THE CULTIVATOR. 
217 
GRAPE FRAME— (Side view.) 
Messrs. Editors— I send you a rude draft of a frame 
for a grape vine or trellis. It is the cheapest, if not the 
strongest trellis for a vine, which can be constructed, 
being nearly all made of straight poles; the diamond 
work alone being made of slips of board about 2 inches 
wide, to be nailed to the poles on the inside. 
The four corner posts should 
be larger than any of the rest. 
All the others should be abou! 
2 or 2^ inches in diameter 
each, at the foot. Two poles 
are tied together with large 
wire,say about 7 feet from the 
feet of ihem, or base; and at 
the corners, two poles besides 
the corner large po e, making 
three, are tied together, then 
lay them about two feet apart 
or more if you wish, accord¬ 
ing to fancy, only place them 
all at an equal distance apart, 
then nail on the slips of board 
as in the figure. Having com¬ 
pleted the two sides, which 
- should be alike, the two ends 
End view. Entrance. should be made in like man¬ 
ner as per figure; the two sides may now be raised and 
locked together by placing in the crotches short poles 
notched at each end to hold them together; then raise 
the ends and tie them to the corner pos:s, after securing 
the whole frame and placing a few' boards across the 
poles, that bind the two sides together, for a floor to 
stand upon; then bend over the tops of the poles and tie 
them, as in the plate, and the whole is finished. This 
may be extended in length or width, and varied almost 
to any extent in height and proportions. Here you have 
a true gothic temple after covered with the vine, in 
which you may sit, and none to molest or make you 
afraid. The poles may be of oak or ash, or almost any 
wood that is straight and smooth, and will bend without 
breaking. Elisha Thayer. 
Dedham, Mass.. May, 1844. 
IMPROVEMENT IN FENCES. 
Editors of the Cultivator— Having experienced 
great trouble and expense from my fences being thrown 
up every winter by the frost, and havingattempted seve¬ 
ral expedients to remedy the evil with but partial suc¬ 
cess, I was pleased to hear that a patent had been taken 
out for a fence on a new construction, expressly design¬ 
ed to obviate this difficulty. The contrivance referred to 
combines all the advantages of the common post and 
board fence, and is less, or not more expensive, while 
it effectually guards against the action of the frost; and as 
in rural economy few things are so important as fences, 
I thought you would be pleased to make this improve¬ 
ment more generally known, through the columns of 
your useful journal. 
The drawing I have sketched will give an idea 
of the construction. It represents two lengths of board 
fence, say 12 to 14 feet each. The posts marked A, are 
alternate detached posts put in the ground, with a mor¬ 
tice over them in the cap, through which they may pass 
when lifted by the frost, without raising the body of the 
fence; and being sharpened at the lower end, they are 
easily driven to their place when the frost leaves the 
earth. These posts should be of locust or cedar. The 
other alternating posts, cut to die height the fence is 
wanted—say 4 to 4| feet—may be of any less valuable 
timber: pine, or hemlock scantling, 4 by 4 or 5 inches, 
and those by the side of the long or ground posts, need 
not be more than 2 by 4 or five .inches. A board corres¬ 
ponding to the top board in the figure, is nailed to the 
back of the short posts, close beneath the cap. 
It will appear, from the inspection of the figure, that 
the fence keeps its station on the ground, while the 
posts which preserve its vertical position, may be thrown 
up, more or less, by the action of the frost. 
I should add that there have been many trials in this 
county for the last two years of the advantages of this 
improvement, and so far as I am informed, with great 
and uniform satisfaction. 
Mr. Isaac Van Ambcrg, of Watertown, in the county 
of Jefferson, is the patentee of the above { ‘ improvement 
in fences, 55 and is now about establishing agencies for its 
wider diffusion. Henry D. Sewall. 
Watertown, Jefferson county, N. Y., May 29, 1844. 
CULTIVATION OF FRUIT.—No. VII. 
Raspberry, Gooseberry and Currant. 
Although these fruits are not so important as some 
others, they should be considered as indispensable to ev¬ 
ery fruit garden. Their early maturity, their pleasant 
and agreeable flavor, the certainty of the crop, and the 
short period of time required to bring them forward to a 
good bearing state, render them truly valuable. 
The Raspberry. 
This is generally considered as much superior to the 
other two in flavor. Most of the varieties are propaga¬ 
ted with great facility by transplanting the suckers, and 
those which do not increase by suckers, are easily propa¬ 
gated by layers. Of the latter, are the Early Red, and 
the American White, both of which are well worthy of 
cultivation. The extremities of their recurved stems 
frequently take root spontaneously by bending over to 
the earth; but where this is not the case, they may be 
made to root with facility by making a hole in the earth 
with a sharp stick, thrusting in the ends of the branches, 
and securing them by pressing the earth about them with 
the foot. After one summer's growth, the newly rooted 
plants are detached, either in the autumn of the same 
year or the succeeding spring, and will bear some fruit 
the first year, and plentifully the second. New varieties 
are raised from the seed, and will come into bearing the 
second year so that their quality may be determined. 
Bridgman says, “Raspberry beds are in their prime 
about the third or fourth year; and if well managed, con¬ 
tinue in perfection five or six years, after which they 
are apt to decline in growth, and the fruit to become 
small, so that a successive plantation should be provided 
in time. Select new plants from vigorous stools in full 
perfection as to bearing. 
The soil for the raspberry should be rich and inclining 
to be moist. ‘The culture is very simple; for common 
varieties, consisting merely in pruning each spring, and 
in keeping the weeds and grass well cleaned away from 
around them and the soil well cultivated. The pruning 
is best performed early in spring. All dead stems should 
be removed, grass anti weeds cut away, and all the small¬ 
er shoots, cut off even with the ground, leaving only 
from three to five of the most vigorous of the last sea 
