NEW RICE HULLER. 
305 
consists of a series of sand hills, overlying a 
clay subsoil, out-croping at the water’s edge of 
the creek, with beds of white or green marl un¬ 
derneath. With the aid of these elements and 
an abundance of muck taken from the branches 
of the creek, I find no difficulty in making a 
soil to my liking. 
I have planted my vines at different periods, 
of course, as they have arrived from Bordeaux, 
Oporto, Malaga, Palermo, Madeira, &c. In 145 
days, that is, from the moment they began to 
grow to the 10th of August, some of them yield¬ 
ed fine bunches of sweet grapes, the chasselas, 
the Muscat de frontignan, and other celebrated 
varieties among the number. The Muscat was 
as perfect as I have ever eaten in the south of 
France. You probably are aware that the av¬ 
erage number of days of the best vintage in the 
south of Europe is about 140; so the ma¬ 
turity of my grapes was not very far from the 
mark. They had been only seven months in 
North Carolina. 
I perfectly agree with you and Mr. Downing 
that our best dependency is on our native seed¬ 
lings of European kinds. I do not expect, how¬ 
ever, that every variety I have imported, is 
going to succeed equally well, even in this cli¬ 
mate. That would be hoping too much. Time, 
the corrector of all errors, can only disclose to 
us the truth. 
In travelling through the southern regions of 
our country, I was forcibly struck with the im¬ 
mense number of wild vines which met my eye 
on all sides. I therefore determined that Na¬ 
ture should not speak such plain language in 
vain, and resolved to graft all that were on my 
premises with European cuttings. This I did; 
and in the course of the same space of time, as 
in my other vines, they bore bunches of grapes. 
This, again, was unexpected by me. The 
growth of the wood of these grafts can scarcely 
be believed. Many of them have grown from 
80 to 100 feet in length, of good, healthy, hardy 
wood, and are three or four inches in circum¬ 
ference above the mother stock. 
In addition to the foregoing remarks, I might 
state that I am improving our native wild grape. 
I have some already that promise well. I have 
also, at. least a hundred seedlings from the 
Malaga and other grapes. You see, my dear 
sir, that I do not neglect anything. I daily ex¬ 
pect a bundle of caper plants from Marseilles. 
I think the locality well suited to it, with plenty 
of marl. 
What you say of Professor Johnston’s views 
of the United States with regard to vegetable 
productions, may be said with reference to Mr, 
Downing’s sweeping generalisation, and your 
own in reference to European grapes. There 
is no generalising of vegetable productions on 
so vast an extent of soil and climate. We must 
qualify all our assertions, and to say that the 
other wild grapes even here are as sweet as the 
Skau-per-nong , (in Indian, sweet water,) would 
be equally absurd. One thing is certain, that 
our wild grapes are vastly superior to any wild 
fruit I know of; and therefore, I have got many 
varieties under training, hoping by education, 
to domesticate them, so as to make of them, 
at least, good wine, if not good table grapes. 
Diccoteaux, N. C., 1851. Joseph Togno. 
NEW RICE HULLER. 
This machine is one of recent improvement, 
and will hull from two to ten bushels per hour, 
Rice Huller.—Fig. 57. 
according to its size. For a description, see 
page 280 of the current volume. 
Shade Improves the Soil. —Dr. R. T. Bald¬ 
win, who has lately made public his experiments, 
contends that the best, because cheapest and 
quickest way to fertilise any soil, is to cover it 
with any substance which will first shade and 
then decay upon the surface, such as straw, 
leaves, bushes, or green crops of clover, peas, 
&c. He contends that soil, when shaded, under¬ 
goes a chemical process analagous to putrefac¬ 
tion, which fertilises it astonishingly. The sub¬ 
ject is worth thinking and acting upon. 
