Some time ago, yon may remember, you invited me to communicate to you such facts for publication as I might have met with in grape culture that would be likely to be of interest to the public. I had then recently planted one acre of Isabella Grape vines, pretty nearly after the manner you had advised in the columns of the Genesee Farmer.

The piece of ground planted is twenty rods in length by eight in width, and was planted five years ago last spring, in the following manner: About the first of May I gave the land, which is a gravelly loam, a very deep plowing - as deep as possible without the aid of a subsoil plow. I then measured it off into eight strips, or lands, running lengthwise, their direction being from north to south, 15 deg. east, and plowed these lands separately - leaving the dead furrow in the center of each, designating the places for the rows - breaking up the yellow subsoil by repeated plowings through the center of each to the depth of nearly two feet I then went into these trenches with a stout team and scraper, and excavated holes a rod apart, still deeper than I had plowed, about six feet wide and eight feet in length, leaving the subsoil taken from them in the intervening spaces.

All this time I had my eye upon a drove of cattle (some eighty head), which had died in this town the previous March and April, while performing a pilgrimage from the far West to the New York market. These I procured of the proprietor, and had them cut into pieces of convenient size, and hauled to my field and placed in the holes prepared for their reception. There being one hundred and sixty holes, a half of a carcass was placed in each. This being done, the holes were filled about half full of good surface soil; upon this I distributed, as equally as possible among all the holes, sixteen heavy loads of decayed leather shavings, from a currier's shop - the accumulation, as I was informed, of about twenty years. A sufficient quantity of surface soil was thrown upon these, and thoroughly incorporated with them, to fill the holes rather more than level with the surface of the ground. Now, about a bushel of well-rotted stable manure, taken from under a stable, well mixed with about the same quantity of charcoal dust, from an old coal pit, was spaded into each place designated for the reception of a vine.

I then procured, of Ellwanger & Barry, good, strong, two year old vines, with which I planted one-half of this ground; and the other half I planted with layers of the previous year's growth, without a particle of top to any of them - each consisting simply of a short section of a vine of the previous year's growth, with one bud and a few small roots attached to it.

These vines have had no other manuring since they were thus planted, excepting about two bushels of leached ashes forked in around each vine last season, and about one quart of plaster applied to each the season before. They are trained on tellises, running from north to south, eight feet high, made of chestnut posts (for want of cedar), five inches square at the bottom, and two and a half by five inches at the top, set eight and a quarter feet apart, with strips of one and a half inch stuff, two and a half inches wide, nailed from post to post, eighteen inches above the ground, and at the top of the posts. Between these, three tiers of No. 14 iron wire are drawn, dividing the space equally between the wooden strips, and secured to each post.

These trellises are now completely filled with good, strong, bearing wood, ready for use next season, much of which is over three-quarters of an inch in diameter; and large portions of it are now apparently ripe. I allowed these vines to bear only about seven pounds each last season, though they set for full three times that quantity. I rubbed off every alternate bud on all the vines last season; and after they were set for fruit I took off half of it. My fruit was mainly sold to dealers in Elmira, and retailed by them at fourteen cents per pound, by the side of Isabella grapes, cultivated near Penn Yan, at twelve and a half cents. One dealer, Mr. H. H. Risbards, afterwards informed me that he sold fifty-three pounds of my grapes in one evening at fourteen cents, and but three pounds of the shilling grapes. Do you suppose those dead carcasses had any thing to do with this ? I do.

Last spring, before these vines commenced their growth, I measured some twenty-five or thirty of them, taking them "as they run," and I found but very few of them to measure only ten inches in circumference. Nearly all measured over a foot around the body, several of them fifteen inches, and one seventeen inches. But why did not those dead cattle and leather shavings kill them ? Surely it is a marvel that they did not; for I have repeatedly dug down to the bones within the past two years, and have always found them completely surrounded with a net-work of living fibrous grape roots - not dead ones! I am allowing these vines to bear this season just half what they set for, after a severe autumnal pruning; and I estimate the present crop at 3,200 pounds, or 20 pounds to the vine, notwithstanding the hail storm on the 4th of July destroyed at least 1,000 pounds.

My grapes last season commenced making their first turn on the 1st day of September, and the entire crop was ripe before the 30th. This season they commenced turning red on the 20th day of August, and at this time (September 7th) more than 1,000 pounds are making the second turn. In fact, I have seen Isabella grapes offered for sale in Rochester, in the month of October, not as ripe as these are.

I will not say positively that my fruit is equal in flavor to that produced by more seemly fertilizing materials, for that would hardly seem possible; but I will send you a sample of it as soon as I consider it ripe, that you may have an opportunity to judge for yourself. One thing I have remarked in regard to these vines: no insects, of any sort, have as yet disturbed them, except that three or four of the vines, the year they were planted, were dug out by dogs in their nocturnal attempts at a premature resurrection of those dead carcasses! Mildew has never affected them, although, from their remarkable luxurience of growth, I have expected to encounter much trouble from this most patience-trying scourge of the vineyard.

I have adopted the plan this season of mulching my vines with spent tan. I applied it early in July, having kept the vines thoroughly cultivated previously. I shall cover the entire vineyard with it next season, about an inch deep. I have always plowed between the rows to the depth of five or six inches, to within a foot of the vines. To enable me to do this without disturbing the roots, I have practiced pruning off all the lateral surface roots to the depth of five or six inches, thus throwing the vines, to use a familiar phrase, " upon their taps." To this practice, I believe, ought to be attributed my exemption from mildew, far more than to any or all things eke. I observed this same practice prevailed in Dr. Underbill's vineyards, at Croton Point, though I am not aware that the doctor has ever given the fact to the public If he has not, of course it is because he forgot to do so; or he may have thought it would not be of much interest to other cultivators of the grape. One fact is worthy of note: Dr. U. has experienced no difficulty from mildew for quite a number of years past, and his vines are very old; whereas, when his vines were young, he says he was much troubled with its presence.

Now, all who know any thing about grape, culture, well know that old vines, with ordinary culture, are far more subject to this difficulty than young ones. To my mind, this proves that the doctor is older than he once was, as well as his vines, and that he has not grown old to no purpose.

In conclusion of this already too long article, let me say: if you do not like the samples of grapes sent, suppress this account of their origin and culture, for they are the argument I most rely upon in the defence of my mode of grape culture. If this argument fails to produce conviction, I will yield the point; but if you like them, you may give me a hearing in the columns of the Horticulturist, if you choose to do so, that others may learn by what strange means good fruit may be produced, in spite of the abuse so profusely heaped upon "dead carcasses" by those who never take the trouble to give them a patient trial. Should you do so, you may hear from me again, when I have any other Facts in Isabella Grape Culture deemed of importance to the public.