60 THE VINEYARD. [JAN. 



several inches thick. Yet the effects of the previous exposure to the 

 action of the weather, by injudicious pruning, is strikingly marked 

 by the decayed state of the parts connected with the branches which 

 had been amputated ; progressive pruning of deciduous trees, com- 

 menced while they are young, if it is to be practised at all, will pro- 

 duce no such blemishes when the timber is cut up. In a school for 

 gardeners, or indeed in every school, these effects should be demon- 

 strated by examples of bad pruning ; the best collection of such is to 

 be found in the economic museum of Sir William Hooker's founda- 

 tion at Kew Gardens, but it would be very easy to collect specimens 

 for exhibition at horticultural societies and State and county fairs. 



THE VINEYARD. 



THE cultivation of the vine merits the attention and support of 

 every lover of his country. The practicability of producing Wine in 

 the United States, cannot be doubted ; the experiment has been made 

 successfully in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, and South 

 Carolina. Nothing is now wanted but the liberal and spirited exer- 

 tions of the citizens to carry it to such perfection, especially in the 

 middle and southern States, as in the course of a few years to pro- 

 duce a sufficient supply for home consumption, and, in time, a large 

 quantity 'for exportation.* 



WORK TO BE DONE IN THE VINEYARD. 



In severe weather, when other work cannot be performed, prepare 

 poles for the support of the vines ; these, for sake of durability, ought 

 to be made of red cedar, white oak, or chestnut, split and seasoned, 

 and to* be made one inch and a half or two inches square, and six 

 and a half or seven feet long, pointed at the lower end ; and if that 

 part which is to be inserted in the ground, and about three inches 

 above it, say fifteen inches, be dipped in boiling pitch, it will be of 

 considerable advantage j if this is not convenient, let that part be 

 slightly scorched in the fire, which will prevent their rotting so soon 

 as they otherwise would. Round poles, such as are used for hoops, 

 of about two inches diameter will do, but these soon rot, and will 

 require to be replaced every two or three years, when the former 

 would last, if made of the heart of well-grown timber, fifteen or 

 twenty years. Sticks of four or five feet long may also be made for 

 the purpose of supporting young vines during the first and second 

 years of their growth, after which they are to be taken away to an- 

 swer a similar purpose, and replaced with the tall poles ; those may 

 be made one inch and a quarter square, pointed, and dipped in pitch 

 as above. 



* This is now being carried out to a prodigious extent ; the neighborhood 

 of Cincinnati alone furnishes about one million gallons of first quality. 



