228 THE VINEYARD. [MARCH. 



There is not the least doubt but the Vines of any temperate cli- 

 mate, can be naturalized in any state of the Union, in a very short 

 time: for there is an astonishing facility in plants to accommodate 

 themselves to soil and climate, and in very few more than in the 

 vine. The Helianthus annuus, or common annual sunflower, is a 

 native of Mexico and Peru, and yet we all know that it now grows 

 in every part of the Union where introduced, as well as if it were 

 indigenous. The Helianthus tuberosus, or what is commonly called 

 the Jerusalem Artichoke, is a tropical plant, being a native of Brasil, 

 and is become naturalized to our climates, as well as to those of Eu- 

 rope, as far north as St. Petersburg, and perhaps farther. The 

 Cherry-tree, when first introduced into Italy by Lucullus, a Roman 

 general, from the city of Cerasus, in Pontus, whence its name 

 Prunus Cerasus, was there treated as a tender exotic ; by degrees, 

 it had crept into Britain, where it was treated for some time in like 

 manner ; and experience now proves, that it thrives in America, 

 as well as in Italy, Britain, or Pontus itself. Thousands of other 

 instances could be adduced of the wisdom and goodness of the Cre- 

 ator, in furnishing plants with those accommodating powers j but 

 the Vine has manifested itself in so many, and so universally, that 

 it is unnecessary to recapitulate them ; yet we frequently meet 

 with people who say, " it will nc-ver succeed here ! I" 



It may, however, be proper to remark, that where the Peach tree 

 perfects its fruit, in open field culture, so will the Vine : the latter 

 is even capable of bearing greater degrees of heat, and of produc- 

 ing fruit in perfection, in higher latitudes than the former, mani- 

 fested by the quantities of wine made in many places in the south 

 of England, from its productions in open Vineyard culture ; whilst, 

 there, they could not have a single peach, from a thousand trees, 

 cultivated in the same way, principally owing to the want of a suffi- 

 ciency of summer heat to ripen the young wood ; and mild as 

 their winters are, in comparison to ours, they, under such circum- 

 stances, generally destroy the pithy and unripened shoots of the 

 Peach, without doing near so much injury to those of the Vine. 

 On the other hand, it is well known, that the grape-vine will bear 

 fruit abundantly, year after year, when forced in pine-stoves, with 

 pine-apples ; where, if a peach was introduced, it would scarcely 

 survive one season, at least it would not produce a single fruit worth 

 .eating the second, 



Before entering on the general culture, I shall give a short de- 

 scription of the varieties of the grape, hitherto cultivated in Eu- 

 rope, either for making wine, or for the table ; many of which, are 

 now under trial at the Sfiring-Mill Vineyard, within fourteen miles 

 of Philadelphia, the property of a company incorporated by the le- 

 gislature of Pennsylvania, " for the promotion of the culture of the 

 Vine," and under the superintendence of Mr. Peter Legaux, an 

 experienced Vine-dresser, and a gentleman of worth and science. 



These I shall divide into three classes, in the order of their ripen- 

 ing. 1. Those which ripen earliest. 2. Those which succeed 

 them ; and 3. The latest coming to maturity. Perhaps, the first 

 class might be best adapted for the more immediate culture^ in the 



