194 
ware, and do not remember to have seen any north of 
those points. 
You would do a serviee to your readers if you could 
persuade your correspondents to give some clue whereby 
they may be approached, in case of need, in person or 
by letter. For example: if I knew his whereabouts, I 
would write to your correspondent, K. L., in the last 
number, in great confidence that he would kindly an¬ 
swer some interrogatories about turkies. He refers to 
a difiiculty arising from the well known propensity of the 
turkey to steal away slyly and unobserved to lay its 
eggs in the most sequestered spot, making it very diffi¬ 
cult and tedious to watch her to her nest, or to find it by 
the closest search. This is a habit which has come 
down with them, as they have with some domesticated 
animals, fi’om their “ state of nature,” and has not been 
overcome by domestication; and K. L. very usefully 
suggests that the difficulty may be obviated by the prac¬ 
tice which he recommends, of feeding them in the -most 
familiar ivay, thus inspiring confidence, and leading 
them to lay about the barn and stables. But if I am mfi 
mistaken, the old woman who had charge of the poul¬ 
try in the county where I was “ raised,” had recourse 
to some infallible digital-ia examination, whereby she 
could always tell in the morning, before the turkies 
were allowed to go abroad, precise'-y those which would 
lay in the course of the morning; the rest were dis¬ 
charged for the day, while these were kept up until 
they made their ovarious deposits, when they too, about 
mid day, were turned abroad. In this way, not an egg 
was lost. On the contrary, all were gathered up, mark¬ 
ed with firecoal, with the day of the month, and put 
away in tow or wool in the “egg basket,” in a snug 
closet; and when a turkey showed signs of wishing to 
sit or set, in the language of housewifery, the regular 
number of eggs of proper age were given to her, and 
scarcely an egg failed to hatch. Is there any objection 
to this system, or any one more convenient and econo¬ 
mical that can be substituted for it? Will K. L. allow 
me to inquire what number of males he would recom¬ 
mend for a given number of females? How long should 
hens be kept at breeding, and what does he consider the 
best food for young turkies, when first hatched? 
Many object to rearing turkies, as being very mis¬ 
chievous and destructive to vegetables and grain; but in 
the to&acco region, they are considered indispensable for 
their agency in destroying the worm, that greatest ob¬ 
stacle, even worse than the fly, which destroys the 
plant in the bed, to the growth of that popular weed, so 
detestable in the estimation of my friend, Col. Stone of 
the Commercial Advertiser. In Maryland, the large 
planters, besides rearing all they can, send round among 
those who are more successful, and who have less use 
for them, and buy up large “ gangs” of young turkies, 
at from 37^ to 50 cents each, when they are not larger 
or as large as grown pheasants, expressly to assist in 
“keeping down the worms.” As soon as the “ dew is 
off,” the young negroes drive these gangs of turkies re¬ 
gularly over the tobacco field, where each one takes his 
row, and it is curious to see how quickly they can spy 
out the smallest worm, and what numbers they will kill. 
As the heat of the day comes on, they are driven into 
some neighboring shade, and fed with a little grain, to 
prevent the worms from making them sick, and to keep 
them from being surfeited with too much of a good thing. 
In the afternoon they make another campaign, and with¬ 
out an army of turkies, the army of worms would de¬ 
stroy the hopes of the planter. After the tobacco has 
been housed, he allows his feathered auxiliaries to take 
the run of the corn field and the hog pen. In this way 
they get their growth and become fat, when all except 
the breeding stock reserved for the next year, become 
the perquisite or pin money of the good housewife,who 
sends them, as “ fat as butter,” to the Washington mar¬ 
ket, where they average about $1 to the boarding house 
keepers, and are in their turn devoured by me-mbers of 
Congress. 
Has K. L. considered whether poultry might not be 
“ hatched out” with greater vigor of constitution, and 
with more certainty of growing off at once, and living 
and doing well, by paying more strict attention to the 
quality of food given to breeding fowls, for on the nature 
of the food it is admitted the quality of the egg greatly 
depends? “When scantily fed, they will frequently 
lay,” says Mr. R. L. Allen, ^‘but from a deficiency of 
nutriment, the egg will be meagre and watery, and pos¬ 
sess but a small portion of the nutritious qualities pecu¬ 
liar to them.” 
We know that plants do best, and yield the largest 
crops, which being previously well manured, groio right 
ojf wi.'hout being stunned, and do better than they can be 
made to do afterwards, by the most lavish application of 
manure, if their existence has once commenced and 
their roots been feebly stricken in a barren soil. Under 
all these views of the case, may we not conclude that 
attention should begin with giving- a sufficiency of the 
best food to improve the quality of the egg? Some may 
regard this whole subject as unworthy of a man’s atten¬ 
tion, contending that such matters should be left to old 
women; and I think it probable that in such hands they 
are likely to be, practically, better managed. Dr. Rush 
was once asked by a student, what per cent he thought 
had been added to the period of liuman life by the skill 
of practitioners of medicine; arul he answered, ‘^Ifby 
practitioners of medicine, you mean to include old wo¬ 
men and nurses, I think the increase has been very con¬ 
siderable, but if you exclude them, very little.” Let 
me but interrogate some old women whom I knew when 
a boy, on the matters under discussion, and the result 
THE CULTIVATOE. 
for a young housekeeper, would make a perfect cate¬ 
chism for the poultry yard. The woman who gives 
practical hints on topics like this, connected with our 
every day comforts, is entitled to more honor than one- 
half the brawling patriots in the land. She may be re¬ 
garded as a real patriot, who teaches how two turkies 
may be reared where only one was reared before. Nor 
is the art of stuffing and cooking it to be despised. For 
my part, I profess to entertain a certain respect for the 
memory of that knight of the gridiron who, as Madame 
Seveigne tells us, fell upon his sword in a fit of indig¬ 
nation, because the fish did not arrive in time to fill up 
the programme of the dinner for his royal master, Louis 
XIV. Voluptuous age! distinguished for its great im¬ 
moralities and its great men, J. S. Skinner. 
P. S. The only person that I ever saw who could ca- 
ponize a barn door fowl, was an old negro ivoman, a slave 
of my grandmother. To the scandal of our domestic 
management, no one knows how to practice the opera¬ 
tion. I have prevailed on medical students to attempt 
it, but they have not succeeded. The directions which 
have been given are too complicated and abstruse to be 
executed. The very terms used, and the preparations 
and implements described, would seem to call for Sir 
Astley Cooper to understand and carry them out. Yet 
those who havq, in Paris, been accustomed to eating 
fat capons, will tell you that there is between them and 
the uncaponized fowl, as much difference as we may 
suppose to be between the mutton of a fine South Down 
wether, and that of an old ram. J. S. S. 
Washington, Nov. 5, 1843. 
“ BORROWING.” 
Messrs. Editors —I discover that you generously lend 
your pages to the inquiries and suggestions of your cor¬ 
respondents, and for once I will state my ease, and sub¬ 
missively ask your commisseration and aid. Borrowing 
is the weighty cause of my present trials. I began a 
few years ago to gather round me a few farming imple¬ 
ments, so as to be on a small scale somewhat indepen¬ 
dent. I endeavored to get good tools, and all I needed 
for any particular kind of work. But I soon found oth¬ 
ers needed, but did not buy the same tools. A green sward 
plow was bought, with no expectation of breaking up 
more than four acres a year. I chose to have one, rather 
than get plowing done badly by the job. But a neigh¬ 
bor, and another and another wished to use it, each one 
more than I had occasion to use it. I thought a wheel 
barrow convenient and bought one. My neighbors in 
conjunction used it a week, where I had occasion to use 
it a day. I bought as many hoes as I ever employed 
hands.^ My neighbors each owned one perhaps, and 
found in planting a few choice hoes near at hand quite 
convenient, and when the corners were broken off they 
returned them, saying “they struck the hoe into a chip 
and it broke off;” as much as to say no violent measures 
were taken to mar a nice article. All was fair usage of 
the tool. A forcible argument in favor of getting thick 
clumsy tools in future. I bought an axletree and box for 
a truck cart, fitting my buggy wheels to them. Soon one 
wants the cart to drive in his potatoes, another to break 
his colt to the harness, &e. I have endeavored to keep 
a good knot-maul, but I have had two at least entirely 
used up by borrowers. I have two wagon boxes for a 
two horse wagon; one for a reserve, and one for com¬ 
mon use. My best box is well worn, and passes for an 
old box without my having used it at all, or scarcely 
any. One wants it to bring a luad of sand eight or ten 
miles; another wants my wagon and “green box,” to 
ride to court with his family, or to meeting, or to bring 
a load of shelled corn from a neighboring town. And 
so, unless I begin “ to make a rout,” it will soon go the 
way of all wood ere long. I have a little orchard, and 
I made me a ladder for grafting, and for gathering fruit; 
but I must make a ladder every little while till the neigh¬ 
bors are all supplied, or it will take me longer to hunt 
up the borrowed ones than to get the apples by climbing.. 
I have a supply of pitchforks and rakes one year, but near 
the close of haying they are borrowed and not returned. 
The next year where are they? I don’t know. I mean 
to keep a set of augers. I have a full set when they are 
all at home. But to-night I wished and needed to bore 
a hole just so large and not smaller; but I remembered 
a neighbor had borrowed it in my absence, and had re¬ 
cently told me he would return it soon. I once, bought 
me a valuable saddle. I soon found I had to supply five 
or six neighbors with the use of my saddle for all their 
horseback riding, which was in each case far more than 
mine. But I “ growled” a little about it, and there are 
more saddles in town now. I should like to own a sub¬ 
soil plow. Methinks I shall be safe in this, for few’ of 
the borrowing class will want to use such a tool. I once 
employed two hands to do some scraping for me. When 
all things were ready to hitch on to the scraper, lo! a 
neighbor had borrow-ed or taken my chain in my ab¬ 
sence, with a familiar kind of freedom not unusual in 
this region, intending to speak of it afterwards. All the 
wheels were stopped for half an hour. I had a couple 
of bar posts made the past season and conveyed to a dis¬ 
tant field, and left as it happened, in the wagon, as it was 
Saturday, and the}’ were not designed for immediate use. 
A neighbor wanted the wagon to go to meeting. One bar 
post is broken or split in unloading them for the occa¬ 
sion; the other is now gone—doubtless borrowed. 
I find poor encouragement for making improvements 
in my implements and products. My wheat was better 
and cleaner than my neighbors—not that I wish to boast. 
One wants to swap for seed wheat; for says he, “ the 
heads of your wheat were twice as long as mineano¬ 
ther wishes to borrow, and last on this part of my plaint, 
a neighbor came to-day to borrow or swap some straiv; 
mine was much better than his for making cider. Now 
I do not object to borrowing altogether; it is quite im¬ 
portant in neighborhoods; but there are proper limits to 
most good things. If you think there are other neigh¬ 
borhoods where borrowing is too common, I should like 
well enough to have you publish the above statements. 
There is not much danger of their creating heart burn¬ 
ing in this vicinity, as the persons who may think the 
allusions personal, will have to borrow your paper to 
read them. Q. 
We give place to the complaints of our correspondent, 
not because there is much hope of effecting a reforma¬ 
tion among the class of borrowers, but because there are 
many others “afflicted and tormented” in the same way, 
and as, according to the old adage, misery loves company, 
there may be some consolation to all concerned to know 
they do not suffer alone. It is vexatious, to hear a man 
decrying all improved implements, and yet, when you 
have obtained at much cost, and more trouble, some few 
for j’ourself, to find him the foremost in borrowing and 
wearing them out, without so much as a “ thank you,” 
or “ by your leave.” But this is the penalty all must 
pay who are so presumptuous as to be in advance of their 
neighbors, and should be borne with all possible philoso¬ 
phy and resignation. 
THE VINEYARD. 
A Comparative View of some Native Grape Vines, and oth¬ 
er matters pertaining to Wine making, and the “ Ameri¬ 
can System,’’ in the Brinkleyville Vineyards. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —A gentleman from S. 
Carolina made some inquiries of me lately, regarding 
the state of my vineyards, and my estimate of the differ¬ 
ent qualities of grapes and the like, which gave rise to 
some remarks which I deem proper to offer for insertion 
in your paper. The first part of the following is copied 
from the letter I sent to the inquirer. 
You inquire about my native vines of peculiar excel¬ 
lency, and wish a description thereof, with reference to 
Norton’s seedling in a comparative view. My Halifax 
has tvvice as large a berry as the Norton’s, and is equal, 
I consider, if not superior in other respects, and espe¬ 
cially freedom from rotting or any other casualty. The 
growth of the vine is much more extended than that of 
the Norton; I have them spreading over trees and scaf¬ 
folding 30 feet and more each way, and bearing well 
wherever the vine branches go. The size of the berry 
prevents all depredations by birds; but not so the Nor¬ 
ton. The Norton ripens rather earlier than the Halifax. 
The bunches of my Halifax are more easily cleaned or pre¬ 
pared for pressing; as all the grapes ripen at once, and 
no green ones among them. The Vine Arbor grape has 
a berry of somewhat different flavor, and vine leaf much 
larger, (hence fine for arbors;) but in all other respects, 
as that of the size oFthe fruit, rapidity of growth, and 
extended spread of the branches, answers to the Halifax. 
But the Norton is a most excellent grape, and all three 
very fine for table when fully ripe, and very superior for 
wine, and never disappoint as to a full crop, by rotting 
or otherwise, in my region or elsewhere, as far as I have 
learned, and I have heard from them from various sec¬ 
tions of our country, wherever distributed; the Weller 
Halifax in particular, doing finely in Orange county, N. 
York, my native place. Indeed, I have reason to be¬ 
lieve that the foregoing and other natives I cultivate, of 
like excellence, will do well in any part of our Union. 
But not so the famous Scuppernong of North Carolina 
nativity. Although in our region the finest grape in the 
world, I may say, yet north of latitude 37'^, I learn it will 
not answer well, as ripening too late for the climate. As 
a circumstance to warrant the above encomium on the 
Scuppernong, I name that a French gentleman visiting 
my vineyards, who like many other foreigners, was dis¬ 
posed to disparage American native grapes, when com¬ 
ing to my Scuppernong arbors loaded with the largest 
of grape berries, as well as most delicious to his taste, 
exclaimed “here is a grape equal if not superior to any 
I have ever seen in France.” In Southern climates un¬ 
der the best management, 2,000 gallons an acre may be 
calculated on as a vineyard product. Good brandied 
Scuppernong wine at rates of a dollar a gallon in the 
market. I make some with about two lbs. of double re¬ 
fined sugar to the gallon, that brings me two dollars per 
gallon; and is considered by many equal to the best 
champaigne. The Scuppernong juice is not near as 
strong or as much saccharine in it, as the aforesaid na¬ 
tives. Indeed, the juice of the latter this season, when 
I tested its strength with an egg, floated it so ihat a part as 
large as a twenty cent piece, appeared above the surface; 
or according to Mr. Adlum’s test would have made a 
good keeping wine, without the addition of either sugar 
or brandy. (Some years since, I made some from well 
ripened grapes of my Halifax, without adding any ingre¬ 
dient, that kept well and continued to improve by age.) 
But the Scuppernong is easier gathered than other kinds 
of grapes; nothing to do but to hold a large sheet or 
blanket, (fastened to poles on two sides, and two persons 
to hold,) and shake the canopy above with a forked 
stick, and all the grapes then ripe fall into or upon the 
sheet. Next they are mashed with a machine of two 
wooden rollers, (very-soon done,) and pressed, and the 
juice strained through several folds of a woolen blanket, 
and then sugar or brandy added, and put in casks; it 
stands till winter, and is then racked off, and is as limpid 
as water, and a most healthful and excellent wine. Fa- 
