304 
A PATTERN OF A LANDLORD. 
to meet the frequent demands made on me for 
this particular blood, I have added to my 
present breeding herd, by purchasing, a fort¬ 
night ago, eight thorough-bred Durham cows 
and heifers of great substance, fine symmetry, 
and so far as developed, excellent milking qual¬ 
ities, of the Messrs. Lathrops, of Massachusetts. 
The most of this purchase, also, has the. blood 
of Mr. Bates’ herd through the bull Yorkshir- 
man, bred by him, and imported by Mr. 
Joseph Cape, of Pennsylvania, in 1839. 
I have retained all the heifers in my herd out 
of my Bates importation, except the two I sold 
at private sale on the 26th of June, the day of 
my public sale. One of these was sold to Mr. 
Remington, of Philadelphia, and the other to 
Mr. S. Chapman, of Madison county, New York. 
Troy , August 8th. 1851. Geo. Vail. 
-- 
A PATTERN OF A LANDLORD. 
The publisher of the Agriculturist made a 
pleasant trip up the Erie Railroad the other day, 
and among the agreeable things he met with, 
was Field’s Hotel, at Narrowsburg. We are not 
disposed to puff everybody nor everybody’s 
house, and if we were, it would do no good in 
this case; because this house is known not only 
by most travellers upon this road, but by a 
great many others, as a delightful location to 
ruralise in during the dog days, and to hunt, 
fish, eat and sleep comfortably in at other times. 
But this is not to the point. The publisher 
went to Mr. Field’s a stranger, and as a common 
traveller, without making known his position 
as an agricultural book publisher, or connected 
in any way with this paper; but the landlord 
accidentally learning- who he was, took most 
special pains to pay him marked respect and 
kind attention, because he had done so much 
for the farmers to enlighten and improve their 
minds. But this is not all. He absolutely re¬ 
fused to receive any pay of Mr. S., alledging as 
a reason that he had taken the Agriculturist ten 
years, and had paid the regular subscription 
price ; that is, $10 for the whole term; “ while,” 
said he, “ I have been benefited more than ten 
times that amount, and always have felt as 
though it would give me the greatest pleasure 
to welcome the editors and publisher of that 
work to my house, as some little return for the 
information and amusement it has afforded me 
during so many years. No, sir, you cannot pay 
a bill in Field’s Hotel—you are my guest—my 
friend—the farmer’s friend—an old acquaintance 
I am glad to welcome.” We are proud to say 
we have hosts of just such friends, throughout 
this great country. 
POST-HOLE AUGERS. 
These implements are made of convenient 
sizes and lengths to be worked by a man for 
boring holes in the ground, of dimensions suited 
to posts of any required sizes. They lift the 
soil from the hole as it is bored, without the ne¬ 
cessity of using a shovel, spade, or post spoon. 
They also serve for testing the character of the 
subsoil, or for exploring in search of clay, sand, 
gravel, or marl. 
CULTIVATION OF THE FOREIGN GRAPE IN 
THE OPEN AIR. 
I read in the American Agriculturist for No¬ 
vember, 1850, at page 339, the following sen¬ 
tence relative to the culture of foreign grapes: 
“We have committed a fundamental error, and 
that is, in placing our principal dependence on 
foreign varieties.” This assertion, I think, needs 
qualification—say for localities north of the 
Potomac, at least. 
Again, Downing, in his January number of 
the Horticulturist, emphatically says: “The 
thing is impossible.” I am very glad to find 
that so great an authority as Mr. A. J. Downing 
thinks so; because I shall certainly try to sur¬ 
mount his “impossible thing.” 
A few months ago, I added to my then exist¬ 
ing stock, several hundred varieties of the vine, 
from various parts of the world, an enterprise I 
have not undertaken with a faint heart, nor a 
want of perseverance, industry, or a knowledge 
of the subject. My location, you are aware, 
