22G 



NEW ENGLAND FAllMER, 



Feb. 5, 1S30. 



to 100 (legrcc.i, uiul pleriliriilly supiilieil widi in.-:- 

 )iurc(l water. It wiu in this way that the Diilcii 

 gardeners produced tho.<e tnonstrou.s s|)ueimciisof 

 campanula pi/ramidalii, which, Iicfore the iin|iorla- 

 lioii of Lobelir. fiil'^cns and spkndens, were the 

 coinnioii oriianuMiI.s of the liallc, stair cases, and 

 fire places of linlland, but which, since the intro- 

 duction of tliesc beautiful American plants, have 

 given way to a better taste. FAinwKATiiER, 

 (London Horticultural Transactions page 406,) 

 by transjilantiiig otdy three or four times, produced 

 balsams (impctliens balsamina,) four feet hij;h and 

 flAeen feet in circumference, with strong thick 

 stems, furnished with side branches from bottom 

 to top, and these covered with large double flow- 

 ers. And K.NiGiiT (Horticultural Transactions 

 iv. 322) by transplanting from pots of four inches 

 in diitmcler, into others a foot in diameter, placing 

 the plants close to the glass, in a heat of seventy 

 to one hundred degrees, taking care to remove all 

 side branches, and to give abunilant supplies of 

 pigeon-dung water, produced a flower of the po- 

 pular Japan annual ctlosia crislala, (cockscomb) 

 which was sent to the Horticultural society, where 

 it was measured and found to be eighteen inches 

 in width, anil seven inches in height from the top 

 of the flower stalk, thick, full, and of the most 

 intense purplish red. Many species of amaran- 

 tbaceoe are very ornamental and deserve attention 

 in their culture, as that |)opularIy known by the 

 name of Love-lies-bleeding, (amaraii/Zins caudatus,) 

 which, with its long tail-like pendant masses of 

 crimson flowers, lias a fine appearance. The cli- 

 mate of the United States, if not so well suited 

 to the cultivation of these planis, a? that of India, 

 of which country the most beautiful are natives, 

 is superior to that of England, and, perl aps, quite 

 as favorable as that of Japan, where Thunberg 

 says be has frequently seen the flowerp or cnisis 

 of ectasia crislala, a toot in length and breadth. In 

 England they are often cultivated in pots with 

 singular eflect. In the Gardener's Magazine for 

 October, 1S29, Mr Lot dok scys, " In the vinery 

 [of Petworth House] we observed sixty pots of 

 cockscond)s of uniform size, the comb about twenty 

 two inches in length, and the height of the flower 

 not more than ten inches. The art of raising 

 them with such large combs on so short stems, 

 Mr Hahriso.n says, is, after transplanting them 

 for the first time OMt of the seed pot, to let tlieni 

 remain in a small sized pot till the comb lias made 

 its appearance, and then, and not before, to begin 

 to transplant, as in the case of balsams, into larger 

 pots, atid tinis supply as nuich rich earth, liquid 

 manure, an<l moist heat, as they can make use of. 

 The rationale of this |)ractice is, that after the 

 comb or flower has made its appearance, the 

 stem ceases to increase in length, and, consequent- 

 ly, all the nourisbincnt supplied by the transplant- 

 ing goes towards increasing the size of the comb." 

 No ornamental herbaceous plant in the country 

 is more deserving of attention than primula sinen- 

 sis. It is but a very few years since it was im- 

 ported .Vom China, and it is already to bo met 

 with everywhere in F.urope and America. To in- 

 duce the exhibition of its beauties, bowevcr, it is 

 absolutely necessary that it be frequently Irans- 

 iilanted. When the writer first received this 

 plant from Mr TnoMAS HiiiniRTiif I'hiladelpliin, 

 a skilful grower of exotics lately from F.ugland, 

 it was divided in tlie root, one part left in the pot 

 in which it was received, which (piickly put forih 

 a nuiid>cr of uninteresting pale flowers. The 



oilier division was transplaiiteil as above recom- 1 

 mended in luam and leaf mould, which delayed ' 

 the flowering some weeks; but when it did bloom, 

 nothing could exceed its beauty, covered with u 

 profusion of neat pink blossoms, which were dou- . 

 ble the size of those of the other plant. | 



It is gratifying to the purchasers of the Ency- ' 

 cirpedia of Gardening, by Joii.v Clai'dius Lou- ( 

 DON, to learn, that a supplement thereto is now ' 

 publishing in London, of which a sufficient num-' 

 her of copies will be printeil to siip|ily all the 

 holders of the principal work. A new edition i< 

 also saiil to be in the course of preparation. There i 

 is also cause for believing that an Api>endix :o ' 

 the Encyclopedia fif Plants, will be given eie 

 long, which is necessary to the completion of tlie 

 work as it was commenced in 1822, since wliicj 

 time, important discoveries have been made in th? , 

 science. .Any man who wishes correct infornia-| 

 tion of the jircsent state of Botany, Agricultur! | 

 and Horticulture in Europe, cannot do better thai 

 supply himself with tlie Enr^yclopedias of Plautf> 

 Oiirdcning, and Agriculture, and the Gardener'.- 

 Magazine. Even in the small matter of the pur 

 chase of a book, it is desirable to receive our mc- 

 ney's worth, which is ever the case in buying tie 

 works of Mr Loudon. The fifth edition of tie 

 Encyclopedia of Gardening is as neat a specimen 

 of typography as has been issued from the Lor- 

 don ))res3 ; in contains more than seven hundrel 

 engravings, and as much reading matter as three 

 of the large quarto volumes of Rees' Encyclope-,' 

 dia. I 



York, Pa. Jan. 15, 1830. 



FOR THE NEW EHGLAIiD FARMER. I 



NATIVE GRAPES. i 



Mr Fessende.n — There seems to exist inuea' 

 j)eri)lexity in the ))ublie mind, which variety of the ; 

 Bland grape, that has been presented to the lior- 

 ticullural Society for examination the last seison, ' 

 is the true Bland. That many should be conffund- 

 ed, is not surprising, as there has been plucel be- 

 fore the Coinmittee for inspection, four vareties 

 so called, of Red grapes, viz. Bland's pale Red, 

 Blattd's yirfrinia, Bland's Madeira, and the Hand 

 or Poictl i^rape, which, in fact, arc all one liud. 

 As one of the Commiltee, and usually present at 

 the tasting of fruits, I will endeavor to select the 

 variety that I consider the true BlamCs pale Red 

 grape ; (this name I shall call it,) and the reas)ns 

 why I am induced to believe it is. 



As the foliage and wood of the above kinds 

 are so similar, it would be ditlicult to observe the 

 difTerencc, I will resort to the different forms of 

 the bunches, and size of the berries ; some were 

 short bunches, small berries, and quite acid ; — 

 some large berries, good size, but on short biineli- 

 cs, were nearly ripe and good lasting ; but those 

 from the garden of N. Seaver, Roxbury, were 

 decidedly the best in taste, fine, long bunches, and 

 handsome berries ; this variety 1 shall speak of as 

 the Inie Hlaud. 



Mr Heaver otTered his grapes tlie last Saturday 

 in September, and the two following in (.Jriober, 

 for examination ; in my opinion, this is the best 

 variety of our native grapes. MrS. informed mo 

 his vines were cuttings taken from Major J. An- 

 i.im's vineyard, Georgetown, 1). C, from his 

 Bland vines, and 1 will select Mr Am. im's de- 

 scription of this grape from his " Treatise on iho 

 Vine," by which you will have a true delineation 



of .Mr S.'s grapes. I will also add the history a 

 origin of this variety, in a letter to the write 

 this article, which apjicars to be good authori 

 ami sets it in a clear light ; likewise I will add 

 extract from a gentleman's letter in New Jei-s 

 to show that this variety the last two jears, I 

 matured belter there than irilh Mr .Adllm ; this o 

 has been the case here, for Mr Seaver informs 

 his grapes have ripened icilt the last four i/ears ; t 

 proves that our summers are svjficienlly icarm a 

 long, to remove all doubts that have been erpressta 

 their not ripening so far .Vorth. 



Description from Mr Adlcm's Book. — '• 1 

 grape, when perfectly ripe, is of a dork piirj 

 otherwise of n pale red color. Mr Bartram 

 his letter to Dr Mease, above mentioned, descril 

 it as follows : — ' Tlie bunches are large, brand 

 and well shaped, six or eight inches in leng 

 the berries large, about the size of the comn 

 white grape of Europe, and round or obia 

 when ])erfectly ripe, of a dark purple, or red w 

 color; the juice sweet and lively, having a li 

 musky flavor, with a smoll portion of an agreca 

 astringency, somewhat like our best bunch 

 grapes, though much sweeter than any of th< 

 If this grape is what I take it to be, a genu 

 American, it is a hybrid or variety. • • • 

 have been thus particular, because, in Virgii 

 they call it, or a grape like it, the Mazzei gra 

 and say that it was brought from Italy by h 

 Fiom the respectable authority that gives I 

 account, I have no doubt but that Mr Maz 

 carried a grape like it, or itself to Virginia : 

 at the same time, I am as certoin as n person ■ 

 be, tliat did not see the whole operation, of 

 grape growing from the seed, that the Me; 

 Bartram had the grape that I call the Bl 

 Madeira, and am now cultivating by that na 

 before even Mr Mazzei came to, or savr 

 country."' 



Extract from Major J. Adldm's letter to me, 

 ted .Yovember 8, 1829. — " My opinion is, that 

 Bland Madeira will not answer so far nortf 

 Boston ; it is the latest I have, and they onl; 

 pen well with me once in about three years ; 

 without they are growing against a bouse ■ 

 well sheltered arbor, or in a town, I think the 

 hut very little chance of their ripening wel 

 your latitude ; the year before Inst they ripe 

 well with me ; but last and this \ear they cfid 

 ripen at all. The late Mr Bartram, whose 

 tlicr before the revolution, was calleil the (.iue 

 Botanist, informed me as fiir back as the j 

 1788, 'hat the Bland Madeira was a native, 

 found on the eastern shore of Virginia, by a 

 Bland, iiid from whom be got it ; anil the 

 Samiei. Powel, Esq. got the same grape f 

 Mr Bi.A ND." 



Extract from another letter from Major J. Am , 

 \dated .Wn'cmher 29, 1829. — " Your arcoum 

 I\!r Seaver's Bland grape is very pralil'xiiif . 

 me ; I recollect young Mr Seaver's getting 

 cuttings from me, and I am certain he got the 

 kind. Mr Seaver's Bland grape is, 1 snppos« 

 t well sheltered situation ; wbelher they wouli 

 1 pen equally well in a vineyard in the eountrx 

 |t ijiiestion. My Blaiids are now on the vim s 

 ifipe. There is no accounting for fruits' ripci 

 in diflereiit climates ; probably the change of 

 .ind the nature of it, with the sun being n 

 jiowerful, anil the season more uniform in a no 

 'em than a siMilhern latitude, innv in hss limr. 



