THE 



AMERICAN FLOWER-GARDEN 

 DIRECTORY. 



ON THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



We are not aware of any vegetable production that is mora 

 conducive to the luxurious gratifications and pleasures of man 

 than the vine. In fact, there is no fruit so delicious, appli- 

 cable to so many purposes, nor any that is so agreeable to all 

 palates : from the remotest ages the vine has been celebrated 

 as the emblem of plenty and the "symbol of happiness." 

 Its quickness of growth, its great fertility, and astonishing 

 vegetative powers, with its unknown age, has rendered it one 

 of the most fruitful blessings bestowed by Providence ; a 

 blessing which almost every inhabitant of this Union may 

 enjoy, and we see no occasion to doubt but that thousands of 

 acres of our fertile uplands will be converted into vineyards, 

 producing the finest fruits and richest wines in the world. In- 

 deed, with very little care and attention, our unsightly post 

 and rail fences may be converted into grape espaliers, and fine 

 wines produced at as little cost as spruce beer; every square 

 foot of surface might be made to produce a pound of grapes, 

 and every post, at least, round our gardens afford ample space 

 for one vine, which would yearly produce from three to nine 

 pounds of fruit, fit either for the table or the wine-press. 

 But the small space allotted in this volume will not allow us 

 to dilate on this fruitful subject. Our object is to give a few 

 26 * (309) 



