FOREIGN NOTICES. 



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one fresh honlthy green leaf could bo found. They were taken tip carefully in autumn, and tlie 

 border wii3 well tronchod. The trees were then replanted, and afterward bore a healthy foliage. 

 The same may hold good as regards the vine." 



It appears, moreover, that the American varieties or species, when introduced into Europe, nre 

 very slii^htly if at all subject to be attacked; and on the contrary, the European varieties, when 

 cultivated in the Northern States, at least of America, are so subject to mildew that do one will 

 persist in their cultivation on a large scale, though in conservatories the snlj)hur system has been 

 adopted, it is said, for years before the disease became generally known in Europe. The Ameri- 

 cans have had cultivators from the wine countries on the lihinc and elsewhere, who have carried 

 with them their own varieties, concluding from the soil and climate that they should make » 

 fortune. But in three years all their plants were swept off by the mildew. 



The attention, therefore, of the more opulent vine growers should be especially directed to the 

 superior varieties of American grapes, especially such as are not of a foxy flavor, and the sooner 

 such varieties are procured the better. Orders should be immediately transmitted through stife and 

 judicious hands, for cuttings, or what would be better still, some intelligent practical men should 

 themselves at once proceed to America to obtain them from the source most free from suspicion, 

 or at least procure the best which at present exist in Eui-ope. It is true that some years must 

 elapse before any general benefit could be derived, but if this plan holds forth no hope, there is 

 at present little reliance on any other. It is true that the American kinds are by no means equal 

 to the European, and less calculated for wine, as it should seem from the small product of the 

 American vintage ; but a judicious selection might be expected in good hands not to be valueless. 



"We have in vain inquired after the vine mildew in the Southern States, though we have seen 

 an imperfect specimen which had a very suspicious appearance. Unfortunately, among some 

 fifteen hundred authentic specimens of the fungi of the United States described by Scuweinitz, 

 which we have lately received, there is not any specimen of Enjsiphe necator, which is some- 

 times so destructive to the fruit. 



It is curious that the grape mildew should have found its way to America from England, 

 whereas there is some reason to believe Mohren's notion that the Botrytis infcstans of the potato- 

 murrain traveled into Europe from America. M. J. B. 



CcLTUKE OF THE ViXE. — It is generally considered that little which is new can now be advanced 

 on this subject My desultory remarks may therefore appear to be superfluous; but I would 

 ask to what causes are we to attribute the different results which are constantly being obtained 

 by men of great skill and experience in their profession ? That there are difi"erences in their pro- 

 ductions every one will admit who has an opportunity of examining the grapes exhibited at the 

 Chiswick shows. There we find large bunches with berries gorged with watery matter, but 

 without bloom ; there are also large and splendid bunches apparently well ripened but deficient 

 in color ; and we often, too, find there beautiful bunches cut fully three weeks before their 

 maturity. Grapes are not ripe because they are black or transparent, as the ease may be. Tlie 

 formation of saccharine matter is the last process toward ripeness, which ought to be fully accom- 

 plished before grapes are cut and sent to any table. A celebrated grape grower, a quarter of a 

 century ago, used to boast that his bunches were of medium size, and so compact that they 

 retained their form in whatever position they were placed. The berries were large and had a 

 bloom like the Sloe ; the flesh was firm, juicy, and rich in sugar, and the berries retained the 

 stamens of the blossom around their base. This he said was growing the Hamburgh grape in per- 

 fection ; but if that be so, how rarely do we see it attained ! To what cause, then, are we to 

 attribute these difi'erent results ? The most successful growers in one locality when removed to 

 another have often not been more successful than their brethren of less reputation. One attributes 

 his success to the formation of his vine border ; another to his system of pruning, while a third 

 would persuade us that it consists in careful attention to the routine of mansigement in the interior 

 of the house. Now I admit that these are important considerations in the culture of the vine in 

 this country; but when these are combined, do we always obtain successful results? My 

 ence leads me to sav. No. 



