INTERESTING EXPERIxMENT IN VINEYARD CULTIVATIOI-f. 



113 



n^loption by amateurs possessing small esta- 

 blishments, as affording them a means of 

 prolonging their grape season ; besides be- 

 ing productive of gratification and pleasure. 

 It is to this class of gentlemen in particular 

 that I wish the foregoing remarks to be ad- 

 dressed. Although it would be a conside- 

 rable addition to small phices, yet in the 

 large establishments at Tedworth, under 



Mr. Sanders, and at Tottenham Park, (Mr. 

 Burns) it is an essential feature in their 

 management, and is followed with the most 

 complete success. I imagine the credit of 

 growing plants in one season and fruiting 

 them the next belongs to Mr. Tillans, of 

 Alnwick Castle, wlio adopted that practice 

 at Woodchester Park, when gardener to 

 the late Lord Ducie. 



INTERESTING EXPERIMIir^T IN VINBTARD CULTIVATIOIT. 



BY H. W. S. CLEVELAND, BURLL\GTO.\, N. J. 



[The following account of an experiment in ' 

 vineyard culture has interested us so much, 

 that, if we felt certain that no other good 

 nad resulted from the publication of this 

 journal, than the dissemination of facts of 

 fhis kind, we should consider our labors in 

 conducting it amply rewarded. Mr. Cleve- 

 land is one of the most intelligent and 

 reliable horticulturists in New-Jersey. His 

 experiment, and those of " A Jerseyman," 

 and "A Maryland Subscriber," which have 

 already appeared in our columns, we think 

 go very far to establish the fact, that the 

 cultivation of certain kinds of fruit trees, 

 more or less difficult in this climate, such 

 as the pear, the gooseberry, and the grape, 

 is wonderfully facilitated by keeping the 

 surface of the soil covered from the too 

 powerful influence of the atmosphere ; and 

 we look upon it, if well established, as a 

 fact worth thousands to fruit growers all 

 over the country. 



The 7'ose-hng, that pest in almost all verj' 

 light soils, has hitherto nearly baffled the 

 skill of the cultivator. "We recommend, 

 therefore, a repetition of Mr. Cleveland's 

 experiment, next season, in various parts of 

 the country v/here this insect abounds, Ed.] 



A. J. Downing, Esq. — Dear Sir : I have 

 been trying an experiment during the pre- 



sent season, v/hich has proved successful ; 

 and, as the theor}' seems to be partly con- 

 firmed by communications from two or 

 three different sources in the back numbers 

 of the Horticulturist, I am happy to add 

 my testimony to theirs. 



M}'' vineyard consists of between two and 

 three acres ; and it has heretofore been my 

 practice to plough between the rows three 

 or four times during the season, thus bury- 

 ing the weeds and making them act as 

 manure. This course has always been 

 liable to objections on several accounts; 

 and last winter, I conceived the plan of 

 covering the ground with some substance 

 which should prevent the growth of weeds, 

 supercede the necessity of ploughing, and 

 afford the shelter to the roots of the vines 

 which in the forest is given by the mat of 

 le'ves with which the earth is covered, and 

 from which, in fact, I first took the hint. , 

 At first, I began collecting shavings from 

 the carpenters' shops in our village, and 

 having exhausted that source, I raked the 

 drift stuff" from the river bank, — consisting 

 of reed grass, leaves and chips, for three 

 miles ; and collected enough to cover about 

 a third of my vineyard, three inches deep. 

 The health and vigor of the vines in the 

 part thus treated is so far superior to the 



