AMERICAN! AGRICULTURIST, 
283 
GRAPE GROWING. 
IMPORTANT ENQUIRIES, AND A SUGGESTION. 
In the usual method of constructing graper¬ 
ies, it is customary to set the vines in the 
ground or border just outside the building, 
and lead them in through a hole in the foun¬ 
dation wall below the surface. Mr. Tarbox, 
of Brooklyn, Conn., enquires whether it 
would answer to set the plants a distance of 
10 to 15 feet from the building, leading them 
up 20 to 25 feet in the open air before enter¬ 
ing the building, or allowing side branches 
to grow. 
First—Will the'main stem of the imported 
grape be likely to suffer during winter, if 
left unprotected, provided the top or bearing 
branches are under glass cover 1 
Second—If protection is necessary, will a 
covering of straw closely bound on be suffi¬ 
cient ? 
Third—Will the head branches bear equal¬ 
ly as well at the distance of 30 to 40 feet 
from the root as nearer 1 The wild native 
grapes are said to produce their best fruit at 
the tops of the supporting trees, say 40 to 
80 feet from the root of the vine. Will the 
same be the case with the exotic or foreign 
grapes 1 
A Suggestion.— If the naked stem of the 
foreign grape vine will withstand the frost 
when exposed, or with slight protection 
with straw, then the upper rooms, attics or 
garrets of any buildings, whether in country 
or city, may be converted into convenient 
graperies at little expense. Glass roofs can 
now be put on almost, if not quite as cheaply 
as those of tin. With this and a part of the 
gable ends also glass covered, the grape 
vines may be carried up on the outside of 
the building, and led through it at the base 
of the garret, where side shoots may be 
trained as in any ordinary grapery. The 
warm air ordinarily ascending from the 
lower rooms would furnish sufficient artifi¬ 
cial heat during most of the year. Any addi¬ 
tional heat required for a few of the coldest 
days of winter, or for forcing, could be sup¬ 
plied by hot air registers from below. For 
an ordinary cold grapery, no heating appa¬ 
ratus would be required. We will not at 
this time speak particularly of the attrac¬ 
tiveness and beauty of a house, store, or 
work-shop thus constructed, nor of the ac¬ 
tual profit (for we believe profit there would 
be), until we get the opinion of some expe¬ 
rienced grape cultivators in answer to the 
questions above.— [Ed. 
Alexander Gunn was discharged from the 
Custom House at Edinburgh for a mal¬ 
practice. The entry in the books stands 
thus : A. Gunn tuas discharged for making a 
false report ! 
If you never touch a drop of any prepara¬ 
tion containing alcohol, you will most assu¬ 
redly never die in the gutter. 
Poverty wants some, luxury many, and 
avarice all things. 
The Bible is our best directory in w faith 
and practice. 
Good words cost nothing, but are worth 
much. 
A FIRST RATE SUET PUDDING. 
Having frequent occasion to take a noon 
“ lunch ” at the Dining Rooms of Savery’s 
Temperance Hotel in this City, we have 
been particularly pleased with the “ Suet 
Pudding ” there served up, and at our request 
Mr. Savery kindly furnished the recipe for 
the readers of the American Agriculture 
It is made as follows : 
Blend well together: 
i lb. white Sugar, pulverized, 
i lb. Beef Suet, chopped fine, 
1 quart of Milk. 
2 teaspoonfuls Cream of Tartar, 
I teaspoonful cooking Soda, 
6 Eggs, well beaten. 
When the above are thoroughly mixed, 
stir in 21 lbs. of Flour, and flavor with ex¬ 
tract of Lemon. Bake in cups for about 
twenty minutes, in an oven hot enough for 
baking biscuits. The above amounts are 
used for two dozen dessert cakes, 
N. B.—One-half pound of Butter may be 
used instead of the l lb. of Suet. 
Pudding Sauce. —With the above, as well as 
other puddings, two kinds of sauce are used. 
Hard Sauce —Butter beat up with pulverized 
Sugar. Lemon Sauce. —i lb. Butter; 1 lb. 
Sugar; 1 Lemon, cut fine ; I pint of Water. 
The whole boiled, thickened with a little 
Flour, and a little Nutmeg grated in. 
Others may have better recipes than the 
above—if so please send them on.—[E d. 
Merino Sheep Speculation. —A subscriber 
inquires where he can find the best account 
of the “ Merino Sheep Speculation,” at the 
time they were introduced by Gen. Humph¬ 
reys, some fifty years ago. Can any one of 
our readers answer the question ? 
Agricultural Books and Libraries. —We 
direct especial attention to Saxton & Co.’s 
plan for furnishing Agricultural books, in 
the advertising columns. 
United States Agricultural Exhibition. 
—The official announcement appears in our 
advertising columns. The full information 
therein imparted saves us the necessity of 
further reference to it. 
Illinois Central Railroad Lands. —We 
have not thought it necessary to call the at¬ 
tention of our readers to the advertisement 
of this Company, as it is so full and com¬ 
plete that it speaks for itself. It will com¬ 
mand the attention of all who are looking to 
the West with reference to a change of resi¬ 
dence. The location of these lands upon one 
of the finest railroads in the world, renders 
them worthy of special notice. We have 
just received a beautiful pamphlet of 64 
pages, containing maps of the State of Illi¬ 
nois and of the Central Railroad Lands, and 
much information respecting the country. 
This is issued by the Company, to be sent 
as a full reply to those asking information. 
We advise all interested to send to John 
Wilson, Esq., at Chicago, Illinois, and get 
one of these pamphlets, which are furnished 
gratis, we believe, to all applicants. 
The bravest heart oft contains the most 
humility. 
N. Y. State and American Institute.— 
Agricultural Exhibitions. —The official an¬ 
nouncements of both of these Exhibitions, 
with particulars as to arrangements, &c., ap¬ 
pear in the Advertising pages of this num¬ 
ber. We have not room for further notice. 
The Connecticut State Agricultural 
Society. —Extensive preparations are being 
made to get up an Exhibition—to be held at 
New Haven, October 7th to 10 inclusive— 
on a scale quite surpassing the last two ex¬ 
hibitions of this Society. This is saying a 
good deal, as both of the former shows were 
excellent, but “ forward march” is the 
watchword of the commanders, colonels, 
captains and subalterns of this enterprising 
Yankee Society. “ Fall into the ranks,” 
brother farmers of Connecticut, “ drop the 
plow in the furrow” for a day or two, and 
go up to the Annual Parade at New Haven. 
Acknowledgements. —To C. L. Flint,Esq., 
Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of 
Agriculture, and to Henry A. Dyer, Esq., 
Secretary of the Connecticut State Agricul¬ 
tural Society, we are indebted for copies of 
the Reports of the Transactions of their re¬ 
spective Societies during 1855. These gen¬ 
tlemen,w'e may remark, are doing most effi¬ 
cient service in the cause of agricultural im¬ 
provement, and we are glad to learn from 
various sources that their labors are ap¬ 
preciated by those for whom they labor. 
The reports before us are valuable contribu¬ 
tions to the agricultural literature not only 
of these two States, but of the whole coun¬ 
try. 
Mr. G. Sprague, Secretary of the Ohio 
Agricultural Society, has kindly favored us 
with a programme and a beautiful picture of 
the show grounds for their Exhibition to be 
held at Cleveland, September 23d to 26th. 
We are sure the Exhibition is to be a mag¬ 
nificent one, and, if at all practical, we shall 
witness with our own eyes what the banner 
farming State can do on such an occasion, 
To Correspondents and Contributors.— 
All articles designed for insertion, or ques¬ 
tions requiring reply, must reach us by the 
15th of the preceding month to be sure of 
attention, as after that date we are wholly 
occupied with the leading articles for the 
season. Quite a number of letters, &c., de¬ 
signed for this number, came to hand after 
the inside pages were printed, and are crowd¬ 
ed out for want of room. 
NO IRREGULARITY IN MAILING. 
The Agriculturist is invariably mailed one 
day before the beginning of the month. If 
the paper is late in reaching subscribers, the 
fault is with the mails, not with us. Careful 
men; and not boys, are employed to write 
wrappers, so that there shall be no mis¬ 
takes. 
Errata. —On page 279 of the inside sheet, 
we see the pressman has spoiled the heading 
“More about Sparing the Birds.” He prom¬ 
ises to be more careful next time and he 
must be. These ‘‘Steam Presses” are 
very convenient, but they sometimes “ play 
the mischief ” with the types. 
