28 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Delaware. But the most favored lo- 

 calities for grape-growing are to be 

 found on the southern shore of Lake 

 Ontario and the northern shore of Lake 

 Erie to and up the Detroit Eiver, and 

 on some of the islands lying in Lake 

 Erie. There the ameliorating influence 

 of the water is felt ; spring frosts do not 

 occur so late as at places farther in the 

 interior, nor do the autumn frosts show 

 themselves as early. The melting ice 

 of the upper lakes continually flowing 

 through Lake Erie, keeps the tempera- 

 ture of the water at a foot below the 

 surface at about forty degrees of Fahren- 

 heit during the month of May, so that 

 the atmosphere is cooler than it is in 

 the interior, and the buds do not burst 

 as early as they do farther inland. By 

 the latter part of July the temperature 

 of the water rises to that of the atmo- 

 sphere, in August the water b(icomes 

 warmer than the air, in September the 

 water is three degrees warmer, and in 

 October six degrees warmer than the 

 surrounding air. But the water is 

 continually giving out its heat into the 

 atmosphere, thereby, keeping it at a 

 higher temperature near the Lake than 

 it is in the interior, and so preventing 

 early autumn frosts. Elevation also 

 has its influence \ipon the temperature. 

 There is a line of altitude where the 

 autumn frosts do not fall as early by 

 many days — and sometimes weeks — as 

 in the valley below. Many a farmer 

 living in a rolling section of country, 

 has noticed that Indian corn on the 

 flats and in the bottoms has been se- 

 verely injured by frost when that on 

 rising ground and hill-sides has entirely 

 escaped. This is owing to the fact that 

 cold air is heavier than warm ; it rolls 

 down into the valleys and bottoms, 

 while the warm air ascends the hill- 

 sides and slopes. It is in such favored 

 portions of the country that numerous 

 varieties of grapes can be grown ; there 

 they not only ripen, as it is usually 



understood, but there they can be al- 

 lowed to hang upon the vine, and de- 

 velope all their saccharine properties, 

 becoming much sweeter than the same 

 variety becomes when the season is of 

 shorter duration. And fortunately this 

 embraces a large portion of Western 

 Ontario, all that part lying between 

 the two Lakes —Erie and Ontario — 

 and that portion lying between a line 

 running through Hamilton, London, 

 Chatham and Sarnia, southward to. 

 Lake Erie. 



There is another influence to be con- 

 sidered, and one which has a natural 

 effect upon the growing of grapes in the 

 highest degree of perfection, and indeed 

 of all other fruits. I refer to the quan- 

 tity of summer rain. It is true the 

 amount of rain-fall in each year cannot 

 be depended upon with the same cer- 

 tainty as the annual return of heat, yet 

 in a series of years the average rain 

 through the summer can be determined 

 with considerable accuracy. The region 

 of these great lakes, from the Thousand 

 Islands of the St. Lawrence to the 

 western extremity of Lake Superior, 

 is favored with a smaller rain-fall than 

 other parts of the country. Taking 

 this entire region together, the average 

 summer rain-fall is about ten inches of 

 rain. 



Within this belt or zone, where the 

 average summer rain does not exceed 

 ten inches, the cultivation of the vino 

 has been attended with the greatest suc- 

 cess ; and wa confidently predict that 

 with favoring soil and exposure the 

 choicest vines will be grown within this 

 same area. Surely the land-owner who 

 is so fortunate as to be located within 

 these favoring limits need not delay to 

 plant his vines. With the same care 

 and attention that commands success in 

 any undertaking, he may be reasonably 

 certain of reaping a rich return for all 

 his labor and enterprise. Within this 

 favorod region, the vine itself is more 



