48 THE EVOLUTION OP OUR NATIVE FRUITS 



16 oz. of New Orleans sugar to the gallon, and 

 after the fermentation is complete, the addition of 

 as much brandy as is added to the Madeira wine, 

 and proper age given it, makes a wine, in color the 

 same as Madeira, and equal to the imported Madeira 

 of the second quality. We are abandoning the cul- 

 tivation of this grape on the Ohio, for wine. I deem 

 it still worthy of cultivation. We have been led to 

 the abandonment of it, from the opinion of our 

 German vine dressers and German wine drinkers, 

 who are opposed to sugar and brandy in the manu- 

 facture of wine." 



Before leaving the Cape grape, let us take a 

 survey of the extent of vine -growing in this country 

 at the time that this variety began to be supplanted 

 by the Catawba. The only statistical account of the 

 vineyards of this time is that contained in Rafinesque's 

 curious "American Manual of the Grape Vines and 

 the Art of Making Wine," published in 1830. Ra- 

 finesque's writings are not generally held in high es- 

 teem, but there is no occasion to discredit his census of 

 American viticultural interests. "A capital mistake," he 

 says, "was the attempt to make Madeira wine in Amer- 

 ica, instead of American wine." He then proceeds: 



"These and other causes have discouraged the at- 

 tempts of a vine company established on purpose in 

 Pennsylvania. Mr. Legaux, the manager, by his 

 deceptions in grapes, calling them by false names, 

 and his bad management, threw discredit on the 

 attempt. However, by calling our Bland and Alex- 

 ander grapes Madeira and Cape, he was instrumental 

 in diffusing them among those who would not have 

 noticed nor bought them if known as native vines. 



