800 



FARMERS' REGISTER— NORTHERN GRAPE. 



as a small quantity of beast milk butter will injure 

 a whole firkin. The practice of scalding cream 

 in cold weather should also be avoided, as cream 

 thus treated will never make good butter. 



11. Great care should be taken not to steep the 

 firkin in boggy or unwholesome water. Nothing 

 but the purest spring or clean running water should 

 be used for that purpose — and the firkins should be 

 rendered perfectly dry inside ai'ter being steeped, 

 either by long dripping, or being rubbed by a 

 smooth towel. Old butter sliould never be mixed 

 witli new — and the hning of the casks with infe- 

 rior sorts, or grease butter, is a practice which can- 

 not be too much reprobated. 



12. The casks ought to be made of the best oak 

 or ash (the former to be preferred) and the largest 

 size should not exceed eighty-four pounds gross, 

 that being the size used in Ireland, and most con- 

 venient and saleable in the London market. The 

 casks should be tight and well hooped. Beech, 

 plane ash, &c. should never be used, as that qua- 

 lity wood is more apt to absorb the pickle; and in- 

 dependent of the injury thereby occasioned to the 

 butter, it will often lead to dispute the tar. 



To render these observations more complete, it 

 might be thought necessary to point out the injuri- 

 ous, and even nefarious practices, Avhich more or 

 less prevail in the making of butter throughout the 

 country ; but as a perseverance in such practices 

 must ultimately have the effectof entirely destroy- 

 ing this profitable branch of agricultural industry, 

 it is hoped the makers of butter will see it to be their 

 own interest to produce nothing but butter of the 

 best quality, and that these malpractices, which 

 are perfectly known, will be discontinued. The 

 dealers in the country have it in their power to put 

 a check to them — and it is expected they will do 

 so, by refusing to purchase from those who adopt 

 any artificial means to hasten the making of the 

 butter, or to increase the quantity, while the qua- 

 lify is thereby deteriorated. 



THE NORTON GRAPE. 



From the Richmond Whig. 

 We invite particular attention to th.e article be- 

 low. This is unquestionably the most delicious 

 grape we have ever eaten, and it is matter of sur- 

 prise that it has attracted no more attention in 

 Virginia, while its qualities are already well known 

 and duly estimated at a distance. The enterpris- 

 ing discoverer, Dr. Norton, whose vineyard is a 

 short distance from this city, has sunk money by 

 his attempts to introduce the culture of the grape 

 into this state. It is but fair that he should be remu- 

 nerated. An opinion is very prevalent that tlie 

 climate of Virginia is not adapted to the culture of 

 the o-rape. This is all nonsense. The resemblance 

 betweeen it and that of the countries where it most 

 flourishes, and the profusion of wild vines through- 

 out the country, prove the contrary. The fact is, 

 the efforts of most vintagers have hitherto been di- 

 rected to the culture of the foreign grape, which 

 can never succeed here like the native. And yet 

 some of our native grapes, when properly cultiva- 

 ted, are surpa'ssed by none in the world, and never 

 fail (as is often the case with the foreign) in yield- 

 ing a crop. The grape under consideration Ave 

 understand, is as certain as Indian corn or potatoes. 

 The pro|)rietor has some cuttings which he is wil- 

 ling to dispose of, and which we hope to see distri- 



buted throughout the State. Virginia is naturally 

 a grape growing country, and to that she must ar- 

 rive at last. 



For ihe Whig. 

 TO CULTIVATORS OF THE VINE. 



j1 neiv and valuable variety. Norton's Virginia 

 Seedling. 



Vifis Nortoni, see Prince's Cat. 393, and his 

 book on tiie Vine, page 186, for the following de- 

 scription of this fine fruit: 



" This very distinct variety owes its origin to 

 Dr. D.N. Norton, of Virginia. It was raised from 

 the seed of the Bland, which fructified in the vici- 

 nity of the Meunicr or Miller's Burgundy ; there 

 exists consequently, some probability, that it is a 

 hybrid between these two. In apj)earance, the 

 vine much resembles the form of the two, to which 

 it closely assimilates in its foliage. The shoots are 

 strong and vigorous, and of a red color. — The vine 

 resists ihe cold of the most severe winters, never 

 failing to produce fruit, and that most profusely, 

 thriving even ivithout pruning, and requiring at 

 7nost, but a partial use of the pruning instrument, 

 and almost equalling the Isabella in its rapid ex- 

 tension — like that vine, it is also well calculated 

 for arbors, bowers, large espaliers, &c. The fruit 

 is of the darkest purple or black color, and ripens 

 in September, but will remain on the vine with a 

 great increase of saccharine principle, (as is the 

 case with the finest wine grapes of France,) until 

 the end of October, in this latitude, (New York,) 

 and the last week of November in Virginia. The 

 bunches are usually S or 9 inches long on the old 

 and strong vines, and weigh about a quarter of a 

 pound each ; the berries begin to form a conical 

 bunch on the stem at a distance of several inches 

 from the place of its attachment to the wood; they 

 are round, and a little flattened at the end, and 

 about the size of the Meunier ; the juice which 

 they yield is of the richest quality ; the skin is re- 

 plete with a violet colored matter, which imparts 

 to the wine a shade equal to the Tinto Madeira, 

 which last it resembles as well in taste as appear- 

 ance. For the purpose of making wine, this is 

 hardly to be excelled by any foreign variety." 



This vine thrives in any soil, but the richer the 

 finer will be the fruit; it bears culture with the 

 plough or hoe, as well as the Indian corn, and we 

 may as confidently look for a return to our labor 

 as from that article ; it is not at all subject to mil- 

 dew, rot, or any other casuality of the season, and 

 the possession of this variety does away the neces- 

 sity of farther experiment, as relates to foreign 

 vines, combining all the excellencies, we require, 

 as well for the table as the press. I am confident 

 that even the climate af England loould yield the 

 fruit in great perfection, and that the French cul- 

 tivators xoould most vjillingly introduce it into 

 their vineyards to the exclusion of many others 

 they now possess. It is no doubt to become a na- 

 tional benefit, and will at no distant day, clothe with 

 rich clusters, many of our fields, which for years 

 past have remained barren and worthless.— Du- 

 ring the present unfavorable season, it maintains its 

 character, and holds out to the farmer, a certainty 

 that his field will be far more productive to him m 

 wine than in any other culture to which he can sub- 

 ject them. The originator of the vine, I understand, 

 is willing to part with some thousands of the cut- 

 lings the approaching season, and I would recom- 



