Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-04-19
AGRrCuETURAL.

RAISING GRAPEs.-Grapes do best says
a writer, near a river, lake, or the ocean
the moisture in the atmosphere in such
places being very beneficial. In such
locations many varieties flourish, which
would be failure elsewhere. Hybrids
possessing foreign blood often grow
well in such localities, when they fail
in other places. Grapes also grow bet
ter where there is lime naturally in the
soil. If we plant vineyard where the
well water is all soft, there is much
more danger of a failure than where
the water is hard; but still, as | said, l
claim that purely native grapes, and
none others, can be made TO grow well
in any soil.
In the first place, the land must be in
a highly fertile state, just as one would
make it to produce very good crop of
corn, and nothing more; and the same
manure that is used for corn, or garden
vegetables, is good for grapes; but If
commercial fertilizers have TO be re-
sorted to finely ground bone dust is the
best. The old idea that land must be
trenched eighteen inches to two feet
deep for grapes exploded long ago. All
you have to do, after your land has be-
come highly fertile by growing previ-
Gus crops heavily manured, is to plow
it about foot deep, or spade it that
depth, if in garden where plow can
not be used. Then set out your vines,
one to three wears old, two years being
best, about eight inches deep, spreading
the roots out carefully, and when any
are very long, they may be cut on
within foot or two OF the stem of the
lo,, of ha
of the roots bent around, which is a
very bad way of setting vines. When
they are thus placed in position, cover
the roots with about four inches OF
earth, and tread it firmly about them
then throw in part of shovel OF ma
nure directly over the roots, tread 1t
down, then fill up with soil, and the
setting is done; but you should previ-
ously have cut down the canes of your
vines 10 two or three buds each.
WooD ASHES AS A Potash FERTILE
ZER.-From a very elaborate and thor
eugh investigation of the composition
of wood ashes from household fires, by
Prof. Storer, it appears that these con-
tain. unleached and dry, about Sls per
cent of potash. somewhat more than the
lowest grades of German potash salts.
Either leached or unleached, the dry
ashes contain about two per cent of
phosphoric acid, of which none occurs
in the German salts. In Storer's field
experiments, wood ashes (unleached)
applied in large quantities brought
larger yields of barley beans and ruta-
bagas than farm-yard manure, city
stable manure, or any single potash salt
as sulphate, carbonate, or even nitrate.
In commenting upon these remarks,
Storer saws: "Wood ashes are more
serviceable than any single potash salt,
not only because they contain some
phosphoric acid, lime, magnesia, and
the less valuable elements of plant food
but because considering them merely as
potassic manure, they contain a mix
ture of potash salts. 1t may be re-
garded as well nigh certain that a
given amount of potash applied in the
form of appropriate mixtures of sui
phate, carbonate, silicate and chloride
of potassium, will generally speaking,
do more good than when applied in the
form of either one of these compounds.
But in wood ashes we find mixture of
these salts at hand; not the best mix
ture, perhaps, but one already formed,
and in this country at least very easily
obtained.