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FARMERS' R E G I S r rO R 



[No. 7 



tural improvement and knowledoe. And as little be- 

 nefit has resulted from these publications as might be 

 expected from the motives supposed. Without dis- 

 cussing the right or the propriety of any such action 

 of Congress, it may be granted that the publication 

 and wide circulation of sound and wanted instruction 

 would be one of the most efficient as well as the 

 •cheapest possible modes of aiding agricultural improve- 

 ment. But it would seem that the national legislature, 

 while willingly incurring all the requisite expense, al- 

 ways takes especial care tliat it shall do no good. It 

 seems that to be fitted to write or digest a treatise 

 •or report on any agricnitural subject, by order of con- 

 gress, an indispensible qualification for the writer or 

 compiler is to be totally unacquainted (practically at 

 least,) with the the subject to be treated. Thus, the 

 first order of the kind, the preparation for publication 

 of a ' Manual of Silk Culture,' was entrusted to a lite- 

 rary and professional gentlemen of a great northern 

 •city, who was totally without knowledge on the subject, 

 except such as he or any other well educated man 



could afterwards compile from books — and who, more- 



. . . . I 



.over, was notoriously deficientin the useful application 



.of practical knowledge, on almost every subject. A sim- 

 ilar treatise on the culture of the sugar cane, and man- 

 ufacture of its products, was afterwards ordered, and 

 its preparation confided to a distinguished profes- 

 sor of a northern college, whose scientific and literary 

 attainments we hold in very high estimation, and would 

 be among the last to detract from, but who was fitted 

 for this particular work by having no practical or par- 

 -ticular acquaintance with any part of the subject, and 

 who, most probably, had never in his life seen a growing 

 sugar cane, or a sugar mill. The voluminous report 

 on the production and trade of cotton, though less ag- 

 ricultural in its character, than commercial and statis- 

 tical, was also enough connected with agriculture to 

 require some knowledge of the culture — and therefore 

 it was required of a member of the cabinet from New 

 Hampshire. If there are any exceptions to be found 

 in other cases, we are ignorant of them; and therefore 

 think that our inference is fairly made, that whenever 

 the government of the United States orders the prepa- 

 ration of an agricultural treatise forpublication, thataZ- 

 most iolal ignorance of the subject has been invariably 

 one of the qualifications of the writer selected. 



From the Southern .Agriculturist. 

 OBSKRVATIONS IN^ REPLY TO AN "uPPER 

 COUNTRY RECLUSE," WITH AN ACCOUNT 

 OF AN EXTRAORDINARY PRODUCTION OF 

 GRAPES ANU WINE. 



To the Editor of the Soutlicrn Agriculturist. 



Columbia, S. C. Sept. 9th, 1837. 



Dear sir — You guessed rightly vvlien you sup- 

 posed I should be inclined to nmke a few observa- 

 tions on the communication of an "Upper Coun- 

 try Recluse,'" in one of your last numbeis. I 



height as soon as possible — I do noi look upon a^ 

 an error, although two would have been safer' 

 but this shoot should have been secured beyond 

 the possibility of its being destroyed. It is gen- 

 erally better, however, before a vine is much 

 extended, to wait till it is three or lour years old, 

 keeping as much of the growth, the first and se- 

 cond year, as is practicable. The effect of this is 

 to strengthen the roots and enable them thereaf- 

 ter to assist the etJbrts ot the cultivators in ex- 

 tending the vine either vertically or horizontally, 

 according to his plan. This gentleman, I suspect, 

 does not remember clearly what he has read on 

 the subject, when he says, "I had read that each 

 eye would produce me a bunch of" grapes," &c., or 

 1 misunderstand his meaning. Each eye or bud 

 lelt at the winter pruning, produces one shoot, and 

 each shoot, two, three, and even lour bunches of 

 grapes. Astothelear of a vine's bearing more 

 grapes than necessary, or that it can bring to per- 

 tection, I look upon this as Nature's business, and 

 never interfere with it, except in making experi- 

 ments, in which I never have found that the sup- 

 pressinif a part of the bunches of grapes either 

 as soon as they ap| ear or afterwards, was attend- 

 ed wuh any benefit. 



I must say that I come to a different conclusion 

 from that of the 'Recluse,' as to Nature's object in 

 giving great luxuriance to the vines. It appears 

 to metliatshe intends thereby to form large plants 

 of them, and that the business of the cultivator is 

 to direct Nature's operations towards the attaining 

 of his own views; but without a direct opposition 

 to her efforts. Young vines, in a thrifty condi- 

 tion, grow with astonishing luxuriance, particular- 

 ly fi'om the age of five or six years to ten or 

 twelve. I have frequently seen, during this pe- 

 riod, shoots that would extend thirty or forty feet 

 in length, with a proportionate thickness. I think 

 it more prudent, at the winter pruning, to leave 

 such shoots several feet long, so as not to oppose 

 Nature's evident object loo violently, and I think I 

 never had cause to repent my [)ursait of this plan. 

 As \Q pinching off", or cutting off the shoots, 1 

 must say a few words. I must begin by making 

 the necessary distinction between the main ones, 

 from those usually called "side-shoots," "suck- 

 ers," "gourmands," and "robbers." As they 

 grow in the axils of the Jeaves, between the 

 stem and the leafj I have adopted Bosc's name 

 Centre feiiilles) lor them, and call them "inter- 

 leaves." These, all vvriters on the subject re- 

 commend to be pinched off'as soon as they appear; 

 but the practice of most cultivators is somewhat 

 (iiH"erent, for many of" them only break them off, 

 when they have attained a considerable length, 

 and then leave one or two leaves on them. On 

 vines growing most luxuriantly, this last may be 

 the better practice; for I have sometimes observed 

 that the suppressing them altogether, on very vig- 

 orous shoots, has caused the" bud, which they 

 seem intended to protect, to grow and bear fruit. 

 This effect is almost always produced by shorten- 

 ing the lonjr bearing shoots, which is a very bad 

 practice, and whu'h I suspect had been the case 

 with the vines which the Recluse mentions thus: 



was so inclined, and would have done so at the "Guess my surprise, Mr. Editor, on now observ- 

 time, had 1 not been prevented by indisposition. inir, as the f"rui; came out, that instead of a bnnch 

 The errors ot the "Upper Country Recluse" of grapes at each eye, a new fruit stem put out 

 were but liiw; for one of them— the leaving only there, on which there were sometimes three, some- 

 one leading shoot for the purpose of gaining times four, and I verily believe sometimes five 



