52 THE EVOLUTION OP OUR NATIVE FRUITS 



and native varieties. He finally discarded the foreign 

 kinds. "It is unnecessary," he writes, "to seek for 

 more temperate latitudes for the cultivation of the 

 vine. The way is to drop most kinds of foreign 

 vines at once (except a few for the table), and 

 seek for the best kinds of our largest native Grapes, 

 and if properly managed there can be no doubt 

 but we can make as much Wine, if not more, than 

 any part of the world, on the same space of ground, 

 as far north as the 43d degree, if not further north, 

 and of good quality." In 1823, he published, in 

 Washington, the first indigenous book upon grape 

 culture ; and Rafinesque further commemorated him 

 by giving the name Adlumia to the beautiful Alle- 

 gheny Vine, or Smoke Vine, of our northern woods 

 (Fig. 10). A second edition of the book, made 

 exotic by the addition of much pretentious foreign 

 writing, appeared in 1828. 



The effort of Adlum to establish "an experimental 

 farm" is one of the earliest attempts of the kind on 

 record in this country, and it should have proper 

 credit, now that the experiment station movement is 

 so thoroughly established. He despaired that, "from 

 the progress of improvement, and the rapid increase 

 of population," the native grapes were rapidly dimin- 

 ishing, so that they seem to be in danger of extinc- 

 tion. "It was to prevent this evil, (as far as I could 

 be instrumental in preventing it,) that I wished to 

 obtain of the President of the United States, a few 

 years ago, a lease of a portion of the public ground 

 in the City for the purpose of forming a Vineyard, 

 and of cultivating an experimental farm. It was my 

 intention, had I been successful, to procure cuttings 



