132 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



as high as three pounds to one vine, but he thought one or two pounds 

 sufficient. His neighbors, who had tried it, were equally successful. Vines of 

 his own, and of his neighbors, to which no application had been made, showed 

 no fruit free from rot. He had also tried sulphate of copper with similar 

 result but it was much more expensive and no better. The copperas also 

 prevented the growth of weeds and grass. 



Mr. N. H. Albaugh, of Ohio, said that a gentleman in Montgomery coun- 

 ty, Ohio, had sown oats between the rows of vines, and in that way had 

 preserved the grapes from rotting. 



Dr. H. E. McKay, of Miss., said grapes had not done well in his State 

 this year. The Concord had done the best, was safer, and more had been 

 realized from it than from any other variety. Some growers like the Ives, 

 but it was the general opinion that between the 30th and 35th degrees of 

 latitude the Concord thrives the best. The Scuppernong is a grape that never 

 fails, but is not a good fruit for market. Thought the rot this year was 

 ■caused by excessive rain; thirty days of frequent showers had mined a prom- 

 ising crop. 



Prof. A. B. McKay, of the Mississippi Agricultural College, also thought 

 rain had been the cause of rot in his State, although in some parts the Dela- 

 ware succeeded well. He thought trimming helped the fruit very much, the 

 berry growing larger and coloring better. 



Mr. I. Van Lindley, of North Carolina, said that grape culture is decidedly 

 increasing in his State. The State is divided, naturally, into three sections. 

 The eastern section is the home of the Scuppernong; in the middle section 

 they grow about seventy-five varieties of grapes, and among the finest in the 

 country. Ives and Champion are the best paying; they call Worden the best 

 black grape. 



Mr. H. E. Van Deman, of Kansas, had lately been through Texas and In- 

 dian Territory. Near Fort Worth he saw several acres of Niagaras. The vines 

 were three years old, and although the drouth had dried up nearly everything 

 else, these looked well. A gentleman of Denison, Texas, had shipped large 

 quantities of the Ives as soon as they had turned. They were sent North and 

 brought good prices. Mr. Van D. had traveled about a good deal with Mr. T. 

 V. Munson, of Texas, examining the wild grapes of that State. Some of the 

 bunches of the black varieties are a foot in length. Mr. M. is raising seedlings 

 from these wild varieties, selecting the best of these and crossing them with the 

 cultivated kinds, and hopes by selection to secure better varieties than we now 

 have ; especially does he wish to establish varieties that will bear the drouth. 

 This is the first attempt to infuse the blood of these wildlings into our domestic 

 grapes, and the process is only in its infancy. 



Mr. Geo. W. Campbell, of Delaware, , said this year had been the best in 

 Central Ohio since 1840. Grapes of early and late varieties are ripening near 

 together. He condemned Tallman, but some people like it because it colors 

 early and can be sold for high prices. Worden is better than Concord, but has 

 the faults of that sort, the skin being tender, making it a poor shipper. 



Mr. Chas. Carpenter, of Kelley's Island, 0., had noticed that when weeds 

 and grass were allowed to grow among grapes, the rot seldom troubled them. 



Mr. Kizo Tamari, who was the Japanese Commissioner at the New Orleans 

 Exposition, and is now a student at the Michigan Agricultural College, spoke 

 of grape culture in Japan. They have only two varieties. One is a white 



