ANNUAL WINTER MEETING AT AYARRENSBURG. 201 



an equal degree of intelligent perseverance, courage and energy, we 

 will surely also conquer the foes of American grape culture as they 

 hfive succeeded in conquering the no less formidable ones of the 

 European grape. Let us keep on in the good work, and profit from the 

 experience of others as well as from our own ; finally our efforts will be 

 crowned with success, and we will reap the merited benefits. 



After which came a report by 



JACOB ROMMEL, OF MORRISON, MO. 



I 



The grape growers of Missouri are still in a progressive condition, 

 regardless of the partly failures for the last few years. The grape 

 growers at present are composed of more practical men than in former 

 times, and making growing grapes more a specialty, likewise we now 

 have several large wine establishments making wine a specialty, and 

 buying the grapes from the grape growers and paying more for them 

 as they would generally bring in market for table grapes. 



The growing of grapes lor wine and the making of wine is our 

 main dependence, as they are our main consumers of our grapes. With- 

 out this we should have been compelled to suspend mostly with our 

 grape growing. Therefore we look forward for grapes for wine making;, 

 and improve such. The following are grapes mostly growing : 



Nortons, Cynthiana, Ives and Concord for red wine. 



Catawba, Elvira, Martha, Goethe and Missouri Riesling for white 

 wine. 



These have done best for a number of years. 



There are on trial numbers of new ones ; many highly prized ones 

 have proven unreliable here, and there is quite an anxiety to produce 

 or to procure reliable grapes for wine making and we are in hopes to 

 find such out of the many new ones now on trial. 



The last season has been a most unfavorable one, being wet 

 throughout, causing grapes to rot badly and many of them a total 

 failure. 



The following kinds did best and produced the main bulk : 



Nortons, Cynthiana, Ives, Elvira, Martha, Missouri Riesling and 

 Goethe. 



Concords — Almost a failure by rot. 



Moore^s Early — Much like Concord) larger in berries and better in 

 quality, earlier and not much afi'ected by rot. 



Pocklington — A large, fine, late grape, rotted badly. 



