394 ILLINOIS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Plum said he had received a letter from Mr. Giddeon, of Wis- 

 consin, asking him if he cultivated the Eumelan, and saying, "It is the 

 most glorious grape God has ever given to man;" but in his own county 

 (Rock county, Wis.) it is not very desirable. 



The President — I procured my Eumelans from Dr. Grant's nur- 

 sery, kept them covered, but they all killed the first hard winter. 



Mr. Wier said it was a total failure with him. 



Mr. Plum — Have any of Rogers' Hybrids been successful in this 

 region ? The Wilder took the first premium in both the Northern and 

 Southern Wisconsin fairs; Nos. 9 and 15 are nearly as good as Wilder. 

 The Wilder, or No. 4, is hardy and easily controlled. All the Rogers 

 grape-vines hold their foliage on bluffs and high, exposed situations. 



Mr. Wier — Rogers' grapes have won favors among amateurs, on 

 high bluffs with clayey soil, especially the Wilder and Massasoit ; one 

 German grower has remarkable success with them. The Massasoit, how- 

 ever, is the only one that holds its leaves, on my sandy soil. 



Mr. McWhorter finds Martha hardy, but does not like its musky 

 flavor. 



Mr. Wier finds Martha as hardy as Concord, and, when first ripe, is 

 not much foxy; but grows foxy and sweeter afterward. The quality is 

 not good enough for table use, and the clusters not large enough for 



market. 



Mr. Plum, being questioned in regard to the Janesville grape, said: 

 Cuttings of it all grow, the vines are hardy, do not need summer pruning, 

 and fruit heavily; the fruit ripens early in the North, and is about like 

 the Clinton in character. The vines will run on trees or anywher^, and 

 always bear full crops. 



The Wisconsin men, at the Chicago Exposition, said the show of 

 grapes from Oshkosh,Wis., was the best there, and that it was the Rogers' 

 Hybrids which won the laurels. 



Mr. Watrous substantiated the testimony of Mr. Plum, respecting 

 the Janesville grape in Wisconsin, adding that the bunches are compact, 

 and about half as large as those of the Concord, that the leaves never 

 drop, and that the fruit is good to cook, and as good as Concord to can. 



Mr. Slade (of Elgin, 111. ) — I have about thirty varieties of grapes, 

 among which are Janesville, Eumelan and Martha, on clay soil, where 

 they are complete failures. The Janesville is very foxy, and not salable. 

 My Delawares, on sandy soil, both with gravelly and clay subsoil, succeed 

 well. Hartford is not as good in quality as Concord, only a trifle earlier, 

 and not as prolific. 



