1878.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST 



255 



attracted the attention of the settler from foreign 

 lands, and so early as 1086 William Penn had a 

 vineyard on the Schuylkill River, on a spot al- 

 most within the Centennial grounds. But the 

 superiority of the foreign varieties tempted their 

 introduction to the neglect of the improvement 

 of the native kinds. At the opening of our 

 Centennial era these foreign varieties had proved 

 general failures, and attention was given to the 

 kinds to be found everywhere in the woods at 

 home. The gardener to one of the Penns,a 

 Mr. Alexander, discovered a very good kind, 

 with rather large berries and fair flavor, even 

 for our time, which was named after him, and 

 this was probably the only good native Grape in 

 cultivation when the New Republic was born. 

 Soon after, the Isabella was found in South 

 Carolina, the Catawba in Maryland, and the 

 Bland probably in Virginia, and the societies 

 for the improvement of the Grape and Grape- 

 culture came into existence, in one of which, 

 even before the year 1800, we find the celebrated 

 Henry Clay an active member. 



In 1827 the Susquehanna made its appearance ; 

 but it is only within the last quarter of a cen- 

 tury that the native Grape has been improved 

 to any great extent. Then the Concord, 

 the Delaware, and the Hartford Prolific 

 showed how much was possible. All such 

 efforts as those of Penn, Peter Legeaux, the 

 Salem (North Carolina) colony, the Princes, 

 father and son, and Nicholas Longworth with 

 the foreign Grapes were abandoned, and atten- 

 tion concentrated on our native kinds. Among 

 the number that were known forty years ago 

 most have been so wholly superseded by im- 

 provements that their names are now nearly all 

 unknown to the general Grape-grower, and only 

 occasional bunches of the following were seen 

 on our tables: Elsenburg, Norton's Virginia, 

 Isabella, and Catawba. The Grapes most fre- 

 quently found on the Centennial Exhibition 

 tables, and indicating a widespread popularity, 

 were Concord, Clinton, Delaware, Salem, and 

 Diana. It would by no means be safe to say that 

 these were the best Grapes for the regions in 

 wiiich they were grown, for often others would 

 be exhibited from the same places indicating 

 points of superiority, but which from some 

 cause had not become so well known. Of the 

 exhibitors who have done much to improve the 

 native Grape, and who showed their excellent pro- 

 ducts, the names of Ricketts, of Newberg, New 

 York ; Campbell, of Delaware, Ohio ; Arnold, 



of Paris, Canada; Mills, of Hamilton, Canada; 

 and Broadfield, of Ada, Michigan, are conspic- 

 uous. The value of Ricketts' labors can hardly 

 be estimated. His improvements have been so 

 great, and presented in so many forms, that 

 those who longed for foreign Grapes to cul- 

 tivate in America find nothing now to desire. 

 His eflbrts have been made in two distim-t lines, 

 — the improvement of the native Grapes for 

 table use by hybridizing with the foreign, and 

 their advancement, by seedlings or native 

 crosses, for wine-making. In California the for- 

 eign Grapes grow well ; none of the native im- 

 provements were exhibited from there, but fair 

 Muscats and Tokays were offered for sale on the 

 Centennial grounds. 



Among the earliest Grapes on-the tables were 

 the Concords, from the German settlement at. 

 Egg Harbor City, New Jersey; and Delawares, 

 from Henry M. Engle, of Marietta, Pennsyl- 

 vania; and it is a remarkable fact thai these 

 early fruits were so fine as not to be excelled b}''- 

 any that came before us of the same varieties, 

 at any later time. The last Grapes that were 

 exhibited came from Canada and the northei'n 

 part of Michigan, and though not equal in flavor- 

 to the southern products, were remarkable for 

 size, color, and other good properties. It was 

 indeed one of the surprises of the Centennial 

 Exhibition to learn that Grapes should do so 

 well so far north. In Eui'ope it has been con- 

 ceded that the Grape will not ripen north of lat- 

 itude 50°, yet notwithstanding the peculiar influ- 

 ences supposed to modify the temperature of 

 that region, we find them to ripen quite as 

 well in the same latitude on this continent. 

 Another interesting fact brought out by our 

 Exhibition is that the foreign Grape is a total 

 failure only in the southern portion of the North 

 American continent. As we get towards Canada, 

 some foreign varieties do tolerable well, and in, 

 Canada they do nearly as well as the native kinds, 

 merely requiring winter protection by laying 

 down the canes and covering with eai'th. So far 

 as the results of the Exhibition are concerned 

 they seem to show that the whole northern belt 

 of our States, as also Canada, is very favor- 

 able to Grape-culture. Admirable exhibits 

 came from Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut^ 

 New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio> 

 Indiana, and Micbigan. The Phflloxera, the 

 great scoui'ge of the European vineyards, has 

 proved no serious obstacle to American Grape- 

 culture, and there are, probably, few matters of 



