82 



iZ[)c jTarmcr's iHontl)[u l^sitor. 



From the Massachusetls Plougliman. 

 Management of Grape Vines. 



First Year.— Tlie best moile cil" iiii.^iiig tlir 

 plants is by cuttings, or hiyers, tiikun Iroiii the 

 vine in tlie foil and pieservul in llic- cellar over 

 winter. These may lie made of one eye or hiid 

 or five or six, just as the planter has a nation : 

 attached to a small portion of two years old wood, 

 forming a cutting in the rij^lit shape. 'I'he hrsi 

 year they may be raised in a bed by themselves, 

 prepared of a good soil, set in the groun<l .six or 

 seven inches from one another; with ihc ,ow.s 

 wide enough to admit the hoe to take ihe wced.s 

 out: or they may be put ia the first place in the 

 spot where you intend your grapery, at the dis- 

 tance of five or seven feet apart, a<cordii.g to the 

 taste of the cultivator. lu the last case, however, 

 there should be four or five cuttings put in one 

 place six inches apart, in order that you may he 

 sure that you have one grow in a place. If lliey 

 all live or grow, lake all but one out, in the lall, 

 avoiding as much as possible of distui bijig llio 

 roots of the one you leave standing, i think that 

 it is the best [jlan to raise them in beds as you 

 have lime to prepare the groimd for the grapei y, 

 which wants a good deal of pains and care. If 

 the layers or cuttings have one bu<l each, it must 

 be from the last year's growth, and a piece of the 

 branch from seven to eight inches long should be 

 left on each side of the hud. These should be 

 planted two and a half inches below the surlJice, 

 with the bud uppermost, and a siniill slake placed 

 by them so that they may not be (iisiurbcd. If the 

 layers are of several eyes, ihey should be laid in 

 the ground slanting, leaving one bud just above 

 the ground. They shoidd be kept moist but r.ot 

 wet, aa this will rot them. A sjiot that receives 

 the morning sun till eleven o'clock and not long 

 er, is the best |)lace for the bed for ihejn, but for 

 permanency they should be planted where the 

 Bun shines the longest, and in ihis case lli'-y 

 should be shaded at noon luitil they have entire- 

 ly put out. One bud only shoidd be left to shoot 

 from the cutting the first year, the weeds entirely 

 kept out so that they can grow as fast as possible, 

 the earth kept light, and as soon as the shoot has 

 attained strength enough to produce cliuibers or 

 laterals they should be rubbed off and the shoot 

 tied to a small slake ; by this means it will be 

 more able to endure the frosts of the fall, and pre- 

 vent its imbibing the moisture wliicli it woidd 

 otherwise be subject to when covered witliearlh 

 in the winter. By the first of Noveujber, tije 

 shoots may be cut down t j the fourlh luul from 

 the bottom, and the middle of the nionih if it hi: 

 dry weather, they ought to be covered vviili earih, 

 and pains taken to prevent tlie entrance of the 

 wet, as the dryer the plant is hcjil, the belter state 

 it will be in the spring. 



Second Year. — Tiie plants should not be un- 

 covered or exposed to the air, until ihe wealher 

 is warm enough to have them pul diiecily out. 

 Care should be taken in uncovering the plants, 

 for then a little bruise or knock uoidd peihaps 

 destroy your plant. Tliose from the nursery 

 should be taken up in the sprini; "ulI planted out, 

 letting the roots run toward the .soinli. Many 

 think that this is a foolish idea in planting vines, 

 but experience teaches that it is of great impor- 

 tance. Only two shoots or one is enough lo let 

 grow from one bud. The shoot that you lei grow 

 should be kept tied up every five or .six inches. 

 The next fall you may cut this shoot down to two 

 buds and cover it as before. 



Third Year. — You can now allow ghools to 

 push from both eyes ami leliiiig them grow, la- 

 king pains to tie them up so ihat they may not 

 be injured. The bu<l in ihe crotch between ihe 

 old and new wood must be nibbed vlT, and rub 

 ofi" the clind>ers of the five lower buds. In No- 

 vember, cut down the two branches as follows: 

 the most feeble of the t« o, to two buds, to prodiue 

 wood branches the succeeding K;'asun. and the 

 Strongest to three buds for IVuit bianchcs; and 

 cover them as usual. 



Fourth Year.— If you tak(! gooil care of your 

 vines and see that they are properly dr<?ssed, yon 

 can get your first fruit without injuring your 

 plants. After ibis you uuisl bi; g.ivi.rued by the 

 strength of your plants, and this «ill depend on 

 the goodness of the soil, and the cnvu that you 

 take with your vines. Uul a« a general way, the 

 following points nnist be alleiided lo : 



1st. The number and length of your frui' 

 branches depends on the strength and growth of 



your vino { the wood branches are ulwuys to be 

 cm down to two eyes or linil-'. 



'2d. No more branches should be left on the vine 

 than it can support the coming seitson. This ile- 

 penils on ihe a;:e of the vine aiKl llie s<iil. 



•Jd. No bianchts should be left lo grow from 

 the old wood unless wanted to renew j our wood 

 near the butiom. 



4th. iNo more shoots should l.-e allowed to grow 

 than you can lay on clear without touching one 

 imoiher, so lo admit the sun and air freely amongst 

 tlie biaui h;.s. 



5th. Never leave more than five good e\es on 

 a fruit branch unless your vine is confined in a 

 narrow space and you are obliged to preserve 

 only tuo or three fruit branches. This must be 

 pruned according to ihe vine ; some vines will 

 ailiuit more branches than oihius. Always cut 

 the dead wood <miI, never touch the vine « ilh a 

 s:iw, but use a knife or shears. It has hien re- 

 commended to ;;ir(lle Ihe vine in order to increase 

 the size of the vine and fruit. But 1 ihiuk that 

 it is the means of hurting the vine greatly. 



Kioni the Western Farmer <Sl Gardener. 

 Means of Improving Wheat C'uUure. 



When, some years ago, llie Louiiville Journal 

 )iuhlished an account of an exiraordiuaty \lelil 

 of corn, it was receiveil with great incredulily. 

 When Ihe most miquestionable evidence was ad- 

 duced, aud men were silenced, it was said ihal 

 such .Mcconnis of great crops ditl no good ; that 

 they gave to our agricullmal papers the reputa- 

 tion of telling great stories. Perhaps just such' 

 feeluigs may be excited if we rehearse ihi^ pro- 

 digious rtsulls of improved wheat culluri! in 

 Great Bi i'ain. We will let .Mr. Colman speak for 

 u.--, aud no one will doiibi the pains he li.is taken 

 to be well iidiuined, or his integrily of statement. 

 •";1 suppose there is no country wliere the ave- 

 rag!» yield of u beat is so large as in Kuglaud ; 

 and tl.is product has neai'ly doubled wiihiu the 

 last Thirty or forty years, lam <iiii;o aware that, 

 in many pans of Kngland, the crops are still 

 small, ami ilu not exceed sixiecii husliels to the 

 acre-; but on the estate of the late Mr. Coke, af- 

 terwards Lord Leicester, — where, when he cauie 

 to reside on his projieriy, it was lliought, on ac- 

 count «\' the ihinness a!id poverty of the soil, 

 wheal would not grow, — the a\erage yield is from 

 liiriy lo forly-eighl bushels per acre : and I have 

 already referred lo a large firiii where the croji 

 ou the" whole farm, in lS14-'5— a most fivorable 

 season— averaged fifty-six bushels per acre. — 

 These aie most encouraging resulls ; but since, 

 bevond all rpiesliou, in an in.tiauce referred to, 

 ■■i^ilnv bushels have been pro^luced, who will say 

 Ihat the lindls of cultivation have been generally 

 even a|)proached ? All this, too, has been, with- 

 out d.)uh!, the efiiict of improve<l cultivatitui." 



(July ihink; eighty bushels, once ; and filiy-six 

 bushel.i over Ji large fiuMu ; and in olher cases, 

 fro(u land naturally too poor for wheat to gro.v, .a 

 \ield of forly-eight bushels; uul sirleen bushels, 

 spoken of as a minimum crop! 



To all ibis, the leader's answer will be, "a very 

 dim rent climate they have fHrm ours." Do you 

 suppose tjie dimn'e is jis diifiueiit as is the style 

 of cuHh-tition? Mr. Coluia:i says the average 

 crop has been doubled wiihin the last thirty <u' 

 foriv years. Tweiily-five bushels is the average 

 crop of Great Britain ; and half of that is tu elve 

 aud a half, at which average, per acre, wheal 

 s;ood some ibiriy years ago in Great Brilaiu, be- 

 fore! improved melhods were applied. T!iis is 

 nol far tiom our present average, and shows ihat 

 no important difference <i;i<-ts in iheir fiivor, ex- 

 ci'[it such as ciillivntion makes. L"I us look al 

 the prouiiiu-nt features of the eulliiri^ aud iuipii-e 

 whether, in pan. il is not as fit lor us as I'm- Iheni ? 



I. The Knglish most thoroughly prepare their 

 soil. The wiieatcrnp has an assigned place in n 

 relation sysNun ; each crop of which is sivilfullj 

 reliiled lo the crop which went hefiire, and to the 

 one which is to li)llovv ; so Ihat whon il is the lime 

 fir w heal, the ground is in the very best biarl 

 for win nl. 



Then lliey ji!oiis:h in F.ngland instead ot'scrahh- 

 !na;. The ploughing is very rli'cp, and is snc- 

 cei'ded by harrowing, clod-ci iisIuul' and rolling, 

 variouslv applied according lo the nature of the 

 soil, so that Ihe wheat genuinalcs not only in a 

 fine soil, bul a .soil " ihoixti^hly fiu'uislicd uuio 

 every food work." 



•J. No p.01.3 aic ^lla^..d lo prolecl rhe groun<l 

 aud its ireasure from wet. 'J'lie improved hus- 

 bandry is invariably bu.sed upon .• system of tho- 

 rough under-draining, lu adililioii lo theoc, and 

 yei more carelully w here no drains exisi, the sur- 

 liice is ploughed in such a manner as to relieve 

 itself Irom all superdunus rains ami from stand- 

 ing water. We can hardly imagine the pains 

 that are taken in Hriiish hiisbiindry, to secure lo 

 ihe soil enough, and only enough w ater. Surlaco 

 draining and under (huining are, mi large and 

 well managed estates, as common, and indispen- 

 sable, as phnighing llself. 



3. The greatest rare is taken to procure the 

 best seed wheat. And varieties are judiciously 

 adapted to various soils, aud posiiions of larms 

 iu different pans of the empire. Neiibtr is the 

 prepaialimi of die seed iie^dected. Indeed, no- 

 thing IS left undone that w-isdoui'can suggest, lo 

 prevent every casually and to secure the hirgert 

 and the best etmdiiioiied crop. 



4. We would call especial attention to the ex- 

 tensive use of the drill in Brili'^b wheat culiure. 

 lu Gi eat Britain, wheiit is diilled about as um- 

 liirmly us in .America it is sown broadcast. The 

 rows are about nine inches apart ; they are hoed 

 once in the spring; and. such is the cheapness 

 of lalior, Ihat Ihe low, are olleii gone over by 

 cliihiren and cleared by hand of every weed. 



We do not propose to our farmers the hoeing 

 or the hanil weeding ; but we think serious re- 

 ard should be paid to ihe question of drilling 

 wheat. There are three permanent adyaiilages 

 accruing: I. The Siiving of seed ; 2. The in- 

 crease of the yield, iu (piantiiy aud qualiiy ; 3. 

 The hel'er maturity of the s^raic. The saving 

 of seed is uxjt a sui.ill consideration. Il is a ques- 

 tion of great importance whether one-eighth, 

 one-ienlh, one-filiielh or one-hundredlh part ol 

 the whole crop shall be consumed for seid. 



If three bushels per acre yield sixteen bushel.*, 

 very nearly oue-fil'lh of ihe "croii is laketi {o seorl 

 the ground; if two bushels are sown, om-cigblh 

 of the v< Ileal crop is reserved for sowing. But 

 if thirty bushels are raised lo three bushels sown, 

 oidy one-tenth, (insletul of one-filth,) of the crop 

 is consumed in seed. Ou the olher hand, if one 

 bushel of wheat were miule tu seed an acre and 

 lo yield len bu.-hels, one-tenih only is consumed 

 in fiti^iS. If il yielded sixteen bushels, only one- 

 sixtcentu goes' for seed. By diminishing the 

 q.;i,nlily sown,or by increi.sing the yield, the pro- 

 poriion bemeen tiio ouihiy and income is in- 

 creuset!. Experiments, however, have shown 

 ihal a tingle gra'n of wheat, phinted :doi:e, is 

 capable of yielding/our hnndrej Jul!. It is true 

 that such a' i-eturii Is n(>: lo be looked for on a 

 large scale, fur no farmer c:ui cullivate ihirly 

 acres as he woulil one square foot in a garden. 

 But, the common return iu the United Stales is 

 less ihali Unfold; and this cnormotjs dispropor- 

 lioii between what wheal may reinrii and what it 

 does return, between lini;- hundred fold and len 

 fold, cannot be accounled for on any olher reason, 

 than that of gros ly ujiskill'ul culilvaiioii. 



lu general cullun-, an increased aiuouut of see«l 

 must be allowed lor casualties ; but whalever 

 moile of sowing will save seed, improve the crop, 

 anil nol increase l\ii: proporlionaU expense ol ihe 

 whole, is to be preferred. 



By drilling wheat, seed is saved ; the yield of 

 that which lis sr.wn is greatly increa.sed ; by giv- 

 ing a free circulation to the air atui space lo iht) 

 li'iht, ihe straw grows siroicer, but not so ratik- 

 ly. The juices are luoie tl:oroui;hly elabiuali-d 

 aud the stem slreiiglhcneil ; wliereas, if ihick 

 sown, air anil light being but partially inlrodiiced, 

 llie slem is imue succuleiil, and, iherelore, more 

 suhjecl lo lidliiig, lo mildew, and lo olhii ailai k.s. 



We do nol believe that ihe eXiicii.-e of drilling 

 wheat, ordinarily, would be greaur than that <.l 

 sowing il broadcast, rrom six to eight drill.--, 

 nine inches apiul, are opt ned, sown, and covered 

 al each passage of the lirill machine. A muehiue 

 of six drills sows at each pas.sage across llie field 

 H strip of more than Ibiir and a hall feel w ide. 

 The seed is evenly sow ii, iu moderale qiianiiiics, 

 wilhuut the expense of harrowing. W. now, iho 

 saving ihe expense ol' Imrrowiiig and of secil bo 

 reckoned, logellier uilli the increase of the crop, 

 in (pianlily and iu (juatitj, inasmuch as the (jwiti- 

 li/ is improved by reason of its comparali\e im- 

 "iiinily from disease ami of the superior weight 

 ,f kernels ripened \\\ieu the ciop has room 

 ■notigh, il is believed ihal drilling wcmld l.e as 



of 



