218 
July. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
at the time. The roof of the back buildings was 
surmounted by grape trellises, twenty feet above 
ground, on which vines were trained, forming a 
a handsome sky outline for the back view. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
hurt them. They are grown from the roots like 
potatoes. Light, good soil suits them best, but 
they will produce a fair crop in any soil. At the 
approach of winter they should be taken up and 
kept in sand. They are best boiled and eaten as a 
vegetable with white sauce. 
Endive , or Chicory —This, for salad, takes the 
same place in winter that lettuce occupies in sum¬ 
mer, and when well grown is equally valuable. 
There are two very distinct varieties; the one is 
curled and narrower in the leaf, and in flavor is 
bitter, unless it is well blanched, but it forms a 
large head, as fine as well grown Cabbage Lettuce. 
The other sort is the “ Esearole” of the French, 
and is sweet in flavor, with a wider and flatter 
leaf, which comes earlier in the season but does not 
usually form so close a head, although it is prefer¬ 
able in flavor. Both should be grown in quantity, 
the latter for the autumn and early winter, and the 
Curled for keeping in a cellar, laid in close together 
by the root as we recommended for celery. Sow 
twice, early in July and the first week in August. 
The broad leaf, (which is the Escarole,) for the 
first crop, and the Curled Green, (which is the 
most hardy,) and some White Curled for the se¬ 
cond crop. Let the ground be as rich and light 
as possible. The finest lettuce and endive may be 
seen growing in the swampy ground near Jer¬ 
sey City, to a size which will satisfy the most 
sceptical as to the kind of soil that suits such crops 
best. Sow in drills one foot apart. Thin out to 
nine inches apart Cor early ,crops, and a foot for 
the Green Curled. When the leaves are from 
seven to nine inches long, the blanching may be 
commenced. This is by many carelessly done with 
plants intended for immediate use,by simply throw¬ 
ing a thin board on the top of the row of plants. 
But this is such unworkmanlike, slovenly garden¬ 
ing, as we cannot commend. The proper way is 
to draw the leaves of each plant together with one 
hand, and tie a piece of bast-mat, or cotton-twist 
round them; then draw a little earth up to the 
root. The top of the leaves, in this operation, 
should be brought close together with the tie, so 
as to exclude wet; but in the middle the leaves 
should not be pressed too close.. They will blanch 
in a week or fortnight, according to the weather; a 
few, therefore, should be tied at. intervals as 
wanted. The way to have it in perfection in win¬ 
ter is to grow it in frames with glass lights, and it 
is well worth the expense of them. But even four 
boards nailed together with'board shutters to lay 
across in severe weather, will prove a good sub¬ 
stitute. The plants may be first grown fine 
in the open ground, and be transplanted into 
the frames with a good ball of earth to each, at 
the approach of winter; and any decayed side 
leaves being removed at the time of transplanting, 
they may be placed close together, the object being 
to preserve them rather than encourage further 
growth. 
Jerusalem Artichoke .—This, in reality 1- , is no 
artichoke at all. It is a species of sunflower. 
The roots have some resemblance to the potato, 
but their texture and flavor are very different, and 
partake more of the character of sea kale and aspa- 
gus, although inferior to those valuable vegetables. 
They grow very tall, frequently ten feet or more, 
and should therefore be planted where their shade 
will not be detrimental to other crops; and they 
will endure any situation, in any out-of-the-way 
corner, as the shade of trees does not perceptibly 
Salsify .—This is sometimes called the Vegeta¬ 
ble Oyster, from its flavor bearing some resem¬ 
blance to that fish. It is a root vegetable, resem¬ 
bling a parsnep. Sow the seed in drills a foot 
apart in April or May. Thin them out to six 
inches, and cultivate like other root crops of a 
similar nature. It is hardy and will stand the 
winter. Some people use the tops in spring for 
early greens. It maybe stored in sand in the cel¬ 
lar for winter use. B. M. 
Remedy for the Cherry Slug 
Having so often received instruction from the 
perusal of contributions by practical farmers, dis¬ 
pensed to us through the medium of your valua¬ 
ble paper, I take the liberty to give a little of my 
own experience. 
The cherry slug or snail, makes sad havoc on 
our cherry trees in this vicinity. I have previ¬ 
ously found lime effectual in destroying them. 
Last summer I tried dry dust, taken from the 
ground near the tree; with a shovel make it fine, 
or you may scrape it from the highway, when it 
is dry and dusty. Apply profusely, that none of 
the slugs escape a good covering, and my word for 
it, they will be minus.equally as well as if you had 
used lime. Renew the application as often as ne¬ 
cessary. A. S. Moss. Fredonia, N. Y. 
Preparing Soil for Grapes. 
Dr. Underhill, of Croton Point, who has some 
thirty acres of vineyard for marketing the fruit, 
has given much attention to high culture, and as 
a consequence his grapes have attained a high re¬ 
putation in the New-York market for their excel¬ 
lence. 
According to a statement in “ The Plow,” he 
usually applies' twenty or thirty bushels of bone 
dust per acre, and uses largely a compost made of 
swamp muck, leaf mold, rich loam, sods, weeds, 
leaves, and grape-cuttings, with stable manure, 
liquid manure, or yard-drainings, and potash. 
He finds that grapes will grow well upon any 
soil, except heavy brick clay; and this need not 
be excepted if well drained, and cobble stones de¬ 
posited beneath each vine, as looseners. He has 
applied large quantities of clay to his lighter soils; 
in one instance, five hundred loads to the acre, 
but this he found too much. Realty all his land 
has been trenched three or four feet deep, but a 
much cheaper mode of trenching has been lately 
adopted. It consists of first running a trench- 
plow (the double Michigan would be just the thing) 
about fourteen inches deep, followed with the lar¬ 
gest size sub-soiler, about as much deeper. 
Grafting Wax. — I use for grafting composition 
2 parts rosin, 1 part tallow, and 1 part beeswax ; 
put on with a brush, at any temperature that will 
not burn the brush. This I have used for many 
years, for all kinds of grafting, and for covering 
wounds made by pruning, and consider it cheaper 
and easier applied than an) r other, and safer. A 
small iron kettle, is best to keep it in. The brush 
may be made of hair, if bristles are not at hand. 
L. J. II. Throopsville , March 28, 1858. 
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