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Oiai'lCS AND GUAPli CULTUltE. 



ami from tlio liUli to 20tl» May continued to ojicn thoir blossoms. About the middle 

 of July we had a succession of damp and foggy weather, with the wind j>revailing 

 south and southeast, when mildew began to show itself. The house was then drinl 

 ort"; no more water was applied inside, as tlie weather continued <laiiip and the grapes 

 were ripening. Air was admitted above more abundantly, but with caution, and the 

 floor sprinkled over with sulphur ; after wdiieh, for three or four days, the heat was 

 allowed to rise to 110'^ in the middle of the day. "What little mildew could be found 

 was cleared off, and not much appeared afterwards. I mention this more particularly 

 as the above pest has the past season been more than usually prolific in this neigh- 

 borhood, and as I feel further convinced that this is the best method of getting rid of if. 



^Ir. Messer says, with respect to his own house, that "if there had been no forcing 

 in the spring, the JIamhurffhs, Muscats, and Frontignans would have been worth- 

 less ;" and that in his neighbor's, many clusters of the Pur2)lc Fronlignans decayed 

 prematurely. This has not been the case here ; for out of the number above stated 

 there were only some seven or eight bunches which shrivelled, and those were Muscat 

 Blanc Jlatlf and Roijal Chasselas, the former of which only cracked a few berries the 

 past season, although it is very apt to do so. The last Grapes were cut in good order 

 on the 18tli November, viz., West^s St. Peter'' s, Peine de Nice, Syrian, and Palestine; 

 and these would have hung longer, but were wanted for use. 



This house was planted in March, 1850, and contains 74 vines. In 1851 there 

 were cut 202 bunches; in 1852, G18 bunches; and last year, 918 bunches; — making 

 a total of 1798 bunches. The vines have made health}^, strong, and well-ripened 

 wood, with plump, prominent eyes, for next season, and are, if anything, in better 

 order than heretofore ; and this without the aid of " dead carcases," which your cor- 

 resjioudent, Mr. McKay, is so much in love with. 



Facts are stubborn things, 'tis said, and both Mr. McKay and Mr. Cleveland seem 

 disposed to give this position to the public. Now, it is just possible both have failed 

 to support the principle for which they are contending. I do not think that any man 

 of experience will deny that the latter gentleman's old horse did make a quantity of 

 rich material, and that in this well-rotted state his vine roots did luxuriate therein ; 

 and that the former's eighty head of cattle did contribute somewhat toward the rapid 

 growth of his Isabellas, by being buried so deep ; and that the gaseous matter evolved 

 therefiom distributed itself among the superincumbent stratum, which had been well 

 worked and loosened up, and which it is presumed was something of a "maiden" 

 earth, therefore just in the state to absorb and retain such — like a dog with an empty 

 stomach, it wanted something organic; — and that aftei'wards, when the whole was 

 thoroughly decayed, the roots were found in abundance among the bones, and what 

 would be black mold, rich in organic ingredients. But how far does either example 

 go to prove the advantage of using these same substances in a fresh state, and in the 

 wholesale quantities, along with or even under other rich material in a vine border, to 

 such an extent as sometimes is done, and until the whole mass is glutted until it is 

 one mass of putrefaction. If we are driven to facts, let us abide by them. Therefore, 

 has Mr. Cleveland, with the carcases which he used in making his borders, produced 



