NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY ur.O. ('. BARRETT, NO. 52, NORTH MARKET STREET, (at the Agricultural Warehouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



VOE. XII. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 30, 1833. 



NO. 16. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



For Ike ' ' i land. 

 PRUNING THE ISABELLA GRAPE VINE. 



'• Pr.i ning the Vine. Well, neighbor, how < : 

 your Isabella promise this season? Sol a Bingle 

 All. how is thai ? We sent fur Mr. M. last fall— lie 

 pruned it so closely thai the branches looked like naked 

 stieks, and now we have not a grape to gratify our pal- 

 ate. 



" Close pruning is loo common in this country: in 

 summer only the unproductive shoots should be takei 

 out, and not these unless theyproduce too much shade." 

 — JVea York Farmer. 



The above appeared in Vol. XII, No. 10, and 

 I regret to see such pieces inserted in a standard 

 paper like yours without comment from the Editor. 

 If this sarcasm on pruning shall pass as deserved, 

 much injury will result to the cause you have evi- 

 dently at heart : I mean the successful culture of 

 native and other hardy vines. " Mr. M." knew 

 nothing of his business, or the vine had exhausted 

 itself in the previous year's bearing. Any Isabella 

 (and most other hardy vines) pruned judicioush 

 every year according to the age, vigor and general 

 growth of the plant, and depth and strength of the 

 soil, will, every year produce a good crop, mucli 

 superior to any tiling from a vine only slightly 

 pruned in the summer. The reason is obvious to 

 any who have studied the nature of the vine, and 

 attctided carefully to its cultivation in this country. 

 It should be divested of its surplus branches in 

 the summer, to admit the light and air to ripen the 

 wood as well as the fruit. An experienced culti- 

 vator will be as particular in exposing the bran :hi 

 which are to bear freight the following season, as 

 to any other part of cultivation. Grape vines have 

 a constant tendency to throw out lateral shoots, 

 and if the branches which are intended to furnish 

 the next crop of fruit are not divested of those as 

 they appear, their strength will be found exhaust- 

 ed ; and if any fruit appear, its quality will be very 

 inferior. 



As soon as the buds are developed in the spring 

 a- vine stops bleeding ; and in the spring we can 

 cut out all the wood which has perished during 

 the winter, of which there will be a quantity on 

 every vine native or exotic, and it cannot be ex- 

 pected that the late growth should ripen sufficient- 

 ly to stand a severe frost. I prefer pruning in the 

 spring, because we can then make clean work, and 

 lay in only tine ripe wood ; and by doing this work 

 a short time before the buds put forth, the plant 

 receives no injury from bleeding. Most foreign 

 vines will become acclimated and hardy by a dis- 

 criminating use of the knife. 



If you deem this communication worth inser- 

 tion, I may probably make more remarks on this 

 subject. Port Carbon, Pa. 



MASS. 90RTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



PROCEEDINGS 



Of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, at a 

 meeting held at the Hall of the Institution, Oct. 

 19th, 1S33. 



TnE President read the following letter, acd 

 stated that the wine therein named was the only 

 specimen he had ever tasted, of American produc- 

 tion, from the fruit of either foreign or native 



vines, which was the pure juice of the grape, with- 

 out the reinforcement of sugar or spirit ; and that 

 it not only resembled, in color and flavor, those 

 from the vintages of the Rhine, but even rivalled 

 of the varieties of that region, which have 

 i imported to a considerable extent within a 

 few years 1 , and are now so generally drank ami so 

 highly appreciated in this country. 



Cincinnati, Oct. 7, 1833. 



Dear Sir, I sent you by private conveyance two 

 bottles of wine of last year's vintage, made from a 

 native grape. Some of my friends had purchased 

 of Bolletsof N. York, some of his Rhenish Cabinet 

 wines, for which they paid him 15 to $36 per 

 dozen. I bantered them to place them in compe- 

 tition with my domestic wine, at our late fair. 

 The Society appointed a special committee of 

 wine merchants and connoisseurs. I am not cer- 

 tain whether 10 or 12 of the committee attended. 

 Three bottles of the same size and shape were 

 submitted ; one containing johannesberger, one 

 Geisenheiner, and the third a domestic wine from 

 a native grape, the same I sent you. They were 

 ignorant of the contents of each bottle, and were 

 left alone to make up their decision. When the 

 company were admitted, it appeared all but two 

 had decided in favor of the bottle containing the 

 domestic wine. The principal importer of the 

 Cabinet wines was present, and the three samples 

 were submitted to him, and he selected the same 

 bottle. The domestic wine was of the same color 

 and character, but in flavor and aroma sui generis. 

 having the flavor of the fruit. But my object in 

 this letter was not to detail this result, but to ex- 

 press my fears that the wine sent you was re- 

 ceived by the committee in the heat of summer. 

 The fair was only 5 miles from the city, but I 

 found the wine I sent in a partial state of effer- 

 vescence, and would willingly have avoided the 

 time, had it not been too late. I am anxious to 

 hear from you, for should the wine sent you have 

 been injured I shall send you a sample of the 

 same wine as soon as the weather is cool. 



We have nearly completed the vintage at one of 

 my vineyards, containing about 4 acres ; but a 

 part of the vines are too small to bear. My vine- 

 dresser's estimate was 2000 gallons, my own 

 1500$. It will not fall short of my estimate. His 

 portion of the wine (one half) is made with less 

 care than mine, yet he has refused 87J cts. per 

 gallon, offered by the keepers of our coffee houses, 

 for the whole of his wine. He sold at that price 

 last year. Very respectfully, N. Longwortu. 



EXHIBITION OP FRUITS. 



Saturday, Oct. 19th. 

 .Ipplts. From Mr. Whitmarsh, Brookline, very 

 fine large red apples; Mr. John Perkins, Essex, 

 seedling apples, very fine. Mr. John A. Keurick, 

 two sorts of apples. Mr. Joel Dak'm, Sudbury, 

 Garden Royal, good. Dr.Russell of Lincoln, seed- 

 ling apples, good. Mr. E. M. Richards, Dedham, 

 Boun's Imperial Russet, and two varieties un- 

 known. Mr. E. Bartlctt," Gloria Mundi, and Fall 

 and Golden Pippin apples. Mr. Richardson, Dor- 

 chester, cheenut apple (French), French Russet 

 apple and the Harvey apples, good. Mr. John 

 Perry, Sherburne, native apples, good. 



Pears. Mr. Wm. E. Payne, VValtham, seven 

 Varieties [.ears, names unknown, not in eating. 

 IMr. Win. Oliver, Dorchester, Muir Fowl's Egg, 

 true sort. Mr. E. Bartlctt, Dorchester, striped, 

 long green of Cox, Chaumontelle, St. Germain, and 

 Brown Beu'rre pears. R. Manning, Salem, a 

 French pear, name unknown. 



Peaches. From Mr. John Mackay, Weston, fine 

 ( Hingstone Seedling peaches. Mr. E. M. Richards 

 Dedhajn, Heath Clingstone of Cox. 



Grapes. From Mr. Joshua Child, Boston, four 

 fine large bunches grizzly Tokay grapes. Mr. E. 

 Vose, Dorchester, Black Muscat, Violet Muscat, 

 VVhitf Muscat ami Grey Muscat, all excellent. Dr. 

 S. A. shurtleff, Boston, his fine Seedling grapes. 

 Mr. J. Baleh, Roxbury, Black Hamburg grapes, 

 girdled, the largest berries exhibited from open 

 culture, t 'or the Committee, B. V. French. 

 Saturday, Oct. 26th. 



By Mr. Vose, Passe Colmar and Napoleon Pears 

 estimable varieties. 



By Mr. Mahning, first and second crop of Passe 

 Colmar and Doyenne Gris pears. Also Blceckcr's 

 Meadau>,\\}i\ch promise well, (received from Messrs. 

 James Bloodgood & Co. Flushing, N. Y. and Per- 

 sique Peaches (of Cox.) 



By Mr. V. French, a very large and beautiful 

 specimen of the Chaumontelle Pears, and a variety 

 of large Quinces from French trees, names lost. 



By Mr. J. Balch, Roxbury, very large and fine 

 clusters of girdled Catawba Grapes. Also, Bland's 

 Madeirh. 



By .'•' -i, Hastings, Boston, St. Michael 



Pears, rait and handsome. 



By Messrs. Winship, (received from Dr. Joel 

 Burnett of Southboro',) large Seedling Pears, which 

 the Committee have named the " Burnett Pear." 

 Also, by the same, St. Germain Pears. 



By Mr. P. Ware, Franklin, St. Michael Pears. 



By Mr. Francis Amory, Milton, Pears, name 

 unknown, not in eating. 



By Mr. James Wadsworth, Geneseo, N. Y. 

 uncommonly large Seckle and Baking Pears. 



By Mr. Pond, Isabella, handsome Catawba, and 

 Pond's file Seedling Grapes. 



By Mr. Thomas Mason, a basket of handsome 

 Peaches. 



By Mr. Benj. Weld, Roxbury, small Seedling 

 Jlpplcs, of rather delicate flavor, the first year of 

 bearing. 



By Mr. Benjamin Wheeler, Framingham, two 

 varieties of Apples, names unknown ; one was 

 considered a good eating fruit, and the other fit 

 for culinary purposes. 



By Mr. Fat, raised in the garden of Mr. Symes, 

 Charlestown, a Pound pear weighing 2Si- oz. 



Per order of the Committee on Fruits, &c. 



E. M. Richards. 

 VEGETABLES EXHIBITED. 



By Mr. D. Haggerston, from the Society's 

 garden, Mount Auburn, Carote Violette, seed from. 

 the London Hort. Soc. 



By Mr. Geo. Neweall, Dorchester, a Sugar 

 Beet, weighing 23 lbs. ; it weighed when taken 

 from the ground with the top 31 lbs. 



By Mr. P. B. Hovey, Jr. Cambridgeport, Purple 

 Brocoli, the largest and handsomest ever exhibited 

 at the rooms of the Society. E. M. R. 



