310 



FARMERS' REGISTER— WOODSON AND CUNNINGHAM GRAPES. 



ino- fruit trees well with strong lie made from 

 wood ashes, from pasting the bodies and limbs, as 

 hio-h up as can be conveniently done, with loblol- 

 ly of Avood ashes and water, and by white 

 washing them in like manner with lime — the two 

 latter of which applications, will commonly pre- 

 vent hares li'om biting the trees. 



CHARLES WOODSOIV. 



REMARKS ON THE WOODSON AND CUNNING- 

 HAM GRAPES. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Prince Edward County. 



I will give you the history of the Woodson ana 

 Cunningham grapes* as they have liiUen under 

 my own observation, and the account from others 

 of the discovery, with my opinion of their origin, 

 properties, value. &c. The Woodson grape is 

 one variety of a common, though not plentiful 

 species, of indigenous grapes, growing wild in 

 this part of the State, which [ have seen occasion- 

 ally from north of James River near Goochland 

 Court House, to the southern part of this county, 

 bordering on the middle and northern part of 

 Charlotte, over a space of say 60 miles. The 

 vine, leaf, and manner of its growth, are almost 

 identical with the conmion black highland wild 

 grape — the fruit about twice as large, the bunches 

 considerably larger — the color of the fruit a 

 brick-dust red, or bright brou-n, very nearly that 

 of the Bland grape, but in which alone consists 

 any striking resemblance betvv^een those two spe- 

 cies. I consider it the most delicious variety of its 

 particular species, the greater number of which 

 are very sour. It is what I call a very fine eating 

 fruit. Its great value consists in its heavy and 

 almost unfailing production, having raised it and 

 had it in bearing 26 years, without ever failing to 

 have a tolerable crop in the time: generally the 

 crops have been abundant. One year the fi-uit 

 was all very imperfectly ripened and sour — ano- 

 ther year about one-third of the vines did not per- 

 fect their fruit — this year the late frosts killed all 

 the spring growth of blossoms and branches, and 

 the second growth of branches have a thin crop of 

 grapes which it is probable will not ripen perfectly 

 belbre frost, as it is one of the latest kind of grapes. 

 The first vine I ever raised of the kind, was 

 grafted on a thrifty bearmg vine of common wild 



frape, in the year 1807. The next year it bore a 

 ushel basket lull of bunches that were gathered 

 at one time, besides a few that had been eaten at 

 the vine. It has borne good crops, generally verj' 

 heavy crops, every year but one since that time. 

 The year it failed, I had great plenty on other 

 vines of the kind. The best wine made in Virgi- 

 nia, which I have ever tasted, was the produce of 

 this kind of grapes. In color and flavor, the wine 

 approached nearer to Madeira than any I have 

 met with. Its fruit is very sour and worthless, 

 raised in cold or moist situations. Southern expo- 

 sure and warm dry land suit it best. It is one 

 of the most hardy and rigorous vines. I have 

 never succeeded in raising it from cuttings, but by 

 grafting; though Mr. Samuel W. Venable of this 

 county has succeeded well. I have followed his 



* An account of these grapes from another hand, 

 was given page 89, vol. 1. Farmers' Register. Er. 



instructions strictly, and uniformly failed, so I con- 

 sider it unsafe to rely upon that mode of raising it. 

 If a vine can be procured to live and grow from 

 grafting, which is tolerably certain, or by };lanting 

 vines with roots, it may be conveniently enough 

 propagated by laj'ers: to do which, aportion of the 

 growing vine benig fastened down on the ground, 

 should be lightly covered with rich earth at the 

 joints, leaving the tops of all the branches unco- 

 vered. If" very lightly covered with earth, they 

 generally take root readily. Too thick covering 

 prevents the rooting kindly, and is liable to make 

 the vines decay. The parent vine was found 

 growing wild on the plantation of Henry Caldwell, 

 (novv' Mr. Isaac Reid's) in what we call a hedge 

 row or site of an old fence, near the top of a south 

 hill-side, a small distance north of Fort Creek 

 about a mile or less from its junction with Bufl'aloe 

 River and Falling Creek, say five miles North 

 West from Prince Edward Court-House. James 

 Caldwell, son of Henry, gave me the first account 

 of it in the year 1794, when he told me it had 

 been known for a number of years to the family, 

 who did not chose to show it to other people. 

 Henry Caldwell was an old setder there, and I 

 should supjiosc the vine to be older than any 

 Bland grape vine that ever was raised in this 

 county. I never found it till 1806, since which 

 lime it has been twice torn down from the trees 

 by mischievous people, to get the fruit, and has 

 been cut off at the ground. Its present top is of 

 recent growth. I have met with only two other 

 very good varieties of this species, both of which 

 are in some respects inferior to this kind. 



The Cunningham grape is quite a new kind. 

 The parent vine, though now large, is but young. 

 It sprang up in a corner of Mr. Jacob Cunning- 

 ham's garden, and is (to almost a moral certainty) 

 a desciendant of the Bland grape, which had been 

 raised there for many years. In all its most strik- 

 ing qualities and appearance, it resembles the 

 Bland. The fruit ripens near the same time, is of 

 the same color, jiot quite half the size, by actual 

 weight, differs considerably in taste, and by some 

 people is preferred. It is a stronger and more vigor- 

 ous vine, and stands the rigor of our winters better 

 than the Bland, which though seldom killed by 

 our wmter frosts, is frequently very much injured. 

 It is of large growth, the leaves and bark being 

 nearly identical with the Bland. In 1825 I first 

 saw it, a very small bearing vine with extensive 

 top: 1826 it grew astonishingly. In March of 

 that year, I had some slips of it grafted on a vigor- 

 ous young native grape vine in my garden — sufi'er- 

 ing "part of it to run up on a stake, two other 

 branches were extended on the ground in different 

 directions, and covered at intervals with earth. It 

 took root verj' kindly and its opposite ends are 40 

 yards apart. It could have been extended much 

 farther in the time. I think it a certain, and toler- 

 ably plentiful bearer, and it is thought by an intel- 

 ligent Virginian, who has resided many years in 

 the wine county in the south of France, that it 

 would be a superior wine grape. I have neither 

 knowledge nor information ori this subject. 



CHARLES WOODSON. 



MATERNAL TENDERNESS IN A SPARROW. 



A sparrow, which had built her nest on the 

 thatch roof of a house, was obsen^ed to continue 



