180 



NEW EN Ol. AND FAHMEH._ 



[Dec. 30, 



OniGXJ^AX. C0MI«^i?NS0AT10NS^ 



i;^:;^^^^,^^ 0>r THE NKW E-NGLAND FARMER. 



THE rUTIVE GRAPE. . 



Shre-wsbury, Dec. 182o 

 Ma. FEs.ENi.F.N,-lt is with gre.t diffidence 1 

 ..resent a subject for yo.ir colunins which h- s 

 h therto .ainecl so lew iVienas. I -am moved to 

 present U, neither by any hostility to goocci- 

 der nor love for good wine ; neUl,er hy a con- 

 tempt for the present prodnctions ol our soil, 

 nor by a predilection ior the bomUies of other 

 ands I have patriotism enough to prefer ap- 

 ples to oranges, and 1 trust my love of country 

 will never forsake me, when I am called u|;on 

 to choose between sparkling cider and foreign 

 „ine.-l sny foreign wine ; for i take it we are 

 all at perfect liberty to use domestic wine, 

 whether it be made of cider or currants. 



Moved by this consideration, 1 have, in com 

 mon with many others, long cherished a hope ol 

 manufacturing wine in New England. It is an 

 obvious and undeniable truth that as the apple 

 makes cider, the grape makes wine. We have 

 both crapes and apples. The latter we culti- 

 vate r the former we neglect. Apples only 

 ate worth cultivating,— but what makes them 

 so?— 1 answer, cultivation, and nothing else. 

 All our varieties of excellent apples have been 

 gained from the worthless crab-apple. Even 

 the natural stalks of the apple-tree as they 

 spring up now in the farmer's pasture are fit 

 places for the birds to secure their ncsls against 

 the ruthless hands of the school-boy, and are of 

 a character decidedly less promising for culti- 

 vation, than our native grape vine. We have 

 learned how lo subdue the natural crabbedness 

 of the apple-tree and of its fruit, lint who has 

 attempted to subdue the natural crudities of the 



— ^',"'. f'~''^' i 17,1 « i,iiP TVj^Tunnls , 5 1 have some that were imported thirteen years 



two kinds, the purple and while. ^ "° "' ^^ ^„.„ 



of the whole werr. purple, and the same were ago. 



ripe, fallino- from the vine at the slightest touch, ', , ,. , 



or •.ire-ulv fallen The while grapes were no ' , Perhaps five per cent ; but scarcely that. 

 een^rallv ripe, but were hard yet and sour, l.o Ninety to the hundred. 



l.ruised ihem in a tub with a l-''[.=;^ «,"'' '^^'7 ' 



peslle the same evening, and suffered them o 



stand that nighl. On the day toUowmg 1 -ut 



them into a large cheese hoop and into the 



cheese press. On the third day I set away six 



quarts and a half of pure grape juice, a g.ilon 



in one measure, and five p.nts m another. _ 1 he 



liquor of a deep claret colour, the las e insipid ^ j..^,^ |^_ 



and acrid, the body thick like new cider at the, j.^^,^ 



I r-. T'lw^ii 



'"irstood in the cellar 24 hours, when it began 

 to show signs of fermentation. In the lesser- 

 vessel I checked the fermpntalion a ler 10 

 hours. The gallon 1 suffered to ferment 

 (which it did right merrily,) two days and a 

 ;. half, and then decanted, fumigated with sulphur, 

 and put it away. . 



1 have thus had the salifaction of proving the 

 capacity of the native gra|ie for making wine: 

 and now commit the uncultivated native lo the 

 hands of more able masters for improvement. 



^ Whole flock averaged five pounds. 



'1 Thirty seven and an half cents per pound. 



b Cannot stale their age. 



1 Five per cent. 



2 Ninety to the hundred— Perfectly safe local 

 culale on that. 



lounds. 

 cents. 

 Twelve years. 



grape .' 



Are a 

 wine ' 



the vines 



of France excellent for 



!>...= . By no means. They have in France 

 their varieties selected, as we have of apples; 

 and propagate Ihem in the same manner, by 

 slips or cuttings. 



Would a grape planted in France produce a 

 good wine making grape?— Just as sure as an 

 apple seed here will spring up and bear good 

 fruit, that is, it is altogether uncertain. 



Then if one wished lo increase the variety of 

 his grapes he might do it as he would increase 

 ■he^varicty of his (lotatoes or apides,_by jdant- 

 aig the seeds?— There is no doubt of it. 



"what would be the probable product from 

 t^rapes planted in Massachusetts, which were 

 cither foreign gioivn by the side of the native, 

 or native grown by the side of the foreign 

 u-rape in Massachusetts?— The product in all 

 probability would be a union of character in 

 many instance". And having obtained one good 

 variety, we may then begin to propagate by 

 cuttings. . . 



Has an American grape spirit enough in it to 

 ferment after being 'bruised ?— Never doubt 

 that. It will wcrk itself into a fine foam, and 

 come ofi'both smart and clear, as the following 

 Experiment will show. 



On the 12lh September last, 1 gathered half 

 a bushel of grapes, not from a sunny side hill, 

 nor a rich garden, but from the banks of a little 

 lirook shaded with oaks and alders, birches and 

 elms; the vines running on the lower growth 

 of trees in the natural forest, They weru of 



hum 



I red 



TO THE EDlTOn OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



MERINO SHEEP. 



Susquehavna Counly, (Pn.) Dec. 24, 1^25. 

 Dear Sir— Being desirous of consnlling tht 

 experience of others respecting the raising of 

 Merino Sheep, 1 applied last spring to several 

 of the best informed breeders in this State, lor 

 information on the subject, and, as they may be 

 interesting lo some of your readers, 1 send you 

 the questions and answers. U. H- ROSE. >i 



Questions. 



1 What per cenla^t will die annually ? 



2 How many lambs can you raise per 



evves ? . a •) 



3 What is the ;nerage weight ol your Heeces ; 



4 What is the .nice per pound? 



5 What is the average length of life of Merinos ? 



AnsTxers. 

 A. 



1 Not to exceed five percent. 



2 Ninety per hundred : but doubtful. Slnch de- 

 pending on the season of lambing, and the care 

 of the shepherd. 



3 The fleeces of mv ewes averaged five jinunds ; 

 of rny rams higher. My flock has averaged 

 six pounds. 1 have sheared from a ram thir- 

 teen pound*. 



4 I sold all mine for thirty-five cents. 



5 From fifteen lo twenty years. 

 B. 



1 About five in the hundred. 



2 About ninety lambs per hundred ewes. 



3 Average weight 4V lbs. in the dirt. 



4 Forty cents per pound unwashed. 

 b About twelve years. 



C. 



1 Five per cent. 



2 Ninety per hundred. 



3 Ewes 'five pounds, if well kepi ; wethers six ; 

 rams seven. 



4 Forty cents per pound in the dirt. 



From Ihe Report of Cominilltes appuinltd lo cxamint 

 Frirriii, in H'orcesler Counfy. 



GOV. LINCOLN'S FARM. 



We visited the farm of Gov. Lincoln, man- 

 aged under his immediale direction. It contains 

 about 300 acres, arranged into lots with great 

 taste almost every rod of which is fenced with 

 a good, durable, well-built wall : and the ex- 

 tremities of the farm are made of easy access 

 liv Ihe aid of lanes and road.^ located and made 

 with great care and l.ibor. 



The inspection of this farm gave Ihe co.m- 

 miilee great pleasure and much useful inslruc- 

 licn. U hears, in every feature, striking marks 

 of good husbandry. Every acre of this exten- 

 sive farm has undergorne great improvement; 

 ■,v,v\ about 100 acres of it have been reclaimed 

 frcun a sickly, sunken, black-growth swamp, 

 tnnit of which was impassable, either by manor 

 l,ea=t, covered with water, aiders, and hemlocks, 

 -nd inhabited only by serpenis and wild animals. 

 This once exlen.sive and unsightly swamp, has, 

 in the short space of four or five years, liy Use 

 triuisformiiig hand of industry and enterprise, 

 been converted into a most beautif'nl and fertile 

 plain, on which Ihe eye now delights lo dwell. 

 It is richly variegated, in the proper season, 

 uith a luxuriant crop of English grass, corn, 

 whenl and oats. The great zi-ulch-worii in con- 

 quering this mamp was perseverance. Nothing 

 hut steady and systematic e(f>irls could ever have 

 surmounted llio "obstacles which presented ihem- 

 |. selves in subduing this jiiece of land. Taking 

 I off the wood and bru-h, digging up the stump.s, 

 i together widi the levelling ilie surlace, the smk- 

 iing of mib!S of deep and durable ditches for the 

 |.„rrpo5e of draining the same, must have re- 

 quired patience, perseverance, and nmple re- 

 sources. 



The fruit trees on this farm ex.-el any thing 

 we have seen of the kind. There are 250 ap- 

 ple-trees, exclusive of the old orchard, mostly 

 in a bearing state — all of which have been set 

 within eight years. We can learn no other se- 

 cret, for ihe extraordinary smooth, healthy, and 

 vigorous appearance, which they exhibit, Ihau 

 that which is found in the care and attention 

 that is bestowed upon them. Every spr.ng they 

 are washed with a composition of lime, to pre- 

 ivent Ihe destructive effects of insects ;— and in 

 the course of Ihe season they arc carefully pru- 

 I ned,lhe ground stirred around ihem,and a sprink- 

 [ ling of manure scattered about the roots. The 

 j trouble of pruning fruit trees, and throwing Ihem 

 I open to the sun, is amply remunerated by the 

 1 quality, quantity, and richness of the Iruit. 



