Fruit-The cult formerly: but it is cor enough for family use. acre, that the culture ir 三 benefit from going inte the smut unt.. this ver: cutting, and I have aver. crop that was considerably injured prit. Whest ut Belts crop as it was thiry or ferty years ago; nor is the yie... neulas great. Yours, respectity. Hon. THOMAS EWBANK. Commissioner of Patents. SAML I MARTIN OHIO. COLLAMER P. O., CUYAHOGA COUNTY Ohio, SIR: In attempting briefly to reply to some chard, fo cientet s and sug ; se that, as a འ་ to so few t se you the f when my trees yielded abundantly, I built a fence, in my orchard, around two of the trees, of common, ordinary, sour fruit, and shut up a hog, as the apples began to fall in the enclosure. There I suffered him to remain, with a slight protection from the storms, until near Christmas. On slaughtering him at that time, I found him as good, for aught I could see, as one fed in an adjoining enclosure, with the slop of the house and what corn he would eat. A few years ago I was at Hudson, in Portage county, when a gentle. man connected with the Western Reserve College there, and an extensive and practical farmer, was showing me his orchard, of some two or three acres of apple trees, situated near his house, in which he was in the habit of turning his hogs to pick up the falling fruit. During the discussion of the subject, which the fine specimen he exhibited had elicited, he assured me he had frequently fattened his hogs in that orchard from the falling fruit, and had, in that way, made more pork than he could possibly have made from the same quantity of ground planted with Indian corn. Thus, not only saving all the expense of ploughing the ground, planting, and tending the crop, but also reserving a large portion of the fruit for family use; and, in the early part of the season, making use of the grass among the trees, in pasturing his horse, before the fruit began to fall. On Grape-growing. In this department of agriculture, but little, very little, has been done in northern Ohio. The subject is but little understood, and the cultivation of the grape has been almost entirely neglected. Go through the Western Reserve, with its millions of acres, comprising the whole northeastern section of our State, and I very much question if, among all our worthy and industrious farmers who occupy it, you find one in twenty who has a grape vine in his garden or on his farm, unless a native of spontaneous production; and if, perchance, you do find, here and there, one solitary individual, in what condition will you find it? Why, if fortunately, or by mistake, planted in a situation favorable to its existence, it is tangled and matted together with the accumulated tendrils and laterals of a dozen years' growth, and, in appearance, much resembling a huge brush-heap overrun with brambles; and but that kind Nature, with a more liberal hand than its unfortunate proprietor, (as if to intimate to man the propriety and necessity of regular and liberal pruning,) had assumed the neglected duties of the vinter's art, and repeatedly curtailed its rampant growth, by killing off and reducing its labyrinthine excess of innumerable and crowded branches, and thus affording room for new bearing shoots, it would long since have ceased to produce a single cluster of fruit. In the gardens of our citizens at Cleveland, and in and about our larger towns and villages, more attention is paid to the cultivation of the grape; but in all this section of country, I know of but two collections of vines that are entitled to the name of vineyard-one is at or near the mouth of Vermillion river, on the bank of Lake Erie, containing some 2 acres; the other is in this immediate neighborhood, some 5 miles from Cleveland, and containing about 3 acres: the first of these mostly of the Isabella and Catawba varieties. Wine. On the manufacture of wine, what shall I say? That, behind the age as we are in the culture of the grape, compared to our Cincin nati and southern friends, yet the manufacture of wine falls far in the rear even of our grape cultivation; and I might, perhaps, have left the space assigned to this subject a blank, but for a consideration of the importance the subject is assuming in southern Ohio, and my conviction of the suitableness of our location and climate for the successful growth of the grape, and our ability to compete successfully with our Cincinnati friends. Our light soil requires none of the heavy outlay for trenching. which I have seen practised in the heavier soils on the Ohio river; and the extensive process of terracing their steep, stony side hills is obviated by our smooth, level plains. Our few vines, as far as I have observed them for the past 3 years, have yielded as abundantly as theirs; and we are not, I think, so subject to "the rot," of which they complain. The influence of our lake is highly beneficial; retarding vegetation some 2 or 3 weeks, we often escape the late vernal frosts so fatal to the fruit prospects of our neighbors. The difference which this would have occasioned in the length of our season is abundantly made up by the mild influence exerted in the fall, and by the large body of water composing our lake, warmed up by the summer sun, dispelling the autumnal frosts in its vicinity, which, for several weeks previously, have cut down the vegetation only a few miles south of us in the interior. In deciding the relative advantages of northern and southern Ohio for the cultivation of the vine, an important question will be, What is the comparative value of the grape of these different localities on light or humid soils? I do not know that this question has been decided by subjecting the must of each to the test of the saccharometer. I could not find the instrument in Cleveland last fall; so I ventured to adopt the substitute suggested by Mr. Longworth, of Cincinnati, (a fresh-laid hen's egg;) but my experiment was not altogether satisfactory, being rather too much like guess-work, and strongly reminding me of the expedient resorted to down south by a man who, to weigh his hog, for the want of scales and weights, made use of an adjusted plank, on which he balanced the hog with a pile of stones, and then he guessed at the weight of the stones. The saccharometer may test the saccharine properties of the grape; but that is but one of the properties it should possess. I find, from my varied but imperfect experiments, that the amount of aroma, giving fragrance and flavor to the wines, varies very essentially in the different varieties with which I have experimented, and that, though one may be deficient in one principle, it may add much to the flavor and value of wine made from a richer and sweeter variety; the value of this property can only be proved by the practical use of the variety possessing it. Wine-making is yet in its infancy in the United States, and this, with other matters connected with the subject, has yet to be examined into and tested by the future experience of vine growers and wine manufac turers. Very respectfully, H. H. COIT. CLEVELAND, OHIO, September 30, 1851. SIR: The peach tree has been gradually losing its health and vigor during the last 50 years. In sections of country where it was formerly healthy, it is now only raised with extra care. This diseased condition. began to show itself coincidently with the appearance of the Egeria exitiosa, or Borer; and has progressed as that depredator has increased in numbers, leaving no room to doubt that the one has, in a great measure, been produced by the other. A successful remedy has long been a great desideratum in the peach-producing sections of the Union. During a late tour in New England, I had the satisfaction to find that such a remedy had been discovered by E. M. Pomeroy, esq.; of Wallingford, Ct., After examining the whole subject, I came to the following conclusions, to wit: 1st. That Mr. Pomeroy's remedy is effectual in preventing the deposition of the eggs into the crown of the roots by the perfect insect. 2d. That it is equally certain to destroy the young larvæ already lodged in the bark of the tree, near the roots-the only point they ever attack. It accomplishes this by cutting off the means of respiration. 3d. That, after it has been thoroughly employed on a diseased tree for a year, the tree is sure to recover its health and vigor. 4th. That the cost of material and the amount of labor required in the application are so limited that neither item will ever enter into the calculations of one in possession of a valuable peach orchard. 5th. That the discovery of the use of this remedy will be of incalculable pecuniary benefit to those parts of the United States in which the peach is a staple crop-as in New Jersey, Ohio, New York, and Maryland. I beg leave to refer you to an article on "the Premature Decay of the Peach tree," which will probably appear in the December number of the Horticulturist, by Mr. Downing. Mr. Pomeroy will probably lay the subject of his reinedy more in detail before you. I am, sir, very respectfully, yours, JARED P. KIRTLAND. MOORE'S SALTWORKS, JEFFERSON COUNTY, OHIO, December 10, 1850. SIR: It is with pleasure that I now proceed to make a report of matters relating to the agricultural interests of this vicinity. I have had the object of your Circular under consideration for some time, and have availed myself, as far as practicable, of every opportunity, both by personal observation and the opinions of intelligent individuals, to arrive at some degree of precision on the various subjects proposed. I fully believe the agricultural portion of the community, taken in mass, are inferior to none in all those moral qualities that characterize the noble of the earth; but I must confess that, in analytical disquisitions, or subtle and detailed calculations of profit and loss, even in our farming operations, we, as a class, are sadly deficient. I rejoice in the existence of the Office of which you are Commissioner, and fondly hope the salutary and beneficial influences arising therefrom will be speedily and widely extended. I consider the agriculturists of the nation the only absolute producers of wealth-all others are consumers; and, if this be true, it would seem to follow that to advance and stimulate agriculture should be one of the first and highest efforts of our national legislature. Your Office, it is true, sends forth annually a flood of light, which, to the agriculturists of the nation, is valuable beyond estimate; but the means at your disposal are, by no means, commensurate with our wants. Hundreds of agriculturists, I doubt not, are entirely ignorant that any such Report is made; and, of those who do know it, few, comparatively, can obtain it. I speak advisedly, and from experience, on this subject. I have annually sought this Report for the last fifteen years through my immediate representatives, and have, during that time, received two copies, and many others have been equally unsuccessful. I say, then, let the agriculturists of the nation speak out, not only through their public monthly journals, but, with your permission, through your Report, and tell our public servants what we desire. Pardon my long introduction. Wheat. The principal variety cultivated here is the blue stem. Other varieties have been introduced from time to time; none, however, thus far, have taken precedence over it. Fallow ground is deemed most. certain to insure a good crop; many, however, succeed well by sowing on a clover-lay, with one ploughing; and this method is gaining favor. The time of sowing is from the middle of September to the middle of October. Fifteen bushels may be set down as the full average per acre. In the eastern and southern parts of this county the lands are more fertile, and, I presume, the yield is greater. For the last three years the fly has given us but little annoyance. In seasons in which the fly abounds it is deemed a great misfortune to be in close proximity with neighbors who follow the old skinning system in farm management. When the fly abounds, or is apprehended, it is advisable to sow no ground which is not in a high state of fertility; and this is to be culti vated in the best possible manner. Good farmers and their fields are more than a match for the fly; while they who are more slovenly and less energetic are compelled to mourn over what they consider their misfortune, but never once dream that they have invited and encouraged the ingress of these marauding hosts. Corn. The kind most highly esteemed here is a large, yellow, fourteenrowed variety. The probable average of the neighborhood is 40 bushels per acre. On our bottom lands, 50 to 75 is common. Our best farmers prefer a clover-lay or old meadow; and on this, unfermented manure, made the preceding winter, is applied, and turned under with the plough. The ground is then well pulverized with the harrow, and marked out and planted. For the further cultivation, the harrow and cultivator are the proper implements. In sod ground, intended for corn, in which the cut-worm is apprehended, winter ploughing may be advisable; and this practice is doubtless attended with other advantages-the soil being thus exposed to the pulverizing tendency of the winter frosts. Under this system the manure is retained and applied to the wheat crop. My own practice corresponds with the first method; and, to avoid the cutworm, I delay turning over the sod to the very eve of planting. By this time the grass has started, which, being inverted, attracts the worm, and furnishes it with subsistence until the corn is out of its reach, or death renders it no longer formidable. By this method I can use my long, coarse, unfermented manure to what I consider much better advantage. Corn is a gross feeder. There is but little danger of over-feeding or over- |