Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-01-17
From the Tennessee Farmer and Mechanic
Grape Culture in Tennessee.
BY JOHN R. EAk1N, wARrRACE, TENN.

THE writer has for several years, been engaged
in the effort to establish a vineyard in Middle
Tennessee, near Wartrace. As he has year by
year marked the result of the effort, and ac-
quired Information from other quarters, both at
home and abroad, he has become more and more
convinced that the thing is eminently practical,
and worthy the attention of all who desire the
advancement and prosperity of the State
1t is fast becoming here in this country
question, how the least ground can be made to
produce the most value. With our foretathers
it was different question, given an unlimited
quantity of ground, how can the least labor turn
| out the largest product SlOyenly modes OF
culture and crops that required little care or
neatness, were the natural results of an extern
sive surface of rich ground, and scarcity OF
hands. 1t has been corn after corn, and cotton,
cotton to the end Of the chapter; very naturally
too, because such things with virgin soil, and
sparse population, were the most profitable IN
that day. But, the cream of the soil has been
all SKINNED away; families have grown up and
divided the old homesteads-worn as they are
| immigration has demanded room also, and
new modes of culture must be devised, and
people must set themselves to solve the other
problem too. When they begin to work at it
in earnest it will be the Inauguration of new
era and better one, which hope is not far OF.
Facilities Of communication with the world
opens new markets. We can now sell fruits
| hops, willow twigs, ground peas, and best Of
all, wheat. Many things now bring money,
which our fathers planted in patches, for family
USE and threw the overplus away. Cannot
vines be made a source Of revenue to the State,
and of comfortable subsistence to families, con-
fined to small portions of ground but willing to
work for living? Let us see what we are
promised in what has already been done. The
vineyards in the vicinity of Cincinnati are cul-
tivated almost exclusively by Germans. They
labor in them with their wives and children
the cultivation is light and after the first prep
aration of the ground, all the members Of the
| family can assist Each acre so cultivated will
produce one year with another, three hundred
and fifty gallons of wine, at low estimate,
worth one dollar per gallon. The average Of
some vineyards is far above this, some below
it; but this is fair average and safe one for
our calculations Suppose it to be only half
| that, or one hundred and seventy-five gallons.
My head vine-dresser, himself a German, and
experienced in the business, tells me that a
man and his family will cultivate three acres
with difficulty, and two and half acres with
ease. Take the lowest estimate and we have
S437 this on two and half acres, without
hired labor But this calculation will be con-
sidered by those more versed in the business,
ridiculously low l put it so to show with
what certainty on how small a portion of land
an industrious family may make a support.
Seven hundred dollars would be a much more
reasonable calculation of the value of their
produce, leaving out the ordinary productions
of kitchen garden. 1t is for this class that
the introduction of the vine culture will do
the most. The class who tire of living from
hand to mouth, tending corn on rented land,
and who finally, with their families and a cart,
wend their weary way to the swamps of Ar
kansas, Missouri and Texas-or worse still,
give up in despair, and take to politics and the
grog-shOp.
Passing by the amateur, (who will cultivate
his vineyard as he does his roses profitable or
not) the man of capital has every inducement
to embark in this business as a source of profit.
The annual expense per acre of cultlvating a
vineyard has been estimated with the utmost
accuracy. 1t amounts to about sixty dollars.
Independent of the wine made, the sale Of cut
tings each year nearly pays the expense of
cultivation. The crop has been estimated
above in rough manner. Three hundred gal
Ions are very safely calculated on. Mr.. Blu
chanan one year made eight hundred and TWEEN
|
four hundred gallons to the acre. When the
wine is prepared and bottled, it will nett $50
per cent. upon these calculations; but every
thing is put at the lowest, as when sold from
the press, after fermentation.
We can hardly conceive the immense addi-
ton to the wealth of TennesSee-or its capac-
ity for increased population and power, should
it be found that its soil and climate are adapted
10 +bic c,1It,1ra oDd Ire citi1anc nncouraUpd n
pursue it.
There is every reason to hope that we are
peculiarly well situated in this respect. We
have the climate of the South of Europe, and
our calcareous hill sides afford the elements of
soil every where thought most desirable. The
vine flOurishes under more varieties of climate
and soil than any other plant intended for the
use of man, | believe, Indian corn not except
ed. From the sunny plains of Persia, to the
cold and misty shores of England, it has push
ed its way through Europe, becoming better at
this place and worse at that, but pervading
every country, and hailed as a blessing. In
our country it Is Indigenous. Nature herself
has marked out our adaptedness.
Its culture has not heretofore been general
for several obvious reasons. In the first place,
we were not wine growing emigrantS, and had
too much while it was more profitable to do,
to take time to learn. Not until the present
generation has the immigration from wine pro-
ducing countries been very large, and the APP
| plication of their own habits Of agricultural
management is just beginning to attract atten-
ton
Quite early, however, in the West, intelli-
gent and far seeing men had turned their
thoughts in this way, and many experiments
were made to introduce the business, with but
little success We had not learned enough
and, more than all, had not found the right
kind of grape 1t lay at our feet, and we were
striving to acclimate the European grapes
they themselves, being strangers in Europe,
old natives of Persia. They refused to cross
the ocean after that, died out, and became bar
rem, and almost ruined all hope of our wine
making at all Daniel Webster declared that
we never could; we lacked the volcanic element
in our soil, and would have to give it up. We
were lothe to think So Mr. Longworth, Of
Cincinnati, especially, hung on to the idea of
acclimating the grapes Of Europe. 1t is admi-
rable 10 read of the pertinacity with which he
struggled after this object, regardless of ex-
pense, and hopeful after defeat. Hear what he
says "There never was year, for twenty
years, that did not collect foreign grape roots
from some of our Eastern cities ! also i'm
| ported over 5OOO grape roots from Madeira, Of
all their best wine grapes as many from the
middle part of France and from Germany. All
! lived, and were cultivated for few years, and
| finally discarded. AS last trial, imported
5000 roots, composed Of "a varieties of grapes,
| from the mountains Of Jura, in the north part
Of France, where the vine region suddenly
ends. Their vineyards are for months covered
with snow. My success was no better than
/ IL.
aging enough to drop the kettle at last but
Mr. Longworth had the true grit, and hit it
at last with native grape. He has earned the
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