a solution of rock candy in grape juice is put 
into each bottle, which is then laid upon its 
side for several months for the sediment to be 
deposited. When this deposit is finished, it 
is thrown down upon the cork in the follow¬ 
ing manner:—Many vertical tables, or rather 
tables which make an angle of seventy de¬ 
grees xtm the vertical, are provided, which 
are perforated with holes and are beveled on 
the upper side so as to admit of placing the 
bottles in a truly vertical direction. At first 
the necks arc inserted into the poles at an 
angle of about ten degrees with the horizon ; 
every day or two the bottles arc rapidly 
rotated ouce or twice and then are quickly 
vibrated upwards and downwards. Wc saw 
forty-eight bottles agitated in this way iu 
thirteen seconds. One man generally shakes 
2ti,000 bottles in two hours. After every 
shaking the bottle is raised a few degrees 
farther from the horizontal until, at the end of 
about four weeks, it is raised to the vertical 
position and the sediment is all settled on 
the cork, which is then removed, the sedi¬ 
ment thrown out, and a new cork inserted 
and securely fastened. It is now returned 
to the cellar and allowed to ripen for the 
market. In the course of the manufacture 
each bottle is handled two hundred times. 
The whole process lbr converting crude 
grape juice into wine is aided at every point 
by very ingenius labor-saving contrivances, 
and in those parts where it is inapplicable, a 
degree of manual dexterity has been acquired 
which is truly astonishing. 
The llcftt Wine. 
After seeing all the departments of man¬ 
ufacture, the party returned and tasted the 
finished production, and they were unani¬ 
mous iu awarding the highest meed of praise 
to a new wine known to the trade as “ Carte 
Blanche.” 
Two years ago we visited this establish¬ 
ment in company with some of the most 
eminent wine tasters iu America. At that 
time the wiuc known as “ Paris Exposition ” 
received the highest encomiums of the whole 
party, as it had previously received the ap¬ 
probation of the jurors at Paris, and which 
was the only American wine that did receive 
it. It was made from a mixture of Catawba, 
Isabella, Diana and Delaware grapes. The 
“ Carte Blanche ” is made of the same grapes, 
except that only one-half of the quantity of 
Caqiwbas me used in its composition, ami 
their place is supplied by au equal quantity 
of Iona grapes. The elfect of this change 
is indeed very great, and the wine is made 
vastly more palatable. When compared to¬ 
gether, the “ Paris Exposition seemed coarse 
and harsh, and was far inferior to the Carte 
Blanche. Probably when the Walter grape 
becomes sufficiently abundant, its Juice will 
replace one-half of the Catawba and Isa¬ 
bella now used in the Carte Blanche, and we 
shall then have a wine as much superior to 
that as that is to the “ Paris Exposition ” 
At all events, it is now made quite clear that 
the path of improvement in American wines 
lies in the judicious combination of the fla¬ 
vors of different grapes, and must not be 
looked for in the juice of any single one. 
Tin; Viricytil'd*. 
After tasting the wines, we next proceeded 
to the vineyards. If 1 were to write all that 
we saw that was worthy of observation, this 
letter would expand to the dimensions of a 
volume. 1 therefore content myself with 
reporting that this year lias been a very pro¬ 
pitious one to the grape crop, both with re¬ 
spect to quantity and quality. The prices of 
them will rule low. I have no doubt that 
the beat growers would contract for their 
whole crops at six or seven cents per pound. 
The loans at Mr. Wagner's vineyard have 
done better than ever before. There has 
been uo mildew or rot; the grapes hang 
thickly on the vines; the berries are large; 
the bunches compact and the flavor delicious. 
It was very evident that clean cultivation 
is indispensably necessary; many of the vine¬ 
yards were full of Sc to ria glaum, variously 
known to farmers as Pigeon grass, Crab 
grass, Pox tail, &c., as well as other weeds; 
wherever this was the case, the grapes were 
less abundant, smaller and less advanced than 
in the vineyards where the grass and weeds 
had been kept under, and the surface made 
mellow by the cultivator. 
It was formerly thought that a rich soil was 
injurious to wine grapes. I think from our 
observations, this idea must be exploded. 
The richest soils produced grapes invariably 
in the greatest abundance, and of the finest 
flavor. 
Underhill's Grape Lock. 
I saw for the first time, the grape lock in¬ 
vented by Mr. Underhill of Broctou, and 
was much pleased with its simplicity and 
utility. It is quite evident that vines can he 
fastened to the wires more rapidly and more 
cheaply by means of this contrivance than 
in any other way yet known to the cultiva¬ 
tors of grapes. 
Fall'chlld’N Box Factory. 
After leaving the vineyards we proceeded 
to the boat, taking the box factory of Messrs. 
Palrchild in the way. Iu this factory 3,000 
grape boxes, with the crates in which they 
are transported, are made daily by sixteen 
men, six boys, and ten women. The whole 
number made in a year is 400,000 boxes, be¬ 
sides the crates. The ends of the boxes are 
cut out by circular saws, but the bottom and 
sides are cut off by a rotary plane at the rate 
of 12,000 per hour. The shop is furnished 
with a power press and a large assortment 
of fancy type and inks, so that they are en¬ 
abled to furnish any kind of ornamented 
labels that the grape grower may require. 
The sail up Lake Keuka was delightful. 
On our way up we stopped at the 
Urbaua Wiuo Cellar, 
where an opportunity was kindly afforded 
by the proprietors to see their processes, and 
to taste their various brands. We were glad 
to learn that this establishment is very suc¬ 
cessful, and that their stock ou baud was 
much smaller than it had ever been before, 
the demand considerably exceeding the 
supply. 
It appeared t o me, from a rough survey of 
the lake, that the vineyards covered an area 
one-third larger than they did two years ago, 
and this estimate was confirmed by several 
grape growers residing in the vicinity. I 
endeavored to ascertain the 
Average Cost of Grape Growing, 
but found that men varied very considerably 
in their estimates, arising from differences of 
soil, culture, and variety of grape; but from 
all I could learn, 1 think that the average 
cost may he fairly stated at three cents per 
pound. The cost of table grapes, packed in 
boxes and crates ready for market, Is live 
cents per pound. 
We landed at Spring Grove Hotel, a beau¬ 
tiful watering place on the east side of the 
lake, a little south of Bluff Point, where we 
partook of an excellent dinner, and then re¬ 
turning to the boat we wended our way 
back to llammondsport. 
1 believe that there was but one feeling 
among the guests, ami that was that it had 
been a day of unmingled enjoyment.. The 
courtesy and tact of Messrs. Champlin, 
Young love, and other officers of the Com¬ 
pany, in which they were most agreeably 
aided by the ladies of their families, would 
have surprised as well as delighted us, if we 
bad not so often experienced these genial 
courtesies iu times past, that anything like 
surprise at any new achievements in this 
line Imd become almost impossible. 
Mr. WiiKKLKR, Lho former President of 
the Company, has now devoted himself to 
the distillation of brandy as a specialty, with 
special reference to the wants of the sick. 
He li.ia already a large stock on hand, which 
he is keeping until age has developed its 
latent good qualities, when he will offer it 
in the market.— G. 
the first establishments in the champagne 
district of France; and the quality of their 
product is superior to the sp&rkling wines 
of commerce which we have always im¬ 
ported. 
This year the Pleasant Valley Company 
will manufacture 140,000 and the Urbaua 
Company 120,000 bottles—an increase of 
more than one-third upon their last year’s 
production. In addition to this they will 
manufacture a large stock of dry wine. 
Leaving the Urbaua cellars, the guests 
again took the steamer to the Grove Spring 
House, a tine summer hotel on the eastern 
bank of the Lake, where they remained for 
a couple of hours. During this time a 
splendid dinner was given lo the guests by 
the Association, and at its close the company 
parted, some going down the Lake to Penn 
Yau, and others returning by the steamboat 
to llammondsport,—u. 
From Mouroo Oo.» N. Y. 
A few days since we visited the vineyard 
of Wm. P. Loud, of Monroe Co., N. Y., and 
found that the prospect for a large crop was 
very favorable. The vineyard showed no 
signs of the grape slug or insects which 
have become so injurious to the vine. In 
this vineyard we found the Iona to be in a 
very forward condition, the bunches large 
and compact, fruit well set, and the Concord, 
Diana, Delaware and Isabella were much 
more forward and in better condition than 
they have been for many years past in this 
section of the Stale. We saw no appear¬ 
ance of mildew nor any dropping of berries 
from the well-formed and compact bunches. 
The indications now are that we shall have 
plenty of grapes from Western New York. 
We learn from conversation with gentle¬ 
men from Broctou, who have been visiting 
vineyards in that section, that the. vines will 
produce, in very many instances, two tons 
of fruit to the acre, at least. In some sec¬ 
tions tliQ Salem is condemned as unworthy 
of cultivation, for either tile table or as a 
wine grape. As near as wo cun learn, the 
Iona proves a good producer; but some 
vineyardists are fearful of it on account of 
the falling of the foliage. The Delaware, 
Concord and Isabella are reported as being 
very promising in the Naples and Lockport 
vineyards—more so than for years past.— l. 
Icrrimlturf 
rbcrrmtltnrc 
STRAIGHT ROWS IN PLANTING 
ANEMONE JAPONICA ALBA. 
In the Rural New-Yorker, some timo 
ago, I saw inquiries in regard to laying and 
setting out orchards, which I will try Lo an¬ 
swer. To square the ground with a ten feet 
pole, measure from the corner, or where the 
corner tree should stand, eight feel, and 
six feet at right angles with that; the tri¬ 
angle should be ten feet; or use rod meas¬ 
ure—four rods from corner and three at 
right angles. To make it square, the dis¬ 
tance across ul the triangle should be five 
rods. I would run one of the outside rows 
to the corner, selling stakes where the trees 
come ; square that the same, and so on until 
1 get the outside row around the field. The 
other rows can be measured from one row, 
and set the stakes in line ; have them range 
each way. 
To get the rows perfectly straight after 
the trees are hcI, use four stakes eighteen 
inches in length, with a piece of small cord, 
five or six feet in length, fastened at the top 
of each pair of stakes. Set the stakes so 
that the cords cross at right angles, having 
the stake where the tree is to he in one cor¬ 
ner. Remove the stake, dig the hole and 
set the tree in the same corner that t he stake 
was; iu that way the rows will be perfectly 
straight. Wm. G. Marshall. 
This beautiful herbaceous plant was intro¬ 
duced into this country, a few years ago, 
under the name of .1. japonica llonorine, 
Jobert ; but it is not nearly as much dis- 
-fa -_ 
seminated as it ought, to he. The foliage is 
very strong and striking; the flower stems 
are about three feet high, and the flowers, 
which arc very large, are produced in Sep¬ 
tember and October, a season when flow ers 
are very desirable, as enlivening the garden, 
which at that season begins to show I lie- 
approach of winter, in the dying down and 
shedding of leaves of other herbaceous 
plants and shrubs. 
The species of which this is a variety lias 
reddish purple flowers, in which consists 
nearly all the difference between the two. 
Both should bo iu every garden, as they are 
indispensable in prolonging the floral season. 
NEW METHOD OP GRAFTING, 
The London Gardener’s Chronicle says 
“A French gardener bus adopted a new 
method of grafting and budding pear trees. 
The wild stocks, lie says, succeed best when 
budded, as their branches then continue to 
grow as if no operation had been performed; 
while in the case of grafting, the stock being 
cut down to the ground, wastes vitality, 
which the graft, is not able to supply for a 
long time, so that during the first year, pro¬ 
gress is very slow. In order to remedy this, 
he leaves two shoots on each side of the stock, 
which lie splits half way dmvn, and then 
shaving away the sides of the lower end of 
the cioil, he inserts the latter ill the cleft and 
binds up in the usual way. If the operation 
is performed in the opening spring, you pinch 
off the shoots, in order to prevent the stem 
from growing too fast, and cut back at the 
end of tjie year ; if the grafting is performed 
in he autumn, the cutting is executed at the 
end of the winter. The graft having then 
taken well, it has force enough to excite the 
action of the spongiules, so that much trouble 
and loss of tilue are saved, lie has a like 
plan for budding. It is well known that this 
operation cannot be adopted after the rise of 
the sap has ceased ; he therefore cuts his hud 
with a small portion of wood attached to it, 
so that the lower part of the eye is, of course, 
not only uninjured, but supported by the 
ligneous matter; the budding piece is then 
inserted either in a slit iu the top of the 
stock, or into an opening made in the middle 
of tiie stock with a knife, and into which the 
bud, or rat her the small piece of wood; at¬ 
tached to it, is inserted. The operation may 
be regarded, in fact, as grafting with a single 
eye. The grand advantage is’ that the ope¬ 
ration succeeds as well in October or No¬ 
vember, as iu August or September.” 
ASTERS. 
In looking over my flowers and admiring 
their beauty, I Had that none claim such 
prominence as the Aster. At this time of 
the year they are out in full bloom, and well 
may they be called the Queen of the Garden. 
The Aster wants ti good, rich soil and the 
best of manure, to produce a rapid growth; 
the ground always moist. Its greatest de¬ 
light is to have a good sprinkle, night and 
morning, with about one hour of sunshine 
during the day. This season I tried many 
ways to grow Asters. My favorite way is 
to grow them in boxes, so that they can be 
moved out of the way of bugs, which arc 
their greatest enemies. 
1 now have upon my verandah one dozen 
of the Rose-flowered Aster; and such a sight 
as they do present to the eye! Home of 
them are ns large aa lho dahlia, and in vari¬ 
ous colors, from pearly while to dark blue; 
and I have them arranged so as to form one 
of the prettiest scenes, which often capti¬ 
vates the eye of the passers-by, and brings 
forth words of praise. 
Enou, O., 1870. J. W. M. 
GRAPE BOXES AND PACKING. 
It has been a generally com eded point 
that tight boxes were the beST lbr the pur¬ 
pose of packing and carrying grapes; but 
we doubt if this has lmd aV.nc lest or care¬ 
ful comparison. It is well known by all 
careful, observing fruit growers that for 
forty-eight hours or more after the gather¬ 
ing of all fruits, there is evaporation or 
change, a giving off of a watery vapor and 
a taking in of starch and sugar— i. e., a 
ripeuiug process by which the water is, du¬ 
ring the first, forty-eight hours after gather¬ 
ing, very rapidly evolved, and after that lho 
process of ripening goes on mure evenly and 
slowly, according as teittpeiaturo and air 
meet the requirements of Nature’s act of 
maturation. 
Some experiments made during the 
past few years, go to show that this idea 
or general view of a light box being best is 
an error, and that grapes packed in the 
Beecher basket with all ils openness, have 
carried long distances better, and at ex¬ 
piration of many days have been better than 
those of the same kind and quality, packed 
at tho same time in dose boxes. 
As a test, therefore, vve suggest, (and are 
having made,) boxes eighteen inches long, 
twelve inches wide, and five inches deep. 
The end pieces art! of inch stuff, rabbeted 
or grooved, so as to admit a half-inch thick¬ 
ness of shelf board for the middle bottom, 
and at distance of every four inches over the 
whole surface of end, bottom and top of the 
box, half-inch holes arc bored These boxes 
will give two layers of the best bunches, 
with a tilling in of small ones, to pack close 
and keep from shaking in transportation. 
And if the papers which may line the box in 
packing, are carefully punctured ut each half- 
inch hole iu the box, ere the grapes are 
packed, perfect ventilation will result, and 
many a box that has heretofore reached its 
destination moldy and rotten, would iu this 
manner have opened sound and sweet. 
In all of this packing, shipping and 
transportation, there is, of course, a 
point of temperature to be considered; iA* 
for if, when the grapes are gathered, Sgft 
packed, and during all the time of trans- (HA 
portation, the temperature ranges not 5J 
above o0°, then tight boxes would prob- 
ably answer as well as ventilated ones; ; 
but if the temperature when packiug, (jK 
ranges at 00’ to 70°,aOd in tho packing- ^ 
house and transportation car, from 70 1 FSj 
to HO', then the evident value of some 
ventilation is apparent. Addi. w|j 
We should be glad if shippers who 
have had a large experience in packing 
grapes would give the results of that ex¬ 
perience for publication hero, as supple¬ 
mentary to the above article. The exchange 
of experiences will benefit many. 
l'lio Vineyards and Wines ot'Crooked Lake. 
In response to an invitation extended by 
the Pleasant Valley Grape Growers' Associ¬ 
ation, a large and pleasant company, from 
different parts of tbe State, assembled ut the 
cellars of the Pleasant Valley Wine Com¬ 
pany, near llammondsport, on Thursday, 
August 25th. Among those present were 
Peter Cooper of New York, Hon. John 
Stanton Gould, late President of the State 
Agricultural Society, P. Barry of Roches¬ 
ter, Hon. E. D. Smith, Hon. J. C. Smith, and 
Hon. C. C. Dwight, Justices of the Supreme 
Court; Dr. F. M. PiCRrNEof Dansville,Hon. 
G. L. Smith of Elmira, G. E. Ryckman, Esq., 
ofBrocton, Hon. D. W. Paksuall of Lyons, 
T. W. Bristol, Esq., of Fredoniu, and E. F. 
Underhill, late Secretary of the State 
Grape Growers’ Association of Broctou. 
Many ladies were among the company. 
Mr. Champlin, President of the Associa¬ 
tion, took the visitors through the cellars, to 
enable them to sec the different processes of 
manufacture of sparkling wine, from the cask 
to the case. A capital lunch was spread in 
one of the rooms, and was partaken of. 
Wines of different brands and qualities were 
furnished in abundance. Tbe large vine¬ 
yards ou tbe hillside, belonging to the Com¬ 
pany, and under the charge of Dr. Van Keu- 
ren, were next visited, and the clean culture 
and neat and regular training of the vines 
drew out words of commendation from all. 
It was very apparent that but few vineyards 
on Crooked Lake were as well cared for and 
trained with such precision. The crop of 
fruit, however, was not largo. This was, iu 
part, caused by a heavy hail storm ; but my 
own observation is that less fruit has set 
there, even in vineyards not affected by the 
hail, than in many other localities. 
After visiting the large grape box factory 
of Fairchild Brothers, and observing tbe 
processes of manufacture by which six 
thousand are turned out daily, lho visitors 
took the steamer, which had been chartered 
for the occasion by the Association, and 
proceeded down the Lake to visit the capa¬ 
cious cellars of the Urbaua Wine Company. 
Here Mr. Davis, the President, and Mr. 
Switzer, the Superintendent of the Com¬ 
pany, took the visitors through the different 
parts of the establishment, and furnished 
lit IWiitnjer 
ETAGERE GARDENS 
Etagcrea are very common in the parlors, 
living-rooms and dressing-rooms of Ameri¬ 
cans. They are usually filled with conclio- 
logical, miueralogical, geological, ornitho¬ 
logical, &c., specimens, vases of everlasting 
flowers, pretty keepsakes, souvenirs of travel, 
&c., Ac. Tho newest idea (and the best per¬ 
haps) is to convert these ctayms into gardens 
of plants and flowers, in ornamental pots. 
We saw one the other day iu a sunny room, 
and thought it the prettiest thing we had 
found in a home in a long Avhilc, The best 
of it was,the plants had been well taken care 
of and were healthy. Where people have 
conservatories, it will lie au easy matter to 
keep those etagcrea filled with blooming plants 
tlie whole year round. 
FALL CARE OF ASPARAGUS 
Much of the value of asparagus beds de¬ 
pends upon the care they receive in the fall 
as a preparation for wintering. As early as 
the stalks begin to turn yellow, they should 
be cut, dried, and placed in a pile, and 
burned, Too much cure cannot be taken to 
prevent tbe seed from falling upon the bed, 
becoming covered with soil, and germina¬ 
ting hi spring, us these young plants render 
'lie roots too thick in the bed, and being 
near tbe surface will make but feeble 
growth, ami be of little if any value, but 
rather a detriment to the rest of the bed. 
After the removal of the stalks, cover the 
lied with a c«at of good fine manure, autl 
fork it into the soil down to the crown of 
the plants.. This manure, acted upon by tbe 
fall rains, will wash down among the roots, 
giving them the food necessary for spring 
growth, increasing the size and earliness of 
the stalks. 
Just before the setting in of winter, cover 
the bed several inches thick with coarse 
stable litter, to remain as a protection from 
frost, and by its decomposition and washing 
down add to the fertility of tbe soil. Plants 
that have been set but one or two years and 
before they come, to cutting regularly may be 
covered with a few inches of good soil taken 
from the sides of the bed. After they have 
attained a good size and the roots have spread, 
this may be omitted, as digging at the side of 
the bed would injure the spreading roots. 
The winter covering may be stirred early in 
spring, the coarser straw raked oil and tho 
line manure forked into the bed. This treat¬ 
ment annually will ensue a good supply of 
early, succulent autl large asparagus. 
For Hos« Hedges tho Florist recommends Fel- 
lonbei'K as one of the best of all the Noisettes, 
for it is in flower all the summer ami autumn, 
huU Its color is dark and fine. Mixed with 
Why do Cucumber VIucm Die ? 
W. B. W. asks what causes cucumber 
vines to die when they begin to bear. We 
do not know what the cause iu our cor¬ 
respondent’s case may be; but whenever 
our vines have so died, we have found the 
larva of some insect eating into the root or 
stem. Look and see. 
AN ETAGERE GARDEN. 
Airaee Vibert, Coinpacta Florihunda, and Ciline 
Furcstles, a fine effect is produced. Who among 
Rural readers Las a rose hedge? And what 
varieties are planted? Why dou’L some oue 
plaut sueh a hedge ? 
