THE CULTIVATOR. 
125 
mssssss 
above name, as an ear mark, for the time being. Years 
rolled on, and at length our waiting eyes beheld the 
fruit; a small, one-sided, greenish white apple; as hard 
as a chip, and the juice pretty good vinegar, without 
the process of fermentation. We felt somewhat wrathy; 
called on our friend for an explanation, and he call¬ 
ed on his worthy friend to explain, who having now 
come to the conclusion that “ honesty is the best poli¬ 
cy,” confessed the whole truth of the matter. He had 
cut the scions from a bundle of trees which he found on 
the boat, not doubting but it would prove to be superi¬ 
or fruit. Nothing more than petit larceny. 
Buffalo Nursery , Jan. s 1846. B. Hodge. 
CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 
The Grape requires a deep friable soil, and an ex¬ 
posure in accordance to the class to which it belongs, 
the foreign varieties alone requiring a particularly 
warm location. No fruit will admit of such plentiful 
manurings as this, provided it be properly applied, and 
the produce of fruit will be thereby immensely in¬ 
creased, and those who say the development produced 
is in wood without fruit evince great ignorance. De¬ 
composed vegetable or animal manures, and above all 
the blood of cattle from the butcher’s stall, plentifully 
and frequently mingled with the earth at a short dis¬ 
tance from the main stalk of the vine, will cause a de¬ 
gree of vigor and productiveness that will astonish all 
who have not witnessed their effects. In regard to 
pruning, the American varieties simply require such 
thinning out during the winter, as is necessary to pre¬ 
vent the branches injuring each other by contact, and 
the removal of such weak spurs as are immature and 
imperfect; but no fear should be indulged that the vine, 
if in a good soil, is not capable of maturing its fruit on 
any extent of branches it may naturally produce, as 
among the most productive vines found in Carolina, 
there are many instances where a single vine covers an 
acre. Summer pruning is only called for in locations 
where the vines are confined in too narrow limits, and 
then but very partially, as any considerable pruning 
will cause the fruit to turn black and fall off, and even 
cutting off the leaves will prevent the maturity of the 
fruit, as they are the conductors of the essential nutri¬ 
ment from the atmosphere to the fruit and to the whole 
plant. The foreign varieties, being natives of a much 
milder climate, require considerable primings, and but 
a moderate proportion of the vigorous shoots should be 
allowed to remain, it being necessary in this case to 
substitute skill and artifical culture in order to remedy 
the inappropriateness of climate. The most delicate 
foreign varieties do not succeed in this latitude except 
under glass, but in that way they ripen well and are 
exceedingly productive. Wm. R. Prince. 
FLAX 
It is a matter of surprise to me that gentlemen of 
enterprise and capital, do not engage more extensively 
in the manufacture of fabrics from this article. Large 
quantities are annually raised in this (Seneca) county 
exclusively for the seed. The straw, after the seed is 
thrashed out, is left to lie and rot in the fields; but little 
or no account is made of it as a manure. The yield of 
seed is from eight to twelve bushels per acre, and the 
price is generally one dollar per bushel, which must be 
a poor compensation, considering it is so heavy a drain 
upon the fertility of the soil; but could they obtain an 
equal additional amount for the stalk, the crop might 
be a profitable one. Numerous articles, such as twine, 
cordage, ropes, bagging, ticking, sacking, and various 
kinds of cloth for summer clothing, might be manu¬ 
factured from flax, which would wear twice as long as 
cotton; besides it would be helping the farmers in their 
immediate vicinity, who in return would help the 
manufacturer. ASON Smith. 
Tyre, Dec. 31sf> 1845. 
CHITTENDEN COUNTY (VT.) AG- SOCIETY. 
The directors of this society have offered 325 premi¬ 
ums, and appropriated for the payment of them about 
$750.00. They have adopted a new feature in the 
award of premiums—that no one man shall receive more 
than one premium on the same class of animals or ar¬ 
ticles presented—but if entitled to a second premium 
in the class, he shall have a certificate or diploma to 
that effect, stating and setting forth the fact—but the 
premium shall be paid to the man who presents the next 
best articles or animals in the same class. This will 
render the competition much more active, and a far 
greater variety will be presented. The premiums also 
will be much more widely scattered over the county, 
and cannot be concentrated in a few hands. 
Another new and most important of all measures is 
the offer of a premium to every member—in the gift 
of a copy of the “ Agriculturist,” or “The Cultiva¬ 
tor,” to any member who will receive it, on his pay¬ 
ing $1 25 instead of $1, to the funds of the society— 
thus putting into the hands of every member, a paper 
richly worth one dollar, by his paying twenty-five 
cents extra to the society. Among the whole number 
now on our list, amounting to between 400 and 500, 
only 50 decline the offer; and most of these, not because 
they object to the plan, but because they have made 
previous arrangements for their agricultural reading. 
Our number of members has been more than doubled, 
and we hope still very much to increase the list before 
our show, on the first day of October next. As we get 
our papers at a reduced price, our funds for premiums 
are rather increased than diminished by the operation 
of this plan, which meets with favor everywhere. 
Would not this be a noble plan, in its practical effects, 
to be adopted throughout the land, by every agricultu¬ 
ral organization? L. G. Bingham, 
Pres’t C. C. Jig. Society . 
Williston, Vt., March 13, 1846. 
Accompanying the above, we received the Society’s 
Prize List for 1846. The premiums are all paid in cash, 
and though small, are so arranged as to draw out an ex¬ 
tensive competition; and we shall be surprised if the 
spirit aivakened by the engergetic and judicious efforts 
of this society does not draw together a larger collec¬ 
tion of the farmers of the Green Mountain State at its 
next exhibition, than has ever before been convened 
for any useful purpose. Its premiums consist of 16 on 
horses, 40 on cattle, 65 on sheep and wool, 9 on swine, 
34 on field crops, 32 on horticulture, 28 on farm imple¬ 
ments, and 107 on household and other manufactures. 
SELF-ACTING PUMP. 
In our last volume, pages 245 and 246, we published 
a communication in reference to this pump, from the 
inventor, Mr. Erastus W. Ellsworth. Since then 
we have received frequent inquiries in regard to the 
operation, &c. The following interesting extract from 
a letter received sometime since from Mr. Erastus 
Ellsworth, the father of the inventor, would have 
appeared before, but it was unfortunately mislaid. It 
will be noticed that the invention has proved itself all 
it has heretofore been represented to be. The well 
knoivn character of the Messrs. Ellsworth justifies 
the most implicit reliance on their statement: 
“Mr. Howard will no doubt be gratified to learn, that 
the Self-acting Pump, which he saw in operation in my 
door yard last summer, has not failed, but for a day 
when it was interrupted by accident, to perform its task 
to raise all the water w’hich the well furnishes. It now 
supplies water for twenty head of cattle daily. 
“ To test its power to elevate water above its station, a 
lead pipe was attached to the discharge pipe, and carried 
to the top of the barn near by, and raised to the height 
of forty-nine feet, above the water in the well. At 
that height it played a jet of about four feet higher , 
evincing a power much greater than had been antici¬ 
pated. Indeed, the invention has more than met the 
most sanguine expectations regarding it.” 
