134 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



grapes suited to the amateur, those grapes that are indispensable, 

 one or two of them, to every grape-grower, will require protec- 

 tion and skilful treatment, such as is given to the foreign grape 

 when its culture is undertaken in this country, to succeed. 

 But of that I do not propose to speak any further now. 



I do not want to say anything about special grapes, because, 

 as a rival grape-grower, I should be suspected of prejudice 

 immediately ; but I feel obliged to say this : that you must take 

 with some amount of salt all the 'startling announcements of 

 new grapes, which are going to be better than anything ever 

 seen before — more hardy, more profitable, and going to bring 

 you a dollar a pound in the market. You will have to buy 

 these grapes, of course, — I do, — everybody must, — because out 

 of them all there may be some prizes worth having ; but I would 

 go into that moderately ; I would not believe too absolutely the 

 statements made by persons who have originated or obtained 

 them, and put them upon the market. Great mischief comes 

 of it, in this way. An enthusiastic man purchases a few hun- 

 dred vines, plants them, and is so much disappointed in the 

 result, that he gives up grape-growing altogether — which is a 

 great harm. 



Now, to persuade the public to plant vineyards, it will be 

 necessary, not only to show, as I have just shown, that it is 

 practicable, but how you may make money out of it ; for if it is 

 not profitable, our people are not likely to go into it. The gen- 

 tlemen of the Board will remember what was said yesterday, in 

 the debate in regard to the Agricultural College — that the 

 students of that institution, after having acquired their educa- 

 tion, would have such a distaste for the labors of the farm, 

 which they would come to look upon as abasing them, that they 

 would go into other and more profitable pursuits, and leave the 

 farm altogether. If that were true (which I do not believe,) 

 the vineyard is the alternative which would keep them at home, 

 provided it could be shown to be profitable. Now, that the 

 culture of the vine is profitable, has been established in the expe- 

 rience of every grape-grower who has grown it on any extensive 

 scale for several years. It is prolific, it is constant, it is market- 

 able — more so than almost all other fruits ; and therefore, if you 

 can get good crops, it is very profitable. For seventeen succes- 

 sive years, I have not failed to have a grape crop ; sometimes 



