24 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Subsequently to the ITtli, in May, two other severe frosts occurred, 

 one the night of the IDth and the other ou the l!Uth. The tirst was fol- 

 lowed by a fog which obscured the sun until noon of the succeeding day 

 and the frost showed little or no ultimate damage. On the night of the 

 20th, however, the thermometer indicated the lowest temperature that it 

 reached during this series of frosts, to-wit: 24 degrees Fahrenheit. This 

 way followed by bright, sunshiny weather, so that the freezing had its full 

 effect. But even still, the foliage in the highest vineyards was not greatly 

 damaged. The leaves remained mostly green, and the fruit clusters pre- 

 cisely as they appeared after the first cold wind storm when they were 

 tinged to a slightly grayish-drab color. Many people, after examination, 

 thought that there would still be a fair crop of grapes in vineyards in 

 favorable locations. The leaves remained green and the clusters remained 

 intact; but at blossoming time came a change. Then it was seen that the 

 fruit was stricken \itally. It fell to the ground, leaving the stems naked, 

 or still holding a few of the tiny grapes that continued to adhere. Thus 

 the great promise of grapes has dwindled to the few ragged clusters that 

 yet remain and to a sprinkling in greater or less quantity of a second set- 

 ting of fruit that has appeared since the frosts. Some expectation of 

 advantage, probably more than will be realized, was'entertained from this 

 so-called second setting of fruit. Quite generally the owners, imme- 

 diately after the frost, made haste to strip the vines of the frozen foliage, 

 with the expectation that they would the sooner, and to a greater extent, 

 put forth new leaves and fruit. I can not say positively whether this 

 stripping off the frozen stems and leaves has proved to be of advantage 

 or not. There are those who think it has. They tried it a year ago, and 

 they think they derived some benefit from so doing. I notice that there 

 are some kinds and some situations which show to comparative advant- 

 age whether the vines were stripped or not, and in such instances, when 

 the vines were stripped, there is more than elsewhere a showing of fruit. 

 The opinion is likely to obtain that the cause of the apparent gain is due to 

 the fact of the stripping of the vines of the frozen leaves and stems. 1 

 note other instances, however, where there is equally good showing of 

 foliage and of fruit, and where no stripping was done. 



Some varieties seem to have withstood the effects of the frost better 

 than others, that is, they have held their fruit better. I might mention 

 the Champion, Perkins, Delaware, Concord, as in this category. None of 

 these anywhere, under the best of circumstances, shows a full crop, or 

 anything like a full crop of fruit, but in some vineyards in high, favorable 

 places there is quite a percentage of fruit; and in all vineyards where the 

 leaves were not killed, the vines hold some fruit both of the original set- 

 ting and of that which has appeared since the frosts. 



The experience obtained during these May frosts, particularly the more 

 recent ones, shows that there is no help in escaping their effects, when 

 they are so severe as these have been, from building fires and making 

 smudges in the vineyard. Many tried that, some to a limited extent, in 

 the effort to save a part of the fruit or as an experiment to be acted upon 

 in future as the results should seem to sanction. Others made the 

 attempt with the desperate resolve to save their fruit by doing the work 

 of smoke-making thoroughly, but in no instance was any degree of suc- 

 cess attained in the object for which the work was done. Heat and smoke, 



