78 FRUIT GARDEN. 



vineyards are on the sides and tops of the hills, fully exposed 

 to the sun and air. But the sub-soil is a stiff clay, reten- 

 tive of moisture. These localities will, I fear, be always 

 subject to rot, and yet the vineyards will be found more 

 profitable than any other crop. To persons having a porous 

 soil, I would recommend the cultivation of the Herbemont 

 grape. It is a fine grape both for the table and for wine, 

 and perfectly hardy. It makes wine of superior quality, 

 similar to the Spanish Manzanilla, or Mansinsella, as it is 

 generally pronounced. This grape has a soft pulp, and re- 

 sembles the best foreign table grapes. Lick Run, in our 

 immediate vicinity, will make one of the most beautiful 

 rural spots in the world. It will soon be a continuous line 

 of vineyards. I wish some of our poets would visit it in 

 May or June, and give it a more beautiful and appropriate 

 name. They may rack their brains for months, and not 

 find one worthy of the scene. It is different on Mount Ad- 

 ams, which is in a double sense in connection with the 

 heavens — its height and proximity to the great Telescope 

 of Professor Mitchel. The highest street is called Celes- 

 tial Street. Commanding as the view is, the name surely 

 equals it. 



" I have just returned from a visit to the vineyard of 

 Mr. Langdon, on the bottom of the Little Miami, eight 

 miles above the city, in a sandy soil. That porous soil is 

 not subject to the rot in grapes is exemplified here. His 

 misfortune is, in fact, too large a crop of fruit, an unusual 

 complaint this season. Yet he will have a poor vintage, 

 arising from two causes, which prevent the fruit from ripen- 

 ing. The first and least cause is too much fruit, from leav- 

 ing too much bearing wood, There was more than the 

 vine could give a supply of sap for, in a favorable season. 

 The second and great cause is the same as at the vineyard 



