1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



259 



down and shaking out in the same way as in the 

 nioniinir. 



Wiipii tho woman has finished tiiminn^ the 

 early cut jxrass, she inimediafcly o-oes In the spot 

 where siie began, and slrakcs all out again as tliin 

 as siie can, and wiicn finished, slie commences 

 turning by large raketlills where the mowers re- 

 sumed tlieir work alter breakliist, and continues 

 her task m the same manner as wlien she began 

 in tlie morning, always turning as already said in 

 the direction nf ike sun. 



On the people reluming to the field from their 

 dinner, the two hoys immediately begin to shake 

 out that part oflhe second turned ffrass which had 

 not been ai'.complished beR)re going to dinner, 

 and when that is finished, they commence turning 

 what was last cut, and tiien shake it all out again. 



At this period, the two mowers and the woman 

 proceed to rake the first cut hay into what is call- 

 ed a wind-row, and one of the men commences 

 with a pitchfork to put it into cocks of about 10 or 

 12 stones weight, and between five and six leet in 

 height, but on no account, is a foot permitted to go 

 upon it, for it cannot be put up too light; neither is 

 it to be roped, lor if the weat!ier is calm, a tew 

 hours after it is in the cock it will so compact itself", 

 iiiat it will require a very violent wind to over- 

 turn it. 



Thus, the hay which was cut in the course of 

 the day will be, through this mode of treatment, 

 sufficiently dried ami secured by the evening 

 agamst any chanije of weather which may occur 

 in the course of the night, and it will stand expo- 

 sure to the storm fully as well as the hay which 

 is so sadly mismanaged by the improper system 

 at present in use. 



So far the process only relates to getting quit 

 of the redundant sap in the herbajje, but if the 

 hay gets rain or any adventitious moisture, either 

 in working or stacking, it must be carefully dried 

 off before being put mto the stack; or so brisk 

 a fermentation will ensue, that combustion will 

 infallibly take place. 



The next part of the operation is stacking the 

 hay, and this may take place, if the weather con- 

 tinues fine, on the second or third day alter the 

 last cock was put up. 



In makiuir this kind of hay, the great and im- 

 portant object is to get it to ferment or heat in the 

 stack, for the purpose of making it evolve its 

 saccharine quality, as in the malting oi' grain, and 

 is effected as follows: 



If a round stack is intended, let a common sack 

 be well crammed full of hay or straw, and placed 

 erect on the foundation where the stack is to be 

 reared, and then begin building all around it with 

 the first cut cocks, intermixing now and then a few 

 of those last put up, in order to promote the It^r- 

 mentation; and when the stack gets as hiijh as the 

 top of the bag, the worker pulls it straight up- 

 wards, and so continues working around and 

 pulling it up till the stack is finished, and in this 

 way a chimney is formed for the escape of the 

 nascent gas. 



Should a long stack be preferred, then a chim- 

 ney must be brought out at the peak at each end, 

 and one in the middle, by the same means, if a 

 large mass of hay is put in the stack; and in con- 

 clusion, I recommend that these vents shall not be 

 closed for a month, or v/hile any perceptible fer- 

 mentation is going on. 



From the Southern Agriculturist. 

 THE ERRORS OF A CULTIVATOR OP THE VINE. 



So much has been written on this subject, and 

 by so many who knew nothing about it, that it is 

 not wonderful, a novice like myself sjiould have 

 been led into many radical mistakes. My expe- 

 riments, trifling as they are, may induce olhers to 

 follow in my steps, and if they act lor themselves, 

 light may be thrown upon one of the most inno- 

 cent, rational and interesting amusements, that an 

 old man can take up with. 



Amongst the employments for the summer in a 

 lonesome neighborhood near the mountains of 

 South Carolina, I undertook to cultivate the vine 

 in my garden. I had never seen the process, al- 

 though I had read many books on ihe subject, 

 and the impression on my mind was, that if train- 

 ed at a height often or twelve leet, success would 

 probably attend my eflbrts. 



I'ogain this height as speedily as possible, as 

 soon as the cuttings began to shoot out the second 

 year, I turned my attention altogether to gaining 

 height. For this |)urpose, I kept down every 

 lateral shoot, and training the leading one care- 

 fully up a post, I succeeded that year in reaching, 

 in some cases, a height and length of stem that 

 very much surprised me. I was not prepared to 

 take ail vantage of the rapid growth, for I had no 

 arbor raised to receive my vines, nor even a good 

 espalier. With almost back-country thriftless- 

 ness, I patched up, what I was Ibrced to call "a 

 sort of a contrivance,^^ by way of espalier, and on 

 this my vines got so fixed that 1 could not extri- 

 cate them, to prepare for next year. 



Early the third year, I prepared to make at 

 least a small crop of grapes. The few shoots^ I 

 had left on the vines, more by accident than de- 

 sign, I trimmed down to one, and occasionally 

 two eyes. 1 had read that each eye would pro- 

 duce me a bunch of grapes, and I knew from ex- 

 perience in other agricultural matters, that a very 

 small crop would he likely to be well tended! I, 

 therefore, left as few chances as might be,^of the 

 vines bringing more grapes than were necessary. 



As the spring advanced, I got deeply interested 

 in this new occupation, and there being a much 

 larger and finer crop, than I could have expected, 

 without inquiring into the cause of this, my spe- 

 cial attention vvas called to prevent the rot, or drop- 

 ping of the fruit. 



Reasoning from my slender experience in this 

 culture, it struck me that nature, in giving the im- 

 mense luxuriance to vines, had some other object 

 in view, than merely producing wood and super- 

 abundant shoots; that probably if this luxuriancy 

 was not kept down, I should, in gaining size in 

 my vines, lose my grapes by the rot; whereas, 

 it the growth of the vine was entirely kept under, 

 the extra nourishment would be directed into the 

 right channel, and strengthen and ripen all the 

 fruit I had on them. 



My success was complete; as fast as a shoot or 

 a leaf put out, near or on the fruit stems, I pinch- 

 ed them ofl" with my nails whde they were 

 tender, and cut off every one of the long shoots 

 but one. My watchiijiness was excited by con- 

 tinued success, and I had the gratification to see 

 every buuch oi" fruit hastening to maturity, with 

 scarcely the loss of a single grape. 



Confident that 1 should have fruit, and of the 



