t) INTKODUCTION. 



educated gardener, and wlio have felt the want of a concise 

 and simple explanation of the process, and the rules by which 

 these operations of forcing and of growing grapes, under glass 

 structures, can be carried out. 



The treatment recommended is such as has been found to 

 be the best, after many years' experience, in its cultivation ; 

 during which time, the different systems of pruning have been 

 all tried, and many of the vineyards in France, aiid on the 

 Rhine, in Italy, and other countries have been visited, and the 

 manner of pruning, the varieties of soil, and the amount of 

 fruit which a vine is permitted to ripen, have been examined 

 and ascertained. 



The disadvantages we labor under, in this country, in 

 forcing fruit, from the extreme coldness of the weather in 

 winter, are counterbalanced, in some degree, by the superior 

 brilhancy of the sun, and consequent dryness of the atmos- 

 phere, at the time of ripening, which give a flavor to the fruit, 

 such as it can rarely be made to attain, in the moist, dull, 

 and cloudy Aveather of England.* The variations of the tem- 

 perature are always indicated by a Fahrenheit thermometer. 



* I find that I have not always been here rightly understood. The idea intended 

 to be expressed is, that the natural advantages of our climate over that of England, 

 in respect to the atmosphere, are very much in our favor. Most seasons, the grapes 

 produced in this country in houses without fire heat, are equally well flavored as 

 those grov/n with artificial heat. The forced fruits of England, grapes, pine apples, 

 and cherries, are very superior. I have never, in any country, eaten better, particu- 

 larly the pine apples, which are richer in flavor than any I have ever tasted in the 

 East Indies. 



