34 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
two or more feet in length, are coiled in a flower pot, having been 
first divested of all their buds but one or two at their upper extre¬ 
mity, which are elevated somewhat above the edge of tiie pot, and 
the pot filled with fine rich earth. Or, a single eye may be taken, 
with two or three inches of the adjoining stem. The pots are 
plunged into a hot-bed, and subseqently transferred to the grape- 
house. Vines thus treated, sometimes have made fifteen or twenty 
feet of wood the first year, and produced twenty or thirty bunches 
of fine grapes the second. These methods have been successfully 
practised about Boston. The following particulars of cultivation, 
which we copy from the American Gardeners'' Magazine , a horti¬ 
cultural monthly, published at Boston, by Messrs. Hovey, are the 
memoranda made by the editors of that work during the process of 
culture. 
“ March 9th, 1833.—Shoots of the Black Hamburgh and White Chasselas 
grapes were selected, and formed into cuttings of single eyes or buds; this 
operation was performed by cutting off the wood in a sloping direction, one 
inch above the eye or bud, and two inches below. By this method of raising 
vines from single eyes, they produce a greater number of fibrous roots, which 
enables them to absorb an abundant supply of nourishment from the soil, and 
their growth becomes proportionably vigorous and strong. It is of importance, 
in selecting shoots for the purpose of farming the cuttings, to make choice of 
wood that 7s well ripened, short-jointed, sound, and with very little pith; such 
wood is more likely to be obtained from the miJdle or lower parts of branches 
of healthy vines, than near the extremities. 
After the cuttings were prepared, pots of three or four inches diameter were 
filled w ith a mixture of 1 -3d light sandy loam, and 2-3ds leaf soil, in which 
the cuttings were inserted in a slanting position, and each eye covered about 
half an inch in depth, finishing off with a gentle watering, and the pots plung¬ 
ed to their rims in a moderate hot-bed. 
At the commencement, strict attention was paid to the heat of the bed, as 
it frequently happens, if the heat is too powerful, the eyes will shoot up be¬ 
fore any roots have protruded, and are very liable to be destroyed, either by 
a powerful sunshine or from too damp an atmosphere. 
The cutiings were watered very sparingly until the buds appeared above 
the surface of the soil; air was freely admitted during the day, an l the bed 
covered at night, in order to preserve an equal temperature as possible. 
March 24—being fifteen days from the time the cuttings were put in the pots, 
they made their appearance above the surface, were shaded from the sun dur¬ 
ing the middle of the day, until they w'ere well furnished with roots and the 
leaves began to expand; water was then regularly supplied, and plenty of air 
allowed, to prevent them from being drawn up weak. 
By the ninth of May, the vines had grown to the height of from eight to 
twelve inches, and were shifted into pots of six inches in diameter, making 
use of the same kind of soil as the cuttings were putin, at the commencement. 
In repotting such young vines, they should be handled with great care, as 
the points of the roots, or spongioles, are exceeding tender, and susceptible 
of injury; the leading shoots should also be carefully protected, and all la¬ 
terals removed as soon as they appear The success depends much upon keep¬ 
ing up the temperature of the bed, which should rather increase than decrease 
os the vines acquire, strength ; and, as the least check is very injurious in this 
early stage of their growth, should the heat begin to decline, it must be re¬ 
newed by linings; for it is an essential point, that they be continually kept 
in a vigorous and rapidly growing state, the object in view being to produce 
one strong shoot for bearing fruit the following year. 
June25tli, —the vines were from tw o to three feet in height, and were again 
repotted into pots fourteen inches in diameter, and fifteen inches in depth; the 
soil used, was composed of equal parts of light loam and leaf soil, with the 
addition of about an eighth part of the whole of very rotten manure. After 
potting, they were removed into the green-house, and placed over the front 
flue; the shoots were trained upward in a direction corresponding with the 
slope of the roof, and ten inches from the glass; water was supplied frequent¬ 
ly, and occasionally liquid manure, till tne wood began to ripen; all lateral 
shoots were stopped just above the first bud, which bud was retained to pre¬ 
vent the main eyes from starting prematurely. 
July 27th, —the vines had attained the length of six feet; and, as a suffi¬ 
cient length of wood was now obtained, each shoot was stopped, by pinching 
off the point; this caused one or two of the uppermost eyes to start, and these 
were also stopped when they had growm two or three joints. By thus con¬ 
tinually stopping the upper laterals, as often as they were produced, the rapid 
flow of sap upward was checked, and the shoots acquired greater strength and 
size. When the wood had become prefectly ripened, each vine was cut to 
the length of five feet, and all the laterals, which had been suffered to grow 
during summer in order to preserve the main eyes, were cut in close, leaving 
a straight clean shoot. 
In November, the vines were placed under the stage of the green-house, 
where they remained till the first week in March following, and were then 
placed in their former situation. 
March 15, 1834,—the buds began to open, and by the 30th, the fruit buds 
were distinctly visible; two to four bunches appearing from every eye, with 
the exception of two or three of the lowest. When the fruit was fairly de¬ 
veloped, the shoots were stopped at the second bud above the upper bunch ; 
and one bunch only was retained on each shoot, with the exception of two 
vines; on these, two bunches to each shoot were allowed to remain, for the 
purpose of ascertaining more fully, to what extent vines in pots could support 
and ripen a crop of fruit. The two last mentioned vines were Black llam- 
burghs. One of them produced twenty eight, and the other thirty bunches ; 
but it ultimately proved to be too large a number for them to ripen perfectly. 
Water was plentifully supplied, as often ns the surface of the soil in the pots 
became dry, and the foliage was syringed frequently. No other care was ne¬ 
cessary throughout the season, than occasionally to tie up the bearing shoots, 
to prevent them from being broken by the weight of the fruit. 
Five of the vines, viz: three White Chasselas and two Hamburgh, pro¬ 
duced from eighteen to twenty-five bunches each, or one hundred and six col¬ 
lectively ; and on the 30th of July, the Chasselas grapes were perfectly ripe, 
the Hamburghs had changed color, but did not arrive at maturity till about 
the 25th of August. Although from fourteen to tweny bunches are considered 
by the English cultivators as a good crop for one vine, yet, from the experi¬ 
ence which we have had, thus far, in the culture of vines in pots, we have 
no doubt but that thirty bunches and upwards, of the small growing kinds, as 
the Sweetwater, Muscadines, &e. may be obtained from each vine, equal in 
excellence to tlmse grow n by any other method. Mr. Stafford, one of the 
most successful cultivators, says, that all the most delicate sorts are superior, 
when grown in pots, to any he ever saw grown on the rafters; and he further 
states, that he has often proved, that a pot placed in the house on the 1st of 
January, and the same species trained up the rafter, and subjected to the same 
heat—the former will ripen its fruit at least a month earlier than the latter. 
The annexed plan is one we would suggest to those who wish to erect a 
small bouse, which would answer the purpose of growing grapes in pots with¬ 
out great expense. 
Fig. 1, is a section of the house, which is ten feet in diameter, eight feet 
high at the back, and four feet in front; it is sunk two feet under the surface 
of the ground, as at (a a), if the situation is dry—otherw ise it should be on a 
level ; (A) is a flue wdiich may commence at either end of the house, as con¬ 
venient, and should be carried across the end, along the front, and out at the 
hack ; ( c) is a pit in the centre, which may be used for many purposes; such 
as raising lettuces, radishes, &c. or for starting annual flowers, early cab¬ 
bages, ctiliflowers, &c. to be transplanted out in the garden; as it will not 
be shaded till the vines have made considerable growth ; or vines on the coil¬ 
ing system, which wall require bottom heat to grow them, might be plunged. 
The pit is intended to be filled with leaves mixed with manure, or w ith leaves 
alo e, as at (d). The back and ends may be made of common boards, placed 
eight inches apart, filled in between the tw o, with leaves, hay, sea-weed ordry 
tan (ee); the front may be of thick four inch plank, (fj is a shelf on the back, 
four feet from the bottom ; it should be about fourteen inches wide, and made 
very strong ; on this and the flue, all round, should be placed the pots of vines; 
those on the flue to be trained up half way the roof of the house, and those 
on the back shelf to be trained down to meet them at the same slope of the 
glass, at the distance of ten inches. The trellis may be made of wire or of 
wood. 
Fig. 2. 
Fig. 2, is the ground plan. Such a house is not 
intended for forcing in January or February ; as 
it would require more length of flue, and fires to 
be kept continually burning, which would be at¬ 
tended with considerable expense and attention. 
One could, however, easily be made for the pur¬ 
pose. In this house it is supposed that, if the vines 
commenced growing about the 1st of March, ripe 
fruit would be obtained from the 1st of August to 
the middle of September, according to the earli¬ 
ness or lateness of the variety. If lower sashes 
are covered during night with mats or hay, in 
March, very little lire would be required '.o keep up the requisite temperature, 
which should not be on an average, more than fifty-five degrees the first fif¬ 
teen or twenty days. The expense of erecting such a house would not be 
great, and it would contain about fifty pots of "vines, which would ripen at 
least three hundred pounds of grapes.” 
BEES AND BEE-HOUSES. 
The use of houses for bees, wc believe, is of modern date. Some 
three or four winters ago, in travelling in Otsego county, we were 
shown the first bee-houses we ever saw or heard of. One was 
four and another six feet square, and six or seven feet high, made 
perfectly tight, with a good floor, and with a door for occasional 
entrance. One had been tenanted two summers, and contained 
probably about 200 lbs. honey. The other had been occupied but 
a season, and contained less honey. Neither had sent out a new 
swarm. We were so pleased with this management, that imme¬ 
diately on reaching home we had a bee-liouse built, and in June 
following introduced into it a swarm of bees the day they left the 
parent hive. They filled the hive in which they were introduced, 
but no more, and the next year sent out two swarms. In the mean 
time we made a bee-house, or bee room, in our garret, adjoining 
