J\EW ENCJirANB FAH.SliiK. 



PUBLISHED BYJ.B. RUSSELL, AT N"-^^RTH MAIt K^STREETMv.^TH^aK.^ 



N^O. 24. 



VOL. X 



BOSTOiV, W EDNE SDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 28, 1831. 



?(£>aisiiiig£rj^'iiaa(&£ra9 



Eltrnct cfa IfUnr from i 



suhsi 



of Uio ,\'iiW Ensl.iiid Fnrm.T. 



CUl.TUliE OF THE GKAPB. 

 ' 1 have frivoii more of my poraoiml aiti'iition to 

 tlie ciilliv.iiioii (if the vine, llian to any other ob- 

 ject corinH(ii'..l witli husbandry. This Is now re- 

 ceivini; oonf.iilerable aticniioii through this ami 

 other |>arts of the southern slates. Much has 

 been written on this subject, but every year's ex- 

 perieiiiT r^ocs to show that none of it is applicable 

 to our locality ; on the results of e.xperinieut wt 

 have toiinpeuO for the best method of culiivatii>n 

 and to ascertain wli it vines are the best varieties 

 for our purpose ; they are altogether in fivor of our 

 native Aimrican grapes. 1 am much inclined to 

 believe that nearly every foreign kind will in a few 

 years be abandoned, unless cultivated for variety 

 or cmiosily. The natives are iniich the most 

 thrifcy, produce the largest quantity of fruit and are 

 least liaMe to rot ; the kiruls most easily cultivated, 

 and preferreil, are the Catrtwba and Bland's Madeu 

 ra. The IsnhtUa, though wiih ns liable to some oh. 

 jectioMS, produces very abundantly in favorable sea- 

 sons; the irarreii^oii grape succeeds belter than any 

 other foreign variety. All these kimls produce a 

 very considerable crop the third season after 

 planting. In a vineyanl of that age, last season, / 

 saw tkrtedislinrt crops on nerirli/ every vine which 

 appeared to be entirely the result of a proper sys- 

 tem of pruninir, which was as follows : At the 



winter pruning the vines were cut quite low, sen- 

 erally 12 or 15 inches from the ground. After a 

 proper uund)er of shoots had put forth andth» 

 fruit had atiaiued the size of a bird-shot, the vine 

 was cut off beyond the third eye from the fruit ; 

 from one of these eyes another shoot was allowed 

 to spring, which soon produced fruit; the branch 

 was then cut as at first ; a third put out and also 

 produced fi uit. E^lcb of these successive crops was 

 generally as large, or neaily so, as the first, niid 

 the fruit matured before frost. I doubt whether 

 ns many grapes could be produced only in a moist 

 season, which was the case this year ; but at such 

 times, it exceeds all calculation. Our Georgia 

 wine appears only to wantage to be equal to very 

 good and perhaps the best foreign kinds. It sells 

 by the gallon readily at $2,50 to $3,00. You may 

 anticipate that in a few years, many of the hills gf 

 the up-country of Georgia will be clad with the 

 vine. There was never a finer country for them 

 era richer mine of wealth so long neglected. 



I see that nearly all the catalogues of nurseries 

 contain an immense number of foreign varieties of 

 the vine. Would it not be much better if it were 

 ascertained wliat kinds could be best suited to 

 this country, and recommended to such as wish to 

 cultivaie them ? They are now recommended to 

 the ptdilic by high sounding names, and by their 

 productions in tlicir own country ; while they are 

 totally unsuited to this. !Hany persons when they 

 commence cuhivating the vine, know very litlfej 

 of the subject and often judge of kinds from these, 

 recommendations, and their success not answering 

 tbeir calculations, they became discouraged and 

 abandon the business. This is a fact which l 

 think ought to be impressed on the comnumity. 

 and that the kinds of vine that are ascertaicied tc 



succeed well ought to I)h pointed out under siiili 

 .Miihority as would recommend it to the coufi 

 dence of every one. Yours respectfully, 



Macon, Ga. Dec. 10,1831. S. Vose. 



BAlU5t:RRY BUSHES. 

 Mr Fes.«e.\i,e.\ — 1 see in your hist Farmer the 

 lark of one of your intelligent corres|iondents 

 liiat the neighborhood of the VVihl Clierry Tree 

 IS as pernicious to wh'cat as that of the Barberry 

 bush. I know it is ofien stated that the vicinity 

 of IJ.uberiy bushes is hurtful to wheat and rye ; 

 ■lud it hr.s been so often and conlidenlly repeated 

 ihat ! am disposed to believe there must be a foun- 

 da'Liim for a prejudice, which is so universal and 

 of such long standing. It is seldom that such 

 xioius obtain general currency and authority 

 without some reasmi. Still 1 ludd the subject as 

 I would every other not susceptible of mathemati- 

 cal demonstration, as open to inquiry ; and 1 ask 

 therefore what is the proof in this case .= For the 

 two last years I have raised s[)ring Wheat in the 

 very near vicinity of Barberry bushes without any 

 perceptible injury. The year before the last the 

 crop was very good, being at the rate of twenty- 

 five bushels the acre; the present year tnuch lighter, 

 but this was the case with Kuglisli grain among us 

 universally. In neither case was there any "ap- 

 pearance of blast. 



Respectfully yours, 



Dec. 15, 1831. H. C. 



Kemarks by the Editor.— The Mass. J)gr. Reposi- 



toy, vol. V. p. 176, contains the following remarks. 



On the injurious effects of the Barberry bush on 



wheat and other English grain. 



' This opinion, often ileemed a prejudice, and 

 by others considered as an unquestionable fact, has 

 lately received the most full and scientific investi- 

 gation in France. The result of these iuquiries, 

 comprised in no less than eightylbur pages of 

 ?essier's Annals of Agriculture, seems to settle 

 tlie question as to the injurious effects of this 

 [lant, and thatit is pretty uniformly, in l''ranee,Eijg- 

 luid, Switzerland and Germany considifed, and 

 ve may say almost proved, to be one of the causes 

 o' blight. We ourselves were perfectly incredu- 

 lous to this subject, but we are compelled to yield 

 to the weight of proofs. 



'It is no longer attributed to the influence or 

 operation of the farina of the flower of the bar- 

 berry which is over and disseminated several 

 weeks before the several species of grain are in 

 blossom, but it seems to be attributed to a para- 

 sitic plant very abundant on the barberry, and 

 which is considered to be the same which causes 

 the rust upon the stalk of wheat. It would be 

 jeyond the scope of this journal to give all the 

 L'vidence on this subject, but we can refer our 

 readers to the work above mentioned,' &c. 



M. h too nmma ba,l eaten, The price paid l,y the 

 butcher , snot k-oivu ; !,„, I did not douhf (he 

 unfavorable result with the fartuer, wh,'n w ,« 

 ...fonned that -lie anhnai had con.s'umed w, h n 

 the last tlurtecn months before he was slauglue "d 

 lone hundred and fortyfour bushels of 1 a„ 

 I meal ; and this exclusive of other feed 

 I It is greatly to be desired that our agricultural 

 soc,et,es would liberally encourage expe'r ime t.o 



I ''""""";^ "'« ^- '-^'•■liff^rentkiudiof agnc.?- 



, tural pro uce applied ,o the feeding and fattening 

 of annuals, either neat cattle, sheep, or swine • 

 ,and to the keeping of hor.ses 'an.I the rear"of 

 poultry ; and likewise the best form of applying 

 this luo-lucc, whether in a crmle or prepared state ■ 

 whether long or cut, greet, or dried, groutul oi^ 

 whole, boiled or steamed, si.nple or mixed. Their 

 preuuums certaiijy could not be better bestowed 

 They should b. sufficiently liberal to compensate 

 the great care aft.l trouble with which experiments 

 when properly conducted, must be attende.l ; and 

 they should be bestowed upon those experiments, 

 which are made with the greatest iuielligence 

 and exactness, whether successful or not, in dis- 

 covering a profitable mode of em|iloyiug our pro- 

 duce 111 this way. In regnrA to matters of com- 

 mon use but of doubtful expediency or advantage, 

 It IS as important to determine by exact experiment 

 what cannot as what can profitably be done. Ft 

 IS a great desideratum in agriculiure to discover a 

 mode of applying our produce at home on th« 

 farm without loss, so that we may not only pre- 

 serve but extend the means of increasin.' its fer 

 tiiity. . 



Mr BuoI,*itseeins from his recent statement, 

 has.tscertained by experiment that he can boil his 

 potatoes for his swine with less expense and 

 t.oub e than he can s.eani them and tells us how 

 It IS done. This is valuable information. He has 

 carefully trie,! both modes. I should be gla.l to 

 kMo^y ol bun if he gives to his swine the water 

 in which his potatoes liav„ been boiled ; and if he 

 does, whether he has foun.l -.vny disadvantaffe from 

 It. Many persons believe it ,„ be poisonous. 

 Ciirwen, if I remember correctly, f.,r I liave not 

 his book at hand, trieil its effect upon some of his 

 horses but wiilioiit any |)eiceplible injury.* Pota- 

 to fed pork is represented by English writers ffs 

 loose, insipid, weighing light and wasting tnuch in 

 cookery. The inferiority to grain or meal fed 

 pork is stated by an eminent dealer in provisious 

 as equal to three ounces per iioiind. 



Are these mere prejudices, or facts which may 

 be relied on .' 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FAHMEB. 



I FEEDING STOCK. 



The Petersham ox, the beef of which has been 

 recently on sale in the Boston market, was a no- 

 ble animal, weighingafter he was dressed 'i;0191hs. 

 The meat to appearance was of the finest descrip- 

 tion ; but I learned with regret from the butcher 

 that the farmer would not get pay for the feed 



It is possible the following froin the ' Farmer's Jour- 

 nal,' an Ensli-li Agricultural publication nidv, in some 

 measure, accouni for the diflfercnce in opinion among cui- 

 tivalois relative lo poisonous qualities in the potato. A for- 

 mer bought about tliiriy pigs and iuiinediately pulthcni all 

 up to make poll!. Their food was boiled potatoes. In a 

 short time .a ilislcinper appeared aniong them, and about 

 twenty died. The poiaioes given to the pigs belonged 

 to a crop of ten acres on liglit land ; and in liai vesting 

 them, a great many, » hich had been long exposed to the 

 sun hiid wcatlicr, were of course, thrown a-i<le for 

 pig food. Politoesso exposed acquire a poisonous quali- 

 ty, the upper side turning green, and having all the ap- 

 pearance an I laste of giecn copperas. The potatoes ia 

 the retail shops in London are much injured by laying 

 long in the light air ; so Ihat where the sale is slow tbejr 

 are at least unpalatable and unwholesome. 



