The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1850-03-27
FARMERS DEPARTMENT.
"The farmers crop their living from their crops,
And each manshares the blessing of their shares"
Culture of the Grape.

And each manshares the blessing of their shares"
Culture OF the Grape.
At your request, now give you the mode a
doptcd by myself, and some others in this vicin
ity, in cultivating the vine for wine making.
| At the same time, feel that it would come
with great propriety from MIR. Longworth, to
whom, more than to any other man in the West,
we are all indebted for our knowledge in grape
culture.
SELECTING AND PREPARING THE GROUND.
| A hill-side with southern aspect, is prefer
red. Ifthe declivity is gentle, it can be soddcd,
concave avenues; but if too steep for that, it
must be benched or tcrraced, which is more OK
pensive.
In the autumn and winter, dig or trench the
ground with spade, all over, two feet deep,
turning the surface under. The ground will be
mellowed by the frosts of winter
PLASr1sc.-Lay off the ground in rows, three
| by six fcet-put down stick twelve or fifteen
inches long, where each vine is to grow
The avenues should be ten feet wide, dividing
the vineyard into squares of 100 feet. Plant
at each stick two cuttings, separated five or ght
inches at the bottom of the hole, but joined at
the top-throw a spadeful of rich vegetable
mould into each hole, and let the top eye of the
cutting he even with the surface of the ground,
and if the matter is dry, cover with half an inch
of light earth.
The cutting should be prepared for planting
by burying them in the earth Immediately after
pruned from the vines in the spring, and by the
latter end Of March, early in April which is
the right time for planting, the buds will be
swelled so as to make them strike root with great
certainty. Cut off close to the Joint at the low
er end, and about an inch in all above the upper.
PRUNlNG.-The first year after planting, cut
the vines down to a single eye, (some leave
two) the second, loave two or three, and the
third, three or four. After the first year, stake
six and half and seven feet long must be drv-
en- firmly down by each plant, to which the vine
must be kept neatly tied with willow or straw as
they grow. Late in February, or early in March,
is the right time for spring pruning in this eli
mate
Summer pruning consists in breaking off the
lateral sprouts and shoots, so as to leave two
is to bear fruit the ensuing season, and the other
to be cut down in spring pruning to a spur to
produce new shoots. These may be let to run
to the top of the stakes, and trained from one
to the other, until the wood is maturcd, say in
August or September, when the green ends may
be broken off One of these vines is selected
next spring for bearing fruit, and cut down to
four and to six joints, and bent over and f,sten-
ed to the stake in the form of bow. The other
is cut away, we'll as the fruit bearing wood of
the last year, leaving spurs to throw out new
wood for the next, and thus keeping the vine
down to within one and one half and two feet of
the ground. Nip off the ends of the frmt-bcar-
ing branches two or three Joints beyond the
punches of grapes, but do not take otfany leaves.
IF both the cuttings grow, take up, or cut
it off under ground, as but one vine should be
left to each stake.
CuLrURE.-The vineyard must be kept per-
fcctly clean from weeds and grass and hoed two
or three times during the season. Keep the
grass in the avenues around, down close. Alb tut
every third year put in manure, by trench the
width of spade and three or four inches Deep
Just above and near each row; fill in with two or
three inches of manure and cover up with
Garth.
Notwithstanding the grapes when We
ry ripe: pluck off the unsound and unripe ber-
ries. The punches are then mashed in mash
ing tub or passed through small mill, breaking
the skin, but not the seed, and thrown into the
press, and the screw applied until the skins are
pressed dry.
FERMENTAr1oS.-This process is very simple
The juice is put into clean casks in cool cellar,
and the casks filled within about four or five in
ches of the bung, and the bung put on loosely.
The gas escapes but the wine does not run over
In from two to four weeks, generally, the fer
ceases, and the wine clears; then fill
up the casks and tighten the bungs.-In Febru-
ary or March, rack off into clear casks. In the
spring, moderate fermentation will again take
place. after that, the wine fines ITSELF and is ready
for .bottling or barrelling. Use no brandy, or
sugar if the grapes sound and we'll ripened.
Keep bunged up or corked tight, and in cool
cellar, and the wine will improve by age for
many years.
II. BUCHANAN.