12 AMERICAN GRAPE CULTURE. 



Their relative merits will be discussed here 

 after. 



Location. Having determined upon plant 

 ing a vineyard, the first point to engage our at 

 tention will be the selection of a proper loca 

 tion. We attach more importance to this than 

 some others do. It is said that we need not 

 be particular on this point, since the vine is 

 found growing wild almost every where, even in 

 swamps. This is true ; but the fruit produced 

 upon vines growing in wet places is very ill-fla 

 vored ; redolent, indeed, of that peculiar odor 

 popularly called &quot; foxy ;&quot; the skin is thick, 

 tough, and acrid, and the flesh hard and indi 

 gestible. If the same vine be removed to dry 

 soil, and cultivated, these offensive characteris 

 tics become in a small degree mitigated ; show 

 ing conclusively the ameliorating influence of 

 culture and position. The fruit even of the 

 cultivated vine is more or less affected by what 

 is called a &quot; wet season :&quot; it is found to lose a 

 portion of its tenderness, and to deteriorate in 

 flavor. These, and other facts, must necessarily 

 lead us to attach much importance to the selec 

 tion of a location that is naturally dry ; and 

 the experience of the great mass of cultivators 



