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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



N» 



be had not to let the vine overhear : this would af- 

 fect the size of the clusters, and the size of the ber- 

 ries. The circumference of the vine will always 

 guide tlie grower as to the number of clusters and 

 the weight of crops that the vine can ripen. 



"Hoar's Treatise on the Vine," is a standard work, 

 and will be valuable reference to grape-vine grow- 

 ers. 



We have been led to these remarks by seeing a 

 vine thus grown in a ])ot by Mr. Lee, of the Oak- 

 land Gardens, and which is now exhibiting at the 

 stall of Mr. H. Gushee, in the Washington Market. 

 On this vine we saw one handsome cluster and near- 

 ly a dozen of half growth, with berries of various 

 sizes. Had every bunch but four been taken from 

 the vine, and the whole strength of the vine given 

 to ripening those, the result would have been 

 twelve or sixteen pounds of delicious grapes — now 

 only one bunch is mature, the others are worthless; 

 and the vine is injured for two or three years. This 

 is always the result of overbearing young vines or 

 trees. — California Farmer. 



THE CEmESE SUGAE CANE. 



Tlie Chinese Sugar Cane has come to the ordi- 

 nary name of the Sorgho Sucre, a mo?t valuable 

 plant of the sugsr cane order, and therefore, allied 

 to the maize or Lidian corn, but more nearly to 

 the broom corn. Its culti\alion has commenced 

 amongst us, and there is now in Washington more 

 than an acre of it growing luxuriantly and promis- 

 ing a yield of considerably upwards of a hundred 

 bushels of seed, besides many tons of stems and fo- 

 liage, rich with saccharine fluid and solid food ma- 

 terial for horses, neat cattle and swine. Not only 

 here, but in various and widely distant parts of the 

 Union has trial been made of it, and with uniform 

 gratifying results. We have read a letter from a 

 fiirmer in Illinois who has tested its character, and 

 reports of it in the most favorable manner. Out 

 of a gallon of the liquid sap in the stem, which he 

 expressed by the primitive contrivance of a rolling- 

 pin, he obtained, by boiling, a quart of molasses, 

 with very little impurity and of approved taste. 

 The usual proportions of sugar to sap lie between 

 fifteen and twenty per cent., the crystalizable sugar 

 increasing with the decrease of the latitude. Be- 

 sides this proportion of sugar there is an amount 

 of perhaps 5 to 8 per cent, of uncrystalizable sap, 

 from which a very agreeable beverage can be made, 

 snd alcohol distilled more cheaply than by any 

 other method. This sap, strange to say, if set with 

 the oxide of tin, will dye silk of a beautiful jtink. 



As a food for stock of all kinds it seems to over- 

 top all that we now possess, furnishing, in fair 

 soils, 25 tons per acre of excellent fodder, every 

 bit of which is greedily eaten by animals. The 

 seed, too, by which the plant is propagated — in 

 this, unlike and superior to the sugar cane of Lou- 

 isiana, which is raised by cuttings — are fit for hu- 

 man food ; at all events, when ground and made 

 up into cakes, after the manner of linseed cakes, 

 they supply a good material for fattening stock. — 

 The brush or top from which these seeds are taken, 

 is not without its service, for the plant is a species 

 of broom-colrn, and, therefore, its top, when de- 

 prived of seed, answers well wherewith to manufac- 

 ture brooms. When the sap, top, seeds and le;-.ves 

 are taken, leaving only the crushed stem, it still 

 has an economic value : jiaper can be manufactured 

 from it. 



This valuable addition to our vegetable produc- 

 tion was originally a native of China, but has been 

 sedulously cultivated for several years in southeast- 

 ern Caffraria, whence it passed into France and 

 Algeria, in which last country it comes to great per- 

 fection. It would be hard to calculate its value. 

 It constitutes every farm on which it is grown its 

 own sugar-camp, orchard, winery, and granary, as 

 well as a stock farm and dairy ; indeed, the " Sor- 

 gho" may be deemed a sort of vegetable sheep, 

 every part and constituent of which is valuable. 

 — JVational Intelligencer, 



For tlie New England Fanner. 



MY FEIEI^B'S MISTAKE. 



INIr. Editor : — ]\Iy friend's mistake is this ; he 

 works as a matter of necessity to perform what 

 must absolutely be done on his farm towards ob- 

 taining a living. His situation is pleasant, and en- 

 tirely his own, affording great facilities for work- 

 ing to advantage, and also for pleasure. He has a 

 fanciful horse and carriage, and an excellent wife, 

 who is too often ready to improve the pleasantry 

 of riding and company. He also takes the cam- 

 paign paper of his district, and is quite fluent and 

 intensely interesting on Kansas affairs, is down on 

 the Administration, and up for Ihe next General 

 Court. 



A thousand voices, from the city to the country, 

 exclaim : — "O, that I was a farmer ! It is the mis- 

 take of my lifetime, it is the mistake of my own ! 

 ]\Iy dying flither .said, 'ray son, remain on this 

 goodly heritage, and study to be a farmer, and 

 blessings shall await you.' I would not listen to 

 ihe counsel, I spurned ii, ii was beneath my noble 

 nature. Now, I have in all my wealth no ])eace, 

 but continued anxiety, for I have not been what I 

 ought to have been, and cannot answer for any of 

 my many derelictions of duty. And he, whom I see 

 so charmingly and comfortably seated by his wife, 

 in that nice carriage, Avorked for my father, mar- 

 ried my sister, lives on the home.stead, and takes, I 

 am afraid, down-hill comfort ! Where is the mis- 

 take ?" 



In the farmer it is too much capital and time de- 

 voted to horse and carriage, politics and company, 

 and too little attention expended upon the study 

 and practical examination of "Dana's Muck Manu- 

 al," that the farm may be advancing in value. Too 

 many superfluities about the house, and a laxity of 

 judgment perceptible about the barn-yard. Too 

 great a care for external adornments for children, 

 while entirely forgetting the mind and soul. Too 

 much overlooking what is for real benefit, for pres- 

 ent gratification. Too much "living Avhile we do 

 live," while not willing to raise a finger to alleviate 

 the hardships of mankind, but perfectly ready to 

 anathematize with the unbridled tongue the cruel 

 oppressor ! 



No wonder that the farmer's son will not stay at 

 home ; there is not that noble interest manifested 

 and exerted on the farm that will excite and stim- 

 ulate the better susceptibilities of the youthful mind 

 and intellect. 



The city man longing for a farm must he discon- 

 tented, and surely it is better for us all to be hon- 

 orable and contented in our various pursuits, and 

 joy and gladness will eventually crown us. 



E. J. w. 



