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Grafting Grape Vines.
Mr. Editori —I send 3 011 an ac¬
count ot my (experience.in grafting
1100 grape vines this last Spring.
There are on this place about 45 acres
in grapes of nearly all the leading va¬
rieties; among them there are about
20 acres ol that celebrated grape, the
forty Scuppernong; the rest consist of about
Catawba, varieties; among them arc the
which,.ot Isabella, Black July, etc.,
late years, have proved a
disappointment to all who have them
in their vineyards To remedy this
I concluded to cut them down and
graft them with the following varie
ties: Concord, Ives’ Seedling, Clin¬
ton, Martha, Allen s lied Hybrid, and
a few other varieties. I commenced
about the 10 th of March last, but was
about a week behind, as the sap was
coming up very fast. My mode of
operation was as follows: I dug the
dirt from the roots till I met a smooth
place on the stock, taking care to de¬
stroy as little of the roots as possible.
I then sawed it oil in a slanting cut,
as I am positive that it is better than
a square one, for this reason, that all
the gummy matter which ooaos from
the cut, together with the excessive
moisture,'instead of accumulating on
the stock to tho great injury of the
scion, makes its way. down the sloping
cut, and the scion and stock will unite
quicker and make a healthier granu¬
lation than on a square cut. I next
cut off about one half an inch of tho
cud of the slope for the scion to rest
on. I did not make ali the stock
smooth, only around the edges. I
next got a small hatchet ground as
sharp and keen as possible, so as to
make a cut instead of a slit, as 1
think the cut best in all cases. I
next prepared the scions with shoul¬
ders, leaving whole just wood enough to
keep the bark and perfect. Tho
scion should be a little thinner on
the inside than on the outside; it
should bo but two eyes long, unless
the joints arc very short, and then
there ought to be three. I next
split, or rather cut, the stock, insert¬
ing one scion in each. I used no
wrapping of any kind, as the stocks
being ten years old, would hold the
scion like a vise. I next filled up
the hole even with the top eye, and
I considered the work done. At
present writing I can show Concord
1)5 per cent., 20 feet long, with well
formed, healthy bunches of grapes on
them; Clinton, about 25 feet, 95 per
cent.; Ives’, 20 feet, 90 percent;
Martha, 50 out of 75 , 15 feet, and
all the other varieties in proportion.
I would not have lost so many were
it not for dogs hunting rabbits iu the
grafted portion of the vineyard. 1
went over them once a week and
pulled off all suckers as they made
their appearance. I pinched out all
laterals', and now 1 have finally
checked them. I expect a full crop
of grapes from these vines next year,
so there is but oue year to wait for a
full crop from vines that were worth¬
less for the last six years, and would
continue to be so but for grafting
them. I advise all who have those
worthless varieties not to delay a
moment, but graft them immediately.
I intended to try some cxpei
in grafting graphs in August, of
success o 1 which I will inform you
due time. There is more f*
learned in this branch of the
and I am confident of my ability
ferret some of it out.
The scions for drafting should be
kept dry, the dryer the belter, pro¬
vided their vitality is not destroyed,
and I recommend grafting before the
sap rises. I did not take extra pains
in grafting this time. I graft* d as
many as 200 per day. If any of your
readers can beat this 1 would like to
hear from them and their mode
operation. P. II. Parker, in Ex.
Bastrop, La.
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A Suggestion for Farming
Community.
Wc have just made a visit to Spring
Bank, the residence of Rev. C. W.
Howard, near Kingston, where wo
were shown by that gentleman a field
of corn, on upland of medium grade,
which in point of yield will, wo tool
assured, compare most favorably with
any crops now growing on tho best of
our Chickamauga valley lands.
This very gratifying result has been
attained by a process entirely practi¬
cal, and remunerative rather than ex¬
pensive Tho ground was prepared
in tho ordinary way last season and
sown in turnips, which wero fed to
sheep—they being confined by means
of a portable fence to such a strip as
tho roots were eaten from in forty
eight hours. Mr. II. folded one hun¬
dred sheep upon an area of from
thirty to forty feet square, and then
removed the fence to a fresh spot,
until the entire crop had been con¬
sumed. To the fertilization thereby
secured is Mr. Howard indebted for
the corn in question, which may be
safely reckoned as promising from
nine to twelve barrels, of five bushels
each, per acre. Iu the absence ol
such eroatment, twenty bushels would
have been a maximum average yield
from the field. Another signal con¬
sequence of the mode adopted was the
very thorough cleansing by the sheep
of all weeds and shrubs. We do be¬
lieve that a personal examination oi
this test would lead every farmer who
could procure sheep to do likewise,
and wish the occasion would bo availed
of by a committee from our county
and a report thereon.— Catoosa Cour.
--* .©•«--—
Important Experiments in
Chicken Raising.
The following results of careful ex¬
periment in 1 ho raising of chickens,
and the preliminary arrangements
there to, will be interesting to all who
would raise fowls for mai kef, expect¬
ing to make the business profitable:
“A11 experiment with thirty liens
and one rooster, was tried for sixty
days, as also a rooster with six hens
for the same length of time, to see
what would be the effect as a matter
of fact in the two processes ol breed¬
ing fowls, and to ascertain tho (fleet
upon tho embryo iu the egg, alter
the expiration of sixty days in the two
lots of fowls, which of course were
not allowed to communicate with each
other, nor any other fowls. I
“The result ascertained was ibis,
that at the expiialien of the sixiy
days the embryo in the eggs of 1 ho
six liens was found tu he double the
size ol those of (ho thirty hens, and
that hut few of the eggs hatched in
setting of the hems among the thirty
fowls, while nearly every one of the
egg3 were hatched from those obtained
from the six hems; and the vigor and
strength of the chickens of those of
the six hens at the time of the hatch¬
ing was fully equal to those from the
hatchings of the thirty hens a week
old.
“It will be nccoss; ry only to slate
that neither of these lots ol fowls were
confined, but bad a large tango, and
were the result of the breeding of
fowls that hud been kept, in the same
manner for a series of genegotiona,
neither had they been degenerated by
breeding the in-and-in, but with reference
vigorous to production chickens. of healthful and
broods of
(jKo. 1\ Wilcox,
la Pomeroy's Democrat.
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What Fowls to Keep.
A Committee appointed by the
Farmers’ Club of New York to visit tho
poultry show, and report what breed
of poultry to keep, made a report to tho
Club, ot which the following is the
substance:
What breeds aio at present most
prized 1 Answer—Different breeders
disagree, but it is at present thought
that the majority prefer the Houdans,
dark and light Brahmas, and Leghorns.
Are pure breeds preferable ? A.
—Tho pure breeds are better than
halt-breeds, as layers, but not quite
so hardy.
What fowls are best layers ? ‘ A.—
White Leghorns and Aylesbury ducks.
Which grow fastest and make most
dressed meat ? A.—Crcvo Occurs,
Light and dark Brahmas and Ayles¬
bury ducks.
For eggs and flesh both, which are
the best '{ A.—lloudans.
For flavor and tenderness of flesh,
which breed excel ? A.—lloudans,
Dorking or Game, and Rouen ducks.
For mothers, which have you found
best? A.—Game and Dorking.
Is the Dorking hardy in climate ?
A.—No:
What feeding and rango do you
recommend ? A.—Ground feed in
the morning, mixed with warm water,
whole grain at night, a little meat
occasionally in the Winter, with sonic
broken Royster shelly "ail the range
possible, ami a good warm house are
all that is necessary.
What is your opinion of poultry
raising on a large scale ? A.— It can
be dotie with great profit if the ground
and houses are large enough. Every
hundred fowls should have at least an
acre.
A petulent old lady having refused
a suitor to her niece, he expostulated
with her, and requested her plainly to
divulge her reasons. “I see the vil¬
lain in your face,” said she. “That is
a personal reflect ion," answered the
lover.
“Ben, how is your sweetheart get¬
ting along ?*’ “Pretty well, 1 guess;
she says I needu’t eall any more.’’
During nnr late war, tharc was a
young man in tin* army who did not
join of his own free will. He had
been drafted. Ho was not a brave
young man ; quite otherwise. One
day, during,a bloody battle, our young
friend showed such a largo white
feather that tho captain was obliged to
threaten him with his pistol in order to
keep him from running awav alto
gethcr. Then the youth began t<>
cry. “Y’ou ought to ho ashamed of
yourself,■’’ said the captain ; you’re no
better than a baby. “I wish l was
—a—baby,” blubbered our hero, an
a gal hahy at that.
An orator, in appealing to tho
“bom* and sinew,”said: “My IVfcitds,
1 am proud to see around mo to-night
the hardy yeomanry ol the land, for
l love the agiieultural interests of tin'
country; and well may I love them,
follow citizens, for 1 was born a far
mer ; the happiest days of my youth
were spent in tho peaceful avocations
of a son of tin' soil. If I may he al¬
lowed to use a figurative expression,
my friends’, I may say 1 was horn be¬
tween two rows of corn. “A pump¬
kin, by thunder,” exclaimed an ine¬
briated chap just in front of the stage
“What are 3*011 about, my dear ?”
said a grandmother to a little boy, who
was idling about the room, and casting
furtive glances at a gentleman who
was paying a visit. “I am trying to
steal papa’s hat out of the room with¬
out, letting the gentleman see it, for
papa wants him to think he’s out.”
A sportsman in Richmond, Y'a,
recently mistook the red turban of a
colored lady, which lie saw moving
about through the branches for a robin
and lodged a charge of shot in if . The
supposed robin promptly retaliated
with a brick.
Evidently tho preachers of Lump¬
kin are not built oil a small scale.
The Telegraph has this : “The chur¬
ches were filled by their respective
pastors on Sunday.” Iu this case,
the congregations had to look in the
windows.
“My dear,” said a husband to his
better half, after a quarrel, “you will
never be permitted to go to heaven.”
“Why not?” “Because you will l»e
wanted as a torment down below.*’
A }*oung lady seeking a situation
was interested in an advertisement for
some one to do li^ht housekeeping
So she wr >te to the advertiser, a.sxing
where thelight-houso was,and it three
was any way of getting to shore or.
Sundays.
Ti jo figures in tho absolutely latest
style of Dolly Varden are so delight¬
fully largo that it takes two young
ladies to show one of them properly.
They have to go arm in arm and keep
step or else the effect is spoiled.
Seme men arc always bragging of
their ancestors, and their grcatPdescent
That’s what is the matter with them,
their great descent. Such men a! ways
remind me of nn old goo.se trying to
hatch out a paving etoue. — Billings.