62 



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Sntit. 7, ms}. 



i^mw ssroQ-aiiiErLD opiiiiisaisiiai 



BOSTON, WEDN'KSDAY EVENING, SEPT. 7, 1831. 



GaAPES IN THE OPEN AIR. 



We vvero lately grutitiecj with tlie view of fine 

 prapes jri-owing on tlie f;rouiiils of Sir Chaili's Ta|)- 

 jjan in Brookliiie. Most of the.~e gjiipes were nearly 

 anil some of them were quite ripe ; were of several 

 different species, foreij;n as well as native ; and we 

 were pleased to observe that none of them were in 

 the least degree injured hy mildew, the greatejiemy 

 to that delicious fruit in our cfunate. We of course 

 supposed that the solutions of lime and sulphur, 

 pulverized sidphur, or some other of the ap|)lica- 

 tiona recommended as remedies for mildew had 

 been |u'ofusely adnnni>-tered to these spotless vines 

 and llieir perfect fruits. But Mr Tappan informed 

 us that nothing of the kind had been applied, that 

 neither powders nor washes had hlurn-d m- hrifjht- 

 ened the heauiy of his vines, nor checked nor 

 excited the e.\uberanceof their ferliliiy. Mr Tap- 

 pan attributed their exemption ficmi disease to 

 their location on high ground, where the air was 

 pure and unconfined. Indeed it is a question worth 

 consideration, whether we may not i^ive our vijic- 

 yards too much sheltei; so tha' they lose more for 

 want of air than they gain hy protc'ticn Irom the 

 dampness, fluctuations and inclemencies of the 

 seasons. 



Espalier-rails standing in open ground, are saiil 

 by some horticultural writers to he hi'lter for 

 training fruit-trees and vines upon than wnlls, lie- 

 cause the foliage and fruit are more fully exposed 

 to light and air, when suspended from the lattice 

 work of rails, than when fesiijig on air tight sup- 

 porters. And an espalier has another advantage 

 over a wall tree or vine, viz. being wholly detached 

 the branches have liberty to form frnit spurs on bolh 

 sides which in the wall tree i;nii he affected only on 

 one side. Besides in wet seasons an exposed plant 

 may he benefited by shaking oft the redundant 

 moisture by the wind, and it is asserted by some 

 physiologists that the agitation of the leaves and 

 sterns by cnrrenis of air serves as exercise to plants 

 and that plants require exercise as well if not as 

 much as animals. 



If this theory he correct, bill tops instead of 

 sheltered valleys are proper sites for the vine, and 

 our country friends [lossess advantages for raisin" 

 grapes which can scarcely, if at all, be found in the 

 gardens of Boston. 



FARMERS' WORK FOR SEPTEMBER. 



It is well, about this time to be particularly at- 

 tentive to the cattle and sheep, which you intend 

 to fatten for market or for domestic consurnptioii. 

 When an animal is nearly fattened he becomes 

 somewliat nice and notional about his fnod ; and 

 although he will not require so much in quantity 

 as when he was lean, what he does con<lPscend to 

 feed u|)on must be of the best quality. Grass will 

 soon decline, and it will he advisable with reganl 

 to your fatting cattle and milch stock lo make a 

 liberal use every moriung ai.d evening of cabbage 

 leaves, slri|ipings of mangel wnrtzel, or lucerne, 

 cut and supplied by hand by way of soiling. Or if 

 you are not provided with these articles, or some- 

 thing which will answer as their substitute you 

 .may feed them with pumpkins, green corn, boiled 

 or steamed potatoes, with a little Indian meal 

 stirred into their pottage, seasoned with a little 

 salt. 



It is not udvisiible, wlieu it can w.-ll he avoided 

 to turn fatting cattle ijito mowing Inud, to eat the 

 rouen ; for if rouen is turnetl into in September 

 you cut off one of the best resiurces i<n <lieep and 

 lambs in the spring. It is believed that a second 

 crop of grass in most cases, when it is sufBcienth 

 luxuriant to afford as uuirh as half a ton lo sn acre 

 had better be cut for feeding sheep, &c, in the 

 prings than fed off by fatting cattle. 



LUCERNE FOR SIILCH COWS. 



Mr Arthur Young says, 'The d.iiry of co«s 

 must have plenty of grass throughout the mont.. 

 of September or their milk will be very apt to fail. 

 Lucerne, mown green, and given ih'-m in a yard 

 is the most profitable way of feediiig : the product 

 is so regular, that it is an easy nnitter to propor- 

 tion the dairy to the plantation, and never be 

 under a want of food ; for lucerne mown every day 

 regularly, will carry them into October ; and al- 

 thoujli some persons have asserted that cows will 

 not give so much nulk thus managed, as when 

 they range at large, and feed how and where they 

 will, it is not a matter of inquiry ; because ifthev 

 give less, the quantity will pay more clear profit, 

 than tnore produce would in the other case ; there 

 may be some inferiority ; but the cows are kept on 

 so small a quantity of land, that there remains no 

 comparison between the methods for profit. 



' Hut however doubtful this mutter might once 

 have been, it is so no longer ; and the experiment 

 of the cows kept at the ir<ial of Lewes by Mr Wil- 

 liarn Cramp, has decided the matter lieyond all 

 question ; a produce of from 501. to 701. per cow, 

 shotdd forever put to sili'n<'e the silly objecliojis 

 which have been ma<le to this practice.' 



It may be observed that those observations of 

 Mr Yiimis are better adapted to the hiisbaiulry rf 

 Great Britain than that of this country, where 

 (lasture is, in gener.-il, more plenty aiul labor miu-e 

 scarce. But the cultivathm of lucerne for soiling 

 in the viciruty of large l^iwus, may be advisable fur 

 those who furnish milk to their inhabitants, and 

 may enable some to keep cows, who, without the 

 aid of that excellent grass, would be obliged to dis- 

 pense with the services of that most useful of dc- 

 tnestic animals. 



SINGULAR FACT WITH REGARD TO FIGS 



Mr FtssE.N'DE.N. — The following unquestionabh 

 fact may be inieresiing to those, who arc fond of 

 physioloirical inquiries, though it will be of little 

 practical use in New England, where the fn; is 

 very rarely grown. Having read in the American 

 Farmer, a letter from a geiuletuan in Flnri<la, 

 stating, that the ripening of figs coidd be surpris- 

 ingly hastened, by the application of sweet oil to 

 the flat, or as it is called, the drop end of the 

 fruit, I resolved to try it on a tree, in my hot 

 house, then covered with imripe figs. The fig like 

 the fruit of the vine, and peach, attain a certain 

 size, and then remain stationary for several weeks, 

 luitil it begins to color, when its volume, in three 

 or four days, is greatly Increased, often doubled, 

 and even trebled. 



My figs were dark green, showing no tendency 

 to ripen. I took about a third of a tea s|ioonfnl of 

 sweet oil, and dipping my finger in it, I rubbed it 

 very slightly over every alternate fig, leaving the 

 others utitouched, as a test of the effects. At the 

 end of 3 days, the color of most of those touched 

 wuh oil began to change, and the size to iticrease, 

 and now on the fifth day they have nearly the 



color of mature figs, and are tuice ami three times 

 as large, as those not touched with oil, which still 

 remain of a dark green color. 



It has loiig been tamihar to Horticnltuiisis, that 

 winindiiig the fruit of the fig, by a shiir)> instru- 

 ment, accelerates its ripening, as other fruits are 

 prematurely ripened by the ilepredaiion of iu.sccts;: 

 but the philosophy ol it has never been .atisfac- 

 nu-lly explained. The fact now proved is :is diffi- 

 cult of explanation. No iloubt rush men will ho 

 fcMind, who will pretend, \hM \hf. modus operandi 

 is quite clear to their favored uriiuls, but for my- 

 sidf, I am contented with clearly settling the fact 

 ajid admiring the inscrutable operaiions of nature. 

 It is possible, that this curious lact may lead to 

 some other practical uses as to other fruits. 



Roihuri,, Sept. 2, 1S31. John Lowell. 



SWEET POTATOES. 



Mr Rdsseli — I send you with this afew Sweet 

 Potatoes, raised from slips purchased at your seed 

 store last spring. I am well satisfied from three 

 years' successfid experience, that they can ba 

 raised with as much ease aiul certainty as the 

 comfiioti potato. I used no manure in their cul- 

 ture, but sand. They are not a sample of what 

 I expect my crop will be a month hence— I have 

 used them in my family, nearly every day, since 

 the seventeenth of August, and consider them the 

 best vegetable I can raise in my garden. 



Your new Horticultural Pole Bean has prove,' 

 far siqjerior to any shell bean, I have ever seen 

 or cultivated, both for quality and yield. The 

 yield from them is imnnurse. I have given some 

 to my neighbors to try their quality, all of whom 

 fully concur with uie that they are superior to any 

 Bean heretofore cultivated. 



Yours, &c. A. HouGuro.N, Jr. 



Li/nn, Sept. 3, 1831. 



CJ" Mr Houghton has our thanks for his pre- 

 sent—the potatoes have proved, on trial, certainly 

 inferior to none brought from the South. 



BUDDING. 



Mr Fessende.n — In the New England Fanner 

 of the 31st ult. 1 observed the praiseworthy invita- 

 tion of the Messrs Winships, to the members of 

 the Mass. Ilorticidtnral Society, to call on them 

 and receive buds of valuable fruits. 



They observe that ' The Scions sent from Henry 

 Corse, Esq. of Montreal, are all living with on« 

 exception (the 'Admirable ;') here is probably a 

 mis-print; 'Admiral' is the name given by Mr 

 Corse. 



I have the satisfaction to state that I received 

 one scion of the 'Admiral,' sent by Mr Corse, 

 which has made a fine growth and which is at the 

 service of the members of the Ma.ss. Htu-t. Society, 

 the Messrs Winships in particular. 



I would also observe that members of the So- 

 ciety wishing to procure Peach buds from 'Cir- 

 cumcised' branches, may find a pretty good assorl- 

 inent in my garden. 



Yours, &c. O. Pettee. 



J\l'emton Upper Falls, \ 



Sept. 5th, 1831. ] 



Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn and Thomas Nuttall.Eeq. 

 of Massachusetts, have been elected honorary meoj- 

 bers of the South Carolina Horticultural Society. 



To Correspondents.— Several cominuDicatioDB are 

 deferred till next week. 



