160 WHAT 1 KNOW OF FARMING. 



including always the more hardy, in the hope of find- 

 ing some one or more adapted to his soil, and capable 

 of enduring his climate. Even in France, the land 

 of the vine, one farm will produce a grape which the 

 very next will not : no man can satisfactorily say 

 why. The farmer, who has tried half a dozen grapes 

 and failed with all, should not be deterred from fur- 

 ther experiments, for the very next may prove a suc- 

 cess. I would only say, Be moderate in your expecta- 

 tions and careful in your experiments; and never 

 risk even $100 on a. vineyard, till you have ascer- 

 tained, at a cost of $5 or under, whether the species 

 you are testing will thrive and bear on your soil. 



In my own case, my upland mainly sloping to the 

 west, with a hill rising directly south of it, I have 

 had no luck with Grapes, and I have wasted little 

 time or means upon them. I have done enough to 

 show that they can be grown, even in such a locality } 

 but not to profit or satisfaction. 



I would advise the farmer who proposes to grow 

 Pears, Peaches, and Quinces, for home use only or 

 mainly, to select a piece of dry, gravelly or sandy 

 loam, underdrain it thoroughly, plow or trench it 

 very deeply, and fertilize it generously, in good part 

 with ashes and with leaf -mold from his woods. Lo- 

 cate the pig-pen on one side of it, fence it strongly, 

 and let the pigs have the run of it for a good portion 

 of each year. In this plat or yard, plant half a dozen 

 Cherry and as many Pear trees of choice varieties, 

 the Bartlett foremost among them ; keep clear of all 



