coarse, thick akin. They are a good table grape ; 
and probably, for certain wine purposes, they 
are unsurpassed by any other native or foreign 
grape, and, what is of vital importance, they 
seem to be more nearly exempt from ali sporadic 
diseases than any other known sort. 
When we add to these merits the other im¬ 
portant characteristic, that \ itis vulpina is the 
only Grape comparatively exempt from the in¬ 
sidious depredations of Phylloxera vastatrix, it 
would seem that it should be made to come in 
and supplement some of tbe leading deficiencies 
of our other classes of foreign and native 
Grapes; for none of these flourishes in such low 
malarial districts, and all are more or less affect¬ 
ed by Phylloxera vastatrix. If, by careful and 
judicious mixing and hybridizing, we can avoid 
or cure these defects, great good will result to 
our agriculture. Should we attempt this by 
grafting the Eumelan—an aestivalis grape, and 
one of the very best for this purpose—upon 
Souppornong roots, rising pollen for hybridizing 
from Concord and others of our popular La- 
brusca grapes, the root-power of the V. vul- 
pjua, acting upon the sexual functions of the 
pistillate and stamiuate organs of the other 
classes, should give us the highest attainable 
immediate results. Then these improvements 
should be followed up by again building other 
combinations, usiug for the purpose Vitis cordi- 
fnlin. vinos in some of the experiments, as a new 
gables and French roofs, greater ornamentation 
and number of porticos and verandas, and tbe 
blended tints of cottage and railroad colors, 
which have been adopted in the places of rapid 
growth, railroad stations, and new western 
towns, but the cleanly, comfortable, substantial 
white house, where timber is abundant, and the 
brown red brick house farther westward, are 
still the indications that intelligence, industry 
and civilization are present. In these the Uni¬ 
ted States are leading creation, and no Ameri¬ 
can but look with pride upon these indications of 
thrift and enterprise, and, wben Beeiug them, Le 
unoonsoiously says to himself that the church- 
spire and the capaolous academy and college are 
not far away. He knows, too, that the machine- 
shop, the implement-factory and planing-mill 
are near by, because there is a demand for their 
products. He feels in his heart that the news¬ 
paper, the telegraph, the steam-engine and iron 
horse, the thoroughly tilled fields and the sleek 
cattle and horses, and fat hogs and sheep, are 
all there, merely because there seems to be a 
demand for them. 
The value of land where white houses are 
occupied by the farmers ranges from 8100 to 
8250 per acre, while in the vicinity of wood- 
colored houses it oau be bought for 825 to 850 
per acre, and with tbe presence of block-houses 
and shanties, for 82.50 to 810. In every respect 
the land may have been the same when taken 
from nature's hand, and still the lowest-priced 
maybe nearly, if not quite, as fertile as the high- 
priced, but the difference is in the enterprise aud 
what man has done for the locality. Build 
houses, schools, churches, factories aud estab¬ 
lish reciprocating industries and railroad facili¬ 
ties, and the price of tho land is doubled aud 
quadrupled. The presence of a manufacturing 
village of five thousand will again double aud 
triple the value, and a city of ten thousand 
increase it ten fold, while the advantages and 
conveniences of society, association, and of 
markets, will be of a value beyond estimation. 
It only requires one enterprising individual to 
set the example of a neat house and surround¬ 
ings, and of only three or four to organize a 
village improvement association, and invite in¬ 
dustries to build thus some ten thousand city. 
S. Boyce. 
this time then the species in question are only 
known in a cultivated state. The GardenerB 
Chronicle says : “How odd this ignorance con¬ 
cerning the habitat of many cultivated plants! 
It is only the other day that the horse-chestnut 
was found in a wild Btate, and even now no one 
has seen the Mignonette in a wild state. The bo- 
called Mignonette belongs to quite a different 
species.” 
Paradise Stock tor Apples. —Our readers 
may recall what, from our own experience, we 
have said respecting tho above stock for dwarf 
apple trees. The London Chamber of Agricul¬ 
ture has the following: “ The Paradise stock 
appears effectually to moderate over-luxuriance 
of wood-growth, and to concentrate tho energies 
organs of the Jersey, ana oreea uum 
imaginary animal, it would he something like 
what the horticulturist is enabled to accomplish 
through the means of grafting and hybridizing. 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. 
[Any readers who have not seen Mr. Mar¬ 
vin’s former articles, which we deem of much 
importance, and who desire to continue the 
subject, are referred to the Rural New-Yorker 
of April 13 and June 29, last.— Eds.] 
POND LILIES, 
WILLIAM FALCONER. 
Just now we have white, blue, red and yellow 
Water-lilies, all blooming freely in our pond. 
The white ones are Nympluea odorata, so plenti¬ 
ful East, aud N. tuberosa, a much larger but al¬ 
most scentless species indigenous West and 
South, and, of course, both kinds are perfectly 
hardy. The others are tender ; that is, we must 
take them in-doors in winter, and put them out 
into the pond in summer. The blue-flowered 
one is the Blue Lotus of the Nile, N. crerulea, a 
beautiful aud fragraut species that throws up its 
flowers several inches above water in the day¬ 
time, but recalls them as closed buds beneath 
the water's surfaoe at night. The red one is N. 
Devouiensis, a moBt beautiful carmine-blossomed 
hybrid, raised in 1851 at Chatswortb, in Eng¬ 
land; its parents being N. rubra andN. Lotus 
(white). Its flowers and leaves are larger, and 
its constitution stronger than those of either of 
its parents. It opens early in the morning and 
remains expanded till noon; its blossoms are 
thrown up several inohes above the water, and 
by their brilliance aud large size, are observable 
from a considerable distance ; and it has the ex¬ 
cellent quality of blooming all the season long 
without intermission. The yellow one is N. lu- 
tea, the true yellow Water-lily. It is a native of 
Florida, and was brought to notice by an engrav¬ 
ing of it in Audubon's “ North American Birds,’’ 
some fifty years ago. Otherwise it was prao- 
tioally unknown, and remained so till two or 
three years ago, when it was rediscovered by 
Mrs. Treat, who sent many roots of it to the 
Botanio Garden here. So its existence is no 
I longer a myth, but a reality. Its blossoms are a 
good yellow, rather medium-sized, and they open 
later in the morning aud remain open longer in 
the daytime than the other tender sorts. Judg¬ 
ing from garden-grown plants, it is altogether 
of medium size, but a free aud continuous 
bloomer, and thrives well in a tub of water in a 
sunny oornerof the greenhouse, where it blooms 
well in spring. Of course, the hardy Lilies are 
iug this class or rruit in gaiueus ui an 
more especially in those of limited extent. 
Even a good selection of kiudB for various sea¬ 
sons may be accommodated in the smallest of 
gardens, for if kept closely spurred iu they may 
be planted as closely as gooseberry or currant 
bushes, A few dwarf apple-trees ou the true 
Paradise stock, aB single specimens on grass, or 
as centers to beds, might be tried in even the 
smallest of gardens.” 
Thoroughbreds. —The Western Rural says 
that while it has been a steady advocate of 
thorough breeding, when it can be done without 
serious inconvenience and profitably, it has 
never been blind to the fact that a good hull 
which is the get of a good thoroughbred animal 
and out of a grade or common cow of good 
merit, is better than a thoroughbred bull, which 
is the get of a poor tboronghbrod bull. In the 
midst of the enthusiasm which has attended the 
business of thorough breeding in this country, 
the merits of anything but the thoroughbred 
have been largely lost sight of, aud the fact of 
the animal being a thoroughbred has too often 
been regarded as a sufficient recommendation 
without inquiry as to its individual merits or its 
ficient reason against carryiug out these im¬ 
portant suggestions. They should by all means 
be attempted; for if the best elements of the 
Southern can be united with the good that is in 
our Northern Masses, one would supplement the 
other’s deficiencies, and wonderful practical re¬ 
sults would doubtless fitly reward and crown the 
skillful operator. 
But herein lie the difficulties: horticulturists 
who understand the subject, and who have 
spent the necessary time in studying out its sur¬ 
roundings and bearings, and in acquiring the 
skill needed for such delicate manipulations and 
operations, from the very nature of their em¬ 
ployment are not usually men of sufficient means 
to be able to go into the climate required, and 
devote the necessary years of time attending to 
such enterprises. Indeed, it would be well that 
any person who may be employed on such a 
labor, should be freed from all other cares, and 
be in this way enabled to lay aside all thought 
of other business, iu order to devote his ex¬ 
clusive attention to the work in hand in study- 
it out more deliberately and carefully iu all 
its intricacies aud bearings. Tho peculiar exi¬ 
gencies of this department of our agriculture 
would seem to demand this. Such a person 
would find ample occupation for all the physical 
WORK FOR THE HOGS 
Having a rough, stony piece of ground, too 
poor ‘to grow grass and partly covered "with 
young wood, and wishing to fertilize it, and at 
the same time to rid it of weeds and brier-roots, 
aud not being able to plow it, a drove of hogs 
were yarded upon a couple of acres at a time, 
and a little corn scattered now and then in places 
where most rooting was desired, and the hogs 
completely dug over the ground, and were from 
time to time removed to other pieces. After re¬ 
moving the hogs the ground was raked over, the 
stones and roots removed, and clover and Or- 
chard-grasB and Blue-grass scattered, aud two 
yearB afterward there was a growth of grass 
equal to two tons to the acre upon the ground. 
This is practicable for large or small lots, 
using a large or small number of hogs, and 
under the trees of a second growth of timber or 
in an orchard, as may be desirable, hut tho 
bushes should be mown and the timber must be 
so thinned out as to allow grass to grow, if 
pasture is required. If water cannot be brought 
to the ground, then a lane leading to a supply 
must be provided. 8- s. b. 
and higher faculties to which man is capable of 
attaining. Carrying oa a commercial grape-vine 
nursery in these hard times, to my certain 
knowledge, does not afford sufficient time for 
such work. I would therefore earnestly com¬ 
mend the subject to the Commissioner of Agri¬ 
culture, for Washington is situated in the region 
where these important experimeuti can be best 
conducted. The several Southern agricultural 
universities endowed by the Agricultural Act in 
the Southern States, should also give oareful 
attention to so important a subject. Moreover, 
private individuals in the region indicated, who 
are situated so as to he able to experiment, 
should by all means do so. There might be for¬ 
tune and fame in the first experiment, with the 
consciousness of having been of use in the 
world thrown in. 
It is a mistake to say that the Scuppernong 
will not live in the North, as we have all re¬ 
peatedly been told. Though residing in the 
forty-fourth parallel of latitude, I have three 
vines, set out three years ago, protected by a 
slight covering of earth during winter, just 
as other Yines are protected iu this climate. 
They are making a rather slow growth, but 
I am not entirely without hope 
AN OLD BUT GOOD REMEDY FOR GAPES. 
Among our farmers there is a great increase 
of attention to poultry. Improved breeds are 
taking the place of inferior fowls, the Leghorns 
taking the frout rank in most oases hereabouts. 
The resultB are seen in better feeding, larger 
flooka, improved houses, and, of course, larger 
profits. 
I would recommend to Rural readers the fol¬ 
lowing as a sure cure for gapes in chickens. It 
has been tried repeatedly by myself and several 
others in this neighborhood, and has always 
proved effectual: To every hundred ohiokens 
take three teaspoonfuls of tincture of asafcetida 
and mix it daily in their food. There’s uo patent 
on this—'tis an old remedy for the ailment. 
Malone, N. Y. w. g. h. 
seem healthy, 
that I may be able to utilize the roots by graft¬ 
ing to obtain root-power, although disappointed 
in my first intention, which was to utilize them 
to obtalu pollen for hybridizing. The difference 
iu climate, however, is so great that, at this 
date—the 20th of July—they are just in blossom, 
entirely too late for hybridizing, but during the 
ooming spring the attempt will be made to graft 
them. Pollou sent from the South next spring 
could be used, and if some horticultural friend 
will send this, I shall be duly thankful. 
There is some uncertainty; but it may turn 
out that all the bonefits can be obtained from 
root-power. It is a fortunate circumstance that 
this power of grafting can be utilized in these 
operations; for it is far greater, more potent, 
and more under control, than any power in the 
hands of the breeder of domestic animals. The 
horticulturist is enabled to take short-cuts to¬ 
wards final results; the brooder, with but two 
individual auimals at a time, must work for 
generations through the sexual functions aud 
ameliorating circumstances of food and climate. 
If he could dissect the osseous structure aud the 
VITIS VULPINA, SOUTHERN FOX, OR THE 
CLASS OF THE SCUPPERNONG GRAPES. 
D. 8. MARVIN 
The uses for which this class of grapes may 
be utilized in hybridizing and mixing with our 
other classes of northern Grapes, have not been 
appreciated. They are called the lazy man’s 
Grapes, allowed to run at will over rude post 
aud pole trellises a few feet above the ground, 
are generally untrimmed and otherwise almost 
uncarod for: yet they yield heavy annual cropB. 
Tho dusters are small, but the berries are 
large. They flourish only upon tho low, fiat 
lands of the South Atlantic sea-board, from Vir¬ 
ginia to Texas. They possess a rich, juioy, 
vinous flavor, are without pulp, and have a 
WHITE HOUSES AND GREEN BLINDS. 
A great many sneers have been expended 
upou the “cold, precise, uninviting appear¬ 
ance" of tho white houses and green blinds 
shut dose, the neat lawns, and shading elms 
aud ovmgi'eene so characteristic of the better- 
to-do people of the United States, aud it is true 
that the world has uo such example of the 
order, ueatuess, pride and good tasto as this 
of the common people, the farming and village 
population of America. There may be an im¬ 
provement upon these lu the more numerous 
