314 APPENDIX I. 



since arisen from that quarter ; a few yet linger around and make their 

 appearance each year, but a sharp lookout is kept, and they usually do 

 little damage. 



"Excessive bearing is a common cause of failure, perhaps the most gene- 

 ral; it is one of the peculiarities of the vine to set enormously with fruit 

 when strong and vigorous ; the tax upon its maturing such a load often 

 produces complete prostration ; sometimes it will show its effects the first 

 year — indeed this is often observable in the sour, shrivelled mass of unri- 

 pened fruit. 



•' It will frequently happen that the vines will go on and mature the pre- 

 sent crop, but they are sometimes so completely prostrated that they re- 

 quire two years to get restored. Pruning thoroughly in the winter, rub- 

 bing off all superabundant shoots, and cutting off a large portion of the 

 clusters of fruit in the summer, are the proper remedies. 



" Excessive rains during the months of May and June have been more 

 destructive than any other cause, especially when accompanied with 

 unusually cold weather about the time of blossoming and setting. Two 

 years nearly the whole vineyard failed from this cause ; all over the most 

 retentive" and best portions of ground, the young shoots that were about 

 putting forth blossoms, turned black and sour within a few days after one 

 of these heavy rains, and the crop, which until that time promised to be 

 a fair one, was ruined, leaving a small yield upon the highest knolls. 



" Another cause of partial failure is, perhaps, not so obvious, yet not 

 less sure in its effects; we allude to certain peculiarities in the atmos- 

 phere during some seasons, which seem to be very uncongenial to the 

 growth and maturing of our best fruits ; probably these effects are felt 

 more or less all along the Atlantic coast. They have forced us to 

 abandon the culture of the old Virgalieu Pear, and the White Chasselas, 

 and other hardy foreign grapes, while all began to feel its influence here 

 at the same time, and it has nearly vetoed the Newtown Pippin, and many 

 other applo-trees are exhibiting like effects in a less degree. The indica- 

 tions are the same upon both pears and apples; they exhibit a rusty 

 coat, cracked open, and are hard and bitter where these black spots 

 exist. On the Newtown Pippin they are more obvious on the northeast 

 Bide of the tree, the fruit often being quite fair on the southwest side, 

 while on the opposite side it is nearly worthless. 



"The judge states that whenever a Newtown Pippin bears a crop of 

 good fruit — which it does occasionally — his vineyard yields a large crop, 

 such being the case this year. The trees are growing in various places 

 among the vinos, and are full of fine-looking apples — everything in the 

 Bhape of an apple seems to be fully developing, and so of the vines. And 

 vice versd, whenever the fruit fails of wholly maturing on these trees, there 

 is a very marked, tardy and imperfect development of the clusters of 

 grs:pcs ; latterly these coincidences have been very decided. The judge 



