alone that Americans must 

 rely for vineyards. Among all the na- 

 tive sorts, Mr. Longworth prefers the Ca- 

 tawba, as being most productive, and as 

 making much the best wine, an opinion in 

 which, both from some experiments of our 

 own, and from samples sent us by this gen- 

 tleman, we fully coincide. The Isabella is 

 only fit for making sweet wine, while the 

 Catawba makes both hock and sparkling 

 champagne of excellent quality. The Al- 



VoL. n. 



12 



ezander's, or Schuylkill Mvscadel, {Cape 

 grape of some,) makes a good dry wine, 

 resembling Teneriffe. Mr. L. considers it 

 one of the surest bearers. The Missouri, 

 he says, bids fair to be a valuable wine 

 grape, and the Hcrlemont would be very 

 valuable, both for the table and for wine, if 

 it were less subject to rot. The Isabella 

 ripens unequally at Cincinnati, and is liable 

 to decay on the vines. 



The sites which Mr. Longworth prefers, 

 are the tops and sides of the steep hills on 

 the Ohio, the soil of which is fertile. The 

 north sides being the richest, and the sea- 

 son at Cincinnati being sufficiently warm, 

 fully to ripen the grape there, he prefers 

 the north side to the south. He prepares 

 the land by terracing, where it is so steep 

 as to require it — the terraces being held up 

 by ridges of sod. The soil is then trench- 

 ed from eighteen inches to two feet deep, 

 care being taken not to throw up more than 

 three or four inches of the subsoil, where 

 the latter is stiff loam or clay. If the 

 ground is not so steep as to wash, deep 

 plowing alone is sufficient. 



In planting the vines where the ground 

 is level, he arranges them in rows five or 

 six feet apart, the plants being four and a 

 half feet apart in the rows. 



The Ohio vineyards are mostly started 

 with cuttings, planted early in the spring. 

 These are set two in each hill, inserted so 

 that the tops approach within two or three 

 inches, though they are widely separated at 

 the lower ends. Two are put in, so as to 

 provide for failures, and one is thus easily 

 removed, without disturbing the other — 

 should both grow. 



The second year after the cutting is 

 planted, (really the first year of growth,) 

 the plant is headed down to two or three 

 buds ; these are examined as soon as they 

 begin to shoot out, and all but the strong- 



