EDITOR'S TABLE. 



biH's IkuI a ro-o in his bouse which ho valued very highly ; but as it socmcd drooping, he took it 

 out in the coldest weather (here), and laid the rose in the snow on its side in the j>ot, and covered 

 all deep in the snow. When spring came and warm weather, he uncovered his rose and fouud it 

 quite recovered, and doing very finely. 



Allow me to speak of one thing further. Lately we have seen an account from Russia, that by 

 drying the potato before planting, it was much earlier, stronger, and free from disease. I men- 

 tioned this to Mr. "William F.vris, a very successful gardener, who lives at Sorel, a town about fifty 

 miles north-east of Montreal, and he told me that he has never had any diseased potatoes in his 

 grounds, while his neighbors, who plant their potatoes side by side his lands, only separated by 

 the fence, are every year losing one-half and more by disease ; and he told me his plan : early in 

 March, and earlier, he begins and cuts off a small piece (a trifle deeper than is necessary in 

 cooking) from his potatoes, as the fiimily require them them for daily use, and he keeps a box 

 near the kitchen stove, where it remains very dry and warm; into this box the small pieces of 

 the potato are placed, as the family require potatoes from time to time, until May. He then 

 plants these very dry pieces, or cuttings, of potatoes, and they grow very finely. He has potatoes 

 three weeks earlier than his neighbors, and never had a rotten one, though he sometimes sees a 

 spot on one. Mr. Faris has still some of his old potatoes, and he says they are as good as they 

 were last May ; and he has promised me a few, which I hope to send to your State Fail*. He did 

 not think of keeping any of his old potatoes, as he had plenty of new ones, until very lately, 

 when he thought of keeping some till fall, and will show them this month at our Provincial Exhi- 

 bition. Let me say ilr. Fauls is a respectable man, and reliance can be placed on his statements. 

 William Bu-nstei;. — Montreal, September 8, 1853. 



ViN"E Borders agaix — Cl'Rculio Remedy. — Mr. Meston has broken his lance upon me, but I 

 believe I am not yet unhorsed, though my steed was only a dead one. I made no attempt to 

 prove that good grapes could not be grown without animal manure, for I know perfectly well 

 that they can ; neither will I now enter into any argument on that subject, which has been ably 

 discussed elsewhere. The facts I stated certainly proved that vine roots are fond of decomposed 

 animal manure, and, so far as I can perceive, Mr. M. has brought forward nothing to disprove 

 this assertion. As for the theory of the growth of roots, I am quite willing to rest the case 

 between his statement and mine for the decision of those who are interested. 



I said nothing of the quality of my fruit, except that I had no cause to find fault with it, 

 because I do not consider such testimony of much value; for when one speaks of the results of 

 his own labors, he is apt to produce upon the minds of others only a feeling that they are not 

 listening to a disinterested witness. Moreover, I do not consider the quality of the fruit in any 

 single instance to be of much value as evidence, since it may so easily be affected by other causes. 

 As Mr. M. calls for information on this point, however, and is willing to accept it as a decisive 

 test, I will refer him to the records of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which will show 

 him that my Black Hamhirgh grapes have received the first premium at every annual exhibition 

 for the last five years; and farther, if he will inquire of any of the horticulturists about Phila- 

 delphia, he may learn that this character is not confined to the few bunches sent to the exhibition. 



As for Mr. M.'s account of his own vines, every reader of horticultural journals must have 

 observed how frequently such stories have been brought forward of the extraordinary growth and 

 productiveness of young vines, which is always attributed to some peculiar construction of the 

 border; and every experienced grape grower knows that such a result proves nothing, except that 

 the luxuriant verdure of the vines is quite equalled by that of the cultivator. Mr. M.'s case, 

 however, presents some remarkably rich features in the evident satisfaction with which he speaks 

 of the quantity and quality of his fruit, in the sentence next succeeding the one in which he tells 

 us it was not yet ripe. The very equivocal comjdiment of the gentleman from Louisville too, seems 

 to have gratified Mr. M. very much ; and perhaps he will be pleased to learn that I can compliment 



