272 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Sept, 
mulching, but plants his gooseberries on the north side 
of a common board fence, which is doubtless useful as 
affording a partial shade ; but the most important part 
of the operation consists in placing, a peck of yard ma¬ 
nure compost every autumn around each bush, to be 
spread over the ground and spaded in the following 
spring, and kept well hoed through summer. The old 
wood is pruned out every spring, and straggnng shoots 
pinched during the season of growth. The Crown Bob 
and Whitesmith have borne “ enormous crops ” of fruit 
for the four past years by this treatment, without any 
mildew ; and there is no doubt that the amount of en¬ 
riching compost worked into the soil, whose surface 
is kept constantly mellow, operates in a manner equal 
to any mulching for the preservation of moisture, 
while the pruning and fertile soil produce a vigorous 
growth extremely favorable to the healthy maturity 
of the fruit. —-o— 
Grape Culture. 
Messrs. Editors —Will you please inform me, 
through your very valuable paper, The Cultivator , 
about the grape. How many vines should I have to 
the acre—which way should the rows run —what is 
the average bearing of the Isabella and Catawba, 
when under a good state of cultivation—are leached 
ashes good manure for them—is it as profitable to sell the 
grape by the basket, as to manufacture into wine, and 
then sell—and when is best time to cut slips ? What 
is the best soil? S. W. Cowles. Unionville , Conn, 
July 11, 1854. 
The plants for a vineyard should be about 5 or 6 
feet apart. We have never discovered much difference 
as to the direction of the rows, good culture and rich 
soil being the main requisites. Some prefer rows run¬ 
ning north and south, so that the sun may shine equally 
on both sides. The Cincinnati vineyards have the 
vines trained to single stakes, so that all sides are 
equaly exposed. We do not know the amount of crops 
actually produced from an acre of grapes. A portion 
of leached 7 ashes is good for the grape, but like most 
other plants, it is mainly benefited by a mixture of vege¬ 
table and animal manure, in which stable dung should 
be most abundant. The soil should be deep, loose, 
mellow, and rich, and should not by any means have 
a wet subsoil. Subsoiling or trenching should always 
be practiced, and when necessary, the most thorough 
system of under-draining. The cuttings are made in 
autumn or winter. We should not by any means re¬ 
commend the attempt to manufacture wine in Connecti¬ 
cut,—selling the fresh fruit in the cities will be'foun 
far more profitable, especially since they may be so 
easily kept till winter. Should our correspondent 
Wish full information, he may find further directions 
in Elliott’s Fruit Book, and in Buchanan’s Treatise on 
the Vine,—although both of these books favor the 
general manufacture of wine beyond what wo «think 
beneficial to the interests of the community. 
The WiNDham Co. (Ct.) Ag. Societv hold their 
next Fair at Brooklyn on the 13th and 14th Sept. We 
are indebted to J. B. Whitcomb, Esq., Bee. Sec’y of 
the Society, for its list of prizes. 
Flooring for Stables—Walls for Open Cisterns, &o. 
Those who live easily accessible to cities or where 
gas-tar may be obtained, may make a hard and water¬ 
proof coating, by a mixture of gas-tar and coarse sand. 
We have seen compact, floor-like walks in gardens and 
pleasure grounds, made in this way, at a moderate cost, 
and on sloping surfaces, it possessed the eminent ad¬ 
vantage of never being liable to wash. As the water 
does not enter it, it is not cracked nor affected by frost. 
Water-lime cisterns answer a good purpose for retain¬ 
ing water, where the frost cannot reach them ; but 
one freezing completely ruins them. This is not the 
case with the tar and sand ; hence it may be used for 
open reservoirs, small ponds in ornamental grounds, &c. 
Impervious stable floors may be made in the same 
way, which will possess the advantage of carrying off' 
without waste all the liquid portions of the manure, to 
tanks, reservoirs, or absorbents placed for this purpose. 
Common tar would probably succeed better than gas- 
tar, but is much more costly—we have known where 
a small portion of tar had escaped from a barrel on a 
bed of sand, a compound formed as hard as sandstone, 
and which was not in the least affected by the freezing 
and thawing of successive winters. 
Fall Plowing. 
Mr. L. Tucker —In the Feb. number of The Cul¬ 
tivator, I noticed an article on fall and winter plow¬ 
ing, in which it was highly recommended to plow in 
the fall, except on sandy or sandy loam soils—the wri¬ 
ter taking the ground that such soils will leach if 
plowed in the fall. I do not know but it is- so, but I 
have yet to learn that if you plow such a soil in the 
fall, it is at the hazard of its fertility—especially if it 
is sward land, and the first crop is intended to be corn. 
Instead of the action of the frost and snow of winter, 
increasing the porosity and friability of such a soil, it 
tends to settle it down together, and renders it less lia¬ 
ble to be affected by the drouth, which is something to 
be thought of when we have such dry seasons as we 
have had for two years past; and then the sod rot3 
earlier than it would if it was plowed in the spring, 
and gives its fertilizing qualities as a manure to the 
young corn as it just commences to grow—a time w r hen 
it is needed if ever, to push it forward, so that the hoe 
can bo used to keep the weeds in subjection. Last 
year I had a field of corn of some eight acres; a little 
more than half, was plowed in the fall, and the rest in 
the spring. When I came to harvest it, that plowed 
in the fall, was nearly if not quite one-third the best; 
a great deal heavier growth of stalks and longer ears ; 
and it stood the drouth better by half. Where it was 
plowed in the spring, the corn leaves began to roll a 
week or ten days before they did where it was plowed 
in the fall ; and when there came any rain, it seemed 
to loach through and leave the ground as dry as ever. 
I am in favor of fall plowing for any crop. It is 
equally as good for other crops as for corn, as far as 
1 my experience goes. A Subscriber. Malone, N. Y, 
