NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[July 29, 



RUHAZ. SOOJ/lOTaV. 



From Cobbttt^s Ride in France. 



MODE OF CULTIVATING VINES IX FRANCE. 

 " I see. there is very little variety in ihe mode 

 of cultivating the vine in France, as Car as 1 have 

 gone through the country. In all the vineyards 

 that I have seen, the vines are planted in rows. 

 The rows are from tiirce to four feet apart, and 

 the vine, in the row, t'rom two to three feet from 

 each other. The vines seldom get up (o above 

 four or live feet high. They are cut down in 

 the month of February, or thereabout.-:, very 

 close. There is a little of the last year's wood 

 left, but not many inches o(" it, to give new wood 

 for the next season. When they begin to shoot 

 in the Spring, there are stakes, of either round 

 or split coppice wood, which are about 4 feet 

 long, and an inch and ahalf in diameter, and one 

 of these stakes is stuck into the ground near the 

 stem of each vine. The stakes are intended to 

 give a hold to the tendrils, by the means of 

 which Ihe vines climb up, and thus keep them- 

 selyes clear from the ground. 



" The neighborhood of Tours is a great place 

 for vines, and for the making of fine wine. I 

 went along with my landlord to day to see his 

 vineyard, which is at about half a league from 

 the city. The vintage of the black grapes is 

 not quite finished, there, and that of the while 

 grapes is not begun. In this part of France they 

 let the white grapes hang as long as possible, 

 because they say, it makes, the wine stronger 

 and of belter flavour. The snozv is, they fell 

 me, sometimes upon the ground before the 

 grapes are gathered. I saw a great many acres 

 of vineyard to-day. The vines look beautiful nl 

 this lime, with all their leaves oO, and loads of 

 ripe grapes hanging upon them. The vines, 

 which are planted in cuttings, or slips (just as 

 gooseberries and currants are) of the last year's 

 wood, begin to bear when about four or five 

 years old. An acre of vineyard of the best sort 

 of vines, in full bearing, is worth, at Tours, a- 

 bout 3000 francs ; or 125/. of our monev. This 

 year, they say, the vines will yield from 10 to 

 12 barrels of 250 bottles each ; or as was before 

 observed, of about 80 English wine gallons each. 

 Good wine may be bought at Tours, bv the sin- 

 gle boltio, for 10 sous, or od. English, "the bol- 

 tlo. The barrel or pica of this year's wine will 

 bring from 50 to 60 Irancs, at the place. But 

 the wine of this year will not be of the best 

 quality, on account of the grapes not having ri- 

 pened fiuickly, which they should do to make 

 very good wine. Some of the vines are very 

 old : some of them forty, some lifly years old. 

 The land round Tours is hilly, uncomnionly good 

 strong land, and stoney, which is just the char- 

 acter of Ihe land to suit the vine. There is 

 much rock in Ihe hills, here, as at Loches ; the 

 wine makers have caves, hewed out of Ihe rocks 

 under Ihe brows of Ihe hiils, in which to depos- 

 ite the wine and to carry on Ihe process of mak- 

 ing it. Some of the vines in this part of the 

 country arc cultivated in Ihe espnlicr fashion. — 

 This is not however, generally ihe case, where 

 there is any considerable quantity of vineyard 

 together. The commnn way is, (o slick one 

 stake, about four feet high, up to each vine. — 

 The stakes arc pulled up at this time of the 

 year when no longjer wanted, and placed aivay 

 in a stack, just as hoppoles are in England. The 



stakes are, as I said before, made of coppice 

 u'ood, hazel, ash, and other kinds. They do 

 not last above a couple of years; for, if used 

 longer, they become rotten and are easily brok- 

 en by the wind." 



" There is a kind of grape, which 1 saiv on 



some vines here, made use of to give colour to 



I the red wine. When this grapo is squeezed, 



' Ihe juice is of a fine dark color, a niixlure of 



1 purple and red. It is made use of in giving a 



color to all red wine, which could not have the 



fine color that we see in it, hut for Ihe use of 



this sort of grape. The vintage of Ihe white 



grapes begins, this year, at about this time, the 



7th of November." 



"The bunches of grapes are cut from the 

 vines by means of a pair of scissors. They are 

 I then put into large baskets, which the gather- 

 ers carry to one side of thd vineyard, and there 

 Ihe grapes are tipped into tubs, placed ready 

 for their reception. The tubs, when filled, are 

 carried home in a cart or waggon, and the 

 Sfrapes are then, while in the lul), pounded or 



SILK. 

 The public attention is called, in several 

 places, to Ihe planting of mulberry trees, lor the 

 .supply of si Ik worms and the making of silk. — 

 No Joubl, this might be made a profitable busi- 

 ness in many parts of the United Stales, and af- 

 ford a valuable and pleasant employment to 

 thousands of persons who now add nothing to 

 the general wealth of the nation. The silk 

 goods imported last year, were valued at 7,103,- 

 000 dollars, and lho.*e exported at 1,810,000 — 

 leavirg 5,287,000 dollars for the consumption 

 — a large part of ivh'ch might be saved, and 

 chietiy by the wholesome amusement of child- 

 ren in Ihe country, a few weeks in Ihe year. 



.Xiles^ Resristcr. 



TO DYERS. 

 Barwood, the most valuable of all the known 

 dyes producing red apjiears lo be bul little known 

 in this Country. The colour it imparts is hjghlv 

 permanent, much more so than other red dying 

 wood. Beautiful clarets are made on wool with 

 bruized, bv a stt)ut and predy heavy piece of ! !^'' '^o^''' ''"''=' s'Jiall portion of copperas. It 

 wood, which is made u.se of by hand.— From Ihe ' '«, "''<"'' '" all shades of brown, and in Ihe making 

 tubs, Ihe grapes are thrown into a verv lar?e ' °' ''^"''^ bottle greens. 'VV ilh alum, il gives _; el- 

 vat, as soon as ihey are suflicicntlv hrui-ed. In ' '"'*"'' '"■""" '"'^""^ '" *^"°' "' considerable dura 



bilily. This colour may be saddened and varied, 

 I by employing solutions of iron or copper with 

 ! it, either alone or conjointly with ah, m. The 

 I dark red which is commonly seen upon ih^ F!r;l- 



ish imitation o! Bandana, or E.tsI India silk hand- 



the pulp and juice in the vat rise up, j '^'='"'=''''-'''' '^ commonly produced by the colour- 

 ing matter ot barwood, saddened by sulphi 



this VHt Ihe pulp of Ihe bruised grape.-, am! 

 their juice altogether, remain for as much as a 

 week or ten days covered over, as Beer is when 

 set to work, in order to undergo iUe fennenta 

 tion that is necessary. While this fermentation 

 is going on 



just as bread dots Ihat is mads of yeast. After 

 rising up and frothing for some lime, the head 

 sinks as Ihat of beerdoes ; and then the ferment- 

 ation is supposed to be nearly at an end. As 

 soon as this sinking takes place, the juice that 

 Jlo-ji-s in the vat is drawn o(T, learing the pulp, 

 and the juice which that still retains, behind. 

 The juice thus drawn ofi'. is considered to make 

 the best wine of the vintage. When this juice 

 is drawn olT, all thnt which remains in the vkI is 

 taken out and pressed in Ihc nine press. The 

 juice runs away from the press into a large tub 

 sunk in Ihe ground, from which it iii emptied, 

 directly, into Ihe piece., or barrel. There is 

 nothing at all mixed with Ihe juice of the grape ; 

 and, from the time that it is first put into the 

 barrel, it remains there, until it is drawn ofl", lo 

 bottle. The bung hole of the barrel, after re- 



ly sulphate ot 

 iron. It is much employed I'or giving n dark 

 ground I'or blues intended for mixtures, wherehv 

 murh indigo is saved. This colour is jiut on 

 flie word or clolh i>rior to dipping in Ihe blue 

 val. From one lo two pounds of barwood is used 

 for twejity pounds of wool, in which the wool is 

 boiled Ihe usual time and saddened with four 

 ounces of copperas lo twenty pounds of barwood. 

 Those who oljjecl to copperas, darken the wool 

 with a little [learl-ash, which may be put in with 

 the wool before boiling it. A.\ English Dver. 



To Ihe F.ditor of the Cenlind. 



MACHINE FOR DRESSING HEMP. 



Worcester, July 5th, 1825. 

 Sir, — I beg leave lo drop n communicatioo 

 ceiving Ihe juice, inusi be left open, covered on- 'or }'o'"" paper, which is of interesling impor- 

 ly by a vine-leaf, for about ten days, in order I ''"^ce and will Icrininate of v ist conse-juence lo 

 that all fermentation may subside before the bar- jo'"' country ; and desire your attenlion to Ihe 

 rel be ina<le close for good. This is Ihc whole l°"''jcct. in a late tour "through the Slate of 



process of Ihe vintage, as far as relates to Ihe 

 redra-ine. That of the 'jihite xoine is somewhat 

 different. The white grapes must be pressed 

 directly after they have been bruised, and in- 

 stead of fermenling in the vat, i)ulp and juice 

 mixed altogether, like Ihc red-wine the while 

 wine must not be allowed lo ferment till it has 



New-York, I fell in wiih a JMachine (invented 

 by Col. TiBBiTTS of Ohio,) for the dressijig and 

 ckamng of Hemp and Flax in an vnrottcd state, 

 which makes a vast saving lo Ihc agriculturist 

 from the ordinary w.ay of rolling and dressing. 

 On viewing closely this wonderful machine, I 

 saw in a moment its groat utility, by the exam- 



undergone all the pressing and separation of Ihe linalion of Ihe importations of Hemp from Kus- 

 pulp from the juice. It must be bruised, press- sia into our country, which has exceeded for lea 

 ed, anil put to ferment in the barrel, without jyears past, three and a half millions of dollars 

 there being any lajise of time between these annually, besides the great saving ef labor and 

 different stages of Ihe process. The reason forjslock. This great price ofstructure (if encoiir- 

 Ihis is, Ilmt if Ihe while wine were allowei. ioi!<ged) will .soon be Ihe cause of distributing 

 ferment, like the red, when its juice is filled {among Ihe American planters Ihe vast sum (an- 

 wilh the pulp of the grajies and theirslalks, Ihe inually) we now have to pay toRiissia for an ar- 

 pulp of the stalks would spoil the co/ohc of Ihe | licle so congenial lo our climalc, and which 

 wine; and the wine ^vould not in fact be :i'AiVe grows so luxuriantly on our (.American) soil. 

 ■xine at all. 'The planters would not only feel their present 



