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The Horticulturist and Journal 



in this locality, with defective cultivation, and 

 little, if any, manure, we append a few figures, 

 going to show what has been produced per 

 acre : 



The inhabitants of the county number 

 about 2,500, and represent almost every State 

 east of the Ohio. In the language of S, 

 Stringer, Esq., of Brooksville, " they are a 

 peaceable and quiet people, frugal and hospi- 

 table, courteous to strangers and glad to see 

 them come when they bring the insignia of 

 honesty and enterprise. There are but few 

 who take any interest in politics, and most of 

 these are among the colored people." 



Machua county, in the neighborhood of and 

 to the east of Gainesville, presents a section 

 of the State worth examining, as large bodies 

 of excellent land, adapted to grape culture, 

 can be found. Beginning at the western 

 boundary of the State and extending to a 

 section near the head of the St. John's, the 

 traveller will find an elevated belt, with a 

 northerly and southerly slope, forming a ridge 

 or spine about forty miles in width. The soil 

 of this belt is underlaid by a porous limestone 

 older than the miocene group of the tertiary 

 system, and is evidently one of the future 

 wine producing sections of the United States. 

 There may be a few isolated spots on the 

 banks, or to the east of the St. John's river, 

 where the vine may succeed, but, in our opin- 

 ion, the viticulturist must locate in a more ele- 

 vated region, where he will find climate and 

 soil adapted to his wants. 



As a grape for producing wine, where the 

 proper thermometric conditions exist, nothing 

 can equal the Scuppernong, if we take into 

 consideration the quantity and quality of the 

 product, ease of cultivation, non-liability to 

 disease and its adaptation to almost any soil. 

 One great item of expense attending the cul- 



ture of other varieties is pruning, training and 

 difficulties attending cultivation where vines 

 are planted close together. The Scuppernong 

 possesses advantages peculiar to itself, for, all 

 that is required for its successful culture is to 

 supply it with an arbor over which it can wan- 

 der at will, for to grow it successfully the knife 

 must not be used. Where durable varieties 

 of timber, as live and white oak and cedar 

 are plentiful, the expense of erecting a suita- 

 ble arbor is trifling. The vines are planted 

 about thirty feet apart and trained to stakes 

 for three or four years, when stout posts, with 

 a crotch at the upper end, are firmly placed 

 in the ground at proper distances ; upon these 

 posts stout poles are placed, and upon these 

 saplings or split stuff" is laid. When the 

 trellis is erected, the vines are allowed to 

 wander at will. If one of the posts, poles or 

 sapplings decays, it is easily replaced. 



With regard to gathering the fruit, the 

 Scuppernong is accommodating. The crop 

 ripens over a period of several weeks, and is 

 easily detached from the bunch when ripe ; to 

 gather the crop, all that is necessary is to 

 spread a large piece of canvass or muslin on 

 the ground, and shake the vines. By this ar- 

 rangement two laborers can collect a large 

 quantity of fruit in a day. 



There being so few obstructions, the ground 

 beneath the trellis can be kept clear of weeds, 

 by the use of the cultivator or harrow, at a 

 trifling expense. When the arbor becomes 

 covered with vines, weeds have but a slight 

 chance for growth. 



It is customary to plant Scuppernong vines 

 about thirty feet apart, but if we were plant- 

 ing a vineyard of this variety, we should plant 

 the vines ten or fifteen feet apart, and thereby 

 secure a full crop at an early day. As the 

 vines increased in size and encroached upon 

 each other, we would sacrifice the interme- 

 diate ones. 



In our opinion, the Scuppernong offers a 

 fine field for the hybridist. It presents to the 

 experimenter a vigorous habit, great longevity 

 and an apparent immunity from disease. If 

 hybridized by some of the first class wine 

 growers of the continent (as the Scyras, Hies- 



