298 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



taste than ever ; in fact, by the side of the two just named, quite 

 distasteful. At the same time found Isabella flat and poor, and 

 noted the astringency of Catawba more than before. The third 

 season I had enough fruit to begin to try by weight, but not 

 very exactly, because some of the Delaware were picked before I 

 thought of weighing. 



" Delawares taken at four pickings, beginning September 1st, 

 four vines, twenty-six lbs. ; Diana, September 6th, two vines, 

 twelve lbs;; Concord, September 6th, two vines, six lbs.; Anna, 

 September 6th, two vines, six lbs. 



" From six pounds of the Delaware I made a little more than 

 two quarts of wine, having a miniature press, with box and screw, 

 made on purpose. I also made a little from Diana and Concord, 

 but the quantity was perhaps too small to afford a test; Dela- 

 ware had second fermentation in June, and became a fine, rich, 

 dry wine. Diana the same, but less pleasant than Delaware. Juice 

 of Concord became unpleasant, and something like vinegar. 



" The fourth season (1861) I thinned the Delaware, so that but 

 two bunches grew on one shoot, and found no difficulty in appor- 

 tioning the shoots, so that each one occupied its allotted space 

 without interfering with its neighbor, and it was a beautiful 

 sight. I had something more than forty pounds of grapes from 

 the four vines, and not one unsightly bunch, and scarcely an 

 imperfect or unripe berry. The leaves all remained perfect until 

 the ripening of the fruit, and nearly all the fruit remained shaded 

 from the sun. I had about fifteen pounds of Diana thinned as 

 above, nearly all of them handsome bunches, but varying con- 

 siderably in size and form, and all of the fruit was beautifully 

 transparent, and many of the berries were entirely without seeds 

 and most exquisite in flavor. I can now indorse the praises of 

 the Diana. Some of the bunches weighed a pound — very heavy 

 for their she, and perhaps a little too compact, adhering firmly 

 to the stem. 



"•The Concord vines also bore well, and some of the bunches 

 appeared even larger than those of Diana, but not quite so heavy. 

 The Concord grape is not attractive in appearance from the 

 beginning, being quite opaque, and not becoming clear at ripen- 

 ing. One skilled in grapes would judge of its poor quality by its 

 appearance. The flavor of Concord was no better than the pre- 

 vious 3"ear, and the odor more repulsive. Weight of the crop 

 about ten pounds, ripen before Isabella, but not quite so early as 



