MOOBE’3 BUBAL UEW-VOBKEB. 
30 
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GRAPE CULTURE IN MASSACHUSETTS. 
Dr. Jabez Fischer. Fitchburg, Mass., read 
the following interesting paper at a recent 
meeting of the State Board of Agriculture : 
Massachusetts, he said, was on the northern 
limits of the grape-growing country. The 
city of Fitchburg is on the isothermal line, 
north of which the grape is very uncertain. 
We must overcome this difficulty, if we 
would grow grapes successfully. You may 
ask, why not go South, where the climate is 
bettor adapted to the vine ? I answer, I wus 
born here, and propose to stay here. It re¬ 
quires more intelligence to grow grapes here, 
but, when grovra, they bring better prices 
than in more favored localities. The nearer 
the market they can be grown, the less risk 
and expense for marketing. 
SOIL. 
The first step is to select a warm, favored 
Bpot. Should choose a southern exposure, 
not so steep as to wash by rains; but one 
just right.—not too near tho top of a hill, nor 
in a valley. About two-thirds of the way up 
is generally best—below the cold winds, and 
above the surplus moisture, ileal find sun¬ 
light are what arc wanted ; not much moist¬ 
ure, but heat. Tho soil should be rather 
light. The colder the situation, the lighter 
should bo the soil, and vice. verm. .Naturally 
drained land is the best, but if not naturally 
drained it must be artificially done, 1 believe 
in sunlight and heat, and shallow cultivation. 
Further South, the management would be 
different. Here, plow shallow, say seven 
inches deep, plant shallow, and keep the 
surface cultivated, if your soil is green 
sward, plow and rot it, but do not take off a 
crop and so remove the nutriment contained 
in the turf. It is better than any coat of 
manure. The. land should not be poor, nor 
should it receive much ammoniacal manure. 
Barn-yard manure is not the best for the 
grape. I buy my vines, because i get better 
vines of one who makes that a business, 
than if I grew them myself. 
Choose young vines—one year old is better 
than three, Roots, not tops, arc what are want¬ 
ed. The tops will grow, if the roots arednrgc. 
Three-year-old vines have too much root re¬ 
moved by transplanting. The best time for 
setting is when it can be done best. Set 
early, either in fall or spring. Ret only when 
the ground is mellow. With the help of one 
man, the Doctor has sot six hundred vines in 
a half day. Four inches is deep enough for 
the crown, the end of the roots an inch deep¬ 
er. There should be but one system of roots, 
and they should all start from one place. 
Roots above these may be cut off. The top 
should throw up but one shoot the first year. 
Let it grow its own way. Cultivate the whole 
of the soil with an A harrow, with small 
steel teeth, running an inch and a half deep. 
Kill every weed before it gets above the sur¬ 
face. Sets [his vines eight feet by six feet 
apart in the rows, giving forty-eight square 
feet to each vine, or about, nine hundred 
vines to the acre. The rows should run 
north and south, that the. ground may get 
warmed by the sun, and every leaf may 
have the sun at some part of the day. The 
ground being warmed up during the day, 
prevents frost at night in the fall 
PRUNING. 
I prune to strengthen the vines ; pruning 
the roots would weaken. There should be a 
preponderance in roots. During the fall or 
winter after the first year’s growth, the vine 
should lie cut back to one or two eyes. The 
next season we shall get a strong growth, 
which may grow pretty much as it pleases. 
We are cultivating for a strong system of 
roote. The ground must be kept mellow and 
free from weeds. The second year, cut down 
again to the ground, leaving one or two buds 
only. 
Now we may begin to think of making 
preparation for growing fruit. But if the 
vines do not throw up strong canes, cut back 
till they do. 
SUPPORTS. 
My trellises are made of posts and wire. 
The posts are chestnut, two inches square, 
sharpened and driven two and a half feet in 
the ground, and standing five and a half feet 
out. The wire is No. 15, galvanized. The 
end posts are braced trotn the top to the bot¬ 
tom of the next in the row. Four wires are 
stretched across the posts. The lower one 
twenty inches from the ground, the second 
fifteen inches above that, the third fourteen 
inches above tihe second, and the fourth fif¬ 
teen inches above the third. His method of 
training the vines on the wires was illustrated 
by diagrams on the blackboard. The arms 
from the canes are trained alternately on 
the first and third wires. That is, the first 
vine in a row is trained to the lower wire, 
while the next is tied to the third, and so on. 
The bearing shoots from these arms are tied 
to the wi res .above. These arms are renewed 
every other year. One year the bearing 
wood all points to the north, the next year 
all to the south. While the bearing arms are 
pointing to the north, new arms are trained 
to the south—all just six feet long—to pro¬ 
duce the next year’s fruit. More attention 
is given to the growing arm than to the 
bearing arm, for on this depends the success 
of the coming year. Cotton strings five inches 
long are used tor tying. Does not like. wire. 
Ties a little loosely to allow for growth. Tho 
fourth year from setting, the arms of the 
previous year's growth arc permitted to 
throw up shoots, about twelve in number, 
which are tied to the wires above, and then 
pinched back to two or three leaves above 
the last bunch that is to be grown. This is 
done before blossoming, but not till the 
shoots have become somewhat tough, so 
they will not easily break by bending. The 
pinching back is done two or three times. 
The hunches are also thinned, and surplus 
grapes are cut out. Rix pounds are all that 
a vine is asked to bear. If the bunches arc 
large and lull, one bunch on each of the 
twelve shoots will give the six pounds. If 
small, eighteen bunches may be left. 
If the vine, is permitted to overbear this 
year, it. will underboar next year. The crop 
of next year depends on the health and 
strength of the growing arm of Miis year. 
The crop of 1874 is already determined. 
Many people think that because they put 
oyster shell lime, or some other substance, 
round a vine or tree, in the spring, and pick 
an unusual crop of fruit the same year, t hat 
it was a result of the application ; but this is 
not so. A fruit crop is always determined a 
year before it Is grown. This is why it. is so 
important to look out for tho next year’s 
bearing wood. Most, people have tolerable 
success with a vine till they get one crop of 
fruit. Then the vine gets beyond control, 
and produces little or no fruit, At the end 
of the fourth year all the bearing wood is cut 
back to the ground, and a new arm is trained 
in its place, while the arms of last year are 
bearing a crop of fruit. And so it goes on, 
every year. 
Have followed this system eight or nine 
years. Once 1 tried to get a larger crop and 
failed. The bem'es were purple, without 
bloom, and acid. Wlien a vine is not over- 
■ loaded, the grapes ar« block and very sugary, 
and covered by a heavy bloom. 
If grapes are nice looking, large, and 
handsome, people will buy, and, if sweet, 
they will come again. They are usually sent, 
to market too early. 1 do not begin to pick 
till after the first of October. Frost does not 
hurt grapes. Freezing does. Ice has not 
been formed at my place till the 17th to tho 
a Let, of October, for the last fifteen years. 
By this time the fruit is of excellent quality. 
WHAT KINDS TO PLANT. 
if the Concord were blotted out of exist¬ 
ence, I would never tiy to grow grapes for 
market. My advice is, set Concords till you 
get all your family can eat, then fool away 
your money as you please. Early grapes 
are not. the most profitable. The market is 
supplied from tho South. 
TIME OF PRUNING. 
Any time between now and next June, 
when convenient. 1 have pruned fifty vines, 
beginning May 1, and pruning one vine a day, 
till all were pruned, and no difference irax 
perceptible whatever. If a lazy man, prune 
early, or you may put it off too long. The 
advice not to prune when the vine is frozen 
is all nonsense. Vines will bleed two or 
three weeks and then stop. It does no harm. 
Do not wait too long. Prune some time —any 
time before leafing out. 
PJOKINQ AND MARKETING. 
The fruit is stored in single layers, on 
shelves four inches apart., held in movable 
frames. These frames are carried to the 
field, filled und taken to the fruit room, 
where they remain till sold. Intend to finish 
marketing in October. They grow no better 
by keeping after they are perfectly ripe. 
To a question from the audience, “How 
much do you get a pound t* the Doctor said 
that was a personal question. He would 
answer that he received fifty per cent, more 
than any grower he knew of. To various 
questions he replied that he did not think 
mildew was yet well understood. If a leaf is 
grown in a damp atmosphere it may, at a 
certain stage of its development, mildew 
when the atmosphere changes to^very dry. 
Moisture seems to stop it at once. Does not 
have much faith in dry sulphur. Many 
experiments have peen made with different 
fertilizers. Is pretty well satisfied with a 
mixture of 100 pounds fine bone dissolved in 
fifteen pounds potash, using only just enough 
water to keep it damp. 
Insects are best kept under by killing them. 
There is a steel blue beetle that, gnaws a hole 
in the bud, and a slug that, feeds on the leaf, 
and the rose bug that, makes his breakfast 
from the blossoms. A11 these require a hand- 
to-hand fight. Rose bugs must be picked off 
early fn the morning while partially dormant. 
Mr. Hyde, the chairman, thought the Doc¬ 
tor's method of cultivating a little too com¬ 
plicated. His way is to train a cane around 
a post, spirally, to the top, then cut it, off, 
tying with tarred rope. Cuts all new wood 
back to short, spurs every year. His vines 
get old and strong enough, in a few years, to 
stand alone without the post. Gets more 
fruit from a vine, but not of so good a quality. 
Does not obtain more than half the price the 
Doctor gets, but thinks his way is the best for 
common farmers. Cultivating in this way is 
us simple as growing pole beans. Thinks six 
cents a pound will pay a profit on the culti¬ 
vation. 
Mr , Slade of Somerset, thinks many peo¬ 
ple get tewildered by the minute instructions 
on pruning. He adopts a more simple plan, 
and has good success.. Has known people to 
road everything on the subject they could 
get hold of, L'o awake nights trying to com¬ 
prehend the systems, and then give up plant¬ 
ing, in despair. He has seen good effects 
from the use of bones. Pays five cents per 
hundred for rioad rose bugs. Bought $3.75 
worth last summer. He favors everybody 
raising grapes. 
^rani fljf a |lur;rfel. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
SCARCITY OF TIME. 
Dec. 23.—It appears to be a mystery to 
some people how others get time to do so 
many things and still have an occasional 
leisure hour. How certain men find time to 
at tend to their regular business and ride a 
half dozen hobbies in addition, passes the 
comprehension of those who think they 
would like to do the same if they could only 
find the time. There is certainly a secret in 
the case, and I am not quite sure whether it 
is best to tell it or not, for fear that too 
many will take advantage of it, detracting 
somewhat from the labors of those who 
already know how it is done ! 
The most, pitiable victim of scarcity of 
time that 1 ever knew was a neighbor of 
mine, many years ago, by the name of Dave 
Boi.ey. Dave was a good, honest soul, ever 
ready to help a neighbor kill hogs, raise a 
barn, or turn out whenever there wa3 a 
“ bee ” of any kind on hand. But he never 
could get time to attend to his farm, which 
was given him by his father soon after mar¬ 
riage. It was all good, cleared land and 
well fenced, exeept a few acres of woods, 
and there appeared to be no good reason 
why Dave should nc t have made a good liv¬ 
ing and Hid up money. The fences, how¬ 
ever, would lil ow down, rails and posts rot, 
requiring u little .fixing up, which Dave 
could never find time to do. Then there was 
another and more serious trouble, in the 
shape of briar* and seedling forest, trees, 
which, for some unaccountable reason, 
would persistently spring up in the pasture 
lots down next to the. woods, and before 
Dave was aware of it the entire tier of back 
lots were occupied by these nuisances and 
had to be abandoned to their fate. Briars 
and elderberry bushes also commenced 
springing up in the corners of the line and 
road fences, gradually encroaching upon the 
tillable land in all directions until there was 
scarcely enough unoccupied to make a good 
potato patch. Of course, Dave could never 
get time to check the inroads of these ene¬ 
mies of his prosperity and at the same time 
go to all the “raisings” and “bees” and 
down to the village every Saturday. At 
last he gave up the contest in despair, sold 
his farm for about half the price his father 
paid for it twenty years before, moved 
West and bought, (as he wrote me) a prairie 
farm that “ hadn’t a briar or brush on to it.” 
I’ve got several just such neighbors left, and 
if tlielr farms are not overrun with briars 
and brush it is becausee the land is too poor 
to produce such rank-growing plants. 
Of course, I am ready to admit that there 
is a limit to the physical and mental powers 
of man ; still few are aware of their own 
powers in either direction. Any one who 
has hoed corn all day with one hand fore¬ 
most, knows how much harder work it is 
than to be able to change hands frequently, 
putting the left one forward then the right 
one, changing often enough to save one set 
of muscles from becoming overtaxed. Now, 
a change of brain-work acts in the same 
manner; and no brain was ever overworked 
if given a variety to do. Men may become 
insane from pursuing one line of thought, 
just as a man’s arm may become paralyzed 
either through inactivity or too great a strain 
upon one set of nerves ; hut a change in 
either case becomes rest, or recreation. Now, 
the secret of getting time to do a certain 
thing depends almost entirely upon two con¬ 
ditions, viz: — a determination to do and a 
system of doing it. There are more than 
eight or ten hours for labor and study in 
each twenty-four; and I doubt if any man 
ever got rich from his labor or became emi¬ 
nent for his literary attainments who fol¬ 
lowed the eight-hour system. 
DIFFERENCE OF OPINION. 
Dec. 24. — I have been somewhat amused 
at the fiounderingsof novices in horticultural 
and agricultural matters in trying to follow 
the directions of authorities on these subjects 
for doing certain things. One says prune 
your grape vines in November, and another 
is equally explicit in directing that they 
should be pruned in February. One says 
plant deep, another shallow, and soon, there 
appearing to be a widely-d iff event practice 
among the so-called authorities and no little 
contradiction. Then, again, we find a fruit 
or vegetable highly extolled by one writer 
and condemned as worthless by another. 
Petek Henderson tells ns that Conover’s 
Colossal Asparagus is not only a distinct but 
womfc-rfully valuable variety, while. Thomas 
Meehan, who probably looks a little deeper 
int o the subject, says the production of a va¬ 
riety in the way it, is said that this one was 
produced, is an impossibility. T believe he 
lias the best of the argument in theory as 
well as in the practical results ; for if it is a 
distinct sort., ray eyes are too old to see it. 
But all these contradictions of authorities 
aud writers for the press are really not so 
far out of the way as they at first appear ; 
for circumstances are widely variable, and 
writers, as well as other people, are guided 
by them. We know that, soil and climate 
vary, and these, affect the products of the 
earth as well as modes of treatment. Now, 
the novice should tirst look to the apparent 
motive which the writer has for grving his 
views to the public. Does he seek honor 
first and money second, or the reverse of 
tins i If he speaks warmly in praise of a 
plant, is it because he has a large stock for 
sale, or merely to impart information to the 
peopleThen, again, we must take into 
consideration the circumstances under which 
an author has been educated, as well as the 
locality and climate D om whence he sends 
forth his works. 
If one takes all these things into consider¬ 
ation, adding a little here and deducting a 
little there, believing that which appears to 
be reasonable and disbelieving the remainder, 
one can get at the really useful and valuable 
without much danger of going astray. 
A QAY BUG FROM VIRGINIA. 
“Daily Rural Life Inclosed find a 
bug which I found under the loose bark of a 
willow oak. The bright color first attracted 
my attention. The tree died this summer, 
Aiid by examining the bark I find some kind 
of insect has been working on it. 1 would 
like to know if this bug has been one of a 
species that would be likely to kill the tree. 
This bug may be a very common one, but I 
don’t remember ever having seen one before 
like it.—H. E, Harnish, Ch&aterfieldCo., Va. 
Dec. 26.—The name of the gay-looking bug 
which you send i* Bedwtus c vassipes of 
Fabkicus. It is found in all of the Southern 
States and Westward to the mountains. 
This, apd several closely-allied species, are 
carnivorous, living upon other insects, con¬ 
sequently should be considered as friends 
instead of enemies to the farmer aud fruit 
grower. Nearly all of the “ bugs” hibernate 
in winter, crawling under the loose bark of 
trees or into out-buildings for a safe retreat, 
as well as a slight protection against cold. 
Had you examined the head of this bug you 
would have seen that it has no mandibles 
for biting, but in place of them a strong 
snout or sucker with which it pierces its 
prey, sucking out its juices for food. The 
gay colors of this insect, brown, ivory white 
aud scarlet, make it a very ^tractive ob¬ 
ject, and I am not surprised that it awaken¬ 
ed your curiosity to know its name. 
Timber Law of Kansas.—A. W. Doolit¬ 
tle, St. Joseph, Mo., asks for some informa¬ 
tion in regard to the timber land of Kansas 
in regard to homesteads. Let some of his 
Kansas neighbors send him the document. 
