AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
373 
and he had np doubt that dried fish would also 
act and give forth the ammoniacal and other 
properties required for the food of plants. He 
thought that if the fish guano could be obtained 
at a reasonable price, it would be productive of 
great results. Of the dried flesh, only about 
nine per cent, was ammonia; but it had been 
proved to be very good for wheat. Thousands 
of tons of it had been used; but the supply had 
been interrupted, owing to the disturbances in 
Buenos Ayers. 
Mr. Dugald Campbell said, on looking over 
the specification of Mr. Pettitt’s patent to ascer¬ 
tain its objects, he found that one part of it pro¬ 
vided for the decomposition of animals as well 
as fish—a matter highly important in a com¬ 
mercial and chemical point of view. Some 
years ago, Mr. Turnbull, of Glasgow, the pro¬ 
prietor of Turnbull’s blue, produced in his 
manufactory a large quantity of muriatic'acid, 
which he did not know what to do with. He 
accordingly took to buying up dead horses, and 
boiling them in the acid to a pulp, which was 
then converted into dry flesh manure, for which 
it was sold. He had seen specimens of it, and 
found it contained a large proportion of muriate 
and sulphate of ammonia. 
Mr. Mechi might observe that Mr. Hudson, 
of Castleacre, having a few years since lost a 
large quantity of sheep, which he had imported, 
by small-pox, he had them decomposed into 
manure for turnips, and met with great success. 
Mr. James Caird did not wish to enter into 
the merits of the fish manure, but would address 
himself to the practical part of the question, viz., 
could a sufficient quantity of fish be obtained 
at a price to make the manufacture of the guano 
profitable ? Mr. Lawes said that fish contained 
80 per cent, of water, and only about 5 per 
cent, of guano, and 15 per cent, of other pro¬ 
ducts. Mr. Green, on the contrary, said it only 
contained 40 per cent of water. If Mr. Lawes 
was right, the expenses would be at once 
doubled. 
Mr. Pettitt might observe, in answer to Mr. 
Lawes’ statement, that the fish only gave 20 per 
cent, of solid product; that he held a specimen 
in his hand in which there was 16.80 per cent, 
of bone or phosphate of lime. He believed that 
on an average he should get 30 tons of oil and 
manure to the 100, and five tons of phosphate 
of lime. Supposing, however, that a ton of 
guano could be produced from four tons of fish, 
that would give them £9 per ton, at a cost of £4 
for the raw material, as all kinds of fish, in¬ 
cluding turbot, cod, &c., could be obtained on 
the Yorkshire coast a £1 a ton. 
Mr. Mcchi said 100 tons at 30s. would 
amount to £150, and if it produced 30 tons of 
guano, that would give £270 ; and the question 
was, would that remunerate the manufacturer? 
Mr. Caird thought that the raw material 
could not be obtained at £1 per ton; and if 
there was a larger demand than at present, it 
would enchance the price. . 
Mr. Bird agreed with Mr. Caird with regard 
to the supply. He did not think it would pay, 
as a commercial operation, to erect large ma¬ 
chinery and trust to a doubtful supply from the 
neighborhood to keep it at work. 
Mr. Pettitt stated that of course he should 
not erect large machinery except at places where 
he expected a large supply. As regarded the 
question of supply, if the present fisheries were 
carried on at a profit, solely for the taking of 
select eatable fish, (and it might safely be as¬ 
sumed that there was a profit, or they would be 
discontinued,) how much more successful must 
this scheme be, combining the profits of the 
present system with the large profits of the 
proposed guano manufacture, from animal mat¬ 
ter of all kinds, drawn without extra labor from 
the teeming waters! 
Mr. Nesbit understood that four-fifths of the 
fish caught was returned to the sea as useless, 
and the question was whether this could not be 
bought up. It was to the refuse fish, now 
thrown away, that the great supply must be 
looked for. 
Mr. Caird considered the whole of Mr. Pet¬ 
titt’s calculation to be based on the cost of 
refuse fish. 
Mr. Green denied that it was so; it was 
based on the calculation of fishing or contracting 
for fish of all kinds, and they might perhaps 
send the best to market themselves. 
The Chairman said, that by the rules of their 
society, and very properly, no decision was ever 
come to on the value of the papers laid before 
them. There can be no doubt that the subject 
of utilising refuse materials of all kinds, and the 
more especially of fish, as it would not only 
produce them good manure, but add to the food 
of the people, was one of the greatest import¬ 
ance. Large quantities of fish were now thrown 
away which might be converted into manure, 
and the practical question was whether it would 
commercially pay. He then proposed votes of 
thanks to Mr. Green and Mr. Lawes for their 
vuluable papers, which were carried unani¬ 
mously. 
THE CONCORD GRAPE. 
Long ago impressed with the opinion that 
our native grape was capable of being- greatly 
ameliorated and improved, through the seeds, 
Mr. E. W. Bull turned his attention to their 
production, and now has growing more than 
2000 seedling plants, from some of which he 
hopes even to beat himself. It will take a long 
time to prove them all, but the result cannot be 
otherwise than important; for the natural habit 
of the vine once changed or broken, variation 
takes place in such a manner that no opinion 
can be formed of the product. His success in 
raising the Concord Grape is the best proof of 
this. 
Mr. Bull has given a brief history of this new 
variety, and it will be noticed that he calls it a 
seedling from our native grape of the second 
generation. It is this; some years ago he 
found a chance seedling growing upon his 
grounds near a wall; as there are no wild 
grapes in the near vicinity of his place he re¬ 
moved it to his garden, where he watched it 
with some care, and gave it good cultivation. 
In a year or two it produced a few bunches of 
fruit, ripening as early as the last part of Au¬ 
gust, and remarkably sweet and free from'the 
foxy flavor of the wild type. The idea at once 
occurred to him that another generation w-ould 
be a still greater improvement, and a parcel oi 
seeds was saved for planting. His anticipations 
have been fully realized; the Concord Grape 
was the produce of these eeds. We annex 
Mr. Bull’s account of the origin of his vine. 
Concord, Mass., January, 1854. 
“ I send you the history of the Concord 
Grape, which you desired for your excellent 
Magazine. I have by no means said all that 
can be said for it, my desire being to have it 
come fully up to the expectations of those who 
may cultivate it, which I have no doubt it will. 
“ I believe I have before stated to you that my 
vine is growing on a poor sandy loam, over¬ 
laying gravel, which has not been trenched and 
but slightly manured; add to this, the late 
spring and early autumn frosts, which we are 
liable to in this deep valley of Concord, and the 
summer droughts which are very severe with 
me, and I think you will conclude with me that 
it will be likely to keep up to its character 
under almost any circumstances. 
“And here let me say that I have cultivated 
the Isabella, and many other kinds of grape, 
for fifteen years without being able to ripen 
them in open culture, and it was this constant 
failure which led me, about ten years since, to 
raise seedlings from our native grapes, in the 
hope that I should obtain a hardy grape that 
would give me a sure supply for my table. Iti 
this I have succeeded beyond my expectations. 
“ The Concord Grape is a seedling, in the sec¬ 
ond generation, of our native grape, and fruited 
for the first time four years since, being at that 
time the only seedling I had raised which 
showed a decided improvement on the wild 
.type. 
“ Notwithstanding its unfavorable position, it 
has proved a great grower and bearer, and very 
constant to its quality and season. The seed¬ 
ling from which the Concord was raised grew 
near to a Catawba, and, it is quite possible, was 
impregnated by it, it having the flavor of that 
variety. The parent vine was a good and sweet 
grape, large, black, and ripe the 20th of Au¬ 
gust. 
“ The Concord Grape, as I said before, is a 
strong grower; the wood strong, the foliage 
large, thick, strongly nerved, with a woolly 
under surface, and has never mildewed nor 
rusted under any vicissitudes of weather. 
“ The grape is large, frequently an inch in dia¬ 
meter, and the bunches handsome, shouldered, 
and sometimes weigh a pound. In color it is a 
ruddy black, covered with a dense blue bloom, 
the skin very thin, the juice abundant, with a 
sweet aromatic flavor, and it has very little 
pulp. 
“It ripens the 10th of September. The first 
ripe bunch of the season was exhibited at the 
Massachusetts’ Horticultural Society’s Room, on 
the 3d of September, 1853. The vine was 
neither pruned nor pinched, nor had application 
if any of the horticultural arts, whereby pre¬ 
cocity and size are attained, my object being to 
ascertain what would be the constant habit of 
the vine. I suppose that its quality would be 
much improved in a more favorable climate, and 
that its superiority to the Isabella would be as 
apparent under such circumstances as it is here. 
“The great want of the country in this latitude 
is a good table and wine grape, which shall also 
be early, hardy, and prolific. The Concord 
Grape fulfils these conditions, and I feel a sin¬ 
cere pleasure in offering it to my countrymen.” 
E. W. Bull. 
We have said nothing about its qualities as a 
wine grape. Mr. Bull, however, exhibited some 
specimens of the wine made from his grape, 
hich were tasted by the committee, and pro¬ 
nounced by them to be of a very excellent 
quality. It was his first attempt at wine-mak¬ 
ing, and of course not likely to be made with 
much skill. It has been much praised by sev¬ 
eral who have tasted it, and some of the persons 
good judges. ■ It has a good body, with an 
agreeable, fruity perfume, and is particularly 
grateful to the sick, which Mr. Bull considers 
the best test it could have. It did not have the 
slightest addition of spirits, but was the pure 
juice of the grape. 
We close our account of the Concord Grape 
with a more full description. 
Bunch , large, long, neither compact nor loose, 
handsomely shouldered; Berries, roundish, 
large, three-quarters of an inch in diameter, 
sometimes measuring an inch; Slcin , thin, very 
dark, covered with a thick blue bloom; Flesh, 
very juicy, nearly or quite free from pulp; 
Flavor, rich, saccharine, and sprightly, with 
much of the delicious aroma of the Catawba; 
Vine, very vigorous, making strong wood; 
Leaves , very large, thick, strongly nerved, not 
much lobed, and woolly beneath.— Eovey's 
Magazine. 
HOT-BEDS. 
Every one should have a hot-bed, if it were 
only to forward a few plants for the garden. 
The too prevalent opinion is, that they are ex¬ 
pensive and difficult to manage, requiring the 
skill of the professional gardener. Both sup¬ 
positions are entirely erroneous. A hot-bed 
may be constructed by any man of ordinary 
ingenuity. A frame of about twelve feet long 
and 6 wide, which will allow of 4 sashes, each 3 
feet wide, will be found large enough for any 
family. It should be made of common two- 
inch plank—the back about three feet, high, 
the front about half that, the ends having a re¬ 
gular slope from back to front. This will give 
an angle sufficient to throw off rain, and give 
the full benefit of external heat and light to the 
