OUR NATIVE GRAPES AND SEASON OF 
1867. 
Kansas Rotate Uort . Society. —The first meeting of 
this Society was held in Lawrence Dec. 13, 1SG7. l n 
the discussions which ensued the facts were elic¬ 
ited that the apple in that State does best on elevated 
lands. The hot sun of midsummer often causes 
the bark to crack, and the “sap blight” is some¬ 
time^ seen. Roots of the trees run near the surface. 
Training low is recommended. The “leaf blight” 
affects the pear; trees do not bear ijs young as in 
the East The buds of peaclrn are often killed by 
the. cold, and the curcuiio destroys the plums. Cher- 
ncs are spoken of os successful. The Concord prune 
is generally recommended. The strawberry -that 
fruit for the million—does well, the Jucutula being 
preferred, and Wilson’s Albany next. The Grme- 
berry succeeds universally. Raspberries, Waekbcrries 
and Currants tolerably. On the whole Kansas does 
not promise to become famous for ita fruit growing- 
capabilities. 
Tice spring of 1867 opened wet aud cold. Up to 
May 15th very little spring grain had been sown aud 
corn and potatoes planted. This necessarily de¬ 
layed spring work very much, and brought it all in 
a heap. After the first of June little rain.fell,—not 
exceeding two inches tip to the 25th of November, 
the ground, in consequence of the drouth, being 
very dry, seriously interfering with the growth of 
young vines, cuttings and nursery stock generally. 
Streams and wells are dried up, and the scarcity of 
water is severely felt by all. This has been an ex¬ 
traordinary season. First, it was extremely wet and 
cold, then extremely dry and hot; second, it was a 
very late season,—grapes tfith us being fully eight 
to ten days later than the spring of 1866, which was 
a late season, and fourteen days behind the spring 
of 1862. A frost cut the vines more or less about 
the 20th of September, and a severe frost about the 
1st of October, which finished up what the first one 
left, thus cutting the season off at both ends, mak¬ 
ing it rather short to mature some of our native 
grapes. Under the above circumstances the follow¬ 
ing varieties ripened in the order named: 
Hartford Prolific and Israella Sept. 10th ; Crevel- 
ing aud Roger’s Hybrid, No. 4, Sept. 10th to 20th; 
Delaware, Allen’s Hybrid and Rebecca, Sept. 20th 
to Oct. 1st; Iona about the same time; Concord 
barely got ripe; Union Village, Diana, Catawba, 
Anna and other late varieties, failed to get ripe in 
consequence of the heavy frost of Oet. 1st. 
Among the new early grapes for public favor, I 
would recommend Israella, Roger’s Hybrid No. 4, 
aud Creveling, as being grapes, of decided merit, 
being early, productive and good shipping grapes, 
standing carriage woll, and not dropping off like 
Hartford Prolific, or cracking open like Concord. 
They are also of good quality, both Tor table and 
wine. I made an excellent red wine from them, 
decidedly superior to the much vaunted foxy Ive’s 
Seedling, and that without the addition of sugar or 
anything else. They are also good keepers. I have 
some now in perfect order, and some that are eom- 
a raisin without dropping a 
very hardy, with the cxcep- 
which should be covered during 
The cherry is one of the most healthy and luscious 
of summer fruits; it is an universal favorite, yet 
it occupies but a subordinate place in the market 
orchards of our land, and the supplies mainly come 
from scattering trees planted originally merely with 
a view to family use. Hie region in which this fruit 
succeeds is extensive; it has been, and is, a free 
grower, an early and profuse bearer, and well adapted 
to bring fruit quickly to settlers in new countries. 
It has been largely planted in California where it 
flourishes, and the cities of that State are better sup¬ 
plied with this fruit than are those of the Atlantic 
seaboard The improvements which have been made 
and established in extensive and successful opera¬ 
tion, whereby our perishable summer fruits may be 
cheaply and quickly preserved through all the year, 
render it impossible to glut the markets as formerly, 
and the production of all varieties becomes a safe 
and profitable business. With professional fruit 
growers the cherry is destined to largely increase in 
favor, and to rival the strawberry and the peach; 
and as the production becomes larger and more reli¬ 
able the market will be steadier and the profits surer. 
In ornamental qualities the cherry is hardly sur¬ 
passed by any other fruit tree, and if a fruit tree is 
used for decorating the yard or lawn — in point of 
good taste a questionable use — there is none fitter. 
We can heartily recommend, however, its extensive 
use as a road-aide tree. For this purpose it is well 
adapted by Us rapid growth, its handsome form, aud 
the little care aud pruning under which it will flour¬ 
ish when once well started. And why not Uue our 
highways with fruit-bearing trees? the shade and the 
verdure, blossom aud the fruit would refresh and 
benefit alike the traveler and the land owner. This 
is a subject which concerns the whole public; it is a 
matter fit for legislation, and should receive atten¬ 
tion from the Horticultural Societies. A striking 
feature in the landscape of Southern Germany is the 
double rows of fruit trees along the highways, which, 
from favoring heights, spread their sinuous and cross¬ 
ing lines before tbc eye. 
The cherry demands 
HORTICULTURAL NOTES. 
Insects on ITouse Plants.— (A. B., Hebron 
Fumigate your plants a few times with sulphur, a 
or tobacco smoke, (if your love for the plants w: 
the “ weed, 1 ') and wo think the insects will leave! 
J iib Small Knurr Manual," advertised by PtTtm & 
Hance in this paper, if liko unto or an improvement upon 
Us predecessor, Is worthy the attention of every frnit 
grower. We have not yet received a copy of the new 
editiou. 
pletely dried up into 
berry. They are also 
tion of the Israella. 
the winter; this is the only fault I can find with it 
at present. 
Iona .—Of the productiveness of this fine grape, I 
am not quite so well satisfied as of the others; it 
has not quite come up to my expectations in several 
points, having grown very uneven in the vineyard, 
and badly winter killed the first two years. But 
perhaps this may be owing to the miserable plants 
that its propagator first sent out, and which have 
been continued siuce, in consequence of high prices 
which caused nurserymen to propagate it from 
green cuttings, immature wood and anything that 
w-ould produce a plant. This was the case with the 
Delaware, and will he with every grape of any 
promise. Compare, for instance, the tine clusters 
of Delaware grapes of the past year or two with the 
Delaware grapes of six years ago, when the vine 
was enfeebled by over propagation. So it is, no 
doubt, with the Iona, and I hope that this beautiful 
grape may yet fulfill (when it is propagated from 
good bearing wood,) the promise that has been held 
out to us as being the best grape in America. I 
shall have nearly two acres of it in bearing this 
year, when I will be able to know more about it. As 
to its quality there is no doubt; it is a splendid 
table grape, and makes wine of excellent quality. 
It adheres firmly to the bunch, and will dry into a 
sweet, spirited raisin, All the trouble I can see is 
to get enough of the grapes. 
Delaware.— The only fault I can find with this fine 
grape is that unless it is severely pruned it will over¬ 
bear, aud the fruit will not ripen; it may color, but 
the fruit will not get perfectly ripe, but will be 
insipid and unfit for use. I have had more trouble 
with it on this account than any other variety that 
I ever cultivated. Four years ago my Delawares 
first came into geueral bearing. I trained them on 
the horizontal arm and renewal system, leaving the 
upright canes when pruned about five feet long. 
When thescborc they had an immense crop. I cut 
out nearly one-half of the clusters, but still they 
overbore, aud have not got over the effects of it to 
this day. The next year I cut the canes back to 
thirty inches; still they overbore. Then I cut back 
to twenty inches. In 1866 I cut closer still, with 
the same trouble —an over-crop of unripe fruit. 
Last fall I cut them back to three buds, and I now 
hope to get some good, well ripened grapes, and 
not be over-tasking and killing my vines. 
This matter of pruning demands our serious at¬ 
tention, as there are an immense number of vines 
ruined by leaving too much bearing wood and over¬ 
tasking the vine, inducing mildew, rot aud all dis¬ 
eases the vine is heir to, besides getting flavorless, 
unripe fruit, all through the eager desire of getting 
a big crop. Y ou can set it down as a positive fact, 
that when you bear a man bragging of growing four 
and five tons of grapes per acre, that he does not 
understand bis business, and will sooner or later 
lament over his folly in trying to get a biy crop. 
Better grow a small crop of good grapes, and keep 
your vines in a healthy condition, thun a large crop 
of poor ones and ruin your vineyard. 
Concord .—This may be the grape for the millio n, 
but it is not the grape for me. Its only merit con¬ 
sists in being hardy, a good bearer, and a grape that 
will stand all sorts of abuse—a grope for careless 
people. These good points are overbalanced by its 
poor quality and habit of dropping off and cracking 
open. I have about twenty vines of it—all I want 
—and these were got when the Concord was first 
sent out. Last fall i had about two hundred pounds 
of fra it which I intended to ship, but after they had 
been picked two days they all cracked open, making 
them unlit for shipment. 
Roller's Hybrid, No. 4, is fully as hardy and pro¬ 
ductive, earlier, and decidedly better quality. As a 
shipping and table grape, the Oorcord has had its 
day, (the Greeley Prize Committee to the contrary 
notwithstanding,) and must make room for better 
sorts. 
Allen's Hybrid and Rebecca are superior table 
grapes, but are adapted to amateurs only, or where 
they can have plenty of care. They require too 
much sulphuring for the vineyard. 
Diaim .—This line grape did not get perfectly ripe 
this year, owing to our late season. If it would 
only ripen ten days sooner I would not give it for 
any grape 1 know of. 
1 would mention as a fact, that our seasons seem 
to be growing later every year, excepting 1865. 1 
have kept a memorandum since 1862, in which year 
my grapes were in leaf May 10th; 1802, May 12th; 
1864, May 16th; 1805, May 10th; 1866, May 16th; 
1867, May 22d. How long this will continue nobody 
can tell, but if it keeps on we will soon have to do 
one of three things—give up grape growing, get 
earlier sorts, or go to a warmer climate. The ehort- 
The engraving portrays a Well grown plant of the 
Ricinus, or Castor Oil Bean. As an ornamental 
annual it is valued for its rapid growth, its broad, 
green leaves, aud its stately appearance —'having 
characteristics of tropical vegetation. In the latter 
part of summer the spikes of seed vessels present 
splendid colors, some green, others pink and scarlet, 
which show brilliantly until hard frosts. Under 
favoring circumstances some varieties of the Ric T . 
nus will often reach the height of fifteen feet, and it 
is well adapted to form summer screens, or clumps 
of foliage. The cultivation should be similar to 
that of early corn. There are many varieties, 
some dwarf aud some gigantic, and the colors of 
the foliage and stalks includes blood red, purple, 
rose and fight green. 
a dry subsoil, and a loose, 
sandy loam is usually considered best for the surface. 
West and Northwest slcqies, if not too much ex¬ 
posed to the sweep of winds, should be preferred to 
Eastern or Southern. When started right it needs 
no pruning, but if the knife must be used to correct 
some fault, let the cutting be done in mid-summer. 
In over-rich soils its growth is wood and not fruit, 
and it is liable to split open in the trank and large 
limbs, decay and die. This is the greatest drawback 
to its culture in the West, and the remedy is a suit¬ 
able soil and location, heading low, and applying 
washes frequently to the baik, v. v.h will soften it 
and permit the necessary e ; i m m. 
Owing to its size, close ski u: ; d h .. ■ ,. - 1 ,the 
cherry bears transports ti.-... . , t i y be 
carried from th e orchards io u i -1 ai: i i :. ^ 1 . good 
order, and the season of i. '-mlicicni.H ■ iged. 
England receives Immei quantity if .berries 
from Southern German-. v.,,t from France, vhich 
come into market much < i than t'uoi-e t wu ou 
her own soil. So in tliir <u a 11 v eii• N* ■ 1 . i ix mar¬ 
kets must draw their .o ii suppe:- on more 
Southern latitudes, and fucii m Co. , th irowu. 
hope that among the many thousands of new seed¬ 
lings which are being raised, some may be found 
that will combine the quality of the Iona, the hardi¬ 
ness aud productiveness of the Concord, the earli¬ 
ness and healthfulness of the Hartford Prolific. If 
such a one can be produced it will be all that can 
be desired, aud lucky will be the man and great his 
name who produces it. F. C. Bkeiim. 
Germania Vineyard, Waterloo, N. Y., Jan, 13, 18(58. 
hooves us seriously to inquire how we shall rid 
ourselves of this great peBt, which is destroying 
millions worth of plums, cherries and apifles every 
year. D . j. s. 
Van Boren Center, N. Y., 1868. 
Currants — Propagation .—There is no small garden 
fruit, whether used in a green or natural state, more 
palatable than the common red currant. The white 
variety is also good, but of late years the currant 
worm has rendered their production very limited. 
Would it not be a good plan to plant cuttings 
early in the spring, and institute an incessant war¬ 
fare against the worm till the bushes reach a bear- 
ing age, and as long thereafter as this enemy makes 
its appearance upon them. 
The Beech as a Hedye Riant .—A correspondent of 
•the Maine Fanner pays many hedges of this wood 
exist in Eastern France, Prussia and Switzerland, 
and if care is used in shortening in it is easy to make 
good fences with the beech; it branches little, is 
stiff, and keeps its place. It. is not liable to be In¬ 
jured by the seasons. We can add that there is a 
bccch hedge in this city, Which seems to be a very 
good one as far as it has grown. They are of slow 
growth, and we have other plants more desirable for 
fencing purposes. 
terrain Grape.—The Gardener’s Monthly says;— 
“We have samples of this new white grape from 
Mr. Barney, who says it is a chance seedling taken 
up with other seedlings under an Isabella vine, by 
Mr. Hopkins of Lorrain Co., and that the foliage in 
form and color resembles Catawba, with the texture 
of Isabella. The berries had fallen from the bunch, 
which had been many days reaching us, but were in 
fair condition, not having fermented. It has a honied 
sweetness, rather a thin skin, bunch and berry of 
fair size, and we should judge from these samples, 
(though late in the season, Oct. 1st, a first rate 
variety.” 
How Rirt Wine is Made .—The way in which, what 
in England is called Port Wine, has hitherto been 
manufactured for the London market, is this:—The 
'Paiz de Vcnhaterio abounds in the elderberries; the 
berries of these trees are dried in the sun or kilns. 
The wine is then thrown on them, and the berries 
are trodden (as previously the grapes) till it is thor¬ 
oughly saturated with the coloring mutter of the 
berries. Brandy is then added in proportion of 
from three to sixteen gallons to every pipe of 115 
gallons. This i.s the composition of all Port Wine 
hitherto drank in England. No pure wine, no wine 
Indiana Uoutictt I .ti-kal Society.— The seventh an¬ 
nual meeting of this Society was held at Indianapolis 
Jan. loth. The display of apples, wine and preserved 
iruit was unusually good. One member presented forty- 
one varieties of the apple, with names, and sixteen with¬ 
out any. The committee on fruit reported that tho display 
of apples was never before equalled in the State A 
general discussion on fruit soils, fruits, and tho best plan 
ot maturing, took place, with very satisfactory resnlts. 
In the strawberry department the discussion took a wide 
range and was rather mixed, but settled on the Albany as 
the best berry for marketing purposes. Mulching the 
vines was generally conceded to bo advantageous to the 
plants. Frnit insects were catalogued, anH 
Solomon Wood, Belle Valley, Penn., writes us; 
“Please inform me through the Rural about a 
compost to be used in the hill, or as a top dressing 
for corn aud vegetables. I have been mixing bon 
manure, swamp muck, lime, salt, ashes and plaster 
the past season, I wish to learn whether any of 
these articles will neutralize or destroy the fertili¬ 
zing properties of another, and should like to know 
the proportion of each ingredient to use in order to 
make the most valuable compost for garden use.” 
Remarks.— Every garden should have a compost 
heap, which should largely consist of mold for the 
putpose of mixing with and retaining the mineral 
elements. Swamp muck, if not cold and sour, is 
good, but decayed sods aud leaf mold from the 
woods are better. Ashes, bone dust, plaster and 
salt, may be added to this in proper quantities, if 
well mixed, and no loss incurred, ns the humus will 
absorb and retain all. If lime is needed it is better 
to apply it separately in the fall or early spiring, giv¬ 
ing a liberal dressing once in three years. If thu 
soil is rich in vegetable matter, or has been highly 
manured for years, salt, and lime may be freely used 
with advantage. If it is desirable to apply fertilizers 
to the growing crops for the purpose especially of 
benefiting them the liquid form will give the best 
results; but the liquid manure must first ferment. 
r UIT 
I wish to add my tc tummy ' ,h; t of he large 
number who have spoke . tl >-Vlu ■ < umns of 
the Rural in favor of m utmn.lan e of rip*- Fruit, If 
haply that testimony 1 destitute 
of fruit, to its earnest ei.ilt; 
My present age is .re ago, in order 
that the young peo ' . in room to 
“swing around the “age, horse 
bam, &c., and fenced oil from u.j tar. even acres 
for my own cultivation. My first aim was to sur¬ 
round our new domicil with a great abundance and 
variety of fruit,—Bummer, Fall and Winter apples; 
a variety of Peaches 
Cherries of various kinds 
Isabella Grapes; 
ries; Currants; Strawberr 
VARIOUS ORIGINAL RECIPES, &c„ 
Plain Corn Cake. — l qt. sweet milk ; 3 eggs- 
teaspoon salt. 
Another Way.— 3 cups sour cream ; 8 do. sweet 
milk or water; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 
1 do. soda; handful of flour stirred iu with the meal. 
Steamed Corn Bread. —1 pint sour milk; cup 
lard or finely chopped suet; 1 cup molasses; 1 tea- 
spoon allspice; 1 do. salt; 1 do. soda. Leave the bat¬ 
ter quite thin. Steam one hour and bake the same. 
Iruit Johnny Caice.— 2 cups sour cream; 2 do. 
sweet milk ; 3 tablespoons sugar ; 3 eggs ; 1 tea¬ 
spoon salt; 1 do. soda; 1 cup chopped raisius ; Ido 
citron ; handful flour stirred in with the meal. 
Those who want something extra, try this : 
Marble Cake — White. — l cup butter; 3 do 
white sugar; 4 do. Hour; do. sweet milk; whites 
of 9 eggs: flavor with lemon. 
Marble G*KB—Dark.—l cup butter; 2 do brown 
sugar; 1 do. molasses; 1 do. sour milk; 1 teaspoon 
soda; 5 cups Hour; yolks of 9 eggs; 1 whole one- 
spices ol uil sorts. Put in pans first a layer of dark 
cake, then a layer of white, and so on, finishing with 
a layer of dark. Bake in a moderate oven. 
Plain Cake. —1 cun sour cream • i Q . 
; dwarf and standard Pears; 
Concord, Delaware and 
Lawton .Blackberries; Gooseber¬ 
ries; and, added to these, 
an abundance of garden products. All these the 
past season were in good bearing, so that a family of 
three adult people not only laid up rich stores for 
winter use, but through the summer and full lived 
largely on ripe, fresh-gathered fruit. Exquisite 
peaches, of which wo never tired, eaten with bread, 
sugar and cream, at the table, we had in abundance 
from the middle of August till past the middle of 
October, — beginning with Hale’s early, and ending 
with Crawford’s late. One cherry tree alone, yield¬ 
ing bushels, was in ripe bearing 1 two weeks. The 
yield of currants and gooseberries we estimated by 
bushels; and raspberries we had for six consecutive 
weeks fresh from the canes, A dish piled with 
grapes, always graced our table during the season of 
grapes, (we give our vote emphatically in favor of 
the Concord,) aud Lawton blackberries, albeit with 
plenty of svyar, gave tartness, and spirit, and flavor, 
to many a meal. 
Our apple trees, under much garden cultivation, 
have grown hugely—so much wood that we had to 
apply to the old farm lbr about ton bushels of 
winter apples to fill our apple bin; in future we 
shall expect them to do better. Now, we have not 
been strictly vegetarians, for we have occasionally 
partaken of beef steak, mutton chop, fish, fowl and 
eggs—no pork; but very largely our diet has been of 
fresh-gathered fruit, bread, butter and tea—which 
last, with all due respect for Dr. Snodgrass of the 
Tribune, for aged people I approve. 
In review of the year’s diet wc can say, — 1st, that 
it has been delicious; 3d, that it has been healthful; 
3d, that it has been economical — all emphatical. 
Wife and I have not taken any medicine for twelve 
months past, and during the freest use of fruit we 
have had no dyspepsia or bowel trouble. Every 
meal was a feast of good things, crowned with a con¬ 
viction that there was no enervation iu its luxury, 
aud with the satisfaction that it was the fruit of our 
own industry. When wc built our house It stood in 
a plowed field, without a fruit tree or shrub of any 
kind on its premises. 
In conclusion I may say, that of the small 
fruits, the Concord Grape affords an unfailing supply 
of fruit, with perhaps the least labor of any kind of 
fruit wc have tried—the raspberry meat—and straw¬ 
berries with us the most difficult. The currant, 
however, has always been, abundant, treated with 
ashes, aud all tho soot of our establishment. Stand¬ 
ard 1 prefer to dwarf pears, for a term of seven years 
or more. But with all, as Demosthenes said of 
action, cultivation is the main thing. 
Milan, Erie Co., Ohio, 1868. Peteb Hathaway. 
The mo3t difficult scion to grow is that of the 
cherry. Wc have employed experienced grafters— 
distrusting our own skill—to set cherry scions, and 
on one occasion uot one grew* in tho lot, some 
twenty-five in number. Wo have succeeded our¬ 
selves in two out of three; but this is not enough 
where persons have only a few stems to operate on. 
The want of success is to be ascribed to two causes. 
The first is a lack of care aud good tools in setting 
the sciona; but the second principal is the late pe¬ 
riod at which the scions are cut. When the cherry bud 
is once swollen, it is very difficult to get it to grow. 
They should therefore be cut before there is any 
sign of swelling—and that time is now aud generally 
during this month. They should be buried in the 
ground deep enough to be beyond the influence of 
the sun, whence they eau be taken out and used 
when needed throughout the grafting season. Some 
persons, we know, preserve grafts of all kinds in 
ice-houses, cellars, buried in sand, or tied up in 
moss, &c., &c,, and these modes answer very well. 
In our experience we have found that they keep no¬ 
where in so good a condition as when buried in the 
ground as wo suggest. This is also true of grapes 
and other euttiugs, though we know that other 
modes arc practiced, especially by nurserymen. 
Varieties oj the- Scuppernony .—A correspondent of 
the Southern Planter writes:—“On the Cape Fear 
they have another variety of Seupperaoug; the 
common variety being white, furnishes a light and 
clear wine. The second ripens os the first is being 
exhausted, is darker in color, and produces a strong¬ 
er wine: a third ripening still later, being matured 
in the house, frequently lasting until Christmas, fur¬ 
nishes an exceedingly strong wine, rapidly causing 
intoxication, Tho vine thrives best iu a sandy loam, 
but prospers well now on every variety of soil that 
is sufficiently dry to yield any of the ordinary hoed 
crops of the country. I think it will endure the 
climate anywhere south of the James. It is not 
practical to prune it, except with great care and at 
certain periods—never in the spring—nor without 
dressing the wound with great care, the bleeding 
being 60 profuse as to soften and force away any 
other than a very tenacious dressing.” 
Fordin’ s Seedling Grape—A variety with this 
name was exhibited at the Oswego Falls Agricultural 
meeting, —but beyond the statement that it was 
“ e arly and delicious,” we have no description. 
s 
