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302 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMEE. 



Oct. 



From the Prairie Farmer. 



Horticultural Notes and Items. 



Geape Growing in Iowa. — The success which 

 has attended grape growing upon the bluffs and 

 highlands of the upper Mississippi, has estab- 

 lished the fact that they are much better adapt- 

 ed to the purpose than our more open and level 

 country, even in much lower latitudes. Being 

 in Lyons a few days since, we visited the grounds 

 of A. A. Truax. They are located a mile from 

 the river upon the west bank, and have a general 

 northern inclination. Six acres are enclosed, 

 and every foot is occupied — principally with 

 grapes. The soil is about twelve to fifteen inch- 

 es deep underlaid with yellow clay. In the fall 

 of 1859 it was covered with a dense growth of 

 hazel brush. It was trench plowed and thor- 

 oughly pulverized and on a portion of it ashes 

 spread. The principal crop of grapes is com- 

 posed of the Catawba and Isabella, both of 

 which are in a very healthy condition, several 

 hundred of them now fruiting very heavily with- 

 out any appearance of disease or blight. The 

 Delaware are growing very finely. Mr. Truax 

 is propagating largely from them allowing only 

 a few of them to fruit this year. His success in 



PaOPAGATINO BY CUTTINGS 



in the open air has been so successful, that we 

 here give his irethod of procedure as kindly 

 furnished us by himself : 



*« In the first place I take my Delaware cut- 

 tings off in the fall which are cut from thorough- 

 ly ripened fruit-wood, after the leaves have 

 dropped, and cut them into length of 3 or 4 eyes, 

 am not particular to an eye, then cut them close 

 under an eye to make them root more readily, 

 then take them and bury them in sand in a cel- 

 lar where it freezes slightly through winter. I 

 prefer burying them in sand as it helps them 

 callous over through the winter. The first week 

 in May the ground beginning to get warm, I take 

 my cuttings out of the sand in the cellar, the 

 eyes having been kept back by the cold sand and 

 not swelled any. I then take the cuttings which 

 must be kept from the air and not allowed to 

 dry, as that is fatal to them, and put them in 

 trenches which are made n.a follows : Lay off 

 the ground intended for the cuttings, (I have the 

 ground spaded to the depth of fifteen inches or 

 as deep as the spade can be driven in the ground) 

 the ground is then leveled and trenches are dug 

 6 inches deep and just the width of the spade; 

 take common coarse sand and fine chip dirt and 

 mix them together and scatter along in the 

 trenches to the depth of two inches. I then 

 take my Delaware cuttings and set them along 

 in the trenches about 6 inches apart_ in a slant- 

 ing position, setting them well down in the chip 

 dirt and sand so there will be but one eye above 

 ground when the trench i filled up and leveled 

 off. I then fill in the frer.ch with 3 inches of fine 

 mould and tread the mould to the cuttings gent- 

 ly, then put on the other inch of soil and leave 

 that loose so that the rains and sun can pene- 

 trate and act upon the cuttings ; this last inch 

 of soil brings the upper eye even with the Bur- 

 faee. Then take some short straw and shake it 



over them loosely so as to shade the eyes from 

 the sun and drying winds until the eyes start, 

 then remove the straw, weed them out nicely 

 and loosen the surface soils to the depth of an 

 inch and keep it mellow to that depth through 

 the summer. By this plan we don't lose twen- 

 ty cuttings out of a hundred and should not 

 lose any if the wood was all ripe and all put in 

 the trenches alike trodden and covered evenly. 



Delawares raised on this plan make fine plants 

 in the fall. I think the whole secret of raising 

 the Delaware or any other close grained grape- 

 vines from cuttings, is having the woood thor- 

 oughly ripened, proper care taken of the cut- 

 tings after cut, and the preparation of the soil 

 and trenches, where you wish to raise them out 

 of doors. I would say in addition to this my 

 ground all lays to the northeast and my cuttings 

 are all raised on the north side of a six foot 

 fence. I prefer that to any other part of my 

 grounds. The cuttings don't start quite as- ea?- 

 ly but they are more apt to live aiier thejf/tiiij.^ i 

 start, as the soil gets plenty warm enough., '"'" *^ 

 the 1st of June and the soil keeps moaj( 

 through the summer making fine plants by-f 



The Dianas isind Concords are flouri^hifig 

 well as could be desired. 



Blackbereies. — The New Kcohelle or L^v^'tetaij'' 

 has fruited fully this season and gave some e??*. 

 ceilent fruit. ■ •- ^4, 



Kaspberkies. — The Purple Cane has prpvedj^'f 

 all that has been claimed for it, and Mr. T; will 

 extend its cultivation considerably. • ■. 



Strawberries. — Mr. T., has supplied a good 

 quantity of this fine summer fruit, realizing ov- 

 er §200 for his crop, at 6 and 8 cents per quart ; 

 mostly of the Wilson's Albany. He has a plan- 

 tation of the Triomphe de Grand from which he 

 his had some fruit ; they promise to do well with • 

 him and he will extend his grounds. 



Pears. — Mr. T.'s trees are in a fiue growing 

 condition and are promising well ahfcough it has 

 required very close watching and care to check 

 the blight. This he has done by cutting off the 

 affected part fully back of the disease and paint- 

 ing over the wound with white load acd oil. In 

 that way he has saved several that ha J commen- 

 ced blighting, and thej' present a healthy ap- 

 pearance. He practices the same oa the apple 

 trees. To shield the trunks of hi? young pear 

 and apple trees from the scorching of the sun he 

 sews a piece of cotton cloth around them from 

 the ground up to the limbs — en stripping off 

 some that had been on all the season the bark 

 was found to be clean and healthy. 



Celeet. — The manner of growing celery was 

 to let it grow in the row where transplanted 

 without hilling up at all, only ketpingit free 

 from weeds. In the fall it is taken up and pack- 

 ed in a narrow trench dug for the purpose from 

 18 to 24 inches deep^ It should be packed very 

 close and then filled With close manure sufficient- 

 ly deep to keep outJ^rost ; the celery will thus 

 become beautifully blanched and the trench can 

 be opened at one end and a quantity removed at 

 any time for use during the winter. 



