THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 1 9 



yet full of hope. — In 1796, I saw also, near the Susquehannah river, not far 

 from Middletown, a vineyard that had been planted by a German; but who 

 having died sometime Vjefore, the vineyard had been wholly neglected. I 

 was told, it had produced some wine; but it had suffered so much delapi- 

 dation, that I could not recognize the species of grapes." 



With full knowledge of the failures of the past in growing grapes, 

 and after his disheartening visits to a score or more of worthless vineyards 

 planted with the grapes of his native country, Dufour embarked in the 

 Kentucky Vineyard Society enterprise and gave the Old World grapes a 

 thorough trial on an extensive scale, with an abundance of capital, and, 

 to care for the vines, as skilled labor as could be obtained in the vine- 

 yards of Europe. As was the case with all past undertakings of the kind 

 so this one proved a failure. In the words of Dufour "a sickness took 

 hold of all otir vines except a few stocks of Cape and Madeira grapes." 

 The promoters became disheartened and the vineyard after being cultivated 

 for several years was abandoned. 



Members of the colony, thinking that a more favorable location might 

 be found elsewhere in the valley of the Ohio, settled at Vevay, Indiana, in 

 1802. Dufotir and several of his relatives were granted the privilege of 

 purchasing lands with extended credit by an act of Congress May ist, 1802. 

 They purchased 2500 acres at the location of the new colony in Indiana 

 and began anew the culture of the vine. For a time there was an element 

 of prosperitv in the enterprise but the vines became diseased and died, 

 onh' one sort, the Cape or Alexander, gave returns for the care bestowed 

 and by 1835 the Vevay vineyards ceased to exist. Could Dufour have 

 foreseen the value of the native grapes for cultivation and dcT'oted the 

 capital and energy spent on European sorts to the best wild plants from 

 the woods, grape culture in America would have been put forward half a 

 century. 



Other experiments with Old World grapes were tried in 1803 by the 

 Harmonists, a religious-socialistic community founded in Germany, but 

 which finally settled in America. After temporary sojourns in other settle- 

 ments, the Harmonists founded a permanent colony in Pennsylvania near 

 Pittsburg. Here they planted ten acres of European grajjes and grew 

 them with but temporary success, if any, for Dufour in 1826 visited the 



