(30 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[Sept. 16, 



AGUICULTURE IN IRET.AND. 



The followii);,' rnmaiks on ihc Agriculture of 

 Ireland, are Iroin llie interesting letlers ot Mr. 

 Carter, one of the Eililors of the New-York 

 Statesman, who is iio»v makinsf the tour ol Eu- 

 rope : 



The formation of the island is secondary, bc- 

 fnu; chiefly comfiosed, as far as our observation 

 h.is extended, of hnrie stone and slale, lyingf in 

 strata nearly horizontal. We have seen no prim- 

 itive rock since landing, not even about the 

 mountain of Killarney. The soil is heavy and 

 moist, heme much better adapted to pasturing 

 and e^rassland than to other crops. Wheat lields, 

 however look well, and are sometimes extensive. 

 One was seen on .Saturday contaiiiiijfr 20 acres. 

 Potatoes, however, are the staple commodity, 

 and fielils of them are seen at every rod along the 

 road. The mode of tillage, both as it respects this 

 vegetable and grain, is generally different from 

 our*, the grounil being thrown up into beds lour 

 or five feet wide, [-"otatoes are someiimes plan- 

 ted in drills, but never in sepaiate hills, as with 

 us. 



Fruits of all kinds in this country are rare, 

 with the exception, perhaps, of the gooseberry, 

 currant and strawberry ; and these are insipid, 

 compared with those of the United States. We 

 iiave not seen a dozen orchards in the whole 

 of our route. The few apple trees discovera- 

 ble along the road are dwarfish, and the fruit 

 equally small and stinted in its growth. New- 

 York pippins are spoken of in terms of admira- 

 tion by those who hare tasted them. They are 

 veiy frequently brought to the principal cites in 

 ireland. Our cherries arc as much superior in 

 .size and flavour as our apples; and the peach 

 will not grow here at all. The traveller is struck 

 with the scantiness of the fare at the inns, com- 

 pared with the profusion of our hotels. Nothing 

 is placed before him, but ivhat is expressly or 

 dered, and a dozen little articles are not thought 

 of", until the knife and fork are exieniled to take 

 thorn. The necessity of making one's lea is 

 awkward enough. \Ve are not very well ver- 

 sed in Madam Glass; and our tea has on some 

 occasions been a strange kind of beverage. — 

 Experience h.is, however, taught us to meas- 

 ure the quantity with tolerable accuracy. 



Not far from Limerick, a beautiful range of 

 wliite collages was observed, with neat doors 

 and windows, and the grounds about ihem m a 

 high state of' cultivation. Every thing appear- 

 ed in a thrifty condition, presenting a pertect 

 contrast to Ibe poverty, diit and wretchedness 

 of the ordinary caliin. The appearance was so 

 novel, as to arrest the attention 'if the passen- 

 gers. A gentleman in the coach, who was ac- 

 quainted with the country , furnished lui easv so- 

 lution of this moral phen<imenon. He remark- 

 ed that the tenants were all freeholders feefing 

 the pride and ambition of citizens. 



SHOW OF MELO.VS. 

 On Wednesday we saw on the vegetable, stall 

 cf our market, occupied by Mr Jiimes Hill, of 

 West Cambridge, fifteen Wiiler Melons, raised bv 

 him, the nelweiglit of which, at the City .Scales, 

 \\i>''Jive hiiniired nnil sixty three pounds; averai^fing 

 57^ ibs. each. Two ol ibem weighed verv little 

 short oi ii<.) il)S. each. (Joi. Hainillipn purchased 

 flight of Ibem, anil speaks highly of the lineness 

 tif their i3avor. — CentintL 



ORIGXHAI. COXai^VJSSXOSLTlONS. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FAR.MI.R. 



FRUIT. 

 It is surprising how much the exertion of a 

 few individuals has, within a short time, advanc- 

 ed garden culture, particularly the culture of 



1 fruit adapted to our climate, and beautifully a- 



i dapled to our (lalate. It is nevertheless more 

 sur|)rising, when the proof that this may tie eii- 



I sjly done is strong to demonstration, both by 

 seeing trees, and lasting the fruit thereof, that 

 gardens of fruit should, even now, be so rare in 

 the vicinity of a market. Apples and pears, 



I which would yield the farmer, if well selected, 

 double the usual price, are generally raised, the 

 same kind by almost every one, and that the 

 most common kind. Probably, not more than 

 twenty market-farmers make fruit a subject of 

 much attention, as a source of profit ; and the 

 tew ii7io do, otitain for early and lale varietie.<, 

 as well as those excellent for baking, preserv- 

 ing, or eating at the table, more than double the 

 price of common fruits, from trees as easily pro- 

 cured, as hardy and as productive, as cider-ap- 

 ple, or orange-pear trees. 



The trees of smaller fruit, as cherries, plums, 

 peaches, apricots, &c. do not require much more 

 attention than other fruit trees, and Ihnugh un- 

 certain in their bearing, in a favourable season 

 yield a great luxury, in which, if our farmers 

 prefer not to indulge their own families, there 

 are alwavs luxurious citizens enough who will 

 very readily pay an ample price for Ihe gratili- 

 cation of their taste. 



The varieties of melons are yearly increasing, 

 and snme of Ihem excellent; yet our market is 

 supplied ivith only a large and insipid kind — 

 Some exceptions there are, to be sure, but like 

 our butter. ' one pound only fit for the table to 

 one thousand not fit for the cook.' 



I was led to think of this lack of worldly wis- 

 dom in our market farmers, and to hope earn- 

 estly it may be supplied to Ihem, by seeing a 

 most beautiful desert of fruit at the fafdcof John 

 I-'kince, Esq of Jamaica Plain. Each kind was 

 in great perfection, many of Ihem very delicious, 

 but a great variety much too extensive to taste 

 of each. 1 send you a list of them, and with the 

 exception of the oranges anil grapes, any farm- 

 er may raise Ihem, and may be assured of a 

 ready sale at a high price : 



Plums. Blue Damascus 



Jaunhalive or Early Bilboa 



Drap D'or 



Monsieur TardifF 



Pricoce 



Vincennes 



Red Muscat 



White do. 



Sweet wafer 



Black Hamburgh 

 Oranges. 



.Mulberries. English blood 

 rears. Fondante D'Ete 



Skinless 



Blanquet a long queue 



Queen Catherine 



J.irgonelle 



French do. or Cuisse Madam 



Muscat Robert 



IJousselet de Rheims 



Apples. 



Amber 



Catherine 



C.ilberiiie Juneling 



Siimrm r Queen 



Boston (from Northampton) 



Summer Pearmain 



Orange Sweeting 

 Musk Melon.Y aW'vi Letter 



The above were the produce of Mr Prince's 

 farm and garden. There »\ere also A'litinea 

 Peaches and a line Watermelon from some neigh- 

 bours — makng in all thirty sorts of fruit. And 

 Mr Prince, I doubt not, would by inslruclion, 

 scions or buds be happy to eu.ible any one dis- 

 posed to emulate his example, to go and do like- 

 wise. A. B, 

 Boston, Aug. 16, 1825. 



Apricots. 

 Grajjes. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



WINE FROM NATIVE GRAPES. 



Skrewsburif, Sept. 1, 1825. 



MrFESSENDEN, — Thotime of vintage has come„ 

 I keep in mind that as the fermented juice of ap- 

 pLs is cider,so the fermented juice cf grapes is'xa-inc. 

 Many of our farmers have natue grapes enouo-h 

 for a handsome ex[ieriment of their vinous qual- 

 ities. Permit me to explain how this may be 

 done. 



Take a clean vessel from which the grape 

 juice may he drawn or poured off; put in clus- 

 ters of ripe grapes with or »vilhout ihe stems ; 

 with the stems the wine is strongest, without the 

 steins it is sweetest ; bruise the grapes gently 

 so that all shall be broken; submit Ihem to 'a 

 gentle pressure. The last pressings of the best 

 wine grapes are always injurious to the finer 

 qualities of Ihe wine. To give the wine colour 

 it is necessary lo add grape skins or husks to 

 the juice in llie tormenting tub. 



The wine is now in the slate of cider in the 

 tW> or vat at the cider press. Like cider it must 

 ferment ^r -work. " The fermenlation is attend- 

 ed wilh a hissing noise, bubbles rising to the 

 surface, and there forming a soft spongy crust 

 over the surface of tiie liquor. When the crust 

 begins to crack, and while f'roih ajipears in the 

 cracks level with the surface of ihe head the 

 fermentation is about stopping." 'I'be liquor 

 sliould be drawn off into a clean cask adding one 

 gill of brandy to a gall.in of wine. In March 

 rack it otT, clarify it with the white of eggs, or 

 isinglass, add another gill of brandy to a gallon 

 of wine, nnd in two or tour weeks, bottle it for 

 use. 



" Great atleniion and practical knowledge are 

 required in managing the lei mentalion properly, 

 as on this important process depend entirely the 

 future qualities of the vines. The same fruit in 

 different seasons and from ^ arious causes require 

 to be managed differently ; and almost every 

 kind of wine requires a different, and, in some 



cases, even an oppnsilc mode of treatment." • 



•■ The light wines of Hurgundy require to fer. 

 ment only tV. m six to twelve hours;" and the 

 juice of some grapes are so -.mitery, that in the 

 wine countries they either dry the grajies be- 

 fore pulling Ihem into the wine press, or boil 

 dovvn the li.'juor, from the wine vat lo give it 

 strength lo ferment rigorously. [Recs" Cyclopc- 

 ilia. Wine.] 



It will be strange indeed if we cannot in soma 

 way make seme kind of n vriue from our oativo 



