The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1879-12-20
FARM TOPICS.
THE scupPERNoNG GRAPE.

y.sheru readers, some OF them may be
rS@c;ently curious to know more of its
suussI;arities. In common with all the
Essr native varieties, it is di9cious
w. '.,scemus, or in other words the pistil-
~ or fruitful plants have a portion of
s.rect flowers and q portion of imper-
T. flowers in the same cluster, while
ssminate plants have all the flowers
..t;rely destitute of a stigma and pistil,
M are consequently all entirely barren.
re;a being the case, of what use are
Ace latter plantsP They are not need
i iur the fertilization of the fruit-bear-
- norton, as sufficient flowers are per-
e. 70 produce an enormous crop of
sr;t and it makes no difference in the
.rsntity of fruit if there is not stami-
We nlsnt within miles of them. This
! the case with lGbruscG, cordyolia,
1oar;a and rotundyolia. Y. gstiUalis l
Ave never examined critically. l have
hsen cultivating the rotundifolia class
Ar some thirty years or more, and
,ko have proved some forty or
sAv varieties of the other classes
-hich are cultivated at the North.
Some years since l abandoned all ex-
cspt y. retundifolia, which find to be
M only one exempt from disease. l
,ow have quite a large variety under
mltiyation, having raised large num-
her Of seedlings from the seeds of the
Smppernong, which is white or yell
hvish grape, with berries varying in
ip from three-fourths of an inch to
4 one and quarter inches in diameter,
he clusters varying from one to twenty
hxries, and it is the only native grape
vhich carries the Muscat aroma. None
4 the varieties have ever fail to pro-
duce good crops, and the vines are en-
6rely free from disease in vine, leaf and
init. The weight of fruit on each vine
/ / beyond belief by those who have never
sen this class in full bearing. l have
Ibis season had arbors crushed down
With the great weight of the fruit on
dem, although they were built of good,
tout chestnut fence rails. Some grape
mowers complain that the clusters are
10 small; this is not so; each vine is a
Inee cluster in its entirety. In gather
|ns them when ripe, they are shaken
down on to sheets made for the pur-
vose, instead of being picked by hand
Il Is the case with the cluster varieties ;
Ind in so bushels of the berries, which
ne gathered entirely free from stems,
F one win not find rotten or imperfect
Ikrry. NY vineyard, which is a small
one, has this year Welded four gallons
d must or juice per bushel of fruit. /
have one vine, a Seeding from the
scuppernong, raised by myself, which
viii compare very favorably in quality
With the Black Hamburger, while the
berries are from one to one and a quar-
Ter inches in diameter, of black color,
pecklcd with russell. This class OF
grapes always blooms about the 18th OF
June, and consequently the clusters are
never injured by frosts. The growth OF
he fruit is very rapid, the crop being
3ipe by Sept. 25th. Could not this grape
he cultivated in your grape-houses al
The Northp It is killed to the ground
when the mercury gets to zero-does II
get as low as that in your grape houses
u not, your summers are long enough
|snd warm enough to ripen the fruit.
have one variety that ripens the last o.
august. 1t is fine, large black grape
also Seeding from the Scuppernong
Vines of this class are never pruned
and rarely MANFRED or cultivated. Tn
roots running an inch or two below tn
mrface of the ground, cultivation is en-
irely impracticable, and the leaves from
tie vines furnish most of the manur
they get. Stable manure is death to tn
vines, while they delight in lime and de
cayed vegetable matter. Another pc
culiarity is that the vines can not b
propagated from cuttings, as are othe
particles, but only from layers, so tina
is slow process to increase them.-
\ \. Fan Buren,, ClarbesUille, Ga, 4
tonntry Gentleman.
CULTIVATE ORCHARDS.
In the cultivation of fruit trees IN tn
West, it is often observed that trees col
inue to grow year after year, but d
pot bear. Thus apple orchards will b
eome often fifteen years old before beal
ngs and, in fact, many of them nevt
bear good crops. just how to obviat
'his difficulty is a problem that has e.
ercised the ingenuity of our best Gu
tvators all over the West, and I'll
reason why no conclusions have bee
arrived at by our best pomologists, an
That will be generally applicable, is tina
as q rule, the conditions necessary
nccess are as varying as the localitie
coils and other minor integers SURROUND
ng each orchard planted. Shall "
'hen neglect to plant orchards? BY
means. But, say many, there is I
money in fruit. The markets are glu
ped except at certain seasons. Tn
enough, yet this should not prevent al
armer from planting an orchard {
NE best site near his house possible, I
the situation is not adapted to frui
make it so, as far as circumstances W
allow. 1t is true it is better that Il
soil be dry to good depth. 1t is tn
mat orchard trees of no kind will
a n -