The New era. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1865-1871, 1865-10-12

soil, season, and culture, from 5Obushels
upwards, yield of 500 bushels per acre
having been known, and even 900 BUSH
els of large reds.
Excellent crops of wheat are usually
obtained Hon. James Burley has more
than once secured 40 bushels per acre,
and Others have had similar success,
While the usual average is about the same
as for the State of Ohio, scarcely more
barley dO very well, and good meadows
produce from two to three tons of dry
hay per acre.
Farmers formerly threw their manure
into the river; they are now learning
something of it's value, and are beginning
to husband carefully their resources of
| fertilization. AS means of enhancing
| fertility; the value of sheep is beginning
to be appreciated. An instance may be
given of an old field grown up in briers,
which, with no other manure than the
droppings of sheep, aided a little by the
folding of mules, gave a return of 100
bushels of corn per acre.
This county forms the junction of the
| Panhandle" with the great Nirginian
pan itself, and partakes largely of its
characteristics, a diversified surface,
slopes sometimes gentle and sometimes
and a soil of more than general fertility,
whether in valley or upland.
Ohio county, in which Wheeling is sit
uated, is in a high state of cultivation,
supporting, from 81 ,4S7 acres of improv-
ed land, amounting to less than two
townships OF the government surveys,
AL horses and mules, ], 4Smilch cows,
246 working cattle, 1880 other cattle,
| 10000 sheep, 1924 swine, worth alto
gether, 1888, 09O; and producing 2O,O4S
bushels of wheat, 5,639 of rye, 1873, 43O of
corn, 50, 101 of oats, % ,O72 of barley, 1872
of buckWheat, q ,449 of Irish potatoes,
| s23 of sweet potatoes, Us, AIS pounds of
| butter, 102, 032 pounds of wool, 6, 479 tons
of hay, besides the value of $14 ,42O in
garden products, $40, lain fruits, $26, $3.50
in slaughtered animals, and a variety of
other products.
| form and very gratifying success in the
vicinity of Wheeling, both on the hill
| slopes, at the top or near the bottom, and
also on the islands of the river. Low
lands, especially islands, have been avoid
ed in other localities as sites for Vine
yards, but a look at the islands of this
| vicinity will suffice to solve the mystery
of their adaptedness. If subject to over
| flow, it is only at rare intervals of winter
or spring floods, the water soon subsid-
ing, and settling through the gravelly
substratum with rapidity almost coinci-
dent with the subsistence Of the river it.
self. If the vine We're potted by slxilful
gardener, the drainage would scarcely
be superior. In such soil a great ex-
pense for trenchiIr is an entirely unne-
cessary part of the labor of preparing
ground for a vineyard. The island at
Wheeling, known as Zane's island, and
owned by descendants Of the original
owner and pioneer of that name, has
large vineyard, which gives annually a
yield greater than the average yield of
American vineyards. When new vines
are added, the ground is broken tho
roughly sixteen inches deep, with three
horses, then furroWed, and holes dug one
foot deep in the burrows for the reception
of the vines. c. l.. Zane, of the pro-
prietors, claims an average product of
800 gallons of wine per acre.
a fine vineyard of j. B. Ford and
others, a few miles below Wheeling, on
the breast of one of those heavy slopes,
is a good illustration of the capabilities
of the bluff land for grapes. Being COW
cred with a heavy forest growth, the eX-
higher than it otherwise would have
been. The timber felled, and the stumps
dug out, a furrow of twenty inches deep
was cut with mammoth plough, and
the roots so effectually eradicated that no
sprouts have ever appeared. The soil
was clayey loan, with an admixture
of shale. The vineyard comprising 14a
acres, and with enclosures and building
improvements cost about $500 per acre
exclusive of the land, which overlies
coal mine. The product of the fourth
year from planting was 1000 gallons of
wine, mainly Catawba; the fifth year
(1S63) yielding 1000 gallons, or nearly
three hundred per acre.
Few localities in the country can claim
so large and sure results of vine culture
during ten years past as are shown in
in this county. 1t is all interest rapidly
growing here, and evidently destined to
continue in prosperity.
Other fruits succeed here admirably. |
Among pears, the Bartlett, Seckel, and
Duchess d'Angouleme seem to be favor
ties, and some, when asked to name six
most desirable varieties, would duplicate |
the three already given. The Winter
Nelis gives high satisfaction as winter