JNEW ENGLAND FARMEll. 



VOL. II f 



PUBLISHKD BV JOHN B. RUSSKLL, ROGF.RP' nUll-DINGS, COXGRKSS STRKKT, BOSTON.— THOMAS G. FFSSKNDEN, EDITOR? 



FRIDAY, FEBRUARyI^ 1825. 



No. 28. 



(©rCginal CommimucitfonB. 



TO THE EDITon 01' THE NElV E.VGI.AND FARMER. 

 Woueslrr Count;/, Jan. 27, 1825. 



THE VINE IN NEW ENGLAND. 



Mr Frsskndfa-, — Mucli is due to ihe dislin- 

 "uisheil agricolttirist, wlio has readily <jiven (he 

 sanclion of his oivn honorable natne, to prevent 

 rash cxperimeiils in the culture ni the vine. 



We all have much !o learn upon this subject. 

 Satisfactorj' inlormation is songrht tor. and can be 

 obtained only by actual experiment, not olivild 

 grapes, but of those cultivated. 



Ifsutncient information cannot be now gath- 

 ered, to convince our most intelligent farmers 

 of the propriety of paying attention to the cul- 

 ture of the grape, 1 will cheerfully relinquish 

 my hopes to a vineyard. 



" Worcester County'' relies upon the native 

 grape, and not upon those of foreign origin. — 

 The comment of your honourable correspond- 

 ent upon the communication from Worcester 

 County is directed, mainly, against the cultiva- 

 tion of European or Southern vines. With these 

 I have nothing at [iiesent to do; but tvh.itever 

 touches the character of our native vines, I 

 shall observe with interest. 



Of the cultivation of the native grape, he 

 says, " There is not, I apprehend, enough oi 

 sugar or saccharine matter in grapes raised in 

 Massachusetts to make a strong bodied wine. — 

 Bui our experimental and enterprising friti^s 

 infer that because we have grapes groiviug in 

 our own woods, we can successfully raise vine- 

 yards, and make our own, wines. Lei them be- 

 gin by an experiment upon our own black and 

 white grapes, with their tough s!;iDs, their acid 

 and dry pulp, tiieir peculiarly unpleasant flavor 

 when the skin is hard pressed ; and if they can 

 succeed in producing one or two gallons of \vine 

 that will please the taste of connoisseurs, or 

 even acquire a preference to well manufactured 

 cider, let them then cautiously proceed with 

 experiments." 



To these remarks, I reply, that our native 

 grapes have not " enough of sugar or of saccha- 

 rine matter to make a strong bodied noine,'" I 

 can neither assert nor deny ; but make wine 

 they will, as sure as apples make cider. What 

 is wine but the fermented juice of the grape ? 

 our grapes have a juice that will ferment, that 

 will make one or two gallons for experiment, 

 and thousands of gallons for use. I know it will 

 not " please the taste of connoisseurs.'''' Once 

 these same gentlemen would have revolted at 

 the idea of wearing a domestic manufactured 

 coal. 1 hope the time will come when they 

 shall have opportunity to first turn away from' 

 a glass of New England wine ; and afterward, 

 as cultivation improves the grape, and nge mel- 

 lows the wine, that they will seek it at a price 

 which will richly reward the vine-dresser. 



" There is not, I apprehend, enough of sugar 

 or saccharine matter to make a strong b*odied 

 ■jvine." This is not an assertion, but only the 

 expression of a doubt. Perhajis there is enough 

 ^f sugar in our native grapes to make a strong 



bodied wine; if not, we must adil it, or let the 

 grape juice ferment less time. To our strongest 

 bodied wines. Port, Madeira, and Sherry, the 

 manufacturer alwnijs adds brandy, when they 

 are racked off at difTorent time*. We must ex- 

 pect to add brandy to our own wines. 



" But our ex[ifrimental and enterprising friends 

 infer, that because we have grapes growing in 

 our own woods, we can successfully raise vine- 

 yards and make our own wines." As far as the 

 evidence goes, this is a just inference. Nothing 

 but actual experiment can withstand it. Indian 

 corn is a native of this country; what would 

 lliat be without cultivation ? If one were re- 

 commending to us for the first time to till Indian 

 corn, he would not select the southern corn for 

 an experiment ; nor think it a bad inference, 

 that the wihl productions of nature would be- 

 come changed for the better by tillage. Expe- 

 rience has already tested the improvement of 

 our native grapes by cultivation. 



"Let tbetn begin by an experiment upon our 

 own black and while grapes, with their toiip-b 

 skiris. their acid and dry pulps, their peculiarly 

 unpleasant flavour, when the skin is hard pres- 

 sed." The skin of all grapes in all countries 

 is nofhard prassed to procure good wine. The 

 gra])e is mashed in a tub or vat, and the juice 

 that runs off tvilhnut any, or with a very slight 

 pressure, is invariably reckoned the best, and is 

 often kept separate from that which runs ofl' by 

 hard (/ressure. The native grape improves in 

 fruilfulness, size, and flavour by cultivation. — 

 Some species (for we have many amonglis) can 

 hardly, in any comparison, be said to have an 

 acid and dry pulp. But to have an acid pulp is 

 not necessarily an objection to a grape formak- 

 ing wine, any more tha;i it is an objection to an 

 apple for making cider, that it be sour. Some 

 of the best bodied wines are made from grapes 

 com|iaratively, if not decidedly, unpalatable. 



The thousasds who eat annually of our na- 

 tive grapes will bear witnes.s that som'i species 

 have a pulp the opposite of '• dry." 

 "If they can succeed in producing one or two 

 gallons of wine, which will even acquire a pre- 

 ference to well manufactured cider, let them 

 then cautiously proceed with experiments." — 

 The common garden currant, as sour as it is 

 red, and inferiour to the common grape in 

 fruitfulness,in flavour, ir. ease of cultivation, and 

 of manufacture into wine, produces a wine that 

 has already acquired a " preference to well 

 manufactured cider." It is advertised in the 

 columns of the Far.mer at 87 1-" cents per gal- 

 lon, and the white wine of the currant at jjl.50 

 per gall. " The eitensivesale," say the propie- 

 lors, " of this valuable article of domestic in- 

 dustry is its best recommendation." Now the 

 worst thing that 1 have supposed attendant on a 

 disappointment in the wine making character 

 of our native grape, is, that it would make a 

 wine like currants, but of a better flavour, and 

 of a less doubtful character. In Rhode Island 

 they have largely commenced the cultivation 

 of the currant, and are reaping a rich reward. 

 I think our vineyards could not be reduced so 

 low, as not to produce a liquor equal to currant 

 wine. 



I Had wo not better wait and try a few gallons 

 1 of such wine as our grapes in their wild state 

 j will make ? With great deference to age and 

 I experience, 1 would doubt whether all had bet- 

 ter wait. Let some enterprising men go for- 

 ward, and try to raise diflcrent species of the 

 native grape, on the best site, in a suitable soil, 

 and in the close pruning manner of a vineyard. 

 If one S[iecies of grape succeeds better than an- 

 other, attend to it — and from Ijiis let decisive 

 experiments be made. It will be time then, and 

 not until then, to make the cultivation of the 

 grape general, or to abandon it altogether. 



Experiments upon our grape in its wild state 

 might not bo perfectly s;ilisfactory. With the 

 cultivated grape many failures must take place 

 in properly fermenting the wine. Experience 

 will teach, and many trials, it is hoped, will find 

 a method of producing a wine at least supeiiour 

 to that made from cider or from currants. 



If the views presented in this communication 

 are correct, its aim will not be condemned as 

 made without judgment, — to support Ihe charac- 

 ter of our native vine, and to recommend it for 

 cultivation. Four or six years are required for 

 a vineyard to arrive at a good bearing age. I 

 should suppose that the best ten gallon cask of 

 wine, made from the native grape, and present- 

 ed in 1829 or 30 to the .Agricultural Societjr of* 

 .Massachusetts, with a statement of the manner 

 of producing it, would be a fair subject for a 

 liberal premium. 



TO TKE EDITOll OF THE KEW ENGLAND TARMES. 

 *. 



South Bridgewater, January 1825. 

 Rlr Fessenden, — By giving the following an 

 insertion in your valuable paper, you will oblige 

 a constant reader. 



FORCE OF PREJUDICE. 

 It is very difficult, if not impossible, to account 

 for the deep-rooted [irejudices of some people. 

 I allude particularly to the opinions so frequently 

 expressed with regard to the very useful and 

 valuable discoveries which have of late been 

 made in agriculture, &.c. For instance, after 

 reading the statements in regard to the N. York 

 premium farm, what reasonable man can suppose 

 that any thing more than a single horse is neces- 

 sary to break up green sward ? — or that more 

 than five loads of manure arc requisite to pro- 

 duce four tons of hay — or 112 bushels of corn 

 to the acre ? or that it is proper to plough, in 

 any case, more than three inches in depth. Still 

 further, who can suppose that linseed oil is not 

 the most suitable article for fattening cattle ? or 

 that the most proper way to milk cows is to in- 

 sert straws in their teats — the best way to kill 

 caterpillars is to put brimstone in the bodies of 

 the trees ? — the snresf method to produce good 

 flat onions, to tear them from the earth, as soon 

 as they begin to grow, and throw them into a 

 dry chamber, or leave them on the ground ex- 

 posed to the sun ? Now, Mr Editor, I reside in 

 a pretty populous village, in which are a num- 

 ber of substantial, well informed farmers, not 

 one of which, strange as it may seem, can be 

 made to believe a single fact or statement to 



