1862. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
369 
for an additional berry, except at the ends of the 
hunches; bunches very large, heavy; very thin 
and delicate skin; no pulp, all juice; of the 
most delicious vinous flavor; two small seeds; 
healthy, good bearer, must be heeled in through 
Winter; is being propagated in preference to 
older varieties. Wine, all that can be desired. 
Ten pounds of grapes are reckoned to yield one 
gallon must at the first pressing. 
Cunningham , similar to the Herbemont. 
Concord, but little wine yet made of it, but 
that little is of an excellent, fiery character. 
Norton's Virginia Seedling, healthy, extremely 
hardy, somewhat difficult to propagate from 
cuttings (better from layers), berries small, but 
crowded in the bunches; very prolific. Its 
wine is decidedly superior to any other red wine, 
whether native or foreign, and is a better keep¬ 
er than the imported clarets. 
Delaware makes a good strong wine, when used 
alone, and when mixed with other varieties. 
Catawba, I put this old variety last, because it 
has lost many of its former friends by its being 
capriciously inclined to rot; it is sometimes too 
late in ripening, loses its foliage just when it 
ought to keep it, and is withal not quite hardy. 
Some years it behaves very well, yields an enor¬ 
mous crop of first quality (300 gallons must from 
one acre, worth this year $255), averaging 50 
fine bunches to a healthy vine. The best vine¬ 
yards I have seen this year were Catawbas, 
wholly or for the greater part; and the worst 
were Catawba also. But plenty of elbow-grease, 
with bucketfuls of perspiration and a generous 
• supply of well rotten compost were at the bottom 
of the thrifty, luxuriant vines. 
Isabella is either torn up, or, when a strong root, 
grafted with Concord. Itself is not worth the 
room it occupies. Soil and climate will not 
agree with this favorite of the East. 
There are quite a number of other varieties 
. which have been tested here for several years, 
and some (a. g., Hartford, Clinton, To Kalon,) 
will maintain a place in public favor; others 
will be grown only for the sake of having them. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
It Pays to Lay Down all Grape Vines. 
It is now generally conceded by the most suc¬ 
cessful fruit growers, that it pays well to lay 
down even the hardy vines, like the Catawba 
and Isabella. It is not necessary always to 
cover them with the soil, though this is some¬ 
times the most convenient substance. I am now, 
in October, reaping the benefits of this precau¬ 
tion, in the shape of the finest bunches of Isa¬ 
bellas I ever raised. Not only are the bunches 
large, but the berries are of unusual size, and of 
the finest quality, so that grapes under glass are 
hardly coveted. The vine is trained partly upon 
the southeast end of the house, and partly upon 
the southwest, and is now twelve years old. 
The part upon the southeast, which has the best 
exposure, was left upon the trellis; that upon 
the southwest was laid down upon the flower 
border which runs along the side of the dwell¬ 
ing, and was covered slightly with sea-weed, 
coarse litter, and manure, last December, after 
trimming. It was raised and fastened to its 
supports about the middle of April. Both sides 
were summer pruned, and sprinkled with sulphur 
Once. There was a fair crop upon the southeast 
side, but nothing to be compared to the grapes 
upon the other. With a little of the skill of 
Drs. Grant and Underhill, people who live along 
the Sound need not send to Croton Point and 
Iona Island for their grapes. The Isabella and 
the. Catawba both ripen perfectly near the shore, 
in all ordinary years. The Isabella sometimes 
receives damage in the fruit buds during Win¬ 
ter, so that it bears no fruit. Laying down pre¬ 
vents this. It is probable that this injury is 
done by the sun, so that it is only necessary to 
protect the canes by a slight covering of straw 
or evergreen branches. It is but a small job 
while pruning, and if done, and the vines re¬ 
ceive good treatment otherwise, I am confi¬ 
dent that the grape crop can be made more sure 
than apples. Connecticut. 
The Hermitage Wine. 
This wine, famous the world over, is so called 
from the ruins of an ancient Catholic hermitage 
found on the range of hills where the vineyard 
is established. The top of the hill is too cold, 
and at the base the ground is too rich to pro¬ 
duce wine of first quality. Along the middle 
region is a belt of calcareous soil, crossing a 
granite debris in the subsoil; and this seems to 
furnish just the best material for superior wine 
grapes. Lands adjoining, along the Rhone, and 
other neigboring hills even, in which the soil is 
different, yield good wine, but it does not fetch 
more than half the price in market. The best of 
the red Hermitage wines is made from one sort 
of grape called Civas; the white from two lands, 
viz.: the Roussette and the liaison. The vine-- 
growers manure with sheep and horse manure. 
The Japan Grape Vine. 
In answer to an inquiry, we reply that little 
seems to be known about it. We are not sure 
that it has yet been sent to this country, though 
we wish it might be. From one of our contem¬ 
poraries we gather the following : Mr. Fortune, 
the celebrated plant-collector, wrote, last year, 
from Jeddo in Japan, to the Gardener’s Chroni¬ 
cle, that he had seen and tasted a native grape 
there of superior quality, which he thought 
would be an excellent fruit for America. 
He had lately met in Asia Minor, with Bry¬ 
ant, the American poet, who told him that Eu¬ 
ropean grapes generally mildewed in the open 
air of America. He thought, however, that as 
other Chinese and Japanese plants have suc¬ 
ceeded so well in America, a grape-vine might 
do the same: at least, it was well worth the 
trial. Accordingly, Mr. F. having found a first- 
rate grape in Japan, a native of the coldest dis¬ 
tricts and very hardy, he informed Dr. Hall, a 
resident American, and a true horticulturist, of 
its existence and character, and advised him to 
send it to this country. Dr. Hall had previous¬ 
ly sent home other plants safely, and thought 
he could venture with this. What this gentle¬ 
man has done in the premises, we do not know, 
but shall try to ascertain. Mr. Fortune describes 
the grape as a fruit of great excellence. Bunch¬ 
es medium size, berries brownish red, thin skin¬ 
ned, and the flavor all that could be desired. 
Good Horticultural Prizes. 
Among the prizes recently offered by the Cal¬ 
edonian Horticultural Society, we note the fol¬ 
lowing : For the introduction of any new ever¬ 
green or deciduous shrub, of an ornamental 
character, and sufficiently hardy to withstand 
the Winter of Scotland. For the introduction of 
any ornamental or useful forest tree, adapted to 
the climate of that country. For the best mod¬ 
el of a rustic chair, with description of materials 
recommended for its construction, expense, 
etc. For the best essay, founded on at least 
five years’ observation, on bringing tender flow¬ 
ers and shrubs to such a state of hardiness, as to 
enable them, in ordinary situations, to endure 
the climate of Scotland. For the best essay, 
founded on observation and experiment, on the 
effects produced on the cion and its products by 
the stock on which it is grafted. For the best 
description of those diseases that appear in the 
bark of trees, which have hitherto been indis¬ 
criminately styled “ canker,” with mode of cure. 
In another society, we observe .that many of 
the premiums offered to laboring men consist of 
farm and garden implements, or articles of 
household furniture, or of books, trees and seeds. 
He who carries off the greatest number of prizes 
is to have the present of a splendid wheelbarrow ! 
Might not our societies gain something in use¬ 
fulness by adopting some such a system of prizes ? 
Enthusiasm for Fruit-Growing. 
A subscriber, in a note to the Editors of the 
American Agriculturist about his fruit orchard, 
breaks out into the following strong language : 
“ The most pleasant, most ennobling, and most 
wholesome of human employments, is fruit 
growing. It has no seasons of excessive toil, 
such as other farm labor involves at seed-time 
and harvest; it has nothing repulsive and shock¬ 
ing, like many operations in the care of, and 
slaughtering, animals; it is' not confining, and 
soul or body-dwarfing, as are most mercantile, 
mechanical and professional pursuits. Each de¬ 
partment of its labors is fit for saints—even for 
women; while the harvest—the gathering of the 
luscious and beautiful fruits—is suitable pastime 
for angels on gala days ! What can be more 
paradisian hereon earth than a snug fruit home¬ 
stead accessible to a good market ? With small 
capital and easy labor, it will yield a comforta¬ 
ble subsistence, and yet afford plenty of leisure 
in Winter for traveling, visiting, writing, study, 
or whatever is prefered. Parents will do well 
to consider these facts when counseling their 
sons as to choice of occupation.” 
The Best Shade Trees.— For the beginner, 
we would say, plant at first, native, well-known 
hardy trees. These will include, generally, the 
white elm; the rock maple, silver, red and black 
maples; the white ash, the white oak, chestnut, 
and perhaps a few others. To these, we would 
add a few evergreens, such as white pine, bal¬ 
sam fir, black and white spruce, and arbor vitas. 
Then we would go on with the Norway maple; 
English, Scotch and Dutch elms; Scotch larch, 
European Mountain ash, Norway spruce, Siberi¬ 
an Arbor Vitae and a few other foreign evergreens. 
Water-Cress. —This is a fine relish in Spring 
and is proverbially healthy. In Paris, it is cried 
through the streets under the name of la sante du 
corps, —the health of the body. In. its natural 
growth, it is found along water-courses, but is 
also raised in artificial ponds. These ponds are 
bottomed with several inches of rich soil, in 
which plants are then set out, when the water 
is allowed to flow over them. They start soon, 
and grow rapidly. 
A Nosegay op Fruit. —At a late party, we 
observed this novelty. It was composed of a 
large variety of different colored grapes, pears, 
plums, etc., arranged a la-bouquet, with leaves 
worked in between .them,' The-effect was fine. 
