NEW ENGL.AND FARMER. 



Piililished by John B. RussBtt, at M). 52 ATorth Market Street, (over the Agricultural Warehouse). — Thomas G. Fessenden, Editor. 



VOL. VI. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 1828. 



No. 24. 



^A^ R I C U L T U R E^ 



Piom Cobbett's Ride iu France. 



VINES IN FRANCE. 

 The Deio-libourhood of Tours is a great place 

 for vines, and for the making of fine wine. I went 

 along witli my landlord to-day to see his vineyard, 

 which is at about half a league from the city. — 

 The vintage of the black grapes is not quite fin- 

 ished, here, and that of the white grapes is not be- 

 jun. In this part of France they let the white 

 gropes hang as long aa possible, before they gath- 

 er them, because, they say, it makes the wine 

 stronger and of better flavour. The snow is, they 

 tell me, sometimes upon the ground before the 



juice is nf a fine dark colour, a mixture of purple 

 and red. It is made use of in giving a colour to 

 all red wine, which could not have the fine colour 

 that we see in it, but for the use of this sort of 

 grape. The vintage of the white grapes begins, 

 this year, at about this time, the 7th of November. 



Prom Ihe Am(^-ican Farmer. 



J^ew and economical preparation of tar as a 

 covering for hou.ie.i. 



Mb. Skinner, Sir, — The recent scarcity, — 

 and consequent high price of tar, induces me to 

 appeal to an experiment, the result of which I 

 submit to yo'r judgment either to communicate to 



the various readers of your useful paper, or other 



grapes are gathered.^ I saw a great many acresj ^^.j^^ dispose of it as you may think proper.— 



""' ' "'' '' "* Finding it a difficult matter to mix tnr and red 



Sf vineyard \o day. The vines Kiok beautiful at 

 this time, with all their leaves off, and loads of 

 ripe grapes hanging upon them. The vines, whicli 

 are planted in cuttings, or slips (just as gooseber- 

 ries and currants are] of the last year's wood, be- 



ochre, suitable, for the roofs of my houses, &c. I 

 could not make a mixture of those two articles, 

 that would not, when cool, become separate. I 

 was induced to make the application of a third 



gin to bear when about four or five years old.— -^^^g^ig^j^ ^1^. ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^.^^^^ ^j^^ ,,3^ ^^^ 

 An acre of vineyard, of the best sort of vines, ia|on,y y^^^^.^^ ^y^^ difficulty complained of above, 

 flill bearing is worth, at Tours, about 3000 francs, I b^jt has enabled mo to effect the object with six 

 or 12W. of our money. Tl'is year, they .say, the barrels of tar. which nine, in the ordinary way of 

 vines will yield from 10 to 12 barrels of wine to ^ppi^j^.^ ^ t„tbe roofs of houses, would not effect, 

 the acre ; barrels of 250 bottles each ; or, as was j^ ,j;^ following manner. In the kettle in which 

 before observed, of about 60 English wine gajloa.j ^ ^^^^^^ ,^^j ^^.,^^^ ^.^^ ^^^^ ^ ^^^^ ^^,j. ^ j^^^^^, 

 each. Good wine may be bought in fours, byj^^^^^ After placing a gentle fire aro-md it. only 

 the single bottle, for 10 sous, or :rf. English, the ^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ -^ ^^tirelv, I applied one jallon 

 bottle. The barrel, or piec; of this years wine,! ^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^^-^^j^ ^^^,^ ^^^^ ij_ ,„ 

 will bring from 50 to bO francs, at this place.- eycT^, two s<iV>onB of the tar : taking as much of 



As, however, chilled cast-iron is not sufficiently 

 tough to bear bending, without breaking, he founo 

 it uet^iauary to strengthen his punches, by sur- 

 rourilijjng and inclosing their stems in cast-iron 

 holes, made of shapes corresponding with the 

 stems, in properly shaped supports, and havinn 

 their points only standing out a sufficient lengtir 

 for ase. 



But the wine of this year will not be of tho best- 

 quality ,on account of the grapes not having )»>fnerf 

 quickhi, which they should do to make very good 

 wine. ' Some of the vines are very old ; some of 

 them forty, some fifty years old. The land round 

 Tours is hilly ; uncommonly good strong land, and 

 stoney, which is just the character of land to suit 

 the vine. There is much rock in the hills here, 

 as at Loches ; and the wine-makers have caves, 

 hewed out of the rocks, under the brows of the 

 hills, in which to deposit the wine, and to carry 

 on the process of making it. Some of the vinos 

 in this part of the country are cultivated in the 

 espalier fashion. This is not, however, generally 

 the ca!.e, where there is any considerable quanti- 

 ty of vineyard together. The common way is, ia 

 stick one stake, about four feet high, up to each 

 vine. The stakes are pulled up, at this time of 

 the year, when no longer wanted, and placed 

 .iway ill a stack, just as hop poles are in England. 

 The stakes are, as I said before, made of coppice- 

 "wood, hazel, ash, and other kinds. They do not 

 last above a couple of years ; for, if used longer, 

 they become rotten, and are easily broken by the 

 wind. I was, when at Chateauroiix. informed, 

 that, further to the South, the cultivators of the 

 vine make use of stakes of Locust, which, they 

 say, grow in coppices, and last a great number of 

 years. The Ltctist is, in France, generally call- 

 ed Robinia ; but in the vineyards the stakes of it 

 are called, bois de fer ; or, iron-wood ; a name 

 which the Locust very well deserves. 



There is a kind of grape, which I saw on seme 

 vines here, made use of to give a colour to the 

 red wine. When this grape is squeezed, the 



the above described quantity nf brine as was ne- 

 cessary to mix the red ochre to the consistency of 

 gruel ; then mixing the whole toofether, and stir 

 ring it till entirely united. This, I find, produces 

 a better body than anv other produce heretofore 

 by the tar and ochre alone, — and when the advan- 

 taees (of lessening the quantity of tar. the supe- 

 rior cement thus formed, together with the gene- 

 rally verv desirable effect the salt will have to re- 

 sist the ravages of fire, shall be placed in the 

 scale of the additional expense of salt, which does 

 not, I think, exceed a perk to each barrel of tar, 

 (and that used by me was dirty fish salt) shall be 

 tested by the experimentalist. I am induced to 

 think, he will also recommend the plan to his fel- 

 low citi7Pns. A VIRGINIAN. 

 N. B. The above should be applied boiling hot. 



On the use of chilled Cast-iron, for Punches, and 

 other tools. — It is well known, that in making 

 holes in red-hot iron articles, such for instance as 

 wheel-tire, horse-shoes, &c. ; the hardened and 

 tempered steel punches become softened, from the 

 effect of the heat — and, changing their shape, 

 must be repaired from time to time. 



Mr. Peter Keir, engineer, of St. Pancras, seve 

 ral years since, having occasion to make many 

 nail-holes, in the wheel-tire of artillery carriages, 

 and horse-shoes; and having experienced the' 

 above inconvenience in a great degree, luckily 

 thought of substituting punches made of chilled 

 cast iron, for those of steel, and which he found 

 fully to answer the purpose, as they constantly re- 

 tained their original hardness, notwithstanding 

 they very frequently became red-hot in using. 



KIDNEY POTATOES. 



Mr Editor — An opinion has long prevailed witl. 

 our Farmers, that kidney potatoes do not yield at 

 much as other kinds. In order to prove its fallacy . 

 I last year planted a piece of fallow ground sixtj 

 feet by ninety. I spread thereon eight wagont 

 loads of coarse yard manure and ploughed the 

 ground (which was of a heavy loam) very deep. — 

 On the first of July I planted my potatoes, the hillB 

 being about two feet apart ; and at the season foi 

 securing them, they were dug and carefully meas- 

 ured, and yielded me fifty-one bushels. The re- 

 sult of this undertaking has convinced me that it 

 is more to my profit to make my ground good ic 

 the off-set than in the usual way of skimming ovei 

 the surface ; und, I am fully of opinion, the steady 

 demand for this article, and the advanced price in 

 market (should the yield be not equal to some oth 

 ers) makes it much more to the interest of oui 

 farmers to turn their attention more fully to their 

 cultivation. Yours, &c. A Farmer. 



.v. y. Farmer. 



I-\om th'. jV. I' Breitmg PaU. 



BONE-SET. 



Among the many proofs in favour of American 

 plants for the cure of diseases, the Honey of 

 Hone-set, prepared at the JVew York Infirmary for 

 Bowel Complaints, No. 131.1 Grand street has beeu 

 found most important. Its efficacy in the coughs 

 and colds of this season, has excelled all other 

 known remedies ; it gives immediate relief to all 

 those who have the asthma, and is used withoul 

 danger of injury to persons of all ages and consti- 

 tutions. Many children have been cured of the 

 croup, (or hives,) whooping cough, and difficulty of 

 breathing, for the sum of 50 cents; and severa.J 

 adults have used it to advantage in cases of con 

 sumption, where, if it ha snot caused a perfect cure 

 it in all cases adds much to the ease and comfort 

 of the patient. It quickly checks a severe fit oi 

 coughing, heals the soreness of the breast, pro 

 motes expectoration and allays the irritation thji! 

 attends lung complaints, and in large doses it op- 

 erates as an emetic. Those who do not wish to 

 pay for the preparation and can take the nausea- 

 ting draught of Bone-set tea, will derive good 

 from the adoption of it, which can be had for little 

 or no expense. One or two phials of the Honey af 

 Bone-set, proves its valuable effects to all wh« 

 use it. G. G. V. No. 189 Grand-street. 



FLORIDA. 



Judge Robinson, of Gadsden county, has succeed- 

 ed after several years experiments in raising bean 

 tifnl bright yellow Sugar, of a fine flavor. He 

 expects a heavy crop next year. Several oth* 

 planters intend embarking in the business. 



