MAY 1/ 
m 
®hc Uiiu'nard. 
KEEPING LATE GRAPES UPON THE 
VINES. 
A correspondent of the Garden furnishes 
the following :—It has frequently been as¬ 
serted that keeping late grapes hanging upon 
vines long after they are ripe exhausts the 
vines, and is a fertile cause of shailking, and 
other evils to which vines are liable. One 
writer even goes the length of saying that 
the practice is as injurious to the health of 
the vines as early forcing. That late vines 
can Vie killed by over-cropping, like others, 
there is no doubt; but I do not think there 
is one tittle of evidence to show that grapes 
hanging late is in the least injurious—even 
though the fruit may hang till the buds are 
breaking. The vines will doubtless bleed if 
the bunches are not cut olT before the middle 
of March ; but that is quite another matter. 
The time when fruit of any kind acts upon 
the energies of the plant is when it is swell¬ 
ing, or notably when it is stotiiug or forming 
its seeds—the period when shanking begins 
in grapes. When poaches, cherries and plums 
drop their fruit, aiul the time generally when 
all kinds of fruits thin themselves naturally ; 
lint grapes hanging upon the rod after they 
are ripe are no more burden to the plant than 
the leafless brunches themselves. How can 
they bo ? Growth and maturation are com¬ 
pleted, and there is no demand upon the vino. 
True, the bunch retains its vitality ; it will 
die eventually, us a shoot will if it is cut off 
the vine ; but further it. apparently costs the 
plant no effort whatever, hang tvs long it will. 
Grapes lose flavor every day attar they are 
severed from the vine ; there is no doubt 
about this, whatever may be advanced to 
the contrary. Therefore, where the only ob¬ 
ject is to Rave the vines, let the fruit hang as 
long us possible, for no injury may bo appre¬ 
hended. Bottling has not by any means boon 
uniformly attended with success, even under 
the most favorable conditions, and it should 
therefore be a last resource. 
I have perhaps, had as much experience 
with late grapes and their keeping as most 
people. Fifteen years ago, and for years 
after, I had to do with what was probably 
the first house entirely devoted to such varie¬ 
ties as Lady Downes grape in this country, 
and 1 cun say that, year after year, for twelve 
years to my knowledge (and up till this date 
for anything I know), those vines were heav¬ 
ily cropped, and the fruit was never cut till 
just a few weeks before starting, to prevent 
bleeding ; yet there was never the slightest 
diminution of vigor in the vines. Since then, 
many well authenticated instances of late 
huuging, in conjunction with unabated vigor 
for a series of years, have come to my knowl¬ 
edge, leaving not the shadow of u doubt on 
my mind in regard to the matter. The late 
vinery here has been cropped regularly for 
the last seven years. During that timeshank- 
ing or other evils have been unknown, and, 
though the fruit has been left hanging upon 
the vines every year till the cud of February 
or beginning of March, their vigor is remark¬ 
able, if heavy, well-finished crops, robust 
wood and foliage, are any criterion. Such 
varieties as Lady Downes and Black Alicante 
are not lit for dessert while such kinds as the 
Black Hamburgh and others are in season ; 
in fact, they arc acknowledged by all to ho 
very indifferent, in flavor, not to speak of 
their objectionably thick skins. It is there¬ 
fore of somo importance to have these in the 
best condition possible, and this cannot be se¬ 
cured in any way so well as by leaving the 
fruit to hang upon the vine as late as is prac¬ 
ticable. Much has been written about inside 
borders for early vines ; but I have come to 
think that such are quite as necessary for 
late vines. A number of the vines in the late 
house hero are planted entirely inside, and 
the superior manner in which the fruit keeps 
upon these, compared with those which have 
thc.ir roots outside, is so marked, that I have 
decided to fill the house wholly with the 
former, and do away with the outside ones 
altogether. 
--- 
GRAPE VINE TIES. 
L. A. Riehl, an experienced grape grower 
says in the Rural World : 
t rom my experience and observation, I am 
free to recommend three-ply jute twine as 
the best and cheapest material with which to 
tic up the greeu wood of grape vines, and for 
tying the bearingcauea, I have found nothing 
cheaper or better than an article of tarred 
rope, resembling lath twine, but only half as 
thick, used by hardware men to tie up hubs, 
spokes and various other articles requiring a 
strong ne. It comes in coil, of 85 strands in 
a coil, weighing about a pound to the foot, 
and sells at 28 to 80 cents per pound. This 
can be cut into lengths of .8 to 10 feet a strand, 
drawn out and used from one end ; when a 
tie is made, it is cut off, and thus there is no 
waste, as is the case when the ties are cut 
into lengths before using. With this there is 
no loss of time to prepare it for use, more 
Mr. Southworth—Did not make a practice 
of making honey in that way, nor had he 
sold any of it. It was tasted on the grounds 
and pronounced the best of honey. 
All. Moon, said every bee keeper knows 
that sugar cannot be made into wax and 
honey, without loss to the bee keeper. The 
waste is so great that the cost is too much. 
MUSIC PORTFOLIO AND 
vines can be tied up than with any other 
article that T know of, and it will last the 
whole season without giving way ; and when 
t he work has boon properly done, there will 
be no need to go through the vineyard after 
every rain or wind and tie up vines that have 
torn loose the ties that, have failed to hold 
them. 
STAND.—(See page 319.) 
If sugar could be had at three cents a pound 
it might pay the bee keeper for his labor, but 
would leave him no profit. He. only stated 
what he did to convince the gentleman who 
asked the question that wax could he made 
from sugar. 
Dr. Lucas said in 1871 he took enough 
liouey from his apiary in two months to pay 
for bees, Italian queens, hives, and an ex- 
arum. 
SOGAR IN HONEY MAKING 
At the Late meeting of the North American 
Boo Keepers Ass’n., Mr. Wilkinson of In¬ 
diana asked :—Will bees cohstruet comb of 
sugar sirup, as well as from honey?” The 
following replies by members were made : 
Dr. Bohrer—Had bees to build comb of 
sirup in winter. 
Mr. Moon— -Prepare honey boxes with 
pieces of comb in them, so as to induce the 
boos to commence in them us soon as possible 
and put boxes as close to the center as possi¬ 
ble. He once kept bees in a dark room four¬ 
teen weeks, and had twenty boxes filled with 
honey and wax made of sugar sirup, and 
took premiums at the Fairs with it. 
Mi*. Southwort h, Ill., had considerable comb 
and honey made from sugar, the past season, 
Mr. Moon, assisted Mr. Southworth in feed¬ 
ing the sugar, and the honey took the pre¬ 
mium at. the Illinois State Fair. 
Mr. MeFctridge—Moved his bees to the 
pasturage twenty or thirty miles ; first to a 
poplar grove, and then to a linden-wood. 
Sixty hives gathered .a ton from the poplar 
and 2,400 lbs. from the linden, 
N. C. Mitchell—Tried two colonies of bees 
on Hosmer’s plan of a quart to the colony 
two years ago. Fed them early and had 
them strong enough to gather surplus honey 
from fruit blossoms. They yielded enor¬ 
mously during the season, but he kept no 
account of the amount. 
Mi*. Wheetlon, Greensburg, Ind., thought 
there should be more caution in advising 
making honey from sugar. Many would not 
buy extracted honey now, and if the idea 
Stand for Cigar Ashes.—(P age 319.) 
tractor. Without the extractor he could not 
have done it; but would have come out in 
debt. The extractor will pay. Wax is indi¬ 
gestible and positively injurious. There is 
no acid that will dissolve it. 
Mr. Wilkerson thought sugar might be fed 
out of which to construct comb to bold the 
honey. 
♦ ♦♦- 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
Bosage is recommended as “an extra good 
bee plant,” which it will pay any one to 
raise who keeps bees. This refers to Bossa- 
(jo officinalis, which is cultivated m gardens 
.Implement?;. 
THOMAS 1 HARROW. 
James Upton, Smithville, Canada, writes : 
“ Having noticed the article headed ‘ Harrow¬ 
ing Wheat, 1 in Rural New-Yorker, April 5, 
I would like to know what kind of a harrow 
the one spoken of os Thomas’ Smoothing 
Harrow is — if there is anything peculiar 
about it; also, whether the wheat, crop your 
correspondent harrowed was drilled or sown 
broadcast; whether the harrow is of ordi¬ 
nary weight, ‘ The practice is one I have 
long wished to adopt, but when 1 have at¬ 
tempted to do it, I have always found the 
harrow tearing too much wheat up, so that 
l did not dare to proceed.” 
Ho-far as the harrow is concerned, wo an¬ 
swer that it has 81 teeth, made of round steel 
roils, ono-luilf inch in diameter, hardened, 
and set in 3 by 2,1.j inch oak, and standing 
backward at an angle of 25 degrees. The 
harrow is In the form of three gates, fastened 
by hinges. The teeth are bright and clean, 
never clog, cut through, instead of pushing 
the lumps aside, and does not tear up the 
ground as the ordinary harrow does. The 
teeth being set at an angle to the beams, the 
resistance is less, and pulverizes the ground, 
whore the other harrows do not. 
GARDEN SCARIFIER. 
We give herewith an illustration of an im¬ 
plement very highly commended in France 
and England, where it has been used both 
for cleansing the surface (of walks or seed- 
beds) and for breaking lip ground for sowing 
and planting. The wheels are. about three 
inches in diameter, ami the hoe is from seven 
to nine inches wide ; the rake a little wider. 
It is, in fact, a Dutch hoe and rake combined, 
and mounted on wheels. The. hoc and rake 
can be elevated or depressed at pleasure, so 
as to be adapted t'> the angle at which the 
bundle is to be hold. We give it as a sugges¬ 
tion for gardeners who may desire something 
better than they now have. We do not 
know that it is for sale, in this country. 
0-A.R.IDEINr SCARIFIER. 
gets out that bee keepers are making honey 
of sugar, it will be further injured in reputa¬ 
tion. 
Mr. Merrill was of the opinion that that 
tiling of selling molasses for honey, and the 
statement going out that it took premiums 
at a State lair, was caleulkted to degrade beo 
keeping and ignore honest bee keepers. 
sometimes and used both as a salad and pot¬ 
herb. 
How to Pick Up Been. —A young Iowan, 
writes a bee journal that he lias picked up 
hundreds of bees and wasps, and never got 
stung. He “holds his breath a few* seconds, 
then takes hold of them without danger. ” 
STAKES FOR TOMATOES. 
Thomas Meehan, the horticulturist of Ger¬ 
mantown, Pa., says he has for several years 
noted the relative advantages of the different 
ways of cultivating tomatoes, and lie con¬ 
cludes that the best practice t o adopt is to 
proceed as with the Lima beans- that is set 
the Stakes before the plants are put out. 
These stakes need not lie over six foot high, 
and may be sot about four feet apart each 
way. As the plants grow, tie them up to the 
stakes; but that will not lie required over 
1 half a dozen times during the season. Twenty 
" plants in this way will yield us much fruit as 
!' | double the quantity on any other plan, and 
lh in quality there is no comparison. 
The common field plan of leaving tomatoes to 
,(> grow as they list, spreading everywhere over 
the ground, may be, as truck growers say it 
| is, the way in w hich the heaviest weight of 
fruit can be had 
M in proportion to 
the labor spent; 
6'63 sr ^ hut in this way 
8 the fruit: is more 
acid. But what- 
ever system is 
adopted, do not 
set the plants until the soil is w*ann, or they 
will be stunted and time lost. 
-*•♦-*- 
GARDENER’S NOTES. 
Cabbages in Indiana. —Kate Smith of 
Wayne Co., Lid., writes the Germantown 
Telegraph: — “Of cabbage w*e have early 
Dutch York, small, but very early; next 
Premium flat Dutch, very lai’ge and solid, 
and keeps well overwinter; also, Lute Blood 
Red for pickling. I like it so well for what 
we call ‘ chow-chow.’ We make it in this 
way : one part green tomatoes and one part 
cabbage ; chop very fine ; put in a little salt 
and let stand overnight: then drain off; sea¬ 
son with cloves ; have good cider vinegar: 
put in a stone jar, have a weight on the top ; 
set in cool place and it will keep for months.” 
Cooling's Matvhk.su Winter Broccoli, the 
London Garden is satisfied, is a valuable ad¬ 
dition to vegetables in use at this season of 
the year. The heads, which are beautiful in 
form, are large, solid, remarkably white and 
well protected by means of leaves which grow 
over the “ flower.” When cooked the flavor 
is excellent; it is one of the finest Broceolies 
in cultivation, 
