STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 51 



Mr. Porter also corroborated the statements of the last two speakers, 

 addinj]^ that he had examined the two varieties, side by side, in Mr. 

 Rugg's vineyard, in Ottawa. " The Alctha is eight or ten days earlier 

 than the Hartford, and never drops its fruit, as does the Hartford." The 

 vine of the Aletha is uniformly healthy and productive. 



Mr. WiER said that the Hartford is variable in its time of ripening, and 

 this may account for the differences noticed by the previous speakers. 

 He explained one of the characteristics of the Hartford to be that the 

 lobes of the leaves on either side the stem grow downward and approach 

 each other, nearly, or quite, meeting at the stem. He noticed the same 

 peculiarity in the Aletha as soon as he saw it. He had found Hartfords 

 rijiening as early as the Aletha. He believes them all to be Hartfords. 



Mr. Hathaway affirmed that the leaves of the Aletha were more 

 like those of the Concord than of the Hartford. 



Mr. DuxLAP said that from the evidence given of its earlier ripening, 

 he was convinced that it was a distinct variety.* 



Air. Starr protested against recommending the Clinton, either for 

 wine or fruit. 



Mr. Wier said that the Committee had tasted, during the year, a 

 very large number of samples of wine, made from many varieties of 

 grapes, but that they agreed in pronouncing a sample, made by E. San- 

 ford, of Morris, from the pure juice of the Clinton, the best of all. 

 This wine was several years old. He also said that on clay soil his Con- 

 cords had cracked, but on sandy soil they had escaped. 



Mr. Doi'GLASs responded to a request, from the President, for his 

 paper on Evergi-eens, reading as follows: 



EVERGREENS FOR THE PRAIRIES. 



I received a letter from our worthy Secretary, in which he says: 

 " You are earnestly requested to furnish a paper (and read the same) at 

 our next annual meeting, on ' Evergreens for the Prairies.' We want 

 from you a list of a few of the most desirable and reliable varieties for 

 artificial planting, for producing those modifying inffuences upon the 

 atmosphere which our climate requires to render fruit raising pleasant 

 and profitable. No one is engaged as yet to say a word about ever- 

 greens, and wc must 'keep this subject before the people,' for I firmly 

 believe that the horticultural salvation of our State depends upon plant- 

 ing other trees than fruit trees merely." 



Well knowing the importance of this subject and the earnest manner 

 in which the request was made, I could not decline, and only regret my 

 inability to condense so much matter of such vital importance into a 

 short essay. 



We will begin with a few of the most desirable and reliable varieties 



♦NoTK. — As the vines of the "Aletha" — so called — are not far from me (25 miles), I will 

 endeavor to examine both vine and fruit at different times dunng yiis ypar, Hud prove or disprove 

 its identity with the Hartford.— 5«:r;/<jrj'. 



