Vol. 1.— No. 5. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



37 



GRAPES. 



As the preference of American over foreign 

 "rapes, is now completely settled as to vine 

 yards, we would make the following sugges- 

 tions, to be attended to daring the winter, or 

 early in the upring : 



As it is reasonable to conclude that those 

 grapes which wo find growing in a wild state, 

 through the country, are well adapted to the 

 climate, we would recommend to those per- 

 sons who feel an interest in the cultivation, to 

 look out such vines as are in their neighbour 

 hood, which are good bearers, (and this in- 

 formation can generally be obtained from the 

 boys, who are better acquainted with them 

 than men) and prune them; also cut away such 

 bushes as shade them, giving them an oppor- 

 tunity to show their qualities ihe present year; 

 this will make a saving of two years over mo- 

 ving the vines to the garden. The prospect is, 

 that the grape known through the northern 

 states as the summer grape, or the Vitis inter- 

 media of the botanists, being an intermediate 

 grape between the large fox, and the small 

 frost grape, will prove one of our most valua- 

 ble varieties for wine, and as every attempt to 

 select by fair experiment the best vines of the 

 ■woods, is doing our country groat service, we 

 hope it will no" be negleeted, and that each 

 Horticulturist will come to the conclusion, 

 that he will put at least a couple of vines in 

 training the present year ; it will not be atten- 

 ded with any cost, and may be a souroe of 

 much pro6tto those who succeed in finding a 

 good variety. 



he place : or, cut a tongue in both, & let them 

 reciprocally enter into each branch, in which 

 case, neither of the branches are cut oft' till 

 they are united, or jou may only scarify them 

 by taking oft" the bark and a little wood, till 

 they nicely fit, and in various other ways, of 

 which some French authors enumerate more 

 than thirty, many of which will suggest them- 

 selves to any ingenious operator. As soon as 

 the joinings are completed, quickly and firm- 

 ly tie them with bass matting, woolen yarn, 

 or cotton candle wick, and cover the space 

 with clay or any kind of adhesive wax. as graf- 

 ting composition, or Burgundy pitch, to exclude 

 the air. If the plant is in rapid growth, loos- 

 en the tyings in about a fortnight, or otherwise 

 n four weeks, and again tie them, and not fi- 

 nally remove them under about two months. — 

 In some of the most difficult and expensive 

 foreign varieties, a longer time sometimes is 

 necessary, which is easily known by examina- 

 tion. Persons who would wish to perfect 

 themselves, and get the knack of doing it, may 

 in summer try it on the limbs of any tree or 

 shrub. After the joinings have taken, detach 

 them, by cutting asunder and trimming off 

 smoothly, and waxing the end. 



frorn the coast of Guinea, as food for some 

 birds, which were presented to Ellis, Chief 

 Justice of the Island." From certificates for- 

 warded by Dr. Brown, to the Agricultural So- 

 ciety of Philadelphia, it appears that eight hor- 

 ses were kept during the growing season upon 

 the grass cut from one quarter of an acre.— 

 This is an annual grass, of coarse but rapid 

 growth, and requires cutting often. As wo 

 are not aware that thU grass has been cultiva- 

 led in the northern Btates.we would thank any 

 gentleman, who is acquainted with the culti- 

 vation of it, to forward an account of the man- 

 ner of cultivating it, and whether it is calcula- 

 ted for a northern climate, and what particular 

 advantages there would be derived from the 

 introduction of it into our northern states, as 

 a substitute for the common grasses. 



INARCHING OR GRAFTING BY AP- 

 PROACH. 



Ladies who are fond of Green house plant6, 

 will find a very convenient method of propaga- 

 ting and multiplying them, by the process of 

 in-arching, which may be performed at anv 

 time of the year when the plant is making new 

 leaves, and what is its greatest recommenda- 

 tion, it is easily executed, and without the 

 possibility of failure, and is the common me- 

 thod by which certain kinds, as the Camelia 

 Japouica, Orange, Lemon, &c. are propaga- 

 ted. The peach is readily grafted in this man- 

 ner, which is extremely uncertain by any other 

 method. Plants which have bad shaped and 

 unsightly tops, or branches, may be in-arched 

 ou themselves, and made to interlace and sup- 

 port each other. Treesand shrubs, with open 

 spaces, and ill shaped chasms may have some 

 of the upper or lower limbs brought in, and 

 mad* to fill up the naked spots. It is necessa- 

 ry to observe, that two of congenial tempers 

 and constitutions, or rather if the same botan- 

 ical species, should be used, as in other graft 

 ing, the same tree or plant will always in-arch 

 on itself. 



It is necessary, if the plants are in pots, to 

 bring them so nigh together, as that the branch- 

 es will touch, or if a potted plant is to be uni- 

 ted to a tree it n 'let be raised to the desired, 

 situation, by means of a post, or platform ; at 

 ter the branches are brought together, carefull; 

 mark where they touch, then cut oft' the om 

 on which you intend to graft, in the shape of 

 wedge, with a sharp knife, and cut a corrts 

 ponding slit or tongue into the other about two 

 thirds of the thickness of the branch, and cu 

 away the substance until the wedge fits into 



GRAFTING WAX. 



The following manner of compounding wax 

 for grafting, or covering wounds on trees, we 

 have found the best of the many recommend- 

 ed by the books : 



Take of rosin one part, of tallow two parts, 

 and of bees-wax three parts, melt them, and 

 when they are perfectly incorporated, set by 

 for use. When it is intended for grafting, 

 budding, or in-arching the most convenient 

 way of using it, is to saturate some broad tape, 

 or pieces of thin iinen, or cotton cloth, cut in- 

 to slips; these may be rolled up like rolls of 

 webbing, and dipt in the melted wax, where 

 they will absorb a sufficient quantity to render 

 them impervious to air and moisture; the cloth 

 serves as strings, as well as to secure the 

 wound from air. When wax is wanted en- 

 tirely for covering wounds after trimming, or 

 where trees have received injury, there should 

 be a greater proportion of rosin, or the bees- 

 wax may be omitted altogether ; and the best 

 manner of applying it is when warm, with a 

 brush. Some have made use of tar, in which 

 brick duet, lime, or chalk have been mixed in 

 such quantity as to prevent its running off when 

 applied. The only object of using this upon 

 wound*, is to exclude airland moisture, there" 

 by preventing decay. 



GUINEA GRASS. 



In the first vol. of the Ploughboy, page 154, 

 we find a very flattering account of the suc- 

 cess of the cultivation of this grass near Natch- 

 ez. It is also figured in the Enc. Agr. page 

 195. In speaking of the productions of the 

 Island of Jamaica, the author says, " the Guin- 

 ea Grass (Panicum polygonum) is next in im- 

 portance to the sugar cane, as the grazing and 

 breeding farms, are chiefly supported by it. — 

 Hence arises the plenty of homed cattle, both 

 Cjr the butcher, and planter, which is such that 

 IV w markets in Europe furnish beef of bet- 

 ter quality, and at a cheaper rate, than that 

 of Jamaica. Mutton, also, is cheap and good 

 The seeds of the Guinea grass, were brought 



VEGETABLE: PHYSIOLOGY— NO 3. 



Having traced the functions of vegetables 

 through the different parts of the flower, to the 

 formation of the seed, or the rudiments of the 

 young plant, we will attempt to give some 

 of the leading principles of germination, by 

 which is to be understood that part of vegeta- 

 ble economy by which the embryo is elicited 

 from its albuminous deposit, and assumes the 

 appearance of a young plant. This appears 

 to be the connecting link between the old and 

 new plants, or rather germination may be con- 

 sidered the first principle of the new one, af- 

 ter being disconnected from the parent stock. 

 The seed when separated from the old stock, 

 and carefully dried, possesses a principle of 

 vitality which maybe dormant under certain 

 circumstances for ages, and then be called in- 

 to life Three things seem necessary to the 

 healthy germination of seeds ; that they should 

 be excluded from the light, and furnished with 

 suitable propenions of heat and moisture. — 

 When seeds are placed in favorable situations 

 as to the above requisites, the farinaceous 

 part of the seed absorbs moisture, and the 

 radical, or root of the young plant is elonga- 

 ted, and perforates the tegument, or skin of 

 the seed, shorily after which, the seed swells 

 ■V bursts the tegument, & the plumule or top of 

 the young plant makes its appearance from be- 

 tween the cotyledons, (as in the bean) which 

 afterwards become green ind perform tho func- 

 tions of common leaves; they also decrease in 

 size, showing that a part of the concrete al- 

 buminous matter they contain, is carried off 

 for the support of the young plant before roots 

 and regular leaves have attained sufficient 

 strength to provide for themselves. 



The phenomena of the invariable disposi 

 tion of the roots to descend, and the plumule 

 to ascend, has never been satisfactorily ex- 

 plained. Perhaps it is a safe conclusion that 

 plants receive in water, charged with various 

 solutions at the roots, all of which are heavier 

 than atmospheric air, and as the roots are e- 

 [ongated by constant injection, and ejection, 

 of this moisture, which in its motion carries 

 some of the albuminous matter, or elaborated 

 juice, to the orifice of the tubes of the root, 

 where it is deposited, and that previous to its 

 complete organization, it takes the perpendic- 

 ular direction from its specific gravity. That, 

 on ihe other hand the leaves receive in hydro- 

 gen, which is lighter than atmospheric air, and 

 of course as this food would by the same rule, 



