1867 .] 
AMKRTCAN AGIlICUI/rURTST. 
865 
fig. 3, upon the sides,) and a hole beneath the 
knives to allow the cut cabbage to drop through, 
A suitable notch is cut in the ledges to allow 
of fastening in the knives, which are fixed 
at the desired angle 
by means of wood¬ 
en plugs or wedges. 
The corn knives, 
figure 2, are ’|g of 
an inch thick on the 
back, and are pre¬ 
ferred to a piece of 
scythe,as they do not 
bend. Fig. 3 gives 
the complete ma¬ 
chine in perspective; 
A is a box, iipon 
each side of Avhich 
are the slats, b. It 
will be seen by the 
examination of the 
end view' of fig. 3, that the parts J, 6, belong to 
the box, and those marked c, rf, are attached to 
the frame. This box enables one to hold the 
cabbage firmly, and should run freely backward 
and forward.” It 
is well, though our 
correspondent does 
not mention it, to 
L-fr.\.me with knives. 
Fig. 2. —CORN-KNIFE. 
h.ave a wooden follower to fit the box, and thus 
avoid all danger to the hands when the cabbage 
is pressed down. The box should be of the 
size to hold a large cabbage, and the frame 
Fig. .3. —MACHINE COMPLETE. 
long enough to go across a barrel or tub. 
For making the kraut, select the most solid 
and perfect heads, and after splitting them, re¬ 
move the stalks and the green leaves. They are 
then passed over the knives and cut fine. A 
tight barrel, perfectly clean, is then lined with 
c.abb.age leaves at the bottom, and a little w'ay up 
the sides. A layer of about three inches of the 
slitted c.abbage is then put in and pressed with 
the hand, and about four tablespoonfuls of salt 
are sprinkled over it. After four layers are put 
in and salted in this w'ay, it is pressed down w ith 
a w'ooden rammer as closely as it can be packed. 
Then follow four more layers and a ramming, 
and so on until the barrel is nearly full. It 
should be pounded so hard that the juice of the 
cabbage and the melting salt will appear on 
lop. Cover with cabbage leaves and with a 
board or follower, and press down with a heavy 
stone. Set the barrel away to ferment, and in 
about three weeks remove the top scum and 
brine, and a<ld enough water to keep the kraut 
covered. In four w'eeks it will be fit for use. 
It needs a little looking to occasionally, and will 
keep good for a year or more. The taste is a 
little peculiar at first, but is much relished by 
people who have become accustomed to it. 
Notes on Grapes and Grape Culture. 
These notes are written just at the close of a 
season, which, at the East, has been an unprec¬ 
edentedly rainy one. This unusually humid state 
of the atmosphere and soaked condition of the 
soil has not only had the effect to retard ripen¬ 
ing, but it has given every advantage to rot, 
mildew, and some kinds of insects. Fortunate¬ 
ly this moist condition has not extended far in¬ 
land, and whatever of ill may befall the crops 
there will not be entirely due to this cause. 
We hear of disastrous rot to the Cataw'ba, and 
to a considerable e.xtent to the Concord, wiiile 
the Delaware promises better than it has for 
several j'ears. A letter from Ilammondsport 
informs us that the prospect for the grape crop 
is unusually fine at that point, and no com¬ 
plaint is made of rot. It is w'orth wiiile to con¬ 
sider if this exemption is not due to the re¬ 
markable natural drainage of the land at 
Ilammondsport. A loose soil of indefinite 
depth, intersected every few rods by deep 
ravines, presents natural advantages rarely to 
be found. It is, how’ever, too early to judge 
of the general grape crop, as w'e usually hear of 
the failures sooner than w'e do of the successes. 
In looking over a file of letters, all asking 
questions upon some points in grape culture, 
we find that the majority of them indicate that 
the writer has an insufficient knowiedge of the 
way in which a vine grows and bears its fruit. 
It is impossible for us to give space to answ'er 
these individual cases. Every one who has 
vines should have one of the many excellent 
works now before the public. There is scarce¬ 
ly any one of them that does not set forth the 
essential principles of vine pruning, though 
some do it more in detail than others. To one 
fond of horticulture, W'C can conceive no more 
interesting amusement than the systematic 
training of a few vines by different methods. 
Two correspondents have vines that have blos¬ 
somed for two or more j’^ears, but have failed to 
bear fruit. As we are not given the names of 
the varieties, w’e infer that some peddler has 
imposed upon them some of our wild vines, 
which are very often infertile. The shortest 
way is to dig up the barren vines and put 
good ones in their places. We have often re¬ 
ferred to the dangerous practice of over-bearing, 
and repeat the caution in view' of a letter now 
before us in which the writer boasts that some 
of his vines, tw'o years planted, have sixty 
bunches of fruit upon them. What w'onder 
would it be if we should hear next year that 
these vines are poor growers and poor bearers? 
Grapes are too often prematurely picked; 
they should be left on the vine until thoroughly 
ripe. The coloring alone should not be relied 
upon, as many kinds become colored before they 
are within a week or two of perfect ripeness. 
The taste must aid the eye in this matter, and 
each variety should be left upon the vine until 
it has acquired the sw'eetness and flavor and 
tenderness of pulp belonging to it—characters 
which will differ in degree according to the 
quality of the grape. Fruit for wine-making 
should be left on the vines as long as it is safe 
to do so, on account of frosts. 
Preserving grapes in winter is a point asked 
about by many. The grapes must be well 
ripened and laid for a w'cek or tw'o in a cool 
room. They should not be allow'cd to shrivel, 
but only to part with a share of their moisture. 
The skin becomes tough, and they are then 
ready to pack in small boxes holding five or 
ten lbs. The room in which they are kept 
should be at a low and uniform temperature, as 
low as may be, w’ithout danger of freezing. 
Grape packers have houses for the purpose, built 
like an ice-house, wdth double w'alls filled w'ith 
some non-conducting materials. Some varieties 
will not keep at all, w'hile the Cataw’ba, Diana, 
Iona, and Isabella, (if well ripened), may be 
kept for several months in excellent condition. 
To inquirers about raisin grapes, W'c reply, 
that W'C have not as yet any native grape 
that may be profitably ffiade into raisins. 
Packing Nursery Trees. 
In the best nurseries the trees are packed in 
boxes instead of in bales, in the old W'ay. Mr. 
J. W. Haggard sends us a model of a contriv¬ 
ance for facilitating packing. It consists of a 
ma standard, fig. 1, wdiich has an iron foot 
-i|« to go under the box, and at the upper 
ij end a slot is cut, through the sides of 
I which passes an iron pin wdiich can be 
'I moved higher or lower as needed. This 
standard is placed near one of the cross 
cleats of the box, the trees put in, and 
1- then pressed dow'n by a long lever w'hich 
hooks under the pin in the standard, as show'u 
in figure 2. A smaller lever is attached to the 
long one, and has a curved end. By pressing 
Fig. 2.— LEVER FOR PACKING TREES. 
down on this, its curved end will crowd against 
the sides of the box and bring them togethei', 
so that the cleats on w'hich the cover is to 
be nailed can be fastened in place. Mr. H. 
states that he finds this a great improvement 
over the usual method of bringing the sides of 
the box in place by means of a screw' clamp 
A Group of Orchids. 
■ Many who look at the engraving on the next 
page will probably think that the artist has in¬ 
dulged in caricature, and attempted to present a 
group of flowers as unlike flow'ers as he could, 
and has even tried to make some of them as¬ 
sume the shape of insects. But this is no fancy 
sketch. It is a copy of a faithful painting, made 
by the W'cll know'ii artist Hayes, and could we 
give the colors as well as the forms, the picture 
W'ould be still more striking. Most of the flow¬ 
ers, if not all, from wdiich Mr. Hayes made 
his studies, w'ere from the Orchid House of our 
friend I. Buclianan, at Astoria, Long Island. 
For the Orchis family, or Orchids, there is no 
popular name, though, as many of them grow' 
upon limbs of trees, and will flourish without 
anv connection with the earth, they are often 
called air-plants—a name which is not distinc¬ 
tive enough, as other plants live in the same 
mannei*, and many of the Orchids aie teriestiial. 
Orebis, the genus w'hich gives its name to the 
family, retains its ancient Greek name. The. 
family contains some four hundred geneia, and 
numbers its species by thousands. In the North¬ 
ern States w'e have about fifty species, all of 
them terrestrial; some of these are of great 
beautj', such as the Showy Lady’s Slippei, figui- 
ed in Julv last. The w'arm, moist regions of the 
East and'West Indies, and the dense forests of 
Central and South America furnish the species 
that are so prized in cultivation, and which as¬ 
tonish us with the brilliant color and strange 
shapes of their flowers, and often delight us 
W'ith the delicacy of their odor. Some of our 
own orchids are found in cultivation in Europe, 
but W'e have seldom seen them in collections 
here. Onr Arethusa Milbosa and Calopogon jJtil- 
cJiellus are really beautiful, as are all the Ci/pri^ 
2 )edhms. Several of the Platantheras are show'y. 
It w'ould require too much of a botanical de¬ 
scription, to show the peculiarities that distin- 
