THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 75 



though there are some minor tlitterences. Some varieties produce larger 

 berries on this soil, and some sorts, it is claimed, a greater amount of wood. 



The Dunkirk sandy loams occur in large irregular areas bordering the 

 lake or running from the lake bluff back to the escarpment. By far the 

 largest of these areas is found about Fredonia and Dunkirk and running 

 east and west of these towns. A second area is found in the neighborhood 

 of Brocton and Portland and especially to the north and west. There are 

 smaller areas east of Barcelona and northwest of Ripley. Nearly all of 

 the sandy loam soils are found on undulating or rolling land. The soil is 

 a brownish- yellow loam from a half foot to a foot in depth. There are 

 some deviations from the type and yet the true sandy loams can be very 

 easily recognized. The soil is of rather heavy texture making good farm- 

 ing land and producing large crops of grapes of slightly inferior quality. 



The Dunkirk shale loams are found upon the hill or escarpment. 

 These form the grape lands farthest removed from the lake. This soil is 

 comparatively thin, not averaging more than a half-foot in depth and is 

 hardly ever found a foot deep. It is brown, in color with much coarse 

 fragmentary shale on the surface and underlaid with a considerable 

 body of heavy clay. Part of the shale loam land lies on slopes too 

 steep and rough for cultivation but the hillside table lands of this soil 

 are especially well adapted to grape-growing. The grapes grown here 

 contain much sugar, therefore keep and ship well, have a high flavor, and 

 are especially sought for in wine-making; grapes on these soils mature 

 early, have tough skins, but are only medium-sized berries. The \-ields 

 are much more variable on this soil than on the others because of the great 

 variation in the depth of soil. On deep soils of this loam the yield is all 

 that could be desired. Because of the lay of the land, and the nature of 

 the soil, there is much washing and cultivation must be done judiciously. 



The climate is exceptionally favorable for the grape-grower in the 

 Chautauqua district. It is, if anything, of more importance than the land ; 

 for grape soils are not uncommon, but a grape climate as near perfection 

 as that of this region is indeed rare. The influence of the lake in modifying 

 the temperature of the region is the chief climatic factor. This influence 

 need not be dwelt upon here for it is common knowledge that large bodies 

 of water temper cold winter weather, hold back vegetation in spring, equalize 

 night and day temperatures of summer, lengthen the growing season and 



