350 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



I have 700 Concord grape vines, planted in 1869, the vines being 

 then two 3'ears old. I gathered the first crop of fruit three years 

 after planting, and have harvested about three tons annually since. 



Every vine has a separate trellis of its own. They are planted 

 at intervals of eight by ten feet apart. The vineyard for the 

 last six years has been manured with half a ton of Bay State 

 Superphosphate annually. 



The labor of hoeing and summer pruning requires about twenty 

 days* work. The annual fall pruning is done in November, about 

 a week being required for the job. 



I have fift}' Moore's Early vines, set seven years ago, and have 

 harvested a crop for the last four years. The fruit, taking one 

 year with another, is ripe for market the 10th of September. 

 The present season I marketed 250 pounds of clusters which on 

 an average weighed ten ounces each, but there were some that 

 weighed a pound and upwards. My opinion of the Moore's Early is 

 very favorable, and 1 inteud to plant more of it as soon as I can, 

 although the vines seem not so prolific as the Concord ; for, con- 

 sidering the earliness of the fruit, with its fine carrying qualities, 

 and the vigor and hardiness of the vine, I think it a very valu- 

 able variety. 



I also have a few vines of the Delaware, Brighton, Clinton, 

 Isabella, and Wordeu. I do not think them profitable market vari- 

 eties, although excellent for family use. I have also a few vines 

 of the Hartford and Niagara ; those of the latter sort have not 

 come into bearing yet, and consequently 1 do not know what they 

 will prove. The Hartfords, from their extreme earliness, always 

 sell well, but should be picked as soon as ripe, for their staying 

 quality is very poor. 



The peaches of which you speak were grown on trees set nine 

 years ago. The fourth year after planting, from an orchard of 

 350 trees I marketed 125 bushels; the sixth year after planting, 

 300 bushels ; but, with the exception of this season when we had 

 20 bushels, I have had no peaches since. With the cold winters 

 to which we are liable I consider the peach crop very uncertain in 

 this part of the country. I think the chances of success are better 

 where the trees are well headed in, removing one-half the new 

 growth of wood in October. No other crop should be allowed to 

 grow in the orchard. I think peaches are less liable to the yellows 



