The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-10-21
mud ed by washing rains;

per, cent. indeed. t=
Thus highly favored both in soil and eli.
mate, what shall we produce maIniy7 With
sincere dlflldence shall offer n few sugges.
tions in this regard:
In n country so sparsely, settled as ours, and
wherelands are held In such large bodies, the
theory Of adivision of labor is not sound
economy in farming operations. Every farm
porting in NIL respects as 1t can possibly bt
made. In mercantile pnrlance, n farmer should
If possible, be general dealer to ut least tho
extent of his own consumption. Plant ting
therefore, as contradstiuguishedf from farm
ing-by which we understand aspecial deyo
ti0n to cotton, rice, tobacco, or any great sta.
ple,-is liable to this objection, il is not self
sustaining. An imperfect and unwise ar.
range,nent, that Is, by which so many of oul
planters expend the proceeds of their staple
crops for provisions and stock, TINS paying
| double profits and commissions, as we'll as
shipping away the fatness OF their soils every
year and placing nothing back in lieu of it
Every man who tills the soil rs means OF
| living should surely f1rst provide himself with
| eyerythin which his farm will grow before
he plants single seed for sale. Another OBJ
lection TO planting; or special farming, ia thai
| It is ruinouslv destructive OF fertility and
| an enemy TO the Improvement of lands. p: It is
I believe, an accepted truth that there are nc
means of permanent improvement in ouI
soils equal TO the cultivation of some of the
grasses and the rearing of hocks, which both
retain and return fertility TO the earth. We arc
here directly On the dividing line between the
planting and the grazing regions of the United
States, and by n judicious and scientific inter.
minglipGo OF both Igiye il rs my unhesi ia ting
opinion that we stand in n better position to
secure wealth by agriculture! means than any
other people on the continent. o.
To successfully daveiope the agricultural
wealth of unr country j. deemit not only ne
cessary to reform our planting system, but to
open out new paths and to dtuerStly to the at
most ertent o,.r productions. This will secure
immunity, to n great extent, against he Gcci-
dents of.the seasons, enlarge our markets, and
bring into profitable employment much IN,
horns Of women and children-now so little
| used. And here permit me to remark that
regret to see that your committee, III making
up their very large list of premiums, have
other information in regard to many-to us
lnew-departmeuts of industry. change in
this respect is inperatirely demanded by our
altered circumstances. In rejecting upon the
many new fields of agricultural enterprise
upon which our people might en- ter, am for
cibiy impressed with the opinion that the two
most promising of sure results and best
adapted to our scarcity of capital and labor,
are the cultivation of the vine in the lowlands
and the orchards and dairies OF the highlands
in these two States. No surer road to fortune,
it seems to me, can. be found than lies here
for intelligent industry.
The Scuppernong grape alone, with its vari-
Gus crossings, is q source of immense profit.
1t is extremely hardy, its culture is simple,
and since the clusters Of Eschol, it is perhaps
the most wonderfully prolific grape in the
world. It's home is, too, in that sandy belt
covered by the long leaf pine, heretofore erro-
neously considered almost valueless.
Here, without trenching at all upon valuable
grain soils, enough wine could be made from
1t 10 supply the markets of the world, and
place even in the cabins Of the poor purer
and healthier drink than Is now seen in the
salons of the rich and great .s..
A statement of the yield and the sales of
wine by q few gentlemen who have recently
engaged in this business in North Carolina
would make many man stare who continues
to gather ten bushels of corn, or fve OF wheat
per acre, from his worn-out fields, after the
manner of his fathers.
|. The capacity of this grape is indeed almost
marvellous. i have derived sometnformation
in regard to the subject from practical and
experienced grower of it in Duplin county,
North Carolina, which give as follows
An acre will bear twenty-one vines forty feet
apart At three years old each vine yields one
peck of grapes OF five, two bushels; at ten,
twenty five bushels atfifteen, forty bushels; ;
many vines actually bearing fifty bush
els. A bushel of best grapes, weighing
sixty pounds, will make four gallons Of
Juice, which will yield about three and 4
half gallons of wine, readily commanding in
market so per gallon. The pomfce will
make five gallons of vinegar, worth fifty
cents per gallon. We have, thus $u .25 as the
proceeds Of one bushel; $3.50 as the proceeds
proceeds of one acre. A result that almost
exceeds belief, and / state il with tdiftdence on
what appears to me reliable authority Even
reducing every item by nine tenths, 1T would
still leave this grape the most prolific ana
most profitable one in the world which
verify believe it TO be- And am assured by
the best authority in the State that $1,000 per
acre is a verymoderate calculation. The Ia
Dor and expenditures are very trlllmg, the
whole not exceeding about thirty three cents
per gallon, including cost Of real estate.
As to the wine itself, when properly made,
Professor Charles Il. Jackson, in the Patent
Clice ReDOrt of 1869, says of it: " The rich fla
vor OF This grape renders it peculiarly valua
BILE, the wine having the flavor and bouquet OF
the celebrated Tokay wine OF Hungary. 1his
grape, however, cannot be cultivated in the
open air north of Virginia, and is native OF
North Carolina. 1t is desirable that eXten.
siye vineyards should be: established in that
State expressly for the cultivation OF TINS
grape, which will make 4 wine that viii be
most eagerly sought for US the best OF Ameri
can native wines. :"
With regard to the difficulty existing in so
calm 4 climate ours of preventing the
ascetic fermentation in the manufacture OF
wine, suppose there need be no further .trou-
be I believe that is now pretty We'll esta-
b1ished that although our summers are long,
and the grape ripens while the season 1s yet
too warm to make wine, the proper temperi-
ture can be obtained by means of vaults and
cellars 10 secure the vinous fermentation in
any part of the States whilst in the frostless
belts Of the highlands the grape has been
known to hang on to the vine in perfect keep
ing until December. This is, Of course, the
most favorable of all possible conditions for
vine culture-a climate sufficiently warm to
ripen the grape, and sufficiently cool at the
season of the vintage TO secure the ylnous
fermenta tion-sixty five degrees being cool
enough for. that purpose. .f
A single fact is sufficient TO show the capa-
city of this country for grape culture Inc
Scuppernong and the far-famed Catawba,
the two best and most productive varieties Oh
the continent, are natives Of North GtfOIi1la
Strangers have transplanted them 10 no better
soil and far rudeF and less congeniat cline,
and grown rich upon their culture, whilst we
plough our worn.out cornfelds, hoe our soil
destroying tobacco, and Talk OF the hard tlmes
and the scarcity OF money r,.. ~
The mountains of this country present an
appearance rather different from the general
order of nature. The greatest elevations in
America east of the Rocky mountains are
found in Western North Carolina, which Pro-
fessor GuZot calls the elimination of the Ap-
.palachian system. ... .- a,
Unlike most mountainous regions, there Is
here no barrenness They are clothed with
timber to the very topmost ridge, and
Sc ven -tenthS of their surface displays u
soil of wonderful fertility, generally in
creasipg in richness as you go up. Set
Elements were of course first made in the
valleys and on the lower slopes, and the
high mountai sides were supposed worthless
except for the wild pasturage furnished by the
pea vine and the Indigenous grasses. The
forest growth of their rich coyes and inacces-
sibie rayines, consisting in part OF every va
riety of oak, walnut, wild cherry, white pine,
hemlock, and mahogany, is perhaps unsur-
passed in value and magnificence in the Uni
Ted States Recently, however, few enter
prising citizens there are demonstrating by
experinent that these fertile mountains are
really our richest treasures. They are found
to be- Invaluable for the production OF grass,
whilstIcorn, oats, rye, po otatoes, and al other
crops RED uiring GOODNESS and moisture, flourish
with most remarkable exemption from
tried there recently which is eminently