240 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



menced sending to market July 27, and expects to continue marketing 

 through all of September. 



The Chairman stated that the nature of the orange tree was to carry- 

 fruit and flowers at the same time, and that is also the case with the fig 

 tree, and he thought that it might be possible to increase our own fruit 

 productions by art — making plants more overbearing. 



GRAPES. 



He also gave some interesting facts about the cultivation of grapes at the 

 Cape of Good Hope, where the practice is to prune back to three buds, 

 and grow the vines in bunches near the ground, only twelve or fourteen 

 inches high. A vineyard looks more like a Scotch turnip field than like 

 one of our vineyards. When vines are grown over trellises only, they 

 are trained to a considerable length, but for raising, always low. 



RINGING THE VINE. 



Andrew S. Fuller. — The result of ringing the vines in this vicinity 

 proves that the fruit will ripen two or three weeks earlier. Of course it 

 kills the upper part of the vine, but not until it has ripened its fruit per- 

 fectly. The ring of the bark is taken ofi" down to the wood. 



UNPRUNED VINES. 



Mr. Provoost, of Brooklyn, said that he never pruned, except to cut 

 away dead wood. His plan is to lay down vines and let them root at the 

 joints, and then carry them up again, till he gets vines 30 or 40 feet 

 long. He has got a barrel of juice from a single vine of black grapes. 



The Chairman. — There is a law of proportion between branch and root 

 to which more attention should be paid. In this country the proportion of 

 root is apparently small, and that will account in some degree for the 

 benefit arising from ringing vines. We need some experiments in this line 

 to know what the proper proportion is. 



Mr. Fuller. — Any training or distorting of trees may add to their imme- 

 diate productiveness, but will destroy the tree, or that part of it distorted. 



YELLOW SIBERIAN CRAB-APPLES. 



Mr. Fuller exhibited some splended samples of Siberian crab-apple, of 

 the yellow variety, grown by George H. Hite, of Morrisania, a gentleman 

 of great taste in all horticultural matters, and whose garden is full of the 

 most rare and beautiful plants. These crab-apple trees, independent of 

 their value as fruit trees, are highly ornamental, the fruit hanging in long 

 festoons. They are also valuable for preserving. Mr. Fuller exhibited a 

 specimen of crab apple jelly, made by Mrs. Hite, which was tasted and 

 warmly commended. 



THE STEAM PLOW. 



Mr. Solon Robinson read a letter from H. D. Emery, of Chicago, with an 

 extract of a published letter from J. W. Fawkes. Mr. Fawkes states that, 

 in consequence of his engagements to exhibit his machine in operation in 

 this city on the 21st of September, he should not be able to have it at the 



