AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
391 
m flavor—the Concord the handsomest and 
the largest grape and bunch, but inferior in 
flavor. Where the Catawba will ripen, 
many will prefer it to the Isabella, and it 
should head the list as being most desirable. 
It may be assumed that the Diana, under the 
best circumstances and best cultivation, will 
mature its fruit in four months and fifteen 
days ; the Concord in the same time ; the 
Isabella in five months ; and the Catawba in 
five months and fifteen days. The all im¬ 
portant consideration in the open culture of 
the grape in this country is the severe prun¬ 
ing of the branches as soon as they form, 
leave but one of the three or four that set 
upon each shoot. Then you will ripen the 
fruit rich in flavor, in Massachusetts, every 
year, as surely as the apple crop.” Grape- 
growers should profit by these hints next 
season. 
Alive Yankee in Connecticut assures the 
Editor “ that garlic planted round the butt of 
a tree, will effectually protect it against the 
borer. I have triedit some years, and know 
it answers'the purpose. Once planted, there 
it is, and continues, and is no trouble.” He 
asks no reward for the discovery. Tansy is 
said to do the same thing. 
BROOKLYN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The regular monthly meeting of this So¬ 
ciety was held at their rooms in the Brook¬ 
lyn Athenaeum, on Thursday evening, the 
20th inst., the’President, J. W. Degrauw, in 
the chair. The minutes of the previous 
meeting were read and approved. The 
Chairman of the Committee on obtaining a 
location for a Botanical Garden reported that 
they would be able to complete their report 
before the next meeting of the society, and 
he felt justified from the proposition already 
presented to them, in promising'that in the 
course of sixty days arrangements would be 
completed to commence this most desirable 
undertaking, in a locality combining all the 
elements to insure its success. 
A resolution was unanimously adopted 
that a committee of three be appointed to 
draft articles of incorporation, and report at 
the next meeting of the society; committee: 
J. W. Degrauw, Edward Arrovvsmith and 
Peter B. Mead. An interesting paper was 
read from Mr. Boles, showing the value of 
the new vegetable that has recently created 
such an interest with the horticulturists of 
France. The President was requested to 
present the thanks of the society to Mr. Boles, 
for his valuable article. Twenty-one mem¬ 
bers were proposed and elected. A committee 
consisting of nineteen members were chosen 
to make all the necessary arrangements for 
the Spring exhibition, which takes place on 
the 11th and 12th of April. The President 
and Treasurer were appointed to make ar¬ 
rangements with the Trustees of the Athe¬ 
naeum, for the use of the building for the 
present year. In consequence of an altera¬ 
tion in the By-Laws, the regular monthly 
meeting will be held hereafter on the first 
Tuesday of each month. At the next regu¬ 
lar meeting there will be an exhibition of 
plants, and a lecture on Botany, by a gentle¬ 
man who volunteered his services for that 
occasion. Adjourned till Wednesday eve¬ 
ning, the 28th of February, at 7it o’clock. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
CULTIVATION OF ASPARAGUS, 
Your article of the 20th Dec. last was sat¬ 
isfactory in many respects, especially in re¬ 
lation to the culture of asparagus in the vege¬ 
table garden, where the principle object is to 
secure an ample supply of the best quality 
without strict regard to its cost. As my ob¬ 
ject in soliciting information on this subject 
was more particularly directed to the field, 
you will readily perceive that very definate 
knowledge in all the details in the outlay and 
subsequent management is desirable. In or¬ 
der, therefore, to proceed intelligently, some 
points should be reduced to a reasonable de¬ 
gree of certainty; and I know of so better 
way than of propounding the following ques¬ 
tion : 
What amount of expenditure in the prepar¬ 
ation and planting of asparagus ground and 
the subsequent annual culture, may be profit¬ 
ably incurred 1 
In your own experiment, which you de¬ 
scribe, no data is given by which its char¬ 
acter as to actual profit can be known, nor 
what a given piece of ground so treated 
would produce. I find in the American Agri¬ 
culturist of the 6th September last, a quota¬ 
tion purporting to be from Downing, wherein 
he describes his mode of culture. Doubtless 
the treatment which he lays down would, of 
necessity, produce a very fine growth. But 
let us see what outlay is required as an an¬ 
nual course, leaving out of consideration the 
original preparation of the ground. 
In describing his mode he states that he 
puts one good load of well prepared - dung 
upon one hundred and twenty square feet of 
land. The relative preportion for an acre 
would be about three hundred and sixty loads, 
worth at least seventy-five cents per load. 
In addition to the dung he covers the ground 
annually with packing salt, about one quar¬ 
ter of an inch deep. Computing the relative 
quantity for an acre, 950 bushels would be re¬ 
quired, worth at this time perhaps 40 cents 
per bushel. 
Add to the foregoing items the expense of 
carting and spreading the dung and salt, and 
the general culture, including cutting, bunch¬ 
ing, and marketing, and the account of annu¬ 
al expenditure will stand as follows : 
360 Loads of dung at 75c.. .$270.00 
750 Bushels of salt at 40c_300.00 
Cultivation, &c..125.00 
$695.00 
Can a course of treatment involving such 
an enormous expenditure be profitable 1 
Nothing within the range of my own obser¬ 
vation will warrant the conclusion. In 
order to settle this question as to expendi¬ 
ture, another must necessarily be involved, 
viz : What is the maximum product of an 
acre of asparagus as developed in its culture 
in this country 1 The amount in this vi¬ 
cinity woidd perhaps run from $250 to $350 ; 
and in one case it is said to have exceeded 
$500. Great results are often obtained at 
an exorbitant cost, and often mislead inex¬ 
perienced cultivators with very unfortunate 
mistakes. Experiments exhibiting all the 
details of expense are the only reliable data, 
and if the Editors of the American Agricul¬ 
turist can furnish any such matter on this 
subject they will confer a favor on 
R. M. Conklin. 
In answer to the above our correspondent 
is informed, that unless the soil and location 
be superior, the cultivation of asparagus for 
the market would not be profitable. The 
best soil for this crop is a deep, alluvial, salt 
water, reclaimed marsh; and the next best, 
is the nearest possible approach to this, 
whether natural or artificial. If artificial, 
every one must count the cost of making the 
spot on which he designs to grow asparagus 
equal to the reclaimed salt water marsh. 
On this neither salt nor manure are requisite 
for several years. Of course the first two 
items of cost per acre, mentioned by our 
correspondent, viz : $270 and $300—$570, 
would be saved, leaving that of $125 for cul¬ 
tivation alone. This deducted from the price 
the crop would bring in market, viz : $250 to 
$300, would leave a good return for the culti¬ 
vation &c. 
Asparagus as a field crop for the market, 
is cultivated of the largest and best kind, in a 
cheap and simple way in this vicinity, after 
it is planted and has had one season’s growth 
Any time in the winter or forepart of March, 
cut off - the furze tops, then give it a good 
dressing of barnyard or other manure if 
necessary. As soon as the frost is out of the 
ground, plow up the whole field nine to 
twelve inches deep, just as you would if no 
crop were there, and without regard to cut¬ 
ting or turning up the asparagus roots ; then 
harrow and roll the ground smooth. The 
asparagus will soon shoot up in every direc¬ 
tion, and keep one as busy as he pleases in 
cutting and bunching it for market. 
Beautiful Incielent.— A correspondent of 
the Preston (England) Chronicle gives the 
following anecdote : A good while ago a 
boy named Charlie had a large dog which 
was very fond of water, and in hot weather 
he used to swim across the river near which 
the boy lived. One day the thought struck 
him that it would be fine fun to make the dog 
carry him across the river, so he tied a string 
to the dog’s collar, and ran down with him to 
the water’s edge, where he took off all his 
clothes ; and then, holding hard by the dog’s 
neck and the bit of string, he went into the 
water, and the dog pulled him across. After 
playing about on the other side for some 
time, they returned in the way they had 
come; but when Charlie looked for his 
clothes, he could find nothing but his shoes. 
The wind had blown all the rest into the wa¬ 
ter. The dog saw what had happened, and 
making his little master let go the string by 
making believe to bite him, he dashed into 
the river, and brought out first his coat, and 
then all the rest in succession. Charlie 
dressed and went home in his wet clothes, 
and told his mother what fun he and the dog 
had had. His mother told him that he did 
very wrong in going across the river as he 
had done, and that he should thank God for 
making the dog take him over and back again 
safely; for if the dog had made him let go 
in the river he would most likely have sunk, 
and been drowned. Little Charlie said, 
“ Shall I thank God now, mammal” and he 
kneeled down at his mother’s knee and 
thanked God; then, getting up again, he 
threw his arms around his dog’s neck, say¬ 
ing, “ I thank you, too, dear doggie, for not 
letting go.” Little Charlie is now Admiral 
Sir Charles Napier. 
A sailor having a mind for a ride and, not 
being acquainted with the horses’ rigging, he 
happened to put the saddle on the contrary 
way. A person near him observed to him 
his error. Jack looked steadily at him, and 
giving his quid an extra twist, said : 
“ How do you know what direction I am 
going to ridel” 
