AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
188 
GRAPES—RAISING FRUIT VS. HUNTING IT. 
a boy’s letter. 
[The following letter is from a boy subscriber who is a 
very enthusiastic cultivator, though yet lacking a good 
many years of being “ out of his teens,” we believe. We 
think he is bound to succeed. At his request, we omit 
his name and residence, which we have.— Ed.] 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
Many boys and girls, strange as it may appear, 
seem to prefer to go wandering through the fields 
in search of strawberries, and picking their way 
through muddy swamps, in search of grapes (the 
first of which, when gathered, are small, sour, 
and hardly fit to it; and the latter much like 
leaden bullets), than to raise them, and have 
large and beautiful fruit. And what is the reason 
of this 1 It is because the former method is 
falsely called fun, and the latter work. The time 
spent in searching after fruit would nearly or 
quite be sufficient to raise much more, and of a 
better quality. 
The grape will repay culture better, or at least 
as well as any other fruit now grown. Such, at 
any rate, seems to be the general opinion, if we 
may judge from the great outlays of money now 
made, in order that it may be cultivated thor¬ 
oughly, and to have it at all seasons of the year. 
But a great outlay is not always necessary, in 
order that we may have and enjoy this fruit. 
The most heavy and laborious work in the culti¬ 
vation of the vine, is preparing the ground, and 
this is one of the most important things to be 
done. 
In the first place, the ground intended for the 
grape border should be measured and marked 
out. Let it be from four to six feet wide—six is 
the best—and as long as you wish. Then throw 
out the black soil on one side, and the yellow soil 
with the clay or gravel on the other. The deeper 
it is dug the better, but not less than two leet. 
Ours is from three to three and a half. This you 
will find to be the most laborious part of the 
wotk, and will require some patience and perse¬ 
verance. Afier this was done, we carted small 
stones into it, having them piled regularly from a 
foot to fourteen inches high. This you will readily 
perceive is done for the purpose of draining the 
border, without which the grape does not succeed 
nearly as well. 
After this is done, add about two or three 
inches of good soil; then some manure, and con¬ 
tinue to fill it up, adding a good quantity of ma¬ 
nure, shefls, bones, and almost any thing that 
serves to enrich the soil, and does not injure the 
vines. Some put in strips and bits of leather, 
and old woollen rags. Dead cats and dogs are 
not considered to be beneficial. Do not put in 
any of the gravel or clay, but supply its place 
with good soil. After all this is done, then set 
out the vines nicely and well. If you will sink 
boards along the edges of the border, it will give 
the whole a neat appearance, and confine the 
soil. The ground must then be kept free from 
weeds, or mulched. If you mulch your border, 
let the covering be about four inches deep. Mulch 
is generally considered to be good for grape 
vines. 
For instructions as to the after culture of the 
grape, I refer you to other persons more experi¬ 
enced in raising the grape than I am. Be as¬ 
sured your parents will be much better pleased 
to have you spend your time in this manner than 
in searching after bad fruit. 
Your young friend, George. 
Up in Connecticut, July 13, 1857. 
The ardent reformer moves the multitude, but 
the cairn philosopher moves the ardent reformer. 
CHAPTER VII. 
This has not beea a favorable season for Straw¬ 
berries, except in light soil. On rich and heavy 
soils the abundance of rain has induced too vigor¬ 
ous growth of leaf. We have noticed some new 
varieties of much promise, but it will require anoth¬ 
er season to test them fully ; we want a few va¬ 
rieties of perfect plants, that is, plants perlect in 
both sexual organs, of great constitutional vigor; 
plants that may be cultivated separately, and at 
such distances that they can be kept clean with a 
hoe in the same manner as cabbage plants. A 
friend has been raising plants from seed for sev¬ 
eral years, with a view to obtain, if possible, va¬ 
rieties of greater vigor than any that have been 
hitherto produced. He has obtained two varieties 
which promise well in this respect. The plants 
are now two feet in diameter, and still growing 
most luxuriantly ; they both fruited this summer, 
the berries were very large and good. Another 
year will fully test their merits, but they will not 
be offered to the public without having first re¬ 
ceived the unqualified approbation of disinterested 
and well qualified judges. For the present we 
cannot recommend any kinds more highly than 
Longworth’s Prolific and Hovey’s Seedling for a 
main crop. 
August and September are suitable months for 
setting out new beds, and if the plants are prop¬ 
erly cared for, they will produce some fine fruit 
next summer ; success will depend almost wholly 
on the proper management of the plants. Let 
the ground be well enriched with thoroughly de¬ 
composed stable manure ; if trenched eighteen 
inches or two feet deep so much the better. Se¬ 
lect the finest young plants, and remove them with 
as many of the roots as possible. Be careful to pro¬ 
tect the roots from injury before planting. The 
best way to do this is to cover them immediately 
with some earth. The best time to plant is im¬ 
mediately after a rain, and during cloudy weather, 
or in the evening. We prefer planting in drills, 
two feet apart. At this season, the plants may 
be set much closer in the row than in the Spring, 
as they will not become very large before Win¬ 
ter. Put them about nine inches apart; then, 
after they have fruited next Summer, one-half of 
the plants may be removed. We keep our beds 
clean by passing a rake between the rows, at 
short intervals of time. This keeps the ground 
mellow, and promotes the growth of the plants. 
The most effectual mode of keeping the young 
transplanted vines from being injured by the sun, 
is to scatter some new mown grass over the 
bed. This will not only protect the plants from 
the scorching influence of the sun, but will also 
prevent the too sudden evaporation of the water 
applied to them at the time of planting. 
It has been recommended of late to raise 
strawberries upon poor sandy land, without any 
manure. Now, this we deem to be sheer non¬ 
sense. We have never been able to raise fine 
strawberries without a liberal supply of manure, 
and this is the general experience. 
The General Aims of Gardening in August 
Are to prevent weeds from going to seed, to 
remove and secure crops that are ripe, to keep up 
a succession of vegetables and fruits for Fall 
and Winter use, to water copiously whatever the 
usual drouth makes it needful to water, to save 
all ripe seeds for sowing or planting, to complete 
the preparation of composts, and to trench, if the 
ground is not too dry, new squares for the en¬ 
largement of the next year’s work. These, with 
the most careful attention to crops still growing, 
will make August by no means an idle month, 
even in the garden. 
CELERY. 
It is not too late to plant out a good supply o 
this for fall and winter use. Plants from seed 
sown in March and April were doubtless set in 
trenches in June and July, and now require 
earthing up for early use. Celery sown in May 
attains a suitable size for planting out during the 
latter part of July or first of August. It is bet¬ 
ter to prepare the trenches a little in advance, 
but if this was not done last month there should 
be no delay now, as the plants require put 
ting in at once. 
Lay off the rows a foot wide and three feet 
apart, dig one spade deep in the row, placing 
the earth upon each side of the trenches. Spread 
four to six inches of well rotted manure in the 
trenches, and work it in thoroughly by spading a 
little deeper and paring the edges. Some of the 
loose earth thrown out may be returned so that 
the surface to plant upon shall be four to six 
inches below the original level. 
Before removing the plants let the seed bed be 
thoroughly watered, which will cause the earth 
to adhere to the rootlets and render transplanting 
safer. After lifting the plants carefully, clip the 
tap root to induce side branches, shorten the 
straggling leaves, and remove side suckers. 
Set them in single rows along the center of the 
trench, five or six inches apart, and give a good 
watering to settle the earth about the roots. 
Shade for a few days by laying sticks across the 
trenches and covering with boards or brush, re¬ 
moving it as soon as they commence an active 
growth. The after treatment will consist in 
keeping the ground well stirred and free from 
weeds, with an occasional watering during dry 
weather, until they are ready to receive the final 
blanching operation. From the middle of 
September to the first of October will be the 
proper time to commence earthing up. Break 
the ground about the plants with a spade, and 
carefully gathering the stalks in the hand, draw 
the fine earth around them, without allowing the 
dirt to fall into the center or heart of the plant. 
This earthing up should always be done during 
dry weather, and the planting should never be 
upon naturally wet^ soil. Repeat this hilling at 
intervals often to fifteen days until the stalks are 
blanched sufficiently high. Previous to the latter 
earthings it is better to gather the leaves care¬ 
fully in the hand and tie them up with bass, or soft 
strings, taking care not to bruise the stalks. Care¬ 
fully avoid covering the crown of the plant 
which would induce decay. 
WINTER ONIONS AND LETTUCE. 
You like onions, either as salad or otherwise * 
Would you like to have them fresh very early in 
the Spring, before they could grow after Spring 
planting 1 “ Of course I would.” Very well, 
then perhaps we can help you to them. Select a 
good spot of ground, prepare it well, and make 
one bed of onions about the 10th of August 
Make another about the 1st of September. Sow 
the seed quite thick. Let them grow till Winter, 
keeping the beds free from weeds, and thinning 
them out a very little. When Winter comes, 
cover them over with a good coat of coarse litter. 
Further south, the covering may be lighter. You 
may thus have the onions for use in March or 
April next year. They will be excellent then, if 
you like onions. 
Sow a bed of lettuce in the same w'ay, at the 
same time or later, and protect it in the same 
manner, and you may have that luxury also very 
eai ly in the Spring. Try both of these operations 
and you will probably thank us next Spring for 
these hints. 
