1860.J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
363 
render this a very interesting and instructive 
suburban seat.” 
Since the above was written, the character of 
the place has changed a little. The “shrubs 
and plants grouped on the turf, and the shady 
bowers,” have been removed, and the whole 
area of the front lawn is devoted to grass and 
trees. The turf is kept in the finest possible con¬ 
dition, smoothly shaven, rolled, neat, and in ev¬ 
ery way perfect. The trees are now quite large 
and venerable. Norway Spruces lift up their 
dark, symmetrical spires forty or fifty feet high. 
English lindens and horse-chestnuts and weep¬ 
ing Ashes and elms, show what these several 
trees will attain to, when allowed time and room 
and a “ smart chance ” to grow. Passing to the 
rear of the house, we find ourselves among 
green-houses, graperies, vegetable gardens, 
flower-gardens, and fruit gardens, all ingenious¬ 
ly connected by curved walks. Here we no¬ 
ticed beds of verbenas all ablaze with masses 
of brilliant colors; and then came petunias, scar¬ 
let geraniums, Japan lilies, gladioli, (lacking, 
however, some of the fine new varieties,) dahlias, 
asters in great variety and excellence. Here, too, 
were pear trees, plums, peaches, apricots, sopie 
of them trained on walls and loaded with fruit. 
Perhaps the most striking feature of these gar¬ 
dens is the Summer-House. It is about twelve 
feet in diameter, and fifteen or sixteen in bight, 
and is octagonal in shape. The roof is support¬ 
ed by pillars of unhewn granite, and covered 
with tiles. Just outside of the pillars, the ground 
is-strewed with bowlders and loose fragments of 
rock, over which clamber periwinkle, money¬ 
wort and other trailing vines. The floor is 
paved with large, smooth flagging stones. In 
the center is a rustic circular table, the top of 
which is made of rattan closely inlaid and var¬ 
nished. Arotmd the table are ranged several 
rustic sofas, the legs and arms of which are 
wrought from the twisted and knotty branches 
of some sort of tree, and the seats and backs, of 
rattan-rods. But now, look overhead! Was 
that rudely vaulted ceiling stolen from a grotto 
of sea-nymplis ? It is covered with marine shells 
almost numberless and of every conceivable va¬ 
riety, placed there, too, (as a lady-companion 
informed us) by the skill and patience of the wife 
and daughter of the proprietor. They were put 
there before the days of “ Spalding's Glue,” yet 
they adhere to the ceiling very firmly. Had 
there been a conchologist in our party, we fear 
he would have stripped the roof of some of its 
treasures: asitwas, we only sat and admired, 
and went away in wonderment. 
From this point, the walks diverge in several 
directions into a large grove, composed partly 
of native trees and partly of foreigners. The 
majority of them have grown to a large size, and 
make a shade almost as dense as an ordinary 
forest. In several open places, are shrubs and 
flowers and specimens of the newer evergreens. 
In one secluded nook is a monument to a New¬ 
foundland dog. . Here and there, are rustic 
seats to refresh _the weary. This grove is so 
completely shut out from the street by tall hedges 
and masses of trees, that one can walk a long- 
while, and yet seem to be far from all human 
habitations and society. The walks are so skill¬ 
fully disposed, that a stranger can form no defi¬ 
nite idea of the. size of the grounds. If the writer 
of these lines were asked how many acres they 
contained, he could only reply—“ somewhere 
between five and ten.” We at length found our 
way out of the labyrinths of garden and grove, 
and reached the outer gate, filled with admira¬ 
tion of what we had seen, and, not the least, of 
the generosity which throws open such grounds 
to the free inspection of the public. 
Of our glances at other residences, of our ride 
along- the splendid, breezy roadway around “ the 
Point,” and of the generous hospitality which 
greeted us at the house of a friend, we can not 
speak at length; but they are not forgotten. 
--»~e*- 
Spontaneous Vegetation. 
It is a well known fact, that on the first clear¬ 
ing up of a new country, a new species of vege¬ 
tation springs up; new woods, new trees, 
shrubs, vines, grasses, all appearing as if they 
had been sown and planted by some invisible 
hand. Burn over this land, and still another 
set of plants come to light, as if the fire had 
brought them into being. Then again, dig up 
marl for manure, out of the earth 10 or 15 feet 
deep, moisten a lump of it and cover it with a 
glass bell so that no floating seeds can light 
' upon it, and soon white clover and other plants 
will be seen starting up from its surface. In 
some regions, the Sinapis arvensis, a kind of 
Mustard, generally grows up from clay taken 
from very deep wells. 
Facts like these have led many persons to 
suppose that the earth has power to bring forth 
certain products without the sowing of seed 
upon it. Else, they inquire, how could seeds 
lie buried so deep and so long, and not perish ? 
Vegetable substances, as a general rule, decay 
rapidly, and why should seeds be an exception 
to this rule ? And what agency has fire in pro¬ 
moting vegetation ? 
We do not believe that nature has the power 
of spontaneous production, either in the animal 
or vegetable kingdom. In the cases above re¬ 
ferred to, we believe these plants were the ' de¬ 
scendants of others like them, growing at some 
former time on the same soil, or in the imme¬ 
diate neighborhood. The seeds may have been 
deposited there by floods or freshets, by the 
winds, by animals or birds. We have seen rice 
taken from the crops of pigeons which had 
flown a hundred miles since eating it. Some 
seeds will germinate only under certain condi¬ 
tions. In the cases first alluded to, these con¬ 
ditions may have been wanting, until the seeds 
were brought up from the deep soil of the well, 
or until the forest was cut down, or the fire 
cracked the hard and flinty shell. Every body 
knows that wheat and other cereals taken from 
Egyptian mummies several hundred years old, 
have afterwards germinated. They could not 
vegetate as long as moisture and other favorable 
conditions were wanting. So it is in all cases 
with seeds and plants. 
-« S J - 
Notes on the Newer Grapes. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
Noticing your call for reports on the qualities 
of the newer native grapes, I venture to send 
you a few notes, such as they are. 
I have, this year, eaten the Northern Muscadine; 
and while it does not rank with the Black Ham¬ 
burgh or Delaware, it yet has merits. It ripens 
early (by the 10th of September,) is very sweet, 
and it is tolerably prolific. By thinning out the 
bunches, those remaining became of good size. 
He who has a large garden, and who can not 
ripen the Isabella, might plant one specimen 
of this Shaker Seedling. 
The Logan fruited with me, this year, for the 
first time. If I may judge from one year’s ex¬ 
perience, it ranks higher than the Concord, and 
hardly inferior to the Isabella, in flavor. But 
then it ripens three weeks earlier, and a lithe 
before the Concord. The wood is quite hard 
and short-jointed, ripening up before frost, clear 
to the extremities: it must be hardy enough for 
any body south of Labrador. My vine this year 
has grown eight feet of wood on each cane. As 
to the fruit, let me say that it is of medium size, 
both in cluster and berry, black as ink, yet with 
a beautiful bloom, compact and heavy. My vote 
is that every fruit-grower north of latitude 42° 
should put down his name for two Logans. 
The Rebecca is not new to everyoody, but it is 
little known to many. Some persons who have 
given it only a brief trial, have not been as suc¬ 
cessful with it as with the Concord and Dela¬ 
ware ; and their doubtful reports have deterred 
others from trying it. But please let me tell my 
tale, so as to give both sides a tail- chance. I 
have now grown it for four years, and fruited 
it three. Its growth the first year was feeble, 
but since then, it has been all that could be de¬ 
sired. A year ago last Summer, a few of the 
leaves on one vine became a little rusty, thus 
showing a slight tendency to mildew, but so did 
the foliage of my Dianas, and Isabellas. Dur¬ 
ing the Summer just past, the leaves were fresh 
until cut off by hard frosts. For two years past, 
my vines have borne well, the clusters and ber¬ 
ries being larger than the Diana, and as abund¬ 
ant. As to the quality of the fruit, perhaps I 
am a poor judge; but I candidly, think it supe¬ 
rior to the Delaware or Diana, With those who 
want a very sweet grape, it may not be as ac¬ 
ceptable ; but for me it is sweet enough, and is 
more sprightly and refreshing, and resembles 
some of the best exotic grapes. It ripens along 
with the Diana, and on this account becomes a 
better keeper in Winter than the Delaware. In 
short, I find no fault with it: it is hardy enough, 
fruitful, early in ripening, cluster and berry of 
good size, and quality first-rate ; my pet grape. 
Miller's Burgundy , is an old customer and a 
foreigner, but it has done so well with me for 
several years, I wish to say a word in its favor. 
It needs a little covering in Winter. The fruit 
ripens with me before the Isabella, How close¬ 
ly the berries are packed around the stem; you 
couldn’t get a needle between them ! And then, 
how juicy, brisk and sparkling the fruit is ! 
Those last two adjectives express its quality 
exactly. Put in one root of Burgundy. 
In a late number of the Country Gentleman, 
I see that Dr. Kirtland, of Ohio, famous for orig¬ 
inating several excellent sorts of cherries, thinks 
highly of the Cuyahoga grape. “ He regards it 
as the best of all the new American sorts, being 
superior to either the Diana or Delaware—vig¬ 
orous, very Hardy, as early as the Diana, and as 
delicious as the best exotic kinds.” This surely 
is saying a good deal, and being said by a man 
of Dr., Kirtland’s judgment and impartiality, de¬ 
serves the notice of all lovers the grape. 
Oneida Co., N. Y., Nov. 6th, 1860. OlvEtDA. 
Heated Grape Vine Borders. 
In some of the English Graperies, not only are 
the houses heated, but the outside borders, have hot 
water pipes arranged in a chamber beneath 
them, so that the temperature of tire soil is in¬ 
creased at will. A pot is plunged into the bor¬ 
der, and in this is suspended a thormometeiy bjr 
which the heat is regulated. The Gardeners’ 
Chronicle thinks the time will come when as 
much attention will be given to heating the bor¬ 
ders, as to covering the vines with a glass roof 
and forcing the out-of-ground portion. 
