1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



231 



say for six or eight hundred acres, is $30 per acre, 

 and this is in the heart of the oyster region, where 

 $300,000 is expended annually, I judge, in that 

 business dlone. 



I was in North Carolina, a few days since, in 

 Carrituck County, and saw very large vines of the 

 Scuppernong grape, which were said to produce 30 

 bushels to a vine, some even more. That variety 

 of grape would undoubtedly flourish splendidly on 

 this land. I drank wine (white,) made from this 

 grape, which would be hard to Iteat. It was very 

 delicious, although new. It^hallbe in Charlestown, 

 Jefferson Co., West Virginia, in a few days. If 

 any wish to communicate with me on the matter 

 above mentioned, I shall be glad to hear from 

 them. Samuel Clakke. 



Yoikiotc7i, Va., March, 1867. 



Remakks. — The existence of slavery has un- 

 doubtedly kept Northern people from examining 

 and settling upon the land of which our corres- 

 pondent speaks. Having visited the localities 

 which he describes, several times, we came to the 

 conclusion that there are few if any places which 

 offer so many advantages to young and enterpris- 

 ing farmers, as in the region of Yorktown. The 

 climate is healthful, the land excellent, and the 

 whole world is open for a market. It is near the 

 mouth of two splendid rivers, the Potomac and 

 James, both pouring their vast volume of water 

 into the maguiliccnt Chesapeake Bay. It is little 

 more than 24 hours' distance from New York and 

 Boston, and on the very threshold of the Atlantic 

 Ocean. Go and see it, young men, before starting 

 for the mines of Idaho or any other place. 



EAISING PLANTS IN PASTEBOARD BOXES — FERTIL- 

 IZER FOR TOP-DRESSIXO — STANCHIONS. 



I think of having a few early vines this spring. 

 My plan is to plant my seeds in pasteboard boxes 

 large enough to contain one hill each. When the 

 ground is warm enough, I shall set these boxes in 

 the ground, and I think they will decompose and 

 offer little or no resistance to the roots. I have 

 tried to transplant vines, but with no success. Do 

 you think I shall have good success witli the paste- 

 lioard l)oxes ? What is the best kind of fertilizer 

 to spread broadcast upon grass land, excepting 

 stable manure ? 



I saw, a short time since, in your paper, a plan 

 for cattle stanchions. Who can be so barbarous as 

 to oljlige a cow to lie with her head in the manger, 

 when she would, if left to do as she chose, lie 

 down with her head against her side ? I have seen 

 a good many plans i'or securing cattle, but for 

 their comfort I prefer the chain, well known as the 

 "cow-tie." c. H. w. 



Wiscasset, March 11, 1867. 



Remarks. — You will probably succeed well with 

 the boxes. To malce plants grow well, and get 

 them early and strong, a little bottom heat is neces- 

 sary. This may be supplied by a good bed of 

 coarse horse manure under them. 



Superphosphate of lime has done admirably as a 

 top-dressing on grass lands. 



wheat, that may be of some use to farmers at 

 large. 



Much depends on the right soil, and much on the 

 manner of cultivation. I would not, therefore, ad- 

 vise an indiscriminate sowing; for if that is done 

 there will be a good many failures. With me, the 

 best soil for wheat is a loamy ridge, where there is 

 a free current of air, or even whei'e the winds have 

 full play. The land should be in good condition, 

 but not from fresh manure ; if any is used it should 

 be well rotted, old manure, as new will induce a 

 large growth of straw at the expense of the berry, 

 and probably result in mildew. 



I prepare my wheat lands mostly in the fall by 

 plowing once after corn or potatoes. Wheat does 

 best where the surface, for two or three inches deep, 

 is made line and loose with the harrow. As early 

 in the spring as the land is dry enough, I plow 

 well and sow the grain, harrow, and smooth off 

 with a brush. The seed should be well washed 

 and soaked in brine for two hours, then drained off 

 and dried with lime to destroy the snmt. About 

 one and a half bushels should be sowed to the acre. 

 As soon as it comes up, sow one bushel of plaster 

 to the acre. The essentials of success in raising 

 wheat are, the proper preparation of the ground in 

 the fall ; early sowing ; an early variety, if possi- 

 ble ; soil rich, but not with new and unfermented 

 manure, so that the crop may be liastened to ma- 

 turitj', and avoid all the hot weather possible. I 

 have made sixteen crops of wheat on the farm on 

 wiiich I now live, without a failure, though at some 

 times it has been Ijetter than others. h. 



Ejjpinff, N. H, March, 1867. 



Remarks. — Such valuable communications as 

 the above we dislike to print with a mere initial. 

 The writer of an article which informs us how six- 

 teen successive crops of wheat have been raised in 

 one of the older States of New England, may shield 

 himself from the respect and gratitude of the pub- 

 lic, but has he a right to withhold from his wife 

 and children the honor of his good name ? In 

 making this remark we have in mind the fact that 

 other wheat growers wlio have responded to Mr. 

 Parmenter, have regarded his request to do so 

 with their full names, and residences. 



sixteen crops of wheat witiiovt a failere. 



The high price of flour will induce many farm- 

 ers to sow wheat this spring. Having cultivated 

 this crop for the last 16 years, I nniy be in posses- 

 sion of some information in relation to growing 



APPLE TREES ON THE ROADSIDE. 



Last fall I prepared my ground for planting 

 some apple trees this spring ; the lot is bounded 

 on one side by the highway, and one of the rows 

 runs parallel with it. 



Now, up here in New Hampshire, the consumer 

 appears to have an idea that the producer has few 

 rights which he is bound to respect, and so it fol- 

 lows that those trees which are situated within cosy 

 clubbing distance of the road are of the least profit 

 to the owner. Every urchin, or boy of larger 

 growth, who passes by, seems intuitively to select 

 the tree which bears the choicest fruit, and missiles 

 of every description are hurled at its devoted head. 

 I have an old apple tree in my orchard which 

 stands near the road, the fruit is early and tooth- 

 some, and I verily believe that if the stones which 

 have been cast at that tree by passers by, for the 

 last ten years, should be piled up in a solid pile, 

 they would make a very respectable Egyptian 

 pyramid; when mowing in the vicinity of that 

 tree I try to think of the last Sunday's sermon, of 

 "Good will toward men and boys," but it's of no 

 use, scythes were not made to cut col)blcs. 



If I can raise good fruit, I take pride in my prov- 

 ing it by giving specimens to those who nuiy ask, 

 but it does go against the grain to be called a stin- 

 gy old curmudgeon because you tell one of this 



