of Rural Art and Taste. 



41 



preferable. Seuppernong, forty-six vines to 

 acre ; arbored third year — trained to stakes 

 before. < 



"Amount of sugar added to wine?" 

 Varies according to the kind of grape, de- 

 gree of ripeness and season. In good sea- 

 sons, Delaware requires none. 



" Number of gallons of wine to acre ? " 

 Concord, 800 to 1,000 ; Scuppernong, from 

 1,500 to 2,000 gallons to the acre. 



"Price obtained for wine?" Concord 

 wine sells here from $2,50 to $3 per gallon ; 

 Scuppernong, $4 per gallon. 



Scuppernong vines not subject to any dis- 

 ease. Market price of vines, $15 per 100 ; 

 $100 per 1,000. Wages of male hands per 

 month, $10 and rations. Prevailing disease, 

 fever and ague, yielding readily to mild 

 treatment. Cleared land, adapted to grape 

 culture, from 10 to 50 dollars per acre, ac- 

 cording to location and quality. Highest 

 range of thermometer, during summer, 92 ; 

 atmosphere tempered by sea breezes. Freight 

 per bbl., on vegetables or fruit, to New 

 York, by express, $2.25. Time, from Tal- 

 lahassee to New York, four days. Concord 

 and Ives ripen about July 1st; Hartford, 

 latter part of June. 



Mr. Bradford and myself have fine grape 

 lands that we will dispose of to actual set- 

 tlers, being desirous of forming a grape 

 growing colony around us. The country is 

 high and rolling, and locations can be had 

 presenting beautiful views of miles in ex- 

 tent. If you know of any parties who con- 

 template coming south, and would like to 

 engage in this business, if they will commu- 

 nicate with me, I will be pleased to corres- 

 pond with them, giving them any informa- 

 tion they may desire about the State. 

 I am, very respectfully, yours, 



Jno. a. Craig." 



In the neighborhood of Tallahassee plenty 

 of cleared land, admirably adapted to grape 

 culture, can be purchased at from 8 to 15 

 dollars per acre. The region is elevated 

 and undulating ; and the grape grower can 

 select any exposure he may fancy. The 



soil is a deep, rich, sandy loam, with a suit- 

 able subsoil. Near Tallahassee is situated 

 Lake Jackson, about 17 miles in length. It 

 is surrounded by hills varying from 100 to 

 300 feet high ; a large portion of the land 

 surrounding the lake has been cleared, and 

 in our opinion is eminently adapted to the 

 vine. When I first saw Lake Jackson, 

 nestling among gently sloping hills, I was 

 induced to exclaim — " this is the home 

 for the vine and the field for the grape 

 grower." 



The country around Tallahassee is well 

 watered by running streams and splendid 

 springs. The winters are pleasant, but 

 frosts occasionally occur of sufficient severi- 

 ty to injure orange trees. The summer's 

 heat is tempered by the winds from the 

 Grulf coast ; and during the course of many 

 summers, the thermometer does not rise 

 above 90 deg. The main products are cot- 

 ton, sugar, rice, potatoes — Irish and sweet — 

 peaches, figs, plums and melons. Garden 

 vegetables, of all descriptions, grow in lux- 

 uriance and abundance. During the autum- 

 nal months, fever and ague prevail, but not 

 to the same extent as in some of our north- 

 ern states. Diarrhoea, dysentery, rheumatic 

 and pulmonary affections and continued fe- 

 vers are not so common or so violent as in 

 the north and west Tallahassee is the cen- 

 ter of an educated and refined society. 

 Churches and school houses abound through- 

 out the country ; and the people, as a class, 

 are intelligent, hospitable and generous. 

 Oranges and bananas are an uncertain crop 

 in the neighborhood of Tallahassee, and un- 

 remunerative. Tobacco would prove a paying 

 crop — more especially if the seed was annu- 

 ally imported from Cuba. We are of the opin- 

 ion that wheat would prove a remunerative 

 crop — for the reason that the soil is adapted 

 to its growth ; and in Australia and Cali- 

 fornia, where the winter temperature is some- 

 what similar, wheat is an eminently success- 

 ful crop. 



In our next we shall describe other locali- 

 ties, and refer to the peculiarities and culture 

 of the Scuppernong grape. 



