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There are thousands of gentlemen in
the South possessed of ample means,
that are not realizing 5 per cent, on
the capital invested (many losing money
by cotton culture), that would, if fully
convinced of the profits to be derived
from the cultivation of this grape enter
extensively into planting, culture and
manufacture of the products of this
vine. That it will pay a larger divi
dend on the investment of capital and
labor than any other known agricultur
al product, is an inoontestible fact that
1 shall endeavor to prove by statistics
and figures that cannot fail to convince
any candid and disinterested mind.
As an illustration I propose to give the
cost of a vineyard of 20 acres for ten
years, and its resultant profit. In pre
paring the following specifications I
have drawn on the published state
ments (to a certain extent) of J. Van
Buren, Dr. Wyche, A. I. lhitner and
others, well known contributors to
Southern, agricultural journals.
In the Southern States millions of
acres of land, suitable for the produc
tion of Scuppernong grapes, can be
obtained for five dollars (or less) per
acre. Sandy loam soils, of medium
fertility ;iml inclining to be moist, (not
wet) are considered best adapted for the
full development of the vine and fruit
of this remarkable grape. The soil
should contain phosphoric acid, lime
and potash. If deficient in these pro
perties they should be artificially ap
plied. Soils that will produce twenty
five bushels of com per acre, are • con
sidered sufficiently fertile to produce
large crops of this grape. In locating
a Scuppernong , v ineyard a moderate
level soil will he found preferable. The
ground should contain vegetable hu
mus : if jjpficient the land should be
sown in peas the season previous to
planting, to be turned under about tlie
time the peas come into blossom ; and
if practicable, scatter broadcast from
ten to twenty bushels of caustic lime
to the acre. In a week or ten days sow
a second crop of peas, aud about the
middle of October turn under again
with a Brindley, or some other good
two horse plow. The soil will now he
in a good condition to prepare for
planting, which may be done from the
first of December until the first of
April. (The writer has successfully
planted the Scuppernong as late as the
first of May.) The land should he
prepared with a team of two mules,
horses or oxen and a good turning
plow (Brindly’s will do,) This should
he followed with a good subsoil plow
drawn by a team of tw r o mules (the
writer prefers the Murphee souhsoil to
any other that he has ever seen); the
land should he evenly broken at least
one foot and cross harrowed; the more
thorough and even the soil Ls pulver
ized, the better. The land will then be
ready for staking, first determining the
distance at which the vines shall be
planted.
The old system of planting the Scup
pernong is from 20x22 to 40x40 and
trained on arbors about seven feetabove
ground, requiring from fifteen to twen
ty years to cover the arbors and obtain
a full crop of grapes. Few men are
willing to wait the third of a life-time
to realize the full development of any
agricultural product. Time being money
iu this progressive age of brain and
muscle, the writer cast about for some
quicker method of realizing the full
benefit to be derived from the culture
of this prolific grape, and is indebted
to Mr. Kidd, of Atlanta, for the princi
ple features of the following innova
tion on the old arbor system. After
the soil has been thoroughly prepared,
as above directed, the land is stalked
oft’ ten by fifteen feet. In order that
the rows shall be straight each way, it
BANNER OF THE SOUTH AND PLANTERS’ JOURNAL.
is neoessaiT that two lines shall be
Iran at right angles fora base: say
j one on the north and the other on the
! west. Then prepare a line CO yards
1 long (or as long aa can be strained
i level), fasten each end to a strong stake
18 inches above ground; the stake
i should be about four feet long and
sharjiened to a point at the lower end
; and flat on top. Next fasten red tags
j to the line at every ten feet, stretch the
| line tight on the side of the field you
i wish the rows to run; have small stakes
; (narrow strips of shingles will answer),
stick one at each tag, then one more at
J each stake; carry 60 yards, or as far as ,
; your line will stretch level. Then strain <
your line and drive the stakes again,!
i setting a small stake at every tag. Now
take another line and fasten tags at
every fifteen feet. Commence at the
two outside stakes on the base line: j
drive your stakes with your line stretch-1
ed; then set the small stakes at every |
j tag; move forward to the next stakes, j
\ ten feet and repeat the same across the
| plot and your land will be staked at j
! perfect right angles ten by fifteen feet, j
i Now excavate holes at each stake about J
: three feet in diameter, and from nine to !
j twelve inches deep. Iu the center of
j the hole dig six inches deeper, and in
seit a stake eleven and a-lialf feet long.
Fill the holes two-thirds full with leaf
mold, inverted sods, or old well com
posted manure. Leached ashes, old
leather, bones, ■slag from iron furnaces,
may all be used to advantage. In fill
ing, one side of the hole should be
j filled up, leaving the other side sloping
; out from the stake at an angle of from
65 to 45°. Good healthy layered
I vines of one year’s growth, cut back to
two buds, and the bruised roots re
moved by an upward cut with a sharp
pruning knife, and the long roots short
ened into twelve inches should be
planted. In planting the crown of the
vine should be placed at the stake and
level with the surface of the land ; the
roots evenly spread out and lightly cov
ered with surface soil; a handful of
good superphosphate scattered or mixed
with the filling soil, will give the vine
a vigorous and healthy start. If the
vines are planted during the Winter,
the filling should be lightest at the
stake to allow the water to run off.
Jlf planted in the Spring the soil
I should be left slightly dishing or slop
ingto the centre. But one cane (or stem)
, should be allowed to grow, all others
jto be nibbed off fir pinched off. The
! cane is to 1 • t mined vertical o the
stalk. As near as practicable leave
one lateral shoot on each side of the
cane at any two feet or at 24, C, 8, and
10 feet. The next Winter or Spring
these side or lateral shoots are to be
trained horizontal to the trellis con
: structed in the following mode: posts
]of durable timber should be set firmly
at seven and a half feet or half way be- j
tween each vine and one strong post j
ten feet from the outside vine at both !
ends on each row; the outside post of
each row should be tennoned in a j
I sleeper five feet long, CxC or oxß and j
| braced ; the sleeper buried two feet |
under ground. The whole strain of
the trellis bears on these outside posts,
consequently requiring greater strength
and firmness. No 12 wire is then j
secured to the outside posts and run j
through staples of wire, or a small hole
| bored through each post and strained
i tight at each outside post. The posts
■ should be tenanted a half foot above
; ground and the wire run at 2,4, C, 8
; and ten feet. The latteral shoots are
j then trained right and left to the wires
j and secured with bear grass or other
i soft material. The tendrils will soon
i grasp the wires audVue arms be secure- i
[ ly fastened to the trellis. In four years, j
with favorable growth, the trellis will ‘
present a solid wall of vines filled with
luscious golden grapes and yielding a
larger amount of fruit than can be ob
tained by the old.arbor system in twen
ty years. Then set stakes ten * feet
above ground, three feet from the main
trellis on each side and three feet
apart in the row, (this will leave
four feet space between the rows of
stakes) then train laterals from various
arms to these stakes. These will be
filled in two years thus giving three
times the bearing surface that can be
obtained under the old arbor system and
yielding three times the quantity of
fruit in six years ordinavially produced
by the old plan in twenty years. The ad
vantages claimed for this process of
training arc—first, athreefold yield(this
vine cannot be overloaded like other
grape vines;) second, more uniform
rijiCning of the fruit; thus the grapes
will fie richer in sacherine qualities,
consequently will make wine of supe
rior qualitiy; third, the wine and fruit
secures the full benefit of light, air and
heat, causing more vigorous growth
of vine and earlier maturity, of fruit;
fourth, quicker facility for gathering the
grapes. About the middle of May the
young vines should be mulched with
any material that will not be blown
away, pine straw, spent tan bark, saw
dust, straw or chaff The object is to
counteract the effect of thought and the
extreme heat of summer. By this
procedure the vines if healthy and
well rooted cannot fall to make vigor
j oas growth". Previous to staking out
the vineyard open drains should be
constructed to cany off the water from |
long continued rains and heavy thun
der storms. These drains to be laid
off with a spirit level with a fall of not
less than one inch in ten feet. After
the arbors are filled tlipre will have' to
be an annual shortening in of the shoots
sufficient to keep them from lapping or
becoming matted, and if the canes be
bome too thick they must be cut back
to the main arms.
Fiom the Nashville Banner.
Storms.
OBSERVATIONS ON THEIR RISE AND I'llOG-
ItESS AN INTERESTING STATEMENT.
The Meteorological Committee, ap
pointed at the request of the chief sig
nal officer of the United States, by the
Nashville Board of Trade, composed
of Judge James Whitworth, K. T.
Kirkpatrick, Dr. W. W. Berry, M. S.
Coekrill and E. D. Hicks’ held a meet
ing a few days since and heard the re
marks of Mr. W. D. Gentry, Manager
of the Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph
Company, and also Secretary of the
Nashville Board of Trade, on the sub
ject of meteorological observations.
As the remarks of Mr. Gentry develop
ed some useful information, and con
tain some hints which may prove
valuable to science, we present them
below:
Mr. Gentry said: While in Cincin
nati, at the office of the Western Union
Telegraph, I had at my command all
the circuits of the Western Union
Telegraph Company connecting in
Cincinnati, from every direction. Cin
cinnati is a central point in the tele
graph system of the country, and I
could communicate directly with many
points in the South, also with Washing
ton, Baltimore, New York, Buffalo,
Cleveland, Chicago and all points west
to St. Louis. While so situated, my
attention was called to the fact that the
approach of a storm in the direction
of Cincinnati could he accurately traced
aud the honr indicated with great cer
tainty when it would pass a given
point. All storms come from the west
during the greater portion of the year;
there being only about four months in
the year that storms do not originate j
and come from that direction.
In the summer months, storms are j
not general in their character. They
originate anywhere, and only extend ]
over a small portion of country, some-!
times twenty-five miles, and some
times fifty and one hundred miles. As
to the distances over which storms pass
during the summer months, 1 noticed
that a storm coming up during the
months from October to May at St.
Louis, at 8 o’clock in the evening,
would reach Cincinnati at 2 or 8 o’clock
in the morning, and that there is no
difference in the rapidity of snow and
rain storms. After long seasons of
rain or cloudy weather I noticed that
clear weather would come in the same
way. Commencing at St. Louis, the
clouds would gradually disappear, and
the wave of light spread toward the
east. I found that not only storms
during eight months of the year come
from the west, but that the general
coui-se and extent of territory from
north to south, indicated that there
does exist meteorological divisions, anil
over which these storms passed, of
which there are three—one north of a
line running from the northwest
through Chicago, Cleveland,’ Beading,
Pennsylvania, Trenton, New Jersey,
and converging at a point in the ocean
southeast of Philadelphia. This we
will call the Northern Meteorological
Division. Another division, extend
ing north as far as the lino indicated,
and soutli along a line running from
the west through a point betweei. Cairo
and Memphis to Bowling Green, Ken
tucky, Petersburg, Virginia, Cape
Charles or Fortress Monroe, to a point
in the ocean cast of Albemarle Sound.
This division is fan-shapped. We will
call it the Middle Meteorological
Divisions. The third, or Southern Di
vision, makes the line just described its
northern bundary. I have never had
an opportunity of observing the work
ingot! southern wires to any great ex
tent, and do not know how far south
this division extends, but I presume
that it is about the shape of the
Middle Division, and extends as far
south, in this longitude, as Decatur,
Alabama.
I have observed the difference many
times between the weather in the dis
ferent meteorological divisions. I ob
served to-day that in the middle divi
sion the weather is cold and cloudy. It
has been snowing nearly all day (now
8 o'clock.) The cars coming from Lou,-
isvillc had snow on them this? morn
ing, and we learn that the cold rain
and snow extend as far south as Bowl
ing Green. Here, and as far north as
Franklin, Ky., we have beautiful
bright weather, the sun is shining, and
is not cold. While in New York,
working the wires to Washington, I
have repeatedly noticed like occurrences.
The snow or rain stonn at New York
would extend no farther south than about
Trenton, N. J., and while clear in New
York and as far south as Trenton, the
weather would be wet and stormy at
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washing
ton. The observations have clearly
proven to me the existence of tlie
meteorological divisions described to
you; while I believe that if competent
persons are placed at central points to
observe, the exact boundary lines will
be located more accurately than 1 have
been able to do with my limited time
and opportunity.
1 have observed that the most disas
trous tornadoes or wind-storms- occur
on either side, within seventy-five
miles of the line separating the Middle
from the Southern Meteorological
Division. These tornadoes are gene
rally local, in width from one-half to
two and a half miles, aud passing fre
quently over not more than twelve
miles of country. They frequently
occur in tlie neighborhood of the line,
and sweep down houses, barns, fences,
trees, and everything else in tlie way,
often killing ( r crippling every living
thing in the way You remember the
great disaster at Cave City, Kentucky,
caused by one of these storms last
season. In traveling through Southern
Kentucky you frequently see. the path
way of these dangerous wind-storms
through the forests, with the trees torn
up by the roots and laid as flat as the
ax of the woodman could lay them. I
have also observed that directly after a
general storm of rain, snow or wind,
in either the Middle or Southern Divi
sion, that the reports from steamers
passing oast of our coast, published iu i
New York, Charleston or Savannah |
papers, would contain accounts off
storms oft’ Cape Ilatteras, and as the i
storms in all the divisions sceui to
converge at a point east of Cape Hat j
! ter.vs, I have concluded that the great
1 and continual commotion of the wind
1 and water of Cape Hatteras is caused
|by the currents of air from each mc
| teorologieal division converging there,
j A telegraph operator, with ordinary
! perceptive faculties, can, by working a
wire, detect the presence or absence of
atmospheric electricity, aiid with
proper instruments can measure the
amount of that electricity in the air.
During great electric storms, called the
Aurora Borealis, of which we have
had many this season, telegraph wires
can be worked without battery. My
opinion is that the weather has a great
deal to do with the amount of atmos
pheric electricity, and that a little at
tention in that direction will discover
to us information of great importance
to science. The telegraph can afford
the means. It is tlie most reliable
barometer ever used.
The United States Government has
a desire, and a very laudable one, too,
to develop undiscovered facts in re
gard to these matters. We are called
upon to co-operate with the agent sent
hero by the Government to take oh
nervations, and to commnicate any
facts known to us. This should be
done.
With a view to this end I desire to
make two suggestions. One of the
objects of the Government is to aid
connne.ee on the northern lakes. In
my judgment this can be done by es
tablishing a signal station in the north
ern meteorological division as far in
the northwest as possible. A station
at St. Paul how would be able to in
form points cast of-an approaching
storm in that division, but a station
farther to the northwest would be of
more advantage in giVing more time to
vessels to reach harbor. The other
suggestion I have to oiler is the em
ployment oft he telegraph and thorough
ly practical telegraphers to make ob
servations. Place a telegrapher in the
telegraph center of the United States,
where he can instantly reach every
point, test wires for atmospheric
changes. He would be able to note
and report changes sooner than such
knowledge could be obtained in any
other way. Besides being able to re
port the approach of storms, or any
change in the weather, long before it
would take place, the telegrapher
would be able to make other observa
tions valuable to science, and perhaps
discover facts that would revolutionize
meteorology.
The Fate or the Imreachkrs —lt is
worth the people’s while to mark the fate
that has already visited the chief conspira
tors in tlie matter of impeaching President
Johnson. Ashley, who originated and
proposed the infamous act. in tlie House,
has been repudiated by his then con
stituents, and is now a wandering lecturer
for tlie sale of corner lots in Montana.
Senator Drake, who stood up in his place
aud assailed President Johnson with a de
gree of brutality that would have been
disgraceful to any other body, lias been
buried in tlie political revolution that 1 as
swept over Missouri. Senator Yates, who
came into Ibe Senate trembling under the
weight of his last debauch, to vote for con
viction, though he had heard nothing of
the trial, will soon sink into obscurity by
the action of liis own-party friends in the
Legislature of Illinois. Williams, of Ore
gon, who w-as most bitter and vindictive in
the persecution of the President, lias
: already been repudiated by the people of
i his State. Senator Howard, of Michigan,
i who went to the Capitol on a stretcher in
| order to vote for tlie conviction of the
I President, is on the high way to that po
litical oblivion from which lie will never
| return. Senator Conness, another of the
i President's accusers, has been consigned
i to private life by the people of California,
and has left that Stale to beettme a kind of
1 police-court lawyer in New York. Sena
! toi-Frelingbuysen, of New Jersey, has been
i mustered out of political service through a
verdict of tlie people of his State. Mor
gan, of New York, has shared the same
fate, and Pomeroy,‘of Kansas, will enter
his political tomb when he leaves the Sen
ate in 1876. Morton finds himself in op
position to the will of tlie people of
Indiana, with a prospective order of dis
missal staring him in tie Tace, Willey,
of West Virginia, goes into political re
tiremont alter the fourth of March next,
and the whole band of impeachers is fast
going
"Down to the vde dust from whence they
sprung.
Unwept, unhonortd and unsung.” «
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