SUMMER MEETING. 91 



crops after standing last winter unprotected. Still more agreeably was 

 I surprised to get grapes from my numbers 50 and 56, two varieties 

 produced about 15 years ago by crossing the delicious, but very tender 

 Herbemont, with one of our large wild summer grapes \'Vitis u^sti- 

 valis, type LincecumiiJ, usually called Post Oak grapes in Texas. 



Nos. 50 and 56 are fine grapes, and our latest varieties, but proved 

 too tender to be valuable, and therefore, were never propagated. Now 

 I consider Ihem about as promising as any grapes we have. You, Mr. 

 President, have tasted them, and I dare say that in quality and appear- 

 ance they closely resemble the varieties Prof. T. V. Munson has origin- 

 ated by similar crosses. 



Among that splendid list of twenty-nine new grapes, by far the 

 finest collection ever offered in America, now being introduced by T.- 

 V. Munson of Denison Tex., eight of the most exquisite varieties are 

 crosses of Herbemont on wild Post Oak or summer grapes of Texas 

 and Southwest Missouri. Mr. Munson, with his characteristic con- 

 scientiousness, recommends these for the South only. I am glad to be 

 able to state that four of them were tried here and have stood 22° be- 

 low zero as well as Nos. 50 and 56. It seems safe, therefore, to con- 

 clude that with good spraying these Southern grapes will prove hardy 

 enough for the latitude of Central Missouri. Mr. Munson's other 

 grand acquisitions will succeed far north of Missouri. His "America," 

 for example, is a seedling of Jaeger's No. 70, containing the blood of 

 our large native summer grape crossed with Vitis Bupestris, and con- 

 sequently surpasses in hardiness any American vine heretofore culti- 

 vated. Mr. Munson's great work insures an immense improvement in 

 the quality of our grapes, and spraying with copper solutions has made 

 their yield so much more certain, that we can confidently look forward 

 to a great revival of American viticulture. 



The Grape. 



yf.'Y. Hoy, Farmington, Mo.: 



Why it was that I among so many have been selected by our 

 worthy Secretary to prepare a paper on grapes, one of the most deli- 

 cious of fruits among all the fruits, I know not, as I am just a begin- 

 ner in the fruit business, and scarcely had any experience in fruit-rais- 

 ing yet, although have raised some for the last three years, and am 

 experimenting some also, which all fruit-raisers must do to learn the 

 business. I see where I have made mistakes since I have started in 

 the business. But I must get to my subject. I have only half an acre^ 



