276 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Erwin, situated near Christmas Lake are among the best. With regard to 
my own Vineyard of 1,400 vines, 1,200 of which are in bearing, I will only 
say that it has been five years in fruit, and this has been its most produc- 
tive season, yielding 1,350 pounds. As far as I have been able to estimate, 
there are in the immediate neighborhood of the lake about 35,000 vines in 
bearing, yielding the past season not less than 250,000 pounds, or 126 tons of 
grapes, which at the low price of 4 cents a pound were worth $10,000, making 
an important item of income to the fruit growers of this immediate region. 
Besides these there are many thrifty and productive vineyards in the 
towns along the river, largely owned by Germans. These vineyards are 
mostly devoted to Concord, Moore’s Early and Janesville, on account of 
their early ripening qualities, though the Brighton, a much better grape 
in all respects, is fast coming into favor. The crop of grapes in these 
towns along the Mississippi River was this season very large and of excel- 
lent quality, finding a ready market in the convenient cities and villages. 
Ata local fair of considerable magnitude in St. Peter, I noticed an ex- 
hibit of about four quarts of grapes of very indifferent appearance, but I 
could not give them a fair examination, as they were located in the center 
of a wide table and very carefully protected from either view or handling 
by a substantial covering of netting. The fact that grapes had been grown 
and were here on exhibition was at least an encouraging sign. 
There can be no doubt but there are many other localities of which I 
am not informed where grapes are cultivated, and there does not appear 
to be any insurmountable obstacles in the way of extending this industry 
throughout a large portion of the state. Most of our farmers largely con- 
fine themselves to the growing of cereals, grasses and root crops. Very 
many, perhaps nearly all, are under the impression that it is of no use for 
them to try to raise grapes. The reason for this conclusion is that they do 
not know how. They do not know the requirements of soii, exposure,etc., 
nor do they know the varieties best adapted to this latitude. 
The region about Lake Minnetonka has become famous for its vine- 
yards simply because a few persons not many years ago tried the experi- 
ment of raising grapes, and found that the Delaware and some other 
varieties could be produced here in perfection. There are only twoor 
three conditions required to make this or any other section favorable 
for the culture of the vine, and no doubt these same conditions abound in 
most other portions of ourstate. These are a rich soil well supplied with 
humus, witha clay subsoil, and having a gentle slope to the south or east, 
with the genial influence of a considerable body of water near by. The 
protection of a forest on the north side of a vineyard is desirable, but the 
influence of a large body of water in the same relation is better, as it re- 
tains a considerable amount of heat during the early autumn, which 
greatly modifies the frosty northern winds. As our state is nofed for its 
numerous lakes of all sizes, it is but reasonable to suppose that there are 
many locations that would prove equally favorable to grape culture as 
those on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. In view of all the facts tribu- 
tary to this subject, there appears to be no valid reason why Minnesota 
farmers, and especially all fruit growers, should not give some earnest at- 
tention to the cultivating of this desirable, delicious fruit. To this end 
it seems important that the superintendent of our farmers’ institutes 
should emphasize this important department of his valuable work, and 
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