THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



CULTIVATION OF THE VINE IN THE WEST. 



From the Western Farmer. 



I res.)]ve(J to be present at tlie vintage this 

 fall, at pome ot' the many vineyards in our vici- 

 nity, and accordinaly on Wednesday the 16th ulf. 

 rode wiih a smiiii party to one oanetl liy JMr. 

 Lonuworlh, but leaced to Mr. Morlimer, wlio is 

 liis own vigneron. It is kept in fine ordtr, every 

 tliinir neat and business-like. Tliere are about 

 seven acres planted, only about two-thirds ol 

 wliich, however, is yet in l)earin<x. The varie- 

 ties (blind !o suit best are the Catawba, Isabella, 

 and blai-k cape. The two fiisl Mr. M. finds to 

 be not such regular bearers as the la^t, but always 

 a part crop, and about every third year a very (uil 

 one. The cape rarely misses a fair crop, but the 

 wine requires ajre, and wlien kept seven or eisxhi 

 years almost equals Catawba. The Isabella 

 makes a good wine, and is best used the second 

 year, when it is somewhat ol a stoeet wive. 'I'lie 

 ^CriiawbH is decidedly the best grape we have for 

 winemakinix, being on an average, very produc- 

 tive, the yield of juice unusually great, and the 

 wine at three years old superior to any old Ma- 

 deira I ever drank — wanting its fiery taste, and 

 surpassing it in richness of flavor, Itebody is such 

 that I feel confident it could be transported to any 

 distance without any necfssity for \be reinfurce- 

 vient which foreign wines receive previous to their 

 leiiig shipped. 



This year the crop is scarce an average one. 

 Previous to the late cold rains in June it pro- 

 nii^pd well; but afer that, many of the berries, 

 lo the pxtent I should thitd<, of one half, dropped 

 off. The younir wood has ripened well, so that 

 next spring's cuttings will be good. This is a 

 matter of much importance — cuttings carlessly 

 male, out of indillerently ripened wood, and lelt 

 exposed to dry lor any length of time after ihey 

 flre cut, as is two frequently the case with those 

 who prepare them for sale, never can do well, nor 

 nnakc healthy, thrilty vines, even if tlicydo grow. 



T. A. 



A CURIOUS FACT. 



From tlie Southern Cultivator. 

 A fact w^s mentioned to us, which was certain- 

 ly unknown, not only to ourselves, but lo all the 

 planters of this section of the state, with whom 

 we have conversed on the subject. It is, that tlie 

 first suckers from corn, if left undisturbed, will al- 

 ways produce ears on the slalks, similar to the 

 parent stalk, and not an abortion on the ends, as 

 we so often see in our fields ; and in confirmation 

 of this, we were shown four dried stalks, which 

 had grown in such close proximity, as to have all 

 the appearance of being the parent stalk and 

 suckers. It was out of the ground, and divested 

 of soil, but the mass of roots was so thick tliat 

 we could not ascertain positively, without separat- 

 ing and thus destroying the specimen, (which we 

 were not willing to do,) whether they proceeded 

 from one or more roots — the appearance decidedly 

 was, ihat the whole sprang (i-om one. Wc count- 

 ed on each of these stalks two large ears, with no 

 greater , difference between them than might be 

 Ibund bsiween adjoining stalks. Col. Williams 



first mentioned the fact (o us, and in conversing 

 on the sul)ject before one of iiis overseers, (w-ho 

 had, by-the-liy, been with him a number of 

 years,) the latter observed thai he thought every 

 person knew it. 'i'he abortions we have on our 

 stickers are attributed to their not being ti.e origi- 

 nal or first, but such as had been thrown up a se- 

 cond time by the plant, which is said not to pro- 

 duce ears at the sides, but merely a few Bcattering 

 (Trains on the tops of the stalks. We have men- 

 tioned these facts lo many of our planters in this 

 section of country. None have made observa- 

 tions sufFiciemly accurate, to speak positively on 

 the subject, though the general ofiinion is, that 

 such is not the casein the lower country. Is it 

 not one of ike pecularities of the ci-rn cultivated 

 by Col. IViUiams ? 



NATURAL. HISTORY OF THK TOCKAW- 

 HOUGHE.* 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Smiihjield, Nov. 24th, 1840. 



The tockawhoiighe is mentioned by Capf. 

 Smith, in his History of Virginia, as one of the in- 

 digenous productions, fornnng an important arti- 

 cle of diet among the aborigines. This plant is 

 still Ibund throughout eastern Virginia, but fi'ora 

 its comparatively rare occurrence, lis singular ha- 

 bi!ude, and from its belonging to a class ol plants 

 rarely studied except by ihe professed botanist, it 

 is generally a lusus natarce to those wiio acci- 

 dentally disinter it. A lew remarks upon its na- 

 tural history may Iherelbre not be unacceptable to 

 the readers of the Register. 



The tockawhoughe is one of the fungi, or 

 mushroom family, belonging to the genusj tu- 

 ber. I'wo species of this genus, the 7'. cibarium 

 and T. albidum are well known in Europe, aa 

 the black and white truflle, and are highly 

 prized as rare delicacies by gourmands. In this 

 country and in England, they are email, but in 

 Italy they attain a diameter ol several inches, and 

 weigh Irom 8 to 14 pounds, [ounces?] The 

 tockawhoughe like all the other species of thia 

 genus, is entirely subterranean, and totally desti- 

 tute of roots, stem, leaves, or other appendage to 

 connect it with, or to absorb nourishment from the 

 atmosphere, or earth, and is apparently ss isolat- 

 ed in, and unconnected with its mother soil, as a 

 rock or pebble. From the absence of all surface 

 indications of their existence, in Italy, where one 

 species of this singular genus is much sought af- 

 ter, the diggers are accustomed to train dogs to 

 hunt them by their scent, and to indicate their 

 presence by scratching the ground immediately 

 over them. The tockawhoughe is generally of 

 an ellipiical form, varying in diameter from one 

 to four inches. t Like all of the (ungiferous plant?, 



* Usually, but r rroneously called Tuckahoe. Tuck- 

 ahoe, is a corruption of the Indian word, 'Tucahovve,* 

 which literally means, "the place where deer are shy," 

 and was originally used to desig;nate a locality. 



t Owing to the difliculfy of obtaining specimens 

 fresh, I have not been able to determine the species 

 satisfactorily, but think it will prove to be the albidum. 



t V/s have frequently seen larger specimens, and, if 

 remembering correctly, in some cases as large aa a 

 man's head. — Ed, F. R. 



