d)c iavmcv's iHciutl)ln bisitov. 



187 



low the surliioe. The crop was, hoh'ever, n very 

 decent one. The next season coin was plantecl, 

 « lin->;n portion of whicli did not come up iit all : 

 at the time of the first hoeing llie avera^re "as 

 not more than one sialli to a hill. White lieans 

 «pio planted to supply their place. These i:rc« 

 inxinianlly, prodncing at the close of the season 

 aliont thirty hnshels. And the corn, delicK'nt as 

 it was in the recpiisito niindier of stalks, hrancli- 

 ed ont so us to yield all of filiy hnshels to the 

 acre. 



The po'tatoes for the last year were planted 

 three weeks earlier than ha<l heen nsnal for a 

 "inter crop. A portion nl" ilx; seed, eighteen 

 rows, was of early whites procured from Boston 

 — another portion, ahont forty rows, was round 

 pink-eyes liornseed procured In Caledonia Cfiun- 

 iv. Vermont, in 1810 — a ihiirl portion often lows 

 were Ioiil' reds. The e.ii ly whiles were first 

 ripe, and did not fjiow as larire as the pink-eyes, 

 yieldinjj at the rate of alioiit }'M hnshels to t'le 

 acre. The pink-eyes yielded at the rate of 200 

 hnshels; niul the Ion;; reds ahont the same. 

 There wa.s a difference of at least one-lhinl less 

 ill lh(! size and value of the few rows where the 

 siihsoiling was omitted two years hefoie the plant- 

 ing of this yi'ar — so great was the difference that 

 ilie men di;.';jinj,' them could fill three haskels on 

 the sidisoiled laud where the liiau aloiif; side on 

 the strips omitted conid not dig and pick up his 

 two haxkets. 



What is worthy of remark in this growth of 

 potatoes is, that in all the crop of whiles, lo our 

 knowledge, up to the time of leaving (,'ouconl 

 on the 2.5lh Noveniher, there had not heen dis- 

 covered a single rotten potato. The vines of 

 these had nil heen ripened l)el()re any thing like 

 lilight or fiuigiis appeared. The long reds re- 

 uiained grecu until the frost struck them: some 

 (iw of these have since rotted. Five hnndicd 

 husliels were sent to the Boston market hefore 

 ilie alarm for the liiilnre of the potato crop had 

 iicgiin: for these we olitained 40 and 45 cents 

 |ier linshel. Our infnrmaliou fiom Knslini is, 

 that none of our potatoes rolted after they weni 

 to market. ']'he most of those who laid in po- 

 tatoes in qu.aniitiis, in the course of a few days 

 found the rot conimeneing on very fair potatoes 

 at ihe time o( llieir recepiioii. In some instances 

 they have ch.iifged into :i mass of putrid and of- 

 fensive filth (jiiite as anuoying as the considera- 

 tion of their loss. 



We had another small piece of potatoes of a 

 liille less than an acre, planted ihrec wc^eks later 

 than the first lot, on new :;ioniid. These potii- 

 tnes, when taken out of the ground, were ap- 

 parently .-IS fiiir as any other, lint soon after- 

 wards they commenced rotting; and whrllier 

 any of them, after repeated looking over anil 

 sorting, will last through the "inter, renr.iiis to 

 he yet aseerlained. 



Our excnipiioii from rot in the larger field we 

 (ittiihiile, mainly to the early planting. Perhaps 

 the \igni- given to the growth hy the deeper soil 

 hriiught into action from snhsoilirg miitht have 

 cnnirihiited to the valni' of our crop. One hun- 

 drul casks of Thomaslm lime used within the 

 last four years in niakinu' some fifteen hundred 

 loads of compost muck, turf and I arn yard nia- 

 iiine, we an' i]iiile coi.fideiit, luive essentially 

 r^iiliihnted In add lo the value of ilie cioii> from 

 lime tweiii\-live .acres to which it li.is heiMi ap- 

 plied. Lini'', salt, leached and unleached ashes, 

 nd plaster, are excellent ingredients to mix in 

 Ihe compost heap. The <piick lime ought noi, 

 owpver, to come in direct eontaci with ilie ma- 

 ines strongly linctnred with iiiiimonia: to sinh 

 lasterwiM he a much hetler mineral ingredient. 



The efforls of as;ricullurnl inquirers and amitleurs 

 lie/ expended 'n I'nin. t'ahinhlr n^rirulliiral pe- 

 riodical and editor in Virginia. Her prospects 

 and her advantages — a good place for emigratio7i 

 of the northern farmer. Capital experiment in 

 rearing grapes. Mode of preserving /Arm. 



fo THE EniTOR OK THE VlSITOR : 



II ashinglou, Dec. 22, 184.5. 

 I h.ive jiisl risen from the perusal of your in- 

 eresting monthly, and, as usual, have heeii hii;h- 

 y gratified with its contents. Although not 

 piile so spirited, perhapn, as some precedim; 

 iiiinhers, yet in this, as in all others, I have ncv- 

 r failed to be interested and instructed by a 



careful reading of its pages. I am not now a 

 practical farmer, hut I have leisure to re.nd, ami 

 occasional opj.ortiinilies to ohsiirve the pr.iclical 

 <ipeiations of others, and sometinicB of those 

 who operate upon a pretty large scale. The re- 

 search and the experiuienls of scientific gentle- 

 men at the North and Kast of ns. and which have 

 led to such important results in agricnltme, are 

 having their influence throughout other portioiisi 

 of the Union, and with the few helps of the 

 South and West, are destined to work a radical 

 chaiiL'C in the whole economy of tilling the cailh. 

 That long period of donht and discouragement, 

 in which two or three New England periodicals 

 led the way in iinprovemeiits in agriculture, has 

 passi.l away. An age of inipiiry has succeeded, 

 in which practical liirmers admit, that much may 

 he done hy those who never guide the plough or 

 scalier the i^rri]. Thai they can reflect, impiiie, 

 and study out the action and iiiflnem-e of chem- 

 ical agenls, and siiggirst to the practical farmer 

 where he should afiply his alkalies and his acids, 

 or of how much the sun and atmosphere will 

 roll him, or supply, as he gives them opporlmii- 

 ty, without assiimiiig to himself any highi'r in- 

 tellectual powers or station in life. " lii.s hahils 

 and ,-luilies have led him into a dilii'ient ilefiart- 

 Mieiit of the same great science, and he should 

 be cheerfully welcomed as a co-lahorer in the 

 delightful and dignified (unployiiient. These ad- 

 missions have long heen de"sired. They will 

 break down those vickerings and jealousies 

 which have too long existed, and tliii harmony 

 of feeling and action which will take their place 

 will produce results upon onr soil never beliiio 

 witnessed; not even U[ioii Ihe fruitful and exu- 

 berant hanks of the Nile. 



Here and iliere, "few and far between," at 

 great dislances apart, may be found a faithliil la- 

 borer in this field of science. The Soltiiekn 

 Pea>ter, an agriciillural paper, at Kicliiiiond, 

 V'a., is conducted with signal ability ,ind useful- 

 ness hy Chari.es T. Botts, Rsip, a genlleinan 

 whose tastes have led him lo explore and devel- 

 ope the hidden treasures of didlMent soils, and 

 to illiistiate, and hiiiisell' iiiveul, valuable labor- 

 saving iiiacliinery. Mis efTorls have awakened a 

 new interest in the fi-rlile and delightful coimliv 

 of the .James river. Old prejudices have heeii 

 oveiiiirncd, experiments have' heen tried and i!;e 

 subject has gained an importance in the esliiiia- 

 lioii of the whole community which it has never 

 before possessed. These efforts, in ii.y opinion, 

 are to have an important [iractical hearing upon 

 the subject of slavery. When labor comes to be 

 considered by every class not only respectable, 

 but honorable, to ail, and a highly improved sys- 

 tem of agriciihure produces' liinr or five times 

 as miieli profit as the present iinperfeet practice, 

 then the good people of \irgiiiiii, and oilier 

 Stales, will adopt iiieasiircs to ri-lieve themselves 

 of an evil which 1 am confident lliey already ap- 

 preciate, and which is contrary to the I'noial 

 sense of every refleetiiig being. 'No State in the 

 Union, probably, olVers more advantages to the 

 farmer than \'irginia. Let her do away with 

 this peculiar system, as recent efliirts by her own 

 sons seem to promi.-e, and thousands of the en- 

 terprising and moral liirmers and artisans of ihe 

 Noithern Slates would soon people her leilile 

 valleys and liesh and beanlirul hills. 'J'liey 

 would gather up the waters that now run waste 

 down the hill-sides, and with iheiu turn inniiin- 

 erable wheels — convert tholl^:allds of profiiless 

 acres into smiling fiidds, and dot her charmiiig 

 groves with substantial ri'sidences, giving evi- 

 dence of true aridiiteclnral beaiilv and tasle. — 

 The cliuiate of Virginia is priibiibly asconihieive 

 to health as thai of any Sl.ite in the Union. The 

 surface of the western porlion is similar to that 

 of .New llainpshire and Vermont — not so rocky 

 as the first named Slate, but made up of hill and 

 vale, anil affonling a most tiivorable opportiinily 

 liir grazing on tlie hills, while the valleys pro- 

 duce heavy crops of grass and alTord lale pas- 

 turage liir cattle, and togelher giving every facil- 

 ity fiir the raising of slock to liny extent. An- 

 other great advantage is the prevalence of tim- 

 ber which is abundant over every part of the 

 Slate. 



riie Farmer's .Monlhly Library, the new work 

 of Mr. Skinner is one of great merit, and will 

 iindoiihiedly have a large circulation, although 

 the price will prevent its passing into the hands 

 of very many who might be benefitted by it. lis 



editor is a veteran in the cause. He iintlerstands 

 his subject practically and theoroiically, and will 

 render great .■service to the agrieiilnna'l interests 

 o( the cotiiiiry. In the midst of the present 

 good prices paid for produce, and the constantly 

 increasing liiciliiies liir cheap trniispoiiaiion, 

 there is great encoiu;igement to the liinner,— 

 and I therefore hope that he, as well as all other 

 classes will rally around Ihe Visitor and give it 

 that hearty support which the only agricultural 

 paper within the limits of two or three i^tales 

 deserves. 



But 1 set clowti to tell you something about 

 my grape vine.*, and now 1 will stop rambling 

 and do so. Having a spot on the south side of 

 my house which t thought would be liivorable to 

 the growth of grapes, in the fiill of 1812, I erec- 

 ted an arbor by silling posts, leaving them eight 

 feet out of the ground and fifteen feet fiom the 

 house. On the tops of the posts one end of a 

 sixteen foot scantling was rested, the other end 

 resting against the house sixteen fiiet from the 

 ground. These scaulliiigs were crossi-d with 

 two inch strips about two li^et apart. The up- 

 right posts were also crossed in the s line man- 

 ner as the top of the arbor. Karly in the lidlow- 

 iiig March I dug a trench ,rt ihe foot of the posts, 

 two fi'ct wide and three feet deep. I ihen filled 

 it half way up, eighteen inches, with oyster 

 shells, and the reiiiaiiiiiig eighteen inches "with 

 loam taken from the commons near the city. In 

 this loam 1 immediately set my roots, having 

 vines attached to them of aboiil two feet in 

 length. Uirectioiis were then givi'u that all the 

 waste water from ihe kitchen, dish water, soap 

 suds, Sic, should he daily thrown around them, 

 which w,is done. One of the vines blossomed 

 and bore the first siiiniiier, hut an niihickv boy 

 strolling into the garden broke ofl' all but a tijw 

 grapes, which ripened and were hiiind to he de- 

 licious. Their growth this first sniniiier varied 

 from five to ten liiet in leiigih, besides throwing 

 out great numbers of lateral braiic.lie.s, I did 

 not trim them at all the succeeding winter. Kar- 

 ly ill March last, it being the second spring, on- 

 ly, thai they had heen in the ground, they began 

 to put fiirtb. I do not rememhei- the lime of 

 llieir blossoming, but in ,)iily the neighbors be- 

 g;in to pick and proiimmced llif-m ripe. Tlii.s, 

 however, was nul llie case. The \ines then, not- 

 withstanding the severe drought which had |pros- 

 Irateil almost every thing around us, piisenteil 

 as beaiilifnl an iippearaiice as I ever beheld. — 

 Thoiisaiids of blanches and tendrils had put 

 forth, the leave.-! vyere large and fiesli, and llio 

 IViiit hung under the trellis work in delicious 

 and tempting profusion. The branches were 

 not so numerous as I have oftentimes seen them, 

 but they were twice as large as any others that 

 1 saw during the snmiiier. One vine, however, 

 of the bigness of a man's finger contained one 

 hundred and ticcntif hunches, all perfect an. I of ex- 

 Ii;ionlinary sine and flavor, 'i'here were the Is- 

 abella — the ("atawbas did not yield so ahimdant- 

 ly, and the Sweet Water, not at all. as yet. The 

 latter had not the aibanlage of the trench anil 

 the oyster slndls, but in other respects were 

 treated the same. Diiriiiit the exiremc dry 

 weather I occasionally threw liesh water upon 

 the vines from a w.uei iiig pot and a large sy- 

 ringe where they were high. 



In this my first aHein|ii at raiding grapes, I have 

 been highly irralified. .Vnd from ihe experiment, 

 taiii satisfied lliat the vines retpiire a great deal of 

 water, but in small iiuantiiies at a lime, and that 

 it should never .ilaiid long about the roots. Tho 

 oyster sIipIIs serve as a drain to carry off waler 

 which might oihi rw ise remain loo long, and as it 

 percolates among ibem, ii carries down llie fine 

 mould w hich the small, ih.-licali' roots soon find, 

 and thus, below the eirects of drought, find n 

 never failing source of noiirishmenl and support. 

 In the Aiitninn I throw around the roots a thin 

 coat of coarse manure, old holies, and chips. 



\ gentlcinaii in Rochesler, N. \. who has a 

 fine grajieiy, iiifiirmed me last sninmer that he 

 puts up grapes fiir use in the hillowing manner: 

 — Place a layer of coiion in a barrel, and then 

 select such gr.ipes as are perH'cily lipe and lay 

 llieiii upon it, cover llicni wiih .iiicihir layer 

 of cotton, and so conliniij till the barrel is 

 full ; then place the barrel in a dry place out 

 of the way of host, and they come ont through 

 the w inter iu all the pulpy luscionsness of a 

 bunch freshly plucked. Nothing certainly, could 



