Editors' Letter Box. 



101 



addition of bone-dust besides, as a 

 fertilizer, is certainly- too much of a 

 good thing. We would not like to 

 jilant vines thus unnaturally stimu- 

 lated. If they are removed to soil of 

 common fertilit}', they will be like a 

 highly fed and pampered colt, which 

 is suddenly left to shift for itself, with 

 what it can pick up. It will be a de- 

 cided change for the worse. — Kd.] 



Pboria, Feb. -Zith, 1870. 



Mr. Geo. Husmann, Bluffton^ Mo.: 



My Dear Sir : Encouraged by yoxLV 

 valuable answers in the Grape Cul- 

 TURisT, I allow myself a few ques- 

 tions. 



You recommend for Norton's Vir- 

 ginia, Taylor, Clinton, etc., to bear 

 on old arms ; now, do you pinch the 

 bearing shoots of the old arm, above 

 the second bunch of grapes, just the 

 same as bearing shoots on arms which 

 are renewed every 3'ear, and will 

 those shoots then, at their base, have 

 good strong eyes, for next year to 

 bear; or do you let only every other 

 shoot bear, and those which do not 

 bear, allow to grow higher, and there- 

 by produce better e3'es, for another 

 season to bear from. 



You say the quality of Norton's 

 Virginia wine depends to a great ex- 

 tent on the condition and texture of 

 the soil. I have a few Norton's Vir- 

 ginia vines now six years old, 6x3 

 apart, growth very vigorous, the 

 fourth year bore from 10 to 20 lbs. 

 per vine ; the fifth, or last season, I 

 taxed them too heavy with raising 

 layers, and so only got half as much. 

 Now, I would like to plant about one 

 acre of these, but Avould like very 



much to know whether my soil and 

 situation is any way fit to raise good 

 Norton's Virginia wine. I will try 

 to give you a description of my soil : 

 Bluff land, three to four miles distant 

 from the Illinois Eiver, about 200 feet 

 elevated ; natural growth, oaks, hick- 

 ory, sassafras, wild vines, blackber- 

 ries, etc.; sloping to the south; top 

 soil blackish, one to six inches, then 

 grayish yellow to red ; at the foot of 

 the hills, sandstone, flagstone, lime- 

 stone, etc. I send you a small sam- 

 ple of that taken two feet deep. 

 How do you call it, loam, clay, muck, 

 or what ? and do you think Noi'ton's 

 Virginia could profitably be planted in 

 such soil ? 



I have so far trenched all my soil 

 full two feet deep not quite inverting 

 it, but laying it mostly side-ways, 

 filling in below with about six inches 

 of straw. I tried this soil three feet 

 below the surface one winter, exposed 

 to the atmosphere, and planted corn 

 in it, which was extra good ; also one 

 acre, dug two feet deep in fall of '63, 

 planted Delaware vines in it last 

 spring, and Peach Blow potatoes be- 

 tween the rows, a good many of 

 these weighed two lbs. each, and 

 yielded at the rate of 250 bus. per 

 acre. I will second you in shallow 

 planting, but I think deep digging of 

 the soil preferable over all and ever}' 

 plowing. I have this Avinter, besides 

 burying my vines, covered the whole of 

 my vineyard with two to four inches 

 deep of straw. Do you think this 

 good? Please tell us some time this 

 year how to prepare and handle must 

 to weigh it, has it to be filtered, ought 

 it to have a certain degree of warmth, 

 and how is that to be found ? How 



