136 ANNUAL EEPORT 



We came here to spend our days, and it should be our highest 

 ambition to build up our state and develop its resources and give 

 it a name that shall be equal to, if not above that of any state of 

 our Union. I like what I heard of that paper, and I hope next 

 year we will get another paper supplementing it, which will 

 give an idea of the grapes that are grown in other parts of the State. 

 Mr. Pearce. I think the grape question is a great question for 

 Minnesota. I doubt very much whether there is a State in the 

 Union possessing a location so well adapted to the growing of 

 grapes. I have traveled up and down Minnesota and it occurs to 

 me that a grape crop would be a sure thing. Take the bluffs of the 

 Mississippi, in Houston County, and all through there. I don't 

 think there ever was a better grape country on the face of the 

 earth. We have the advantage of clear weather, bright sunshine; 

 and we can raise grapes with the finest bloom. There are no grapes 

 that go into any market having bloom like the Minnesota grapes. 

 This is owing to our bright sun. Follow the Mississipppi river to 

 the Iowa line and you have a grape country all the way, and also 

 around all the large lakes. I have received almost a hundred 

 letters from men, who have experimented around the large lakes 

 in Minnesota, saying that they are making a success of it. It is 

 an interest that is now in its infancy. Minnetonka is a good place 

 to grow grapes, but the grape soil around Minnetonka is limited. 

 There are localities around Minnetonka where they will always raise 

 grapes and will be sure of a crop. 



Dr. Frisselle. I would like to ask Mr. Latham if he will state 

 the varieties that are best adapted to cultivation in this state, and 

 around this lake; and the kind of soil, which, as a rule, is best 

 adapted to the grapes that are cultivated here. 



Mr. Latham. The growers around here, of course, all know that 

 the best grape for market is the Concord. Besides that, the 

 grapes that are asked for in the market are practically all grown 

 here. The Delaware ranks next to the Concord, and the Rogers 

 No. 9, No. 44 and No. 3 are safe to plant. They are liable to mil- 

 dew a little, but that is easy to control; I think them grapes that are 

 very nice indeed and they ripen very early. The Worden has some 

 faults. I should never plant largely of it here; perhaps in some 

 places it might be different. My experience has been that a great 

 many of the buds don't develop in the spring, and then there are 

 other objections that I will not state now. 

 Dr. Frisselle. How about the Brighton? 



Mr. Latham. It is one of the first. It ripens early enough too, 

 but it ripens very unevenly on the bunch, about Lake Minnetonka. 



