244 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



inquiries sent out within recent years to hundreds of practical fruit 

 growers from Maine to California, shows that, with one exception 

 (that being the Delaware), the Concord and its three seedlings, 

 named above, received the widest range of recommendations given 

 any hardy grapes. 



The Delaware is of the highest quality of fruit, indeed, the 

 standard of excellence among our native grapes, yet it is always to 

 be understood that it is recommended with qualifications. In a very 

 few localities, with special care and skill in its culture, it is a leading 

 market, as well as home variety, but the inexperienced grower is not 

 likely to succeed with it. Therefore it can not be recommended to 

 him for general planting. 



The Catawba is one of the oldest and best known of native varie- 

 ties. It is a very late grape and of recent years has succeeded w r ell in 

 only a few favored localities. Where it still succeeds nothing better 

 can be planted for late use. Other varieties which are worth men- 

 tioning in this connection are Brighton, Cottage, Diamond, Elvira, 

 Ives, Janesville, Moyer, Pocklington, Salem, Winchell, syn. Green 

 Mountain, and Woodruff. But these are recommended only for 

 certain localities where they have been tried, or to persons who are 

 willing to risk a failure for the sake of the chance of getting some- 

 thing especially good and more or less rare. 



Sacking Grapes. Grapes have a number of enemies ; some are 

 of fungous origin, others are insects, and still others are birds. They 

 may be effectually protected and shielded from many enemies by the 

 proper use of sacks. The sacks recommended for use are made of 

 tough paper, and may be purchased cheaply by the thousand, if 

 necessary, from dealers in supplies of this character. They are such 

 as grocers use for putting up small packages for their customers. 

 Those holding about 1 quart, known as 2-pound sacks, are a good 

 size for most varieties of the grape. A few varieties having very 

 large clusters may require larger sacks. 



A single sack is to be placed over each cluster and made fast by 

 the use of a pin, small wire, or tie of some, kind and allowed to 

 remain there until the fruit is ripe and ready for use. 

 To be thoroughly effectual as a safeguard against the attacks of 

 disease and insects the sack must be placed over the cluster soon after 

 the blooming season is past ; if possible, before the young grapes are 

 larger than bird shot. A little delay will often give the germs of 

 disease and depredating insects an opportunity to plant themselves 

 on or in the newly formed fruit, when the sacks will fail to perform 

 the good service expected of them. 



The sacks are easily and quite rapidly applied, especially where 

 the vines are properly trained, as the fruit clusters will then be in 

 easy reach of the operator and will be much fewer in numbers and 

 of better size than if the vines were neglected. The expense of sacks 

 and labor is trifling, and the good results are beyond question. They 

 mav be summarized as follows: Sacks protect grapes from rot and 

 mildew; from various insects, including bees, wasps, hornets, and 

 flies of all kinds, and from the sting of the grape moth and curculio 



