PRELIMINARY REMARKS ON CULTURE. 



The Peach and the Vine being natural productions of the 

 same region of the east, the opinion has been uniformly 

 adopted, that a climate favourable to the one could not fail to 

 be suitable to the other. And where, let me ask, does the 

 former thrive to a greater degree than in many sections of our 

 country ? From the shores of Long Island, and even much 

 farther north, to the most southern limits of the union, the 

 peach flourishes and produces fruit of the highest quality. 

 In the south of France and Italy, the culture of the more 

 choice and delicious varieties had given to those climes a fame 

 to cope with which required the possession by other countries 

 of such as combined equal natural merits. The choicest they 

 could boast have been latterly introduced among us, and we 

 have also originated many most luscious seminal varieties ; 

 and those who possess them know from their own experience, 

 and from the opinions of others who are familiar with the pro- 

 duce of the countries referred to, that in this fruit we have no 

 longer a rival in Europe. Hence we may deduce the most sure 

 prospects of an equal success for the Vine, whose culture when 

 compared with that of the Peach, is yet in its infancy. 



The power, wealth, and happiness of France, are principal- 

 ly attributable to the foresight she has evinced in the introduc- 

 tion to her soil of the most valuable natural productions of 

 other countries. It has been remarked that perhaps no enter- 

 prise in rural economy devised by the genius of a single man, 

 has carried with it more important results than the first 

 plantation of the Mulberry in the garden of the Tuilleries, 

 formed at the commencement of the seventeenth century, by 

 the command of Henry IV. At this moment, though but lit- 

 tle more than a century has elapsed, during only the latter 

 part of which suitable attention has been paid to the culture 

 of silk, the value of the raw material amounts to $4,700,000, 

 and that of its fabrication to above $16,000,000, making 

 a total of about $21,000,000. The Olive, the Almond, 

 and the Fig, were in like manner adopted in the agriculture 

 of France, together with numerous other fruits of minor im- 

 portance. The vines indigenous to her soil were absolutely 



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