OllAPES AND WINE. 



mildew of America, attackinj?, as it does, the Eastern and European varieties of 

 tlio ,tini])c at niidsiiniiiKT, destroyiiip^ the entire croj) of fruit, so frt(iiifully as to 

 discotiraij^e its cultivation. The occurrence of very dry, ticar weather, in July, 

 will prevent the vciretation of the sporules or seeds of the funj^us ; and thus the 

 Chussdas and the IJlack and White Cluster Grapes will ripen fully in most of the 

 New Enjjland States. This will hapi)eu not oftencr than once in ten years ; 

 and it is then said we have had a One, warm season, when the average tempera- 

 ture has not been greater than usual, and the actual cause, the dryness of the 

 air in July and August, is overlooked. 



The climate of a large section of the Northern States is well adapted to the 

 cultivation of the gra]>e. There are many varieties of the vine that will withstand 

 winters of equal severity ; such, for instance, as are cultivated in Germany, on the 

 Rhine, &c. Why, then, have all attempts to grow these varieties in vineyards in 

 this country proved failures ? Because of the attacks of this fungus, as stated 

 above. It usually appears, in Massachusetts, in foggy weather, in July and August, 

 and not earlier. When first seen, it resembles white mould ; and, if examined when 

 in this fresh condition through a powerful microscope, it is very beautiful. In 

 the Agricultural Report of the I'atent Office for the year 1853, page 311, there 

 may be found an engraved illustration of this mildew fungus. It appears in a 

 communication to the State Department from Nicholas Pike, Consul of the United 

 States at Oporto. This is a correct representation of the American mildew, and 

 leaves no room for doubt as to the identity of the two species. The marks of the 

 mildew can be found on the imported grapes and raisins brought here from Malaga. 

 This is similar to those made by our mildew on the same varieties of the grape. 

 On page 312 of the same Report, is an illustrated specimen, showing its effects 

 upon the fruit. When a grape becomes affected* by it, the fruit will either dry 

 up or crack open, as in this specimen, unless checked or destroyed before it 

 makes much jirogress. 



This so-called disease is a living plant, most rapid in its growth, and wonder- 

 ful in its powers of reproduction and multiplication. It would appear to be a 

 most serious evil to the people of the countries dependent upon the cultivation 

 of the grape for their subsistence. W^hen a vine has once l)een infected by it, the 

 seeds or sporules, in countless millions, lie waiting a favorable atmospheric change 

 to spring into life ; and when this does occur, so rapid is their growth, that in 

 the short space of one day, the under side of the leaf will be almost covered. If 

 the vines are constantly watched, particularly on the under side, and, when the 

 first appearance of the fungus is noted, the flour of sulphur is dusted upon the 

 leaves ; this will kill the fungus wherever it comes in contact with it, changing 

 it from white to black, and then it is dead. The difficulty here is in applying the 

 suli)liur to the under side of the leaf. It is hard to make it remain in this 

 dry state ; and it requires so much labor to go through a vineyard in this man- 

 ner, as to make the cost, perhaps, an unwarrantable outlay ; unless it should prove 

 to be the case, which I think may be so, that after two or three years' application 

 of the sulphur, the seeds of the fungus would be exterminated. I have found a 

 wash quite effectual in destroying this fungus. It can be applied more easily and 

 surely, and with less cost of labor and material. It can be applied on a large 

 scale, with the garden engine ; on a smaller, by the syringe or the rose of a 

 watering-pot. 



To prepare this wash, take one peck of lime, not slaked, and one pound of 

 sulphur ; put them together in a barrel, and pour hot water over them sufficient 

 to slake the lime ; see that the sulphur is well mixed with the lime ; pour on th' 

 gallons of soft water, and stir the mixture well together. In twenty 



