THE GENESEE FARMER. 



121 



These are the models which are furnished to the 

 American public through a medium which professes 

 to be the exponent of the horticultural taste of the 

 country. 



Mr. S. says : " I would confine the art to moder- 

 ate dimensions ;" also, " I would not expose my 

 ambition by carving the ludicrous or monstrous." 

 We suppose by this is meant that he would confine 

 himself to dogs, birds and other small animals and 

 objects. " A fountain represented in a Norway Fir 

 may be eminently beautiful, when a centaur would 

 be simply ridiculous." The nice discrimination 

 which here appears to be made, we are fearful will 

 scarcely be apprehended by the "average intel- 

 lect." 



As an example of special pleading we have the 

 following : "There has been too much said against 

 the artificial in landscape gardening ; what is it, 

 after all, but artificially imitating nature, the great 

 teaclier as well as mother?" Ghost of Downing! 

 is the writer sane ? 



In our ignorance, we had supposed that the true 

 principles of ornamental gardening had been de- 

 fined, and that horticulture henceforth was to pro- 

 gress instead of being subject to fashion or caprice. 

 Kepton and Downing, with consummate skill, de- 

 duced and exemplified the elements of this beauti- 

 ful, useful and ennobling art. Hundreds of grounds 

 in this country have been formed according to 

 these principles, and we expect, as wealth and taste 

 becomes diflfused, to see produced, throughout our 

 lovely land of varied scenery, the brightest spots 

 of earth the sun has ever kissed. 



BONES FOR 6RAF£ VINES. 



Ed3. Genesee Farmer : — It is quite customary 

 to bury whole bones in grape borders, and the 

 effect, 1 believe, is generally beneficial. I have seen 

 the fibrous roots cling to the bones, and penetrate 

 into the pores as though there was something in 

 the bones they were very fond of. Now, I suppose 

 that it is the phosphate of lime of the bones that 

 constitutes their chief value. Would it not seem 

 probable, therefore, that superphosphate of lime 

 (which contains soluble phosphate of lime) would 

 be a very powerful manure for grape vines? I 

 should be glad of your opinion on this subject. 



Philadelphia, Pa. K. H, 



The effect which our esteemed correspondent 

 describes, we have witnessed ourselves. The chief 

 value of lurnt bones is undoubtedly owing to the 

 phosphate of lime which they contain ; but in fresh 

 bones the gelatine is of at least equal value to the 

 phosphates. Gelatine is very similar in compo- 

 sition to the flesh of animals ; and it is well known 

 that dead animals buried under grape vines produce, 



oftentimes, a very beneficial effect. One of the 

 most productive vineyards in thL? State had a large 

 number of the carcases of animals (killed in the 

 vicinity by an accident on the railroad) buried 

 beneath the vines before they were planted. Now, 

 this animal matter, decaying in the soil, would 

 furnish ammonia to the plants rather than phosphate 

 of lime. And it is more than probable that the 

 effect of whole bones placed beneath grape vines 

 is to be ascribed to the ammonia formed by the 

 decay of the gelatine of the bones rather than to 

 their phosphates. 



The bones of a bear and of a stag, which had 

 been long buried in the soil, were analyzed by | 

 Maechaud, and they were found to have lost very 

 little phosphate of lime, while the animal matter, 

 or gelatine, had greatly diminished, especially in 

 one of the bones, which had been buried more 

 shallow than the rest. 



It follows from this, that the phosphate of 

 these whole bones, which remain undecomposed and 

 insoluble in the soil, can have very little effect on 

 the plants. The fact, therefore, that whole bones 

 buried beneath grape vines increase their growth 

 and productiveness, is no proof that the soluble 

 phosphate of lime in superphosphate would prove 

 beneficial. We do not say that it will not, in 

 fact we think it is quite likely that superphos-. 

 phate may be an excellent manure for grapes ; but 

 the facts mentioned by our correspondent do not 

 prove it. 



"But doesn't the foct," we hear our corres- 

 pondent ask, " that the effect of bones lasts for a 

 great many years, prove that it is due to the phos- 

 phate of lime, and not to the gelatine? The latter 

 decomposes more readily than the former, and 

 would soon be consumed, while the phosphate 

 would last for a long period. If the bones are 

 beneficial after all the gelatine is decomposed and 

 absorbed by the plants, it must be owing to the 

 phosphate of lime still left in the bones," This 

 would be true, if the gelatine was all consumed, 

 but in the case of whole bones it would take many 

 years to produce such a result. While the bones 

 analyzed by MAECHArD, which had laid In the 

 ground for an unknown period, had lost a large 

 proportion of their gelatine, they still contained a 

 considerable quantity — that of the bear, which was 

 buried deep, 16 per cent,; that buried shallow, 4 

 per cent., and that of the stag 7 per cent. It is 

 stated that the soil of a district in Sweden, " which, 

 from time immemorial, had grown excellent wheat, 

 without manure," was analyzed by Beezelitts, and 

 , found to contain minute fragments of bone, capable, 



