No. 10. 



Grape Vines — Starting them from Cuttings. 



317 



there, degenerate here from the nature of 

 the climate. They start well in the spring, 

 but stop growing in the heat of summer, and 

 limb out rough. Two varieties however, 

 grow here as well if not better than in Eng- 

 land. One of these is the Welsh, the other 

 known there as the Dutch, with a white 

 bark. These are important facts for those 

 who may hereafter undertake to cultivate 

 willow plants, derived from the experience 

 of thirty years in lat. 40 degrees 30 minutes 

 north. 



The American swamp or wild willow, 

 grows all over the United States, of which 

 there are several varieties. The Dutch em- 

 igrants who settle in the interior, cut and 

 use it in the manufacture of articles of 

 utility. Some is cut in the neighbourhood 

 of Albany, and sent in bundles to the New 

 York market. The native willow is best 

 for coarse, strong and tight work, but is not 

 adapted for splitting or twisting, qualities 

 which belong in an eminent degree, to the 

 cultivated Welsh willow. 



There is a variety of willow cultivated 

 along the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers 

 in Pennsylvania, which is reputed to be the 

 best in this country, for all kinds of work. 

 It is extensively cultivated by the Dutch, 

 who are said to have imported it into that 

 State in the time of William Penn, the ori- 

 ginal founder of the colony of Pennsylvania. 

 It is known there by the name of the Green 

 Willow. Mr. Reed also cultivates the Penn- 

 sylvania willow, which he introduced into 

 this State in 1810. Several besides himself, 

 raise this and other varieties of the willow 

 on Staten Island. The green willow grows 

 large, and when properly prepared and dried, 

 is converted into charcoal by Dupont to make 

 gunpowder. 



To those who are desirous of undertaking 

 the cultivation of the willow, Mr. Reed can 

 supply cuttings of the best varieties, as he 

 has heretofore complied with orders from 

 Boston, Kentucky, and the interior parts of 

 the State of New York. March and April 

 are the months to procure them. They 

 should be set out in rich land along streams 

 occasionally overflowed, or in swamps, which 

 if too wet, should be ditched and drained. 



The yearly crop of willow twigs is cut in 

 March. The cuttings are tied into bundles, 

 and the butt ends placed in the water of the 

 swauips where they grew. They are left 

 there a shorter or longer time, according to 

 the season, and until the swelling of the 

 buds indicates the flow of sap, which loosens 

 the bark, when they are removed and de- 

 nuded of the bark, which then comes off 

 very easily. 



Mr. William Leveridge, a miller on the 



Great Kills, in Southfield, also has a planta- 

 tion of Welsh and American willows. The 

 former grows long, slender and smooth, and 

 is well adapted for work which requires it 

 to be split or twisted. — Cultivator. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Grape Vines— Starting them from Cut- 

 tings. 



The following hints would have been more season- 

 able in our last number, but they were not received 

 till it had gone to press. We trust, however, they may 

 not be lost sight of, but referred to, in the operations 

 of a succeeding spring. 



Every one acknowledges the deliciousncss of the 

 grape— and the ease with which it may be cultivated 

 is pretty generally understood; yet how few compara- 

 tively, avail themselves of the facilities in their power 

 to propagate and enjoy this luxury. — Ed. 



This is the time to plant cuttings for 

 propagating the grape. Many recommend 

 a much earlier period ; but from an experi- 

 ence of eight years, the writer is decidedly 

 of opinion that from the middle to the last of 

 April, is the best time for putting them in 

 the ground. The earth has then attained 

 sufficient warmth to urge vegetation rapidly 

 forward : and there will be found no diffi- 

 culty in the general striking of well kspt 

 cuttings. They should be made of ripened 

 wood of the last year's growth, and short- 

 ened to two eyes or buds; by no means 

 leaving more, as by doing so, the force of 

 the top or growing bud is very much weak- 

 ened, by those buds starting which inter- 

 vene between the root bud and the eye, 

 which is designed to form the plant. The 

 wood should be left about one inch above 

 the top bud, and cut off close to the lower 

 or root bud of the cutting ; these taken off 

 at any time between November and March, 

 and buried in the ground of the vineyard or 

 garden, may now be taken up fresh and f}ne, 

 with the buds very much swollen and ready 

 to start. The earth must be well prepared, 

 by finely pulverizing it, and the cuttings set 

 in nearly upright, with the top bud just at 

 the surface or slightly covered. With cut- 

 tings taken from healthy wood, and pre- 

 served as we have stated, with two eyes to 

 each, and carefully planted after the buds 

 are well swollen, in the ground where they 

 have been buried, the cultivator will have 

 no further trouble in rearing fine healthy 

 plants : of course the ground must be kept 

 loose and free from weeds — nor must it be 

 neglected carefully to tie up the young 

 shoot to a strong stake or trellis, every 

 few inches of its growth — this last is essen- 

 tial for ensuring a good height : I have had 

 plants from cuttings of the Isabella, Cataw- 



