188 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



consequence no experiments have been made there. 

 The inhabitants of the new colonies at Kentucky will 

 likely give their attention and industry to this matter. 



And probably it would not be fruitless to engraft 

 good European vines on the wild American, or to 

 improve these by cultivation ; for they deserve atten- 

 tion and have been left quite out of the account in ex- 

 periments made hitherto. 



In Bartram's garden at Philadelphia one may see a 

 good many sorts of American vines which the elder 

 Bartram had collected from sundry regions ; they do 

 very well in this garden, and improve even under the 

 slight cultivation given them. The grapes became 

 larger, juicier, and thinner-skinned ; and Bartram the 

 son claims that they bear vastly more fruit than the 

 common grape. Among them is the ' Cherokee 

 Grape,' said to be the best in America. From the leaf, 

 this appears to be most nearly related to the European, 

 or Vitis vinifera. Only in parts of Pensylvania and 

 New York are found the Vitis vulpina (Fox-Grape) 

 and Vitis Labnisca (Wild-Grape) ; these both make 

 stocks 4-6-8 inches in diameter, and 20, 30, to 40 ft. 

 long, slinging themselves about the branches and tops 

 of near-by trees. They especially prefer shaded, 

 moist, and rich spots, and are scarcely to be found on 

 dry hills. The berries of the fox-grape are the 

 largest, but of a sharp taste, however, the frost makes 

 them enjoyable for children, negroes, and others whose 

 palates are not very fastidious ; they are a good deal 

 used for preserving with sugar. The grapes of the 

 other sort are if anything sourer still, but of both 

 kinds very passable fruit is now and then to be had. 

 About Baltimore and in the southern forests gen- 



