256 



Extension of CoIman''s Tour. — Isabella Grape Vine. Vol. XI. 



years. If at that time his production should 

 not be valuable, it will not have been with- 

 out profit to him, for his example will have 

 urged others to a like course, and from the 

 many efforts, he will no doubt derive great be- 

 nefit, as some one or other will have succeed- 

 ed in procuring a superior kind of potatoe. 



2nd. The land intended for potatoes next 

 j'ear, to be broken up this winter and sub- 

 soiled. The poorest land to be selected, and 

 given, say not more than twenty loads of 

 manure per acre, spread over and ploughed 

 in this winter. If the land be of good qual- 

 ity, no manure at all. Next spring when 

 you plant potatoes, be sure to put no manure, 

 except this mixture, sowed over the potatoe 

 sets, so as to make the bottom of the trench 

 look white. Mixture — one bushel of lime, 

 one of salt, one of unleached asches, half a 

 bushel of saltpetre, half a bushel of soot, or 

 charcoal. Let them have no other manure, 

 except when they come up above ground, 

 give them a good dressing of plaster, sowed 

 just over the top of the drill. The potatoes 

 used should be sound, and small ones select- 

 ed, as they are commonly most freed from 

 disease. 



I do not contend that by this course more 

 potatoes can be raised, but I believe that by 

 such a course, the rot will be cured, and 

 many new and superior kinds of this excel- 

 lent vegetable be the result. 



These suggestions and deductions of my 

 own, drawn from facts coming under my 

 own observation, I offer with great diffidence, 

 as they are at variance with the most learned 

 of the writers upon this important subject. 

 I should never have advanced them, perhaps 

 in public, had I not been called upon by your 

 letter, for my views in relation to the mat- 

 ter. I now give them to you for what they 

 are worth — and have the pleasure to be 

 Your friend, 



Walter W. W. Bowie. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Extension of Colman's Tour. 



I AM a subscriber to Colman's Agricultu- 

 ral Report, and have been much interested 

 in the Numbers as they have appeared. I 

 know of few books of travels through Great 

 Britain, which contain so much interesting 

 and valuable information; and as the work 

 draws towards a conclusion, I feel great re- 

 gret, that while much remains untold about 

 the agriculture of our Father-land — all the 

 interesting and important details concerning 

 the Continent of Europe, will have to be 

 crowded into two Numbers. If the subscri- 

 bers to the Tour, think with myself on the 

 subject, there would be a general expression 

 of regret on this account, and an effort made 



to induce the author to extend his Report to! 

 three volumes. The present might then be 

 occupied with the conclusion of the Report 

 on England, and the third volume devoted to 

 the Agriculture of the Continent. The price i 

 of the additional volumes, I am sure, would I 

 be cheerfully paid by a majority of the sub- ' 

 scribers, who would thus receive, instead of 

 a compendium of information, so brief as to 

 be of little practical value, a full and detailed 

 report, perhaps more interesting, because 

 more new to us, of all that is most worth 

 knowing, respecting some of the richest and 

 best cuftivated countries on the globe. 



D. B. S. 



We freely endorse the suggestion made above, and 

 would be much gratified, if it could be so responded to 

 by the subscribers to the Tour, as to determine our 

 To^irist to give more time on the Continent, and more 

 detailed information in relation to its Agriculture, 

 than we fear he can give in the two remaining Num- 

 bers. We know comparatively but little of that agri- 

 cnlture, yet we are aware that there is much which it 

 is important we should know;— and who can more 

 thoroughly or more pleasantly inform us, than our 

 good friend Colraan ?— Ed. 



Planting the Isabella Grape Vine. 



The most favorable season for planting the 

 Isabella grape-vine in the United States, is 

 when the red-flowered maple is in bloom, 

 which usually occurs in Georgia, from the 

 20th to the last of February, and five or 

 six weeks later near Philadelphia and New 

 York. In selecting the cuttings for a vine- 

 yard, they should be of one variety, and taken 

 from the most fruitful part of the vine. Let 

 us not content ourselves with single clusters, 

 but those which are the most prolific. The 

 greatest proportion of fruit grows from the 

 buds on the last year's shoots next to the old 

 wood, with the exception of the nearest eye, 

 the top buds being unfruitful and seldom 

 bearing at all. Some prefer to plant cuttings 

 containing a considerable portion of the old 

 wood ; but, as it is not always prudent nor 

 economical to mutilate a favorite vine too 

 much, it is best to select fruitful cuttings of 

 the last year's growth, with the wood well 

 ripened. They should be of a moderate size, 

 short-jointed, and containing from six to 

 eight eyes or buds in each. They should be 

 cut off transversely from the vine, with a 

 sharp knife, close to the old wood, and not 

 less than two inches of blank wood should be 

 left for the protection of the terminal buds. 

 The ends of the cuttings that are to remain 

 above ground should be cut in an oblique 

 direction, and the sloping side should be op- 

 posite the side containing the uppermost bud. 

 If possible, they should be planted in calm 

 weather, immediately after separation from 



