262 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



some extent, and is a result, the writer thinks, of planting trees on too rich 

 soil. 



The paperupon "Flowers," preparedfor the Society by Mrs. Jeremiah Brown, 

 of Battle Creek, was then read in a very acceptable manner by Miss Flora 

 Hubbard, and was highly complimented for the faithful presentation of the 

 claims of these '•' beautiful eyes of the Divine" upon the attention of farmers 

 and agricultural men. A list of flowers which would secure bloom and fra- 

 grance in the garden through eight months of the year was given and their 

 qualities fully set forth. The thanks of the Society were extended to Mrs, 

 Brown for the paper and to Miss Hubbard for its reading. 



The President — "I take pleasure in stating that the State Agricultural 

 Society, by their action this day, have placed the flowers for exhibition at their 

 next fair in charge of the Pomological Society." 



Prof. Kedzie, chairman, presented the report of the Committee on Wines 

 and Cider as follows : 



The Committee on Wines and Cider would report that they have examined 

 specimens of wine from Concord grape of 1871, the grape juice being reinforced 

 by two pounds of white sugar to a gallon of the juice. 



In the opinion of your committee no substance should be classed as wine 

 which has been reinforced by sugar, or the addition of any alcoholic substance. 

 This position would exclude the specimens shown as Concord wine by S. E. 

 Woodworth. The committee have no reason to suppose that the grape juice 

 in this case has received any addition except the sugar. It is a very good 

 specimen of what is classed as " domestic wine." Currant and raspberry Avines 

 are familiar examples of the same class. 



No juice is fitted to make wine having the peculiar aroma or bouquet charac- 

 teristic of wine, which does not contain tartaric acid. Thegrape, currant, etc., as 

 grown in this climate, contains malic acid instead of tartaric, and this gives us 

 a cider grape instead of a wine grape. In a few cases the grapes grown in this 

 latitude contained tartaric acid, and the juice would give us a wine. The Con- 

 cord grape, so far as known, did not contain tartaric acid, while the Delaware 

 and Isabella contained the tartaric acid. One of your committee examined 

 some very beautiful crystals of tartaric acid, which formed in some grape pre- 

 serves. These Avere from the Isabella grape. 



It might be a very interesting experiment to try the influence of tartaric 

 acid or cream of tartar, upon the juice of our ordinary or malic acid grape. 



The bottled cider exhibited by Dr. Dickinson was in a good state of preser- 

 vation, being perfectly sweet and pleasant, but rather deficient in flavor, a con- 

 sequence of imperfect corking ; as it did not contain sufficient cai'bouic acid to 

 render it bright and sparkling like champagne, as usually seen in bottled cider. 

 Your committee received no information in regard to the mode of its prepara- 

 tion, but infer from a circular accompanying the cider, that the process is a 

 secret one. 



E. C. KEDZIE, 

 L. G. BRAGG, 

 E. M. PENDILL, 

 GEO. P. BURRELL. 



Another bottle of cider, brought in after the committee had reported, by 

 Nicholas Lang, was much more clear, and of better flavor than the samples 

 mentioned in the report. 



