National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-02-04

PIP. se-sT, he says:
1.-THE observations contained in the following
| pages should be extensively known. becaus they
furnish remarkable proof Of the principles which
have been stated in the preceding part Of this
| work, both as to the manner N which manure
acts and the origin OF the carbon and the nitrogen
Of P1snts.
in fertility without the application OF any animal
| matters, If the leaves and branches which are
pruDed from the vines are cut up and used ,
| manure for them. According to the following
statements, which merit perfect confidence, the
perfect fruitfulness Of Srfneyard has been main
| tained eight and ten years oy that alone.
IN. Krebs, Of Seeheim. states that nothing
| else is necessary TO manure q vineyard THAI the
leayes and branches taken from the vines them
"'My vineyard has been MANFRED in that way
for eight years without receiving any other kind
4 of manure, and yet more beautiful and richly
Il laden vines could scarcely be pointed out any
where, and my land is in good condition."
Of wines in the earlier and later times u as fol-
| lows: 49,
| branches pruned from the vines themselves, cut
into small pieces and Immediately aiKed with
| the soil; these branches were used as q manure
| long ago in the Bergstrasse."
And he further quotes: AZ we'll remember that
twenty years ago man named Peter Muller
had vineyard which he manured with leaves
| and branches pruned from the vines and cut up
| fine, and continued the same practice for thirty
years; he would hoe them into the soil around
the vines.
| "His vineyard was always in a thriving condi-
tiOn, SO much so that the peasants speak OF It to
this day, wondering how old Muller had SO good
| q vineyard, and yet never used any manure"
Leibg still further quotes. Wilhelm Ruff, Of
/ Schreisheim, writes:
"For the last ten years have been unable to
| place dung on my vineyard because l am too poor
| to buy any. So dug the leaves and branches as
| far deep into the soil as would dung, and COW
| cred them we'll over with the soil, alter they
| were cut into small pieces. This plan Icontinued
| to practice Tor many years, and now nay vines
| grow splendidly, and remain green during the
| whole SummRr in the RreaIagt drnuth ind
"An my neighbors wonder very much how nv
| vineyard is 80 rich, and how obtain so many
| grapes, while they all know that have put no
| dung on it for ten years"
| Thus. It will be seen, we have q multiplicity of
testimony that the vines themselves furnish the
| very best plant food that they can have, and 1t
| suggests question worthy of much cOnstdera-
ton whether the same principle be not true in
regard to all other plants; that is, will not the
returning of fair share OF the stalks and leaves
to the soil Of all vegetables maintain the soil in
a fertile and fruitful condition? We say yes
| Another experienced grower says:
at is neither desirable nor necessary to impart
to the vine too much luXuriOusness. As a gen
eral thing not enough Importance is attached to
q rational method OF manurtng, often required to
assist the growth Of the vine, though an excessive
system of manuring will delay the ripenIng of
the grapes, and impair the quality and quantity
Of fruit and wine produced.
at is very Important that the manure used
should not only furnish to the vine nourishment
but also impart to 1t warmth. Further no
manure should be used which assists the growth
yield of the wine.
"Fresh animal manure is not suitable for vine
yards, as it contains too much heterogeneous nour-
ishment Of excessive richness, and produces wood
at the sacrifice Of fruit 1t is therefore advisable
to mix with 1t masses of ground, for the pur-
pose OF properly dividing the manure. Good
ground is mixed with animal manure, horn shay
ings, ashes, bones, saHdust, dry leaves muck
etc, and frequently stirred or mixed together3
A correspondent of The Garden says he had a
large quantity Of grape vines planted in the open
ground, and trained on poles and wires along the
He says: "In planting these, had the holes
dug about twenty-five inches deep; then threw
into each hole i've or six Jumps Of old plaster,
about the size Of my fist; 1 threw a little earth
over the Jumps, and then planted the vines in the
usual way. The result has been wonderful; the
vines, which were not half an inch thick when
more in diameter and bear finely. The grapes
are also treer from disease. Other vines, not so
treated, are much smaller and produce less the
fruit being also more liable to disease. To try
the effect Of this plaster, in planting two AmerI-
and not the other f1gm PaSSgs 70 IaS one
fast as the other. Last year we dug about the
roots Of the one to which no plaster was put and
among the roots; the trees are now both of the
same size, and though only four years old, are
The reasons for the great advantage Of the old
plaster were tWo-the lime helped to dissolve the
soil, and the Jumps made it loose and porous for
air and moisture to pass freely.
DR.. Crenshaw, Of Virginia, after much expe-
rience and observation, says of soil:
The vine delights in g. loose friable soil,
whether It be sand gravel or loan. Lime Is essen
ttal. Consequently soils containing lime are
best, and where 1t does not exist It should be sup
piled literally. Potash also enters largely into
the composition Of the vine. Consequently slsty
or granite soils which contain considerable per-
centage Of this material are peculiarly favorable
wood smould, muck or well decomposed farm-yard
manure and bone dust. For producing frstclass
wines, however, heavy manuring is injurious.
The vineyard should be on gentle slope facing
east, southeast, south or northeast
"The ground should be thoroughly ploWed and
SUBSIDIZED and II It is not perfectly dry should be
underdrained, as grapes will not be grown sue
cesslullY in wet land The vicinity Of large bodies
Of water is considered favorable"
Long cuttings instead Of short ones are recon-
tsMr. Francis, q Portuguese gentleman, en-
gagged in grape culture in California, plants cut
tings from six to seven feet in length where they
are TO grow in the vineyard, in holes two feet in
diameter and eighteen inches deep so as to be
below the pillow. The cuttings were twisted and
cracked between each Joint, and placed around in
and about three inches from the outer part Of the
holes, and then brought up in the centre to the
The long cutting plan is accompanied with more
labor at the commencement, but the compensa-
ton is truly remarkable, as they have produced
year, though planted but three years and q half
ago, and q vigorous growth Of wood. The con-
trast between them and some short cuttings
planted at the same time is very striking, the
borne no fruit"
kets and fruitstands are supplied with grapes
from California, when the banks OF the Potomac
and other sections Of Virginia and Maryland
might supply just cheaply and of equal quality
The same Is true In regard TO pears.
The same writer says: ~ knew gentleman, in
California, who supplied his table with fresh
grapes from one season to another. His plan was
TO gather, when quite ripe, the largest and finest
punches Of grapes and pack them in saWdqst,
be purchased for trihe at hardware stores.
AFTER carefully packing the desired number Of
dry ground, beneath a shed, where the water
could neither fall nor soak in. Before using the
sawdust, he carefully dried It either In the sun
moisture. We never witnessed the packing pro-
cess, but we know he always had the grapes, and
being buried for months the grapes were as saest
and fnely favored as If just gathered from the
vines; The process is cheap and may be easily
tested"
There are several successful modes Of keeping
grapes over until the succeeding crop. The |
5 trHa and Wfns Reporter says there is great
very early sorts are, in general, poor keepers. |
Hartford and Adirondacs are examples Of the |
may be kept for awhile with considerable ease, |
but 1t soon loses character. The Concord is per-
haps, the shortest lived Of all. Its thin and |
tender skin will hardly suffice to carry It to mar
ket in presentable condition, and frequently |
cracks on the vines tough skin and punches |
Isabella is supposed to be good keeper, but It
too often loses Its flavor after few weeks, par
ticularly If allowed to become dead ripe, as IL did
last fall. Wherever the CHtaHba perfects itself, /
1t is a safe variety for winter keeping. The Iona
is Of the best also. 1t retains its SprituS UiRus
favor for a long time. The Isabella is said to
keep well by those who have tested IL.
Some Of Rogers hybrids promise to be exceed
ingly valuable in this respect. No. keeps well /
and seems to improve in quality. Some Of the
black varieties, such as 4, 10 and 43, have sue
ceeded well with me. Among the reds, No. Is
and Salem seem to equal or surpass all others.
Salem Is much the best quality, and to the ma
jOrtty who eat IL, net surpassed by any other va
riety. Fruit OF this, gathered in September, Is
still in perfect condition and promises to continue
throughout the winter.
Ny next number will go more into details OF
training, pruning and selecting OF sorts for DIFF
ferent localities and climatic conditions together
with more statistics Of what has been accom-
plished in different places by different systems Of
culture. In short, my articles will uniformly
present more accomplished facts than opinions
or theories. In the meantime Potomac" will |
answer all questions presented in these
POTOMAC.