April 27. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
63 
! 
I 
I 
current of air. We have been very fortunate in such places, 
and in cool summers we have had plenty in a common 
house : but when very hot, it is next to impossible to get 
them of any size in common houses above ground. 
7. Early Eras .—Thanks for the able and interesting 
articles of this subject. Now let us agitate the best mode 
for securing early Peas with the best possible trouble and 
the least chance of disappointment. I have altogether 
given up sowing out-of-doors until a tine day in February. 
I find many are now perceiving, like myself, that sowing 
in autumn is too often a waste of seed, and a waste of slug 
hunting, and botheration into the bargain. Some time in 
March, I sow, under protection in boxes, but generally in 1 
semicircular drain tiles, with the ends stuffed with hay ■ 
or moss; when well hardened they are transferred to well- 
pulverised ground, protected with a few boughs, and then I 
staked, and generally come in a fortnight earlier than if 
they were sown in November; saving thus a vast amount ' 
of worry about slugs and mice, and getting to the table j 
much earlier. This speed in fruiting I attribute to two 
causes : 1st. The fine friable aired state of the soil when 
planted. 2nd. The check given to the growing principle by 
the transplanting ; thus encouraging the early formation of 
blossoms. II. Fish. 
HUNTER RIVER VINEYARD ASSOCIATION. 
(Continued from page 48.) 
TRANSLATION. 
“ Giessen, 10th April, 1852. 
“Dear Sir, — I received yesterday your letter of the 12tli ’ 
August, 1851 (forwarded by Messrs. Kirchner and Co.), and 
it has therefore been near nine months on its way. A few 
weeks ago, I despatched a letter to you to the care of Mr. 
Thomas Brown, London, in which I advised you that I had | 
duly received the two cases of Australian wine which you 
had sent me. It has afforded me a true pleasure to com¬ 
pare this wine with European wines. 
“ I have obtained the following results : 
C2 
So 
m 
c o 
cd ,q 
o 
U «—H 
CD <4 
CD 
S3 CO 
CD ^ 
O rP 
„ CO 
QJ <1 
Ph 
.9920 16.20 .505 .4987 3.205 
.940 13.00 .600 .503 3.313 
“ In their contents of alcohol and in fixed constituents your 
wines are not behind the best French and Rhenish wines. 
The best Rhenish wines (Hock) do not contain above 13 per 
cent, of alcohol. The red Australian wine greatly resembles 
a mixture of Burgundy and Claret, which it surpasses in 
strength ; it does not contain, however, the aroma or bou¬ 
quet, in which claret in particular excels. These wines, 
however, appear to me capable of great amelioration in this , 
respect by the method of fermentation; and well considered 
experiments, based on solid observation, will doubtless lead 
you to improve [ennoble] still more these excellent wines, j 
and to bestow on them that quality which the prevailing 
taste demads. 
“The strength or proportion of alcohol and saccharine 
matter, as you well know, does not regulate the value of 
wine; but it is the perfect combination, or a kind of : 
equiponderance of its constituents, which is most esteemed j 
and paid for highest. In a first-class wine, neither alcohol, 
nor sugar, nor aroma, nor acid, should predominate; not 
one of these constituents should be discernible above the j 
rest—each of them produciug in their due proportion the 
most desirable effect on the tongue, &c. Your proposal of 
mixing the must of the Verdcilho grape with the juice of 
the Gouais is excellent, and quite adapted to point out the 
way in which improvements may be effected. This proposi¬ 
tion evinces how much you have reflected on the process of 
wine making, and how thoroughly you are acquainted with 
its principles.* 
Irrawang Pineau Noirl 
Tinta. and P. Gris, J 
Irrawang White. 
* It may possibly be remembered by some of the gentlemen present, 
that in my report presented to this association in May, 1851, I recom¬ 
mended the propriety of mixing the must of grapes possessing opposite 
“I perceive from your wine report, that at Camden the 
must is allowed to ferment in vats of masonry. In France, 
also, these vats of masonry are made use of; but when the 
stones are united by mortar made with lime, the latter 
exercises an injurious influence on the wine. The lime 
destroys the tartaric acid, which is of importance to the 
preservation of the wine, and the production of bouquet; 
and when acetic acid is contained in the wine it dissolves 
the lime, which in that case communicates to the wine a 
perceptibly earthy flavour. Nevertheless, I am sensible 
how difficult it is to suggest improvements without knowing 
the locality, the condition of the grapes and must, and the 
climate. 1 can only wish that you may proceed as you have 
hitherto done, directing your efforts towards the improve¬ 
ment of the fermentation. You are sure to arrive at the 
end you have proposed to yourself. It is true that difficulties 
are great, but they are not insurmountable. 
“ You have last year had a visit from a German traveller, 
Mr. Gerstaecker, who, in the Augsburg Universal Gazette 
(which is read in Sydney), has described his visit to the 
Hunter, and your great kindness and hospitality. Thus 
your property on the Hunter, and all you have done for the 
culture of the vine, has become known in an extended 
circle of Germany, and I have particularly rejoiced over it, 
it appearing to me as if he spoke to me of a friend. Ger- 
staecker’s description of the gold district is not so favourable 
as yours ; he says that much gold is found, but that only a 
few gold diggers obtain an adequate remuneration for their 
great trouble and labour. The discovery of gold in Australia : 
is useful, inasmuch as by it an army of colonists will be j 
attracted thither. Gold is a magnet which has an irresist- | 
able inllucnce on mankind ; and Australia, where the law is j 
in force, infinitely preferable to California. 
“ You have afforded me great pleasure by the transmission 
of seeds from the Botanical Garden in Sydney, as well as 
of the minerals and other productions. I have distributed 
the seeds amongst several Botanical Gardens in Germany, 
where your presents are remembered with gratitude. 
“ The eucalyptic oil I have not as yet analyzed; I will 
do so however this summer, and inform you of the result. 
One of the crystallised minerals was a salt of magnesia. 
“ I have been last year for a few months in Scotland, where 
I have many friends and pupils. I am partial to your 
country and to the people inhabiting it—they have much in 
common with Germans. I can very well conceive the longing 
which draws you towards your native land, and I wish you 
may enjoy the happiness of beholding once more that 
beautiful Edinburgh from Calton Hill. At fifty-four you are 
far from being too old to undertake this voyage, and when 
you are again in Great Britain, pray remember that you have 
a friend at Giessen who wili esteem himself happy to see 
you under his roof. I have a son studying medicine, and 
who will this year conclude his studies; he has a great 
desire to make a voyage round the world, and it is not 
improbable that he may one day pay you a visit at Irrawang. 
“ Farewell, my dear Sir, and be assured that your letters 
have impressed me with as high a regard as affection for 
you.—Yours, sincerely, “ Dr. Jus. Liebig.” 
“ To James King, Esq., 1 
Irrawang,” j 
(To be continued.) 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
THE BEST VARIETY OF OAK. 
“ In your impression of April 0, Mr. Beaton, alluding to I 
the respective merits of the two varieties of Qucrcits robur I 
sessiliflora, and Q. robur pcdunculala, as timber-trees, gives a 
qualities, not with the object of compounding them, merely that an 
average strength might he the result, but as a means of ensuring a more j 
complete fermentation of their constituents—the neutnflization of their I 
antagonistic elements—thereby so far preventing that acidity which is | 
apt to be generated in imperfectly fermented wine. A copy of that j 
report I had forwarded to Giessen, for the perusal of Baron Liebig. 
I cannot here refrain from observing that, although that recommenda- ! 
tion of mine seemed of slender import in the estimation of some of our , 
colonial wine growers, who, after all that was said, really mistook its 
character and bearing, it is gratifying to have its merits thus upheld by 
so high an authority as Baron Liebig.—J. K. 
