well as I do on most questions pertuining to rural affairs. And in order to decide who 

 was nearest right, I would luuko the request that any readers of the Horticulturist who 

 may have made, or shall hereafter make, a wind-mill jnunp after the plan described, 

 shall, after the same has been tested by one summer's use, give the results in detail 

 through the pages of this journal. If the facts show that my opinion is at fault, I 

 t^hall rejoice in the opportunity of correcting the impression upon the minds of others. 

 TluTc is one item in the testimony of Mr. Anderson which has much weight on my 

 mind, but seems to have been overlooked by Dr. K. It is the fact that his well was 

 only seven feet, or less than half the average depth of wells, from the surface of the 

 ground to the water; consequently the amount of power required to xoork the pump was 

 not half as great as will ordinarily be necessary. 



GRAPES IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



BY W. C. STRONG, NEWTON, MASS. 



The subject of obtaining new, hardy varieties of Grapes, which Avill mature in our 

 climate, has occupied the attention of our cultivators for a number of years. Probably 

 in no State in the Union are so various experiments being tried at the present time, as 

 in this. Many of these are of the toss-up-a-copper stamp — sowing seed at random, 

 hoping that good luck will follow. In other cases, men are engaged in searching for 

 every marked variety in field, wood, or cultivated ground ; a successful instance t f 

 which is ^[r. Brackett, the well known sculptor. Among those who are trying care- 

 ful experiments in hybridizing, Mr. Allen, of Salem, probably stands foremost. It may 

 not be uninteresting to the widely scattered readers of the Horticulturist to see a state- 

 ment of results for the past year. 



On the 12th of September, the first day of the annual exhibition of the Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society, the famous Concord Grape, made its first appearance for 

 the season. As it has already been noticed in your pages, it is unnecessary to say more 

 than this — that in appearance it was " superior," and to the taste it was nearly, if not 

 quite ripe. At the same time and place, Mr. Geo. B. Cutter exhibited several dishes 

 of "superior" Graj)es, marked '■^ Isabel la. ^^ Who shall decide Avhen doctors disagree? 

 By some it was affirmed that it was the Concord, by others, Isabella, and others said it 

 was neither the one nor the other. It was asked, if this is the Isabella, how happens 

 it that these specimens, wliich are equal to any ever ripened in the State, should come 

 from Wc«ton, and not from city vines protected by brick walls? It was noticeable 

 that no specimens of Isabella of any merit, excepting these, nor even Diana, were to 

 be seen on the tables. Mr. Cutter obtaineil his vine from the Messrs. Winship, some 

 years since, from which, I am informed, he lias obtained quite a vineyard. He has 

 been known in our market for two or three years, as the producer of very fine and 

 early Grapes. I have heard of two or three other instances of vines obtained from 

 the same source, which have produced Grapes which were thought to be earlier and 

 different from the Isabella. Is it presumption in me to doubt the unanimous opinion 

 of so many good judges from the Pomological Convention, wlio pronounced upon this 



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