SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
371 
measure) prevent that, A tree that starts well, and under 
all fdvorabe circumstances, in March and again in June 
or July will have exhausted its powers of vegetation, and 
accomplished what it was destined to do. 
A neglected tree will resume the work whenever some 
favorable circumstance of climate, late cleaning, late prun- 
ing, &c., calls it into new life, and to renewed exertions. 
In a soil not drained, or too shallow, or too flat and 
level, every drop of rain, every variation in the atmos- 
phere v/ill tell, while a well planted, subsoiled or under- 
drained tree, will resist those slight influences. 
Suppose a well planted tree of a good hardy variety, in 
a well-drained soil, rather on a slightly rolling or uneven 
ground, well cleaned from weeds, and treated, not with 
stable manure, but with limes, ashes, phosphates, &c., 
and left untouched, unpruned, after the month of July. 
Do you think such a tree could easily be blighted ? I 
have seen thousands in the well drained and highly en- 
riched grounds of Wm. Reid and Prof Mapes, and not a 
single blight have I found there, in the space of six years ; 
not even among the old varieties. My conclusion has 
been, of course : 
1st. Good treatment. 
2nd. Underdraining or thorough and deep subsoiling 
Srd. Application of only such manure as will make 
healthy, firm wood — carbon andjiot watei;. Those are, as 
I staled before, concrete manures, rich in wood-forming 
matter. 
4th. Judicious pruning and no more pruning after July: 
pruning always making a call to a new flow of sap, as all 
processes of healing and restoration in all living organ- 
isms. 
Although these remarks are already too much extend- 
ed, I beg to add a few facts in conclusion. In 1838, while 
residing in Europe, I had a lane of fine chesnut trees 
(planted in 1833) in a most thriving condition. We had 
no frost till the 6th of January, but foggy, damp weather. 
The result was that most all the trees, but especially the 
chesnut and quince trees started, and commenced the or- 
dinary process of spring vegetation, swelling of buds, for- 
mation of roots, &c. In the night of the 6th of January 
a sudden, keen frost set in; and, at the 8th, we had 25° 
below zero ! The consequence was, that my 200 ches- 
nuts, and all my quince trees were blighted from top to 
root. In the Nurseries, chiefly in the best sheltered lo- 
calities, thousands of pear trees, besides all the quince 
stock, were lost, destroyed. This was the blight at 
wholesale, and applied to other trees than the sensitive 
pear trees ; but blight it was, it all its features and results. 
The second fact is this : In one of my orchards, where a 
small spot had a substratum of very retentive clay, I 
found, after a heavy rain, 6 or 8 holes half filled with 
water, which kept there till two days afterwards, while 
all the other ready-made holes had drained themselves 
naturally. I had no time to underdrain that small spot, 
being in a hurry to finish that orchard. The result was 
three blighted trees this year and three or four growers; 
not another tree among the 3000 in that orchard was 
blighted. 
Certain varieties are more exposed to blight and almost 
sure to get blighted once in a while ; if not all over, at 
least in some of their limbs. Neglected trees first ; old 
and special varieties, secondly. The Bartlett, Vicar, 
Gloutmorceau, Madeline, Jargonelle, are among the blight- 
ers. A hundred or two among the more recent varieties 
seem to bid defiance to all causes of blight. Will they be 
so forty years hence 7 But, what is the cause of blight 
among one yearVseedlings ? Here is a poser. Evident- 
ly it is not the frost of the preceding winter ; they were 
not “out” by that time. It is then the influence of a dry, 
absorbing atmosphere ; of extremes of temperatures dur- 
ing twenty-four or forty-eight hours of the summer days 
and a cool night or two. 
Let it be what it may, the conclusion will always be 
the same. As with imported stock and exotic flowers 
and plants, let us take more care and precautions, and 
study the habits of those foreigners more close. If blight 
is scarce or unknown (among the larger trees; I say 
nothing of one year’s seedlings) in well drained, well ma- 
nured soils, is not there the clue to a prevention I As 
with other evils, let us be contented with the results of 
tried experiments, and we can afford, while enjoying the 
fruits of our labors, , to enquire more minutely into the 
more proximate or remote causes of the disease. But, by 
all means, let us make deep soils, and resort to high and 
judicious cultivation. As with the human family, sound 
.and real diets and improvements will prevent many dis- 
eases. L. E. Berckmans. 
Pearmont, October, 1859. 
PRUNIxNG THE GRAPE. 
We copy the following brief and prac'ical directions, 
from the valuable Essay of our friend, A. de Caradeuc, 
Esq ; 
First Year's Pruning . — In the winter, at any time be- 
tween the 1st ofDecember and the 15th of March, take a 
sharp knife, remove every branch except one, and cut that 
down above the second or third eye of the last growth ; 
break the land with a half-shovel plow as for corn, pass- 
ing the nearest furrow about twelve inches from the vines. 
Give them a stake about four feet bng; they will, in the 
spring, shoot out many suckers, and put out eyes where 
they have no business ; cut out the suckers'with a long- 
handled chisel, and cut off all the eyes excepting the two 
or three you left in pruning: these, as they grow up, 
should be fastened to the stakes, with bits of soft string, 
bark or anything else you may have at hand. Keep the 
land cultivated with plow and hoe, and plant peas be- 
tween. 
Second Pruning . — The second winter’s pruning is a 
repetition of the first, but you must replace the small 
stakes by good lasting wood, from six to eight feet long. 
There will be some fruit. The summer’s work is the same 
as above. 
Third Pruning . — The third winter’s pruning is differ- 
ent ; remove all branches or canes, save the two strong- 
est; of these, cut the highest about eighteen inches long, 
and the other about three inches — the longest is intended 
for fruit ; the latter, which is called “spur,” is to make 
wood for next year. Towards spring, bend this long 
branch horizontally , and fasten the end of it strongly to a 
short stake, placed at a sufficient distance. In the West 
this cane is made to form a complete circle, by fastening 
the end of it to the foot of the vine; this is called “arch- 
ing.” The object of arching is to moderate and regnlate 
the flow ef the sap, in order that it may fill all the eyes 
on the cane, for if the canes were left perpendicular, the 
sap would pass the lowest eyes, and rush upwards to the 
top. But, in our opinion, arching overdoes the business, 
and the sap, whose tendency is always upwards, will 
most generally stop at the eyes on the upper part of the 
arch, and develope them strongly ; and those below will 
put out very weakly, or not at all. While, when the 
cane is laid horizontally , they all get their share much 
more equally divided. The vine should also be strongly 
fastened to the large stake. All who plant vines must 
plant our Osier willow, whose twigs are superior to any 
others for tying, although we have made use of the young 
twigs of Black Gum, or the Wild Willow, and of the 
barR of young Hickory. 
During this summer, the vines will throw out strong 
branches, which must be fastened to the stakes as they 
