NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



319 



one to ten bushels ; and even I have heard of some 

 who have sown from fifteen to twent}'-five bushels. 

 Seed has now become very scarce, and many will not 

 be able to obtain it, unless they make use of wheat 

 obtained from the west for grinding, which will not 

 be likely to succeed so Avell as the Kloss or Blue- 

 stem variety, which is mostly raised, and believed to 

 be the best adapted to the climate of Maine. Should 

 the next season prove as faA'orable as the last for 

 winter wheat, a largo amount will be raised, furnish- 

 ing seed in abundance, and much to manufacture 

 into flour, superior to that generallv obtained from 

 abroad. A MAINE FAllMER. 



A MACHINE WANTED. 



Among the innumerable inventions which have 

 rendered the present age celebrated, we have not 

 found or heard of one that is just what we need for 

 hulling barley. There have been several invented, 

 which promised, for a time, to work well ; but either 

 they were not durable, or did not work in all respects 

 so perfectly as was wished, or they were too expen- 

 sive. Now, hulled barley is an article that would 

 come into extensive use and demand, could it be 

 provided cheaply. We do not by this mean what is 

 sold at the apothecaries' shops under the name of 

 "pearl barley," but the barley deprived merely of its 

 hull. It is then a wholesome, nutritious article for 

 scups and puddings, and it would supply the place 

 of rice very extensively, provided it could be pre- 

 pared at a cheap rate. Several years ago, the Ken- 

 nebec County Agricultural Society offered a pretty 

 generous premium for a machine that would hull 

 barley or oats in an expeditious and perfect manner. 



Two or three machines were brought forward, but 

 none of them exactly came up to what was desired. 

 Tlie best one that was offered was the invention of a 

 couple of young men east of this, whose names we 

 do not recollect. It was made, if wo mistake not, in 

 this manner : A wheel, say a foot and a half in 

 diameter, and three inches thick, was filled with 

 board nails, (cut nails,) with their points projecting 

 outwards. This was hung on an axis, with a case or 

 shell, wliich shell was also full of similar nails, with 

 their points projecting inwards. The wheel was 

 made to revolve with great speed, and the barley, 

 which was fed in by means of a hopper, was thus 

 subjected to a terrible scratching among the nails. 



This would hull admirably for a short time ; but 

 the nails soon grew dull, and needed to be replaced 

 very often, and hence it was not used long. We used 

 barley that was hulled in it, and found it to be ex- 

 cellent. 



Cannot some Yankee invent a machine for this 

 business that will be cheap, efficient, and durable ? 

 If so, let him speak. — Maitie Fanner. 



GRAPES. 



It seems now to be pretty well settled that large 

 portions of our country are eminently calculated for 

 the culture of the grape. Already, in the vicinity of 

 Cincinnati and St. Louis, large vineyards are estab- 

 lished, and large quantities of wine annually manu- 

 factured. The groat incjuiry of interest connected 

 with this enterprise is for native grapes of good qual- 

 ities. The foreign varieties fail in tliis country, and 

 growers have as yet but two varieties, the Isabella 

 and Catawba. 



Mr. Longworth, of Cincinnati, has repeatedly ad- 

 vertised for cuttings of native grapes. He has 

 received from various sources over three hundred 



specimens, which he has tried, and has found among 

 them all only four or five that ho thinks will pro 'C 

 to be good wine or table grapes. A little attention 

 to our wild grapes may discover some new varieties 

 that would prove to be valuable. We have spoken 

 of this subject as an introduction to our acknowledg- 

 ments to W. Choate, Esq., of Derry, for some very 

 large, nice, and early grapes. We should douot 

 whether the variety would ever be of the first value 

 as a table grape, but it seems to us to possess qualities 

 that would render it valuable as a wine grape. The 

 specimens sent us, however, were by no means bad 

 to take. We aj^pend the statement of Mr. C. with 

 regard to the grape and the effect a change to a 

 richer soil has had upon it. We would recommend 

 that Mr. Choate should manufacture some wine from 

 it, if he has not already, and test its quaUty. 



" The sample Avhich I send you is from a native 

 vine, which was transplanted from the woods to my 

 garden six years since. It has produced abundantly 

 with cultivation, and has become about thirty days 

 earlier than the original stock, and fifteen days earlier 

 than any other m this place, and very much larger. 

 Some have measured three inches in circumference. 

 Of the quality, you wUl judge." — Granite Farmer. 



CELLARS. 



Probably one of the chief causes why vegetables 

 of certain kinds, particularly carrots, beets, and 

 turnips, rot so soon after being deposited in the win- 

 ter bins, is the want of proper care in ventilating the 

 cellars in which they are deposited. The Germans, 

 who are famed for their exemplary domestic economy, 

 are rigidly circumspect in this particular. In all or 

 most of their houses there is a communication main- 

 tained between the cellar and the principal chimney, 

 in order to facilitate the escape of the noxious and 

 stagnant gases engendered by the vegetable and other 

 contents. It is a well-known fact that the air in 

 cellars, from its rapid deterioration and impregnation 

 by nauseous miasma, soon becomes highly deleterious 

 to health ; and to this fact, doubtless, is attributable, 

 in a great measure, the almost uninterrupted ill 

 health of many families among us, both in town and 

 country. — Berkshire CuUurist. 



New Hampshire Wine. — We had not supposed 

 that there was a drop of grape wine manufactured in 

 the state ; but were agreeably disappointed, the other 

 day, by receiving from Mr. Conant, of Milford, a half 

 dozen bottles of delicious wine, manufactured by 

 himself. It is a perfectly pure article, no alcohol hav- 

 ing been put into it, in any shape, during its manu- 

 facture. Many friends have tasted it with us, and all 

 uiute in pronouncing it A No. 1. — Grafiite Farmer. 



HINTS ABOUT MANURES. 



One of the most important things that should claim 

 the attention of the farmer, is the management of his 

 stables and yard ; and yet how much are these neg- 

 lected ! Did farmers but know their interest, they 

 would devote more time to these. Two very valua- 

 ble portions of manures, and whicli are great pro- 

 moters of the growth and fructUity of vegetation, are 

 uric acid, and the ammonia which is generated. 

 These, being volatile, speedily evaporate, unless pre- 

 ventive means arc adopted. Frequently have I 

 noticed large yards of manure exposed to the scorch- 

 ing sun and drenching rains. Little thought the 



