STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 81 



Second. I do not consider grape cultivation a profitable pursuit in 

 our latitude. We can not make the business jmy largely enough to de- 

 rive a sufficient income upon which to alone subsist. We can not raise 

 the finer varieties of grapes in this climate. The common species are so 

 plentifully raised that the markets soon become clogged with the supply. 

 Concord, Ives, Clinton, etc., all ripen at about the same time, and are 

 heaped upon the market together, so that the price becomes small, and 

 will hardly pay for the transportation expenses. 



The main products in this valley of the Mississippi must still con- 

 tinue to be wheat, corn, hay, etc. The cultivation of grapes, figs, oran- 

 ges, pine apples, lemons, etc., must be left to the more temperate regions. 



We have experimented greatly with costly hybrids, but we have not 

 made any advance, and I do not quite know what varieties might be re- 

 commended for our section of the country. Every man must make his 

 own experiments and must choose those kinds with which he is best pleased. 

 I have tried a number of different kinds, and can give you the opinions 

 from my experience. 



I think that I may safely say that the Martha is much superior to the 

 Concord ; Miner's Seedling, sometimes called Perkins, is also a very 

 excellent variety; Taylor's Bullet, if you happen to get the bearing sort, 

 may also be placed among the first on the list ; lona, Catawba and Dela- 

 ware are three varieties which I would recommend that every vineyard 

 should contain. It may be the case that they will only bear once in three 

 or four years, but when they do bear the value of the yield is worth more 

 than three or four regular annual crops obtained from some other varieties. 

 The only Herbemont vine that ever bore a crop in St. Clair county 

 entirely failed last season. This variety is only fitted for southern climates. 



I would say, plant Concord, Martha, Taylor's Bullet, Miner's Seed- 

 ling, and for the sake of experiment, as many of the finer varieties as you 

 have spare time for. As to the mode of planting, the distances you place 

 your vines apart, the method of preparing and attending to the ground, 

 you are at liberty to determine for yourself. Pruning the vines is an 

 important part of the business, and should be carefully attended to. It 

 requires experience to become a good hand at the business, but any one 

 may learn to do the work if he only possesses the proper will. 



To conclude ; as a matter of duty, ornament and pride, and not- 

 withstanding all the drawbacks to grape culture, I would urge upon every 

 one the raising of grapes. I find my neighbors are all at the work, and I 

 long to see every little homestead supplied with a pretty grapery. Yes, 

 I am in favor of seeing every door-yard in this country testifying to the 

 fact that God has given us many beautiful things in this world, that we 

 might make use of them and that they might soften and cultivate our own 

 hearts and minds. 



Let every man's little door-yard be an index to his state of refine- 

 ment, and let us see every farm and little homestead supplied with its 

 orchard, its vineyard, its pine trees, fir trees, its odoriferous flowers, 

 crimson roses, and all the beauties that the earth abounds in. Let us see 

 every orchard protected on the north and west by a good and beautifiil 



