^•|)I.. XXI. Na. 42. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



331 



u!ic!cs should bo prown, other limn (hose 



at are now fnrnishcd lor the mnrkots. Well, 



is might slave off the difficulty for a time, but 



on every demand will be supplied, and conipcli- 



>n will atrain reduce the price below the cost of 



ising: for instance, the article of castor-oil, wliich 



ce brought six dollars a gallon, is now supplied 



rsixtytwo and a half cents ! 



Since writing the above, an old and venerable 



ighbor has dropped in, and in answer to the in- 



iry, "Will thinrjs ever be belter for the farming 



;erest ?" said — "' I have been young, and now I 



I old ; yet have I never seen the righteous for- 



Isen, or his seed begging bread.' As in all other 



ings, so in the business of agriculture — there 



U ever be ebbing and flowing. Have you so 



on forgotten, how that a few years ago, the pco- 



3 ceased to eat beef, because the price was so 



»h that few could afford to purchase ? and also 



len pork was 14 cents per pound, and flour 8 or 



dollars per barrel.' I remember when I was a 



ung man, the price of wheat in the old country 



18 so low, that a neighbor of ours delerniined to 



ild a granary, for the purpose of slowing away 



Ircrop until the price should rise ; hut all the 



|ople laughed, and assured him that wlieat would 



1 ver again be higher — it was then 6'2 cents per 



I shel — but he reasoned as I now do, and before a 



'ar had passed, he had sold his grain for a price 



iditional, sufficient to pay for his new building; 



lice which I have known the price of wheat to 



i five dollars a bushel. Let us therefore not de- 



lair, but hope ; and-tliings will some lime or other 



1 me round of their own accord. Depend upon it, 



: have still far more to be thankful for than we 



serve, and the reflection should keep us humble 



d confiding." 



My venerable friend has relieved my mind of a 

 id of anxiety. I have no more hogs to sell, but 

 lave six in pickle, and a beef to slaughter. My 

 alth is good, and I have a blessed wife and four 

 itiful children, with food in store for a year. My 

 jod-house is well filled, and my chimnies never 

 loke. I have a capital lard lamp and a small li- 

 ary of books ; and subscribe and pay for the 

 Cabinet," and two others of our best agricultural 

 urnals. I have a chest of tools for a rainy day ; 

 elter for all my cattle, and provender in plenty ; 

 ith a well of as pure water as Adam ever drank 

 ' — from which "I drink myself, and my children 

 id my cattle." I fear, indeed, that 1 have far 

 ore blessings than I deserve, and the thought 

 all henceforth keep me " humble and confiding." 

 Sckuytkitl Co., Pa. J. D. 



Veterinary Medicine. — Under this head, the Ed- 

 burgh Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, has a 

 view of Pcrcival's second volume of 400 pages, 

 1 the Disorders of the Horse ; and, by way of 

 illing attention to the importance of a better 

 nowledge of the veterinary art, estimates the val- 

 e of horses, cattle, and sheep in Great Britain, at 

 120,000,000 sterling; and that there is a loss of 

 vo millions sterling annually to the nation, by 

 usability, disease, and death, over what there pro- 

 lably would be, if a proper knowledge in regard 

 ll) the treatment of those animals prevailed. 



I It is a great privilege of poverty to be healthy 

 'ithout physic, secure without a guard, and to ob- 

 lin from the bounty of nature what the wealthy 

 re compelled to procure by the help of art. 



From the Albany Cultivator. 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



A cau.io of the failure of many who have made 

 a proper selection o^ native grapes, (and in the first 

 rank of these 1 place the Is:ibclla and (Catawba,) 

 has been a want of practical experience lo direct 

 them in the best mode of preparing the ground, 

 planting the vines, pruning, &c , so as to ensure a 

 vigorous growlh of bearing wood, and keep this 

 from extending loo far from the roots of the vines, 

 when they are planted with the design of forming 

 a vineyard. Some have studiously adopted the 

 European method of pruning and cultivating the 

 grape. This is not altotielher correct. The natu- 

 ral vigor of our native vines is much greater than 

 the foreign, and they require difl^erent treatment. 

 The more variable nature of our climate, tlie great- 

 er heat experienced for three or four months in the 

 year, and the comparative coolness of the nights 

 during the same period, have a great influence up- 

 on the vines ; as also do the severe droughts with 

 which wc are occasionally visited in the heat of 

 summer. 



A proper preparation of the ground will have a 

 very important influence in preventing any injury 

 that might otherwise arise from these causes. In- 

 deed, after having selected good plants, the suc- 

 cess of the vineyard depends so much upon the 

 manner in which the ground is prepared and the 

 vines are planted, that I will here give some direc- 

 tions to those who may wish to enter upon the 

 vineyard culture of our native grapes tlie present 

 spring, and with whom I may not have an opportu- 

 nity of a personal interview. In selecting the 

 ground for a vineyard, give Ihnt kind the prefe- 

 rence which is free from clay within 15 or 18 in- 

 ches of the surface, and is perfectly dry. Ground 

 abounding in springs, after thorough under-drain- 

 ing, is sometimes used for this purpose, but such 

 land should not be selected for a vineyard, if a 

 preferable kind can be obtained. Sand, slate, 

 limestone formation, will answer well for vineyards. 

 Side-hills with a southern, south-eastern, or east- 

 ern aspect are generally preferred, leaving the 

 north (northeast near the seacoast,) and west winds 

 broken off" by trees, hedge, stone or board fence. 



In this latitude, (south of the highlands of the 

 Hudson,) I find that the Isabella grapes ripen quite 

 as well when planted in a level field, protected 

 from the north and west winds by woods or hedges, 

 as on declivities. Several of my vineyards are 

 thus located, aud as far as I can perceive, the fruit 

 ripens at about the same time, and is of the same 

 quality as when the vines are planted on steep 

 side-hills. I think, however, that north of the 

 highlands, side-hills would be preferable. 



To prepare the ground for a vineyard, the best 

 way is to turn under the whole of the surface soil 

 from l."; to 18 inches in depth, early in the spring, 

 soon after the frost is out of the ground, by plow- 

 ing twice in the same furrow. This will place 

 the richest part of the soil, in a position where it 

 will give the greatest supply of nourishment to the 

 vines. Few vineyards in this country have been 

 planted in this way ; but the cost is so small and 

 the advantages so great, that it should be done 

 wherever there are no rocks or large stones to 

 prevent it. Instead of adopting this method of 

 preparing the ground, many persons have been 

 content with digging pretty large holes where they 

 intended to plant the vines, and placing in the 

 bottom of these, six or eight inches of good soil, 



prcniiius to pulling in the phiiils. A slill greater 

 nuiiilirr of those who have atlempled to lay out 

 vineyards, h ive not taken the trouble to resort lo 

 ''ither plan, but havn planted the vines with the 

 same cari'lcs-iiiess that they would n common an- 

 nual, instead of giving them the nltention and care 

 eurh plant should receive — especially when il '\t 

 expected lo produce a fine crop of fruit every sea- 

 son after it has commenced beiring, for a hundred 

 years. Respectfullv, 



R. T. UNDERHILL. 



I'. S. — The Isabella grape ripens its fruit two 

 or three weeks earlier than the Catawba, and is 

 therefore more sure to produce a perfectly ripe 

 crop in a short season. The Isabella, with me, is 

 more certain lo give a ripe crop every year, than 

 any other fruit with which I am acquiiintcd. 



.Yew York, March 16. R. T. U. 



Every farmer, and indeed every person who has 

 a yard, and the side of a building on which it may 

 be trained, should have an Isabella grape vine. 

 Now is the time to procure them, and we hope the 

 season will not be alloweil to pass without the 

 planting of a large number of these vines. Fifty 

 cents applied to this purpose now, will in a few 

 years furnish an abundant supply of grapes for any 

 family Eds. Cult. 



CUTTING ASPARAGUS. 



Mr Editor — I stumbled accidentally, and from 

 carelessness, several years since, upon the plan of 

 cutting asparagus, which I have seen recommend- 

 ed very highly. The plan is not to cut it below 

 the ground, as usual, but to allow it to grow from 

 fifteen inches to two or three feet long, and cut off" 

 about one foot of the top. By doing so, almost 

 the whole will be equally tender and well flavored ; 

 while, in the old way, only an inch or two is eata- 

 ble. It is a fact, that asparagus does not become 

 lender until it turns green. I always thought it a 

 poor vegetable, until I cultivated it, and gathered 

 it as above ; and now I find it one of the best. 



I think, also, that there is a great deal more fuss 

 (pardon the word as unclassical, but very expres- 

 sive,) made about the cultivation of asparagus than 

 there is any need for. I would say, make beds 

 three feet apart, lay your roots about eighteen in- 

 ches apart in the alley, haul the bed back upon 

 them, cover them well with fresh stable or other 

 strong manure, immediately. If you live on a sea- 

 island, and can make a bed in salt land, you will 

 find it thrive to your satisfaction; and if you live 

 in the interior, empty all refuse salt and salt sub- 

 stances upon your bod, as its specific manure. — 

 Southern Jigricull. 



Philosophy of Law. — Law is like fire ; and those 

 who meddle with it may chance to burn their fin- 

 gers. 



Law is like a pocket with a hole in it ; and those 

 who risk their money therein, are very likely lo 

 lose it. 



Law is like a lancet; dangerous in the hands of 

 the ignorant, and doubtful in the hands of an adept. 



Law is like a sieve ; you may see through it, but 

 you will have to be considerably reduced before 

 you can get through it Selected. 



To take Grease out of Silk. — Apply a little pow- 

 dered magnesia on the wrong side, as soon as the 

 I po is discovered. 



