1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
155 
day, when the tying is loosened, but the paper 
shelter is continued for a week or two longer. 
Notes on Grapes and Grape Culture. 
The vine has become so important as to de- 
mand a special department, and under this head- 
ing we give, from time to time, notes of our own 
observations, and such correspondence on the 
subject as we think will interest our readers. 
Care op Vines the first Season. — J. M. 
Jordon, nurseryman and vineyardist of St. 
Louis, Mo., sends the following timely hints: 
" Keep the vines tied «;) t7ie first season, as it takes 
two years to correct one year's neglect. Set 
strong stakes, 6 feet high, to tie the vines to, and 
let but one cane grow. Pinch in its laterals, 
and it -svill make a growth of 4 to 8 feet, and 
the second year after planting, will bear half a 
crop. On bearing spurs, leave three 1 eaves be- 
yond the last bunch of grapes. Two bunches 
are better than three on each lateral. Never 
disturb the inferior roots nor grow any other 
crops in the vineyard. Stir the ground frequent- 
ly in dry weather. 
" The ^Iission Grape.— A. Taylor, Calaveras 
Co., Gal. It will be of no use to send the 
"Mission" or any other Californian grape to the 
Atlantic States. All those varieties which suc- 
ceed so finely there, are of European origin, 
and are entirely unsuited to our climate. 
Grapes for Cold Cldiates. — Several cor- 
respondents ask what grapes they can raise in 
"this cold part of the country." Doctor J. D. 
Newbro, Ingham Co., Mich., which is about as 
unfavorable a locality for the grape as any in 
that State, succeeds well with the Hartford 
Prolific, Concord and Clinton. He says : "the 
Clinton is as hardy as an oak, bears well everj' 
year, is liked by most people, especially after 
one or two frosts." The Clinton we think has 
not met with the attention it deserves. There 
is no doubt about its great hardiness, and to 
those who do not care for an over-sweet fruit, 
it will prove acceptable. The Delaware is per- 
fectly hardy, but it is of rather slow growth 
when young, and will not generally give fruit 
60 soon as the varieties above named. 
New Varieties. — The attention now given 
to the production of new seedlings will doubt- 
less, in a few years, result in giving us varieties 
superior to any we now have, though with the 
Delaware, lona, and Allen's Hybrid in mind, it 
is difficult to conceive what direction the im- 
provements will take. While we record the ac- 
cessions to the list of grapes, our readers are well 
aware that we exercise great caution in recom- 
mending them. In the last report of the Mas- 
sachusetts Horticultural Society, tlie Dana is 
described as a new seedling, so nearly resembling 
the Rose Chasselas that it was mistaken for that 
variety. The report says: "Tlie bunch was 
medium size, shouldered, rather compact, with 
a peculiar red stem, the berries of rather large 
size, nearly round, red, with a rich, heavy bloom, 
so that when fully ripe they appear almost 
black ; as free from pulp as the Delaware ; not 
60 sweet, but more spirited and vinous, and yet 
not an acid grape." Ripe 20th to 2.5ih of Sep- 
tember, and keeps till December. This variety 
was raised by Francis Dana, who also presented 
tlic Novantum, which is a black grape resemb- 
ling the Isabella, but quite free from pulp. The 
Miles grape is an early variety which received 
favorable notice at the last meeting of the Amer- 
ican Pomological Society. It was commended 
by Chas. Do-\vnlng and others as a good grow- 
er, hardy, early, productive and of good flavor. 
Mildew.— Dr. Siedhoff, an experienced grape 
grower in New Jersey, informs us that he com- 
pletely prevents mildew by a free use of sulphur, 
and that he even succeeds in preventing injury 
to the foreign varieties by this treatment. The 
sulphur is blown over the vines, three or four 
times during the season, by means of a bellows 
which will allow the application of the sulphur 
to the under side of the leaves. Dr. S. applies 
the sulphur as soon as the leaves appear; when 
they are in blossom ; when the berries are the 
size of peas, and as soon as they commence to 
color. The same remedy is said to drive away 
the thrips, which in some localities are very de- 
structive. 
Little Things in the Garden. 
In planting the family garden, all the stand- 
ard vegetables will suggest themselves as things 
necessary to be provided for, but much of the 
comfort afforded by the garden consists of the 
numerous little things it affords — things which 
In themselves can hardly be considered as food, 
but which add to the attraction of the table by 
rendering other food more palatable. Those 
who are fond of pickles will in time provide for 
Cucumbers, Martynias, Peppers, Green Musk 
Melons, Refugee Beans, and all those things 
which are used for pickling, not forgetting the 
spicy Nasturtium. Parsley is valued by most 
people as a flavoring herb, and it is very handy 
to dress a dish of cold meat. The seeds are 
very slow in germinating, and should be sowed 
earl)'. Marjoram, Savory and Thyme, are the 
popular flavorings for soups and stuffings, and 
when cut in flower and carefully dried, and 
then rubbed up and put into an air-tight box or 
bottle, may be had in greater perfection than 
any that can be bought at the stores. The first 
two are annuals : sow the seeds in drills a foot 
apart and thin or transplant to six inches in 
the rows. Thyme is a small shrubby perennial 
which may be raised from seed or propagated 
by dividing old plants. There are very few 
who know what an excellent flavor a pinch of 
Spearmint gives to soup, or it would be more 
generally grown. In the older parts of the coun- 
try it is found naturalized in wet places, but it 
will do perfectly well in the garden and then 
we always know where to find it, as once es- 
tablished it will remain for years. Sage is al- 
ways in demand in the family for culinary or 
medicinal uses, and can be had in the garden 
with but little trouble. Seeds sown this spring 
will give a fair cutting by autumn. It is very 
readily raised from cuttings of old plants. Slip 
off the young shoots which start this spring 
from near the base of the plant, and set them in 
sandy soil and put over tliera a frame covered 
with common muslin ; they will thus be kept 
moist and shady and will strike root readily. 
The Preservation of Frtiits. 
Various plans have been proposed for pro- 
longing the time to which fruits can be kept, 
but the only one which, as far as we have heard, 
has been successful on the large scale, is that of 
Prof. Nyce, of Cleveland, O. After many ex- 
periments, he has settled upon a preserving 
house which seems to combine all the requisites 
for keeping fruit, viz., a low temperature, a dry 
atmosphere, and exclusion of oxygen. The 
house is constructed of double air-tight walls of 
galvanized iron, three feet apart, and filled in 
with sawdust, or other non-conducting mate- 
rial. The ice is placed in a second storj', in a 
mass five or six feet thick, and the fruit is 
stored in the room below. A uniform tem- 
perature of 3-10 is kept in the fruit room, and 
the air is kept dry by the introduction of chloride 
of calcium, which completely absorbs the mois- 
ture given off by the fruit This absorbing 
material is not, as some have supposed, the 
article commonly known as chloride of lime, 
but is quite different in constitution and proper- 
ties. The chloride of calcium is a waste pro- 
duct of the salt works, and is remarkable for the 
readiness with which it takes up water. When 
the fruit room is closed, the fruit absorbs 
oxygen from the air, and gives off carbonic 
acid (as always occurs in the ripening of fruits), 
and in a short time the atmosphere is completely 
deprived of o-xygen, an important agent in 
hastening decay. We have the best evidence 
that apples, pears, and grapes are kept in Prof. 
Nj-ce's house with complete success. Some 
grapes were exhibited at the Fruit Growers' 
Meeting in April, which had been several days 
on the journey, yet were as perfect in flavor, 
and their stems were as green as if just removed 
from the vine. We understand that tomatoes, 
peaches, and berries of various kinds are pre- 
served in large cans and the fruit is sold out in 
the stores by the quart The subject has much 
interest for both consumers and growers of fruit 
The Striped Bug. 
This little beetle, Oaleruca idttata, is one of 
the annoying pests of the garden. It attacks 
cucumbers, melons, and all plants of the squash 
family during their early growth, often causing 
a total failure of the crop. We have publish- 
ed many of the " sure preventives" which have 
been communicated and have several yet un- i 
published ; these range from soaking the seeds 
in turpentine, to sprinkling Indian meal around 
the plants. All the applications we have ever 
made of various powders, varying in potency from 
black pepper to plaster, seem to have had only 
a mechanical effect If the plants are kept 
covered with any powder, the insects seem to 
find it disagreeable, and one powder seems just 
as good as another. Mr. S. H. Marrows, of 
Androscoggin Co., Me., surrounds his plants by 
boxes or frames, 8 inches square and 6 inches 
high, and keeps them there untU the plants 
reach above the tops of the boxes. They are 
put on when the seeds are planted. Mr. M. at- 
tributes the foilure of those who have been un- 
successful with this plan, to the fact that they 
make their boxes too large and put them on too 
late. With him "it works to a charm." Wo 
have successfully used boxes a foot square and 
covered with some kind of gauze or open fabric, 
and found it the only effectual method of keep- 
ing off the bugs. Tlie correspondent above 
quoted finds it unnecessary to cover them, and 
states that few insects get over the barrier. 
Tan Bark for Potatoes. — Tan Bark is 
worth hauling three or four miles for covering 
potatoes, particularly when the previously 
sprouted sets are planted on heavy soils. After 
putting the sets in the drills, sprinkle a quart or 
so of tan on, and around each, and cover with 
earth. This will keep the soil loose, and the 
tubers will grow larger and less liable to rot 
Sawdust is also good. On light soils sawdust 
might work more injury than benefit We re- 
commend a trial of this plan in localities where 
potatoes are usually apt to rot badly. 
