114 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



age of sand in Mr. Moore's soil than in that of Mr. Wheeler. 

 Here, then, we are able to produce a hardy and healthful fruit 

 in abundance, on lands, most of which have been considered as 

 second-rate in value. From the earliest settlements, they have 

 been devoted to a few annual crops of rye, left to be recuperated 

 by nature's processes, and then cultivated to rye again, until 

 nearly all their vegetable powers were exhausted. 



But with the care bestowed by the gentlemen now competing 

 for a premium, the grape will grow on almost any soil and in 

 any position — in the corner of the yard or by the side of the 

 porch. It may be trained on the roof of the woodshed, on the 

 side of the barn, on a simple trellis, or on a simple stake. The 

 sunny corner of the garden, which would not be convenient for 

 a tree, will afford space and shelter for a vine. Even cities and 

 villages have many places that the grape-vine likes the best. 

 Placed in the front or back yard of the dwelling, its roots find 

 their way under walls and into places where they can select the 

 precise nutriment they require. There they find shelter from 

 rough winds, and protection from early frosts, by the warmth 

 radiated from brick or wooden walls or fences. In this way 

 some of the most perfect samples of the grape are grown. The 

 vines grow to a very large size, and produce fruit in proportion. 

 One plant in the famous Hampton Court vinery bore two thou- 

 sand and two hundred hunches, averaging one pound each, mak- 

 ing more than a ton in a single season. Another vine at Val- 

 entines, in Essex County, England, produced two thousand 

 hunches, of nearly the same weight, at a single crop. The 

 branches of the vine at Hampton Court covered a space of three 

 hundred and forty-eight square feet, and that at Valentines four 

 hundred and forty-one square feet. Under favorable circum- 

 stances they attain a great age. Some have died known to be 

 more than a hundred years old. 



There is, then, this encouragement in planting grape-vines : 

 that they produce their fruit in one or two years after setting, 

 and hand it down in perfection through several generations. It 

 is hardy, easy of cultivation, palatable and nutritious as food, 

 and, in several forms, exceedingly grateful to the sick. 



A single entry only was made for a premium on " Fruit and 

 Vegetable Gardens," and that by Edwin Wheeler, of Concord. 

 The garden contains one and a half acres of land, on which 



